What should be done to tackle global unsustainability in a way that is effective, fair, and democratic? As the faltering energy transition or the ongoing loss of biodiversity come to show, the question is pressing. This workshop seeks to scrutinise, both theoretically and empirically, the much-discussed answer provided by ecomodernism, a rising environmental philosophy grounded on the belief that humanity can prosper while reducing its pressure on Earth systems if only the right social and technological innovations are implemented within liberal democracies and beyond. A new and timely subject, ecomodernism carries normative and practical implications that await scrutiny and discussion.
Ecomodernism has been a controversial proposition at least since the publication of The Ecomodernist Manifesto (Asafu-Adjaye J. et al. 2015), which fleshed out a minority strand of thought within the environmentalist tradition — one that is related to ecological modernization but goes further in offering an exhaustive response to the challenges of the Anthropocene. To be sure, many have rejected ecomodernism as greenwashing or neoliberalism in disguise, a response that may be unwarranted in light of the arguments put forward by ecomodernism itself, e.g. regarding nature's preservation or the strong role of the state. Admittedly, the conception of sustainability heralded by ecomodernism is underdeveloped — there are gaps to be filled and questions to be dealt with. Yet neither critics nor proponents can solve them alone. To make sense of ecomodernism, advocates, critics and other scholars should join forces. It is time to shed light on its normative foundations, empirical claims, and political implications. This workshop provides the opportunity to do so in a balanced and rigorous fashion, thus fostering scholarly engagement with the subject. Even though research is growing (see Karlsson 2018, 2020; Symmons 2019; Arias-Maldonado 2020; Breewood and Garnett, 2022; Hallmark, 2023; Ellis and Lynas, 2023), the debate is hindered by the suspicion that liberal democracy and technological innovation cannot possibly deliver sustainability. Given the state in which the green transition finds itself, however, the pragmatic approach of ecomodernism — which has potential implications for environmental policy and the praxis of sustainability — should be carefully considered.
1: Which are ecomodernism's normative foundations? Do they fit into environmental political theory?
2: What is "ecological" about ecomodernism? How does it conceive of nature?
3: What role do the state, the market, and civil society play in the ecomodernist approach?
4: What are the philosophy and the politics of technology advocated by ecomodernism?
5: What conception of justice underpins the ecomodernist vision? What is the place of gender in it?
1: The place of ecomodernism within environmental political theory and political theory writ large
2: The normative foundations of ecomodernism and its compatibility with other approaches
3: The place of nature in ecomodernism and its view of socionatural relations
4: The philosophy and politics of technology in ecomodernism and their implications
5: The relationship between ecomodernism and democracy
6: Ecomodernism in environmental policy and the role of the state
7: The relationship between ecomodernism and justice (including gender, race, class, nonhuman beings)
8: Theoretical and empirical papers on these topics and related ones
