Lexington Books
Pages: 290
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
978-1-4985-3698-1 • Hardback • November 2016 • $117.00 • (£90.00)
978-1-4985-3700-1 • Paperback • May 2018 • $57.99 • (£45.00)
John Rensenbrink is professor emeritus of government and legal studies at Bowdoin College and cofounder of the US Green Party and the Maine Green Independent Party.
Introduction: Re-thinking Nature Demands Re-Thinking Politics
Part I: Why Politics Has a Bad Name: The Past Tells a Troubled Story
Chapter 1: The Tragedy of Politics
Chapter 2: From City-State to the Bourgeois Republic
Chapter 3: Shatter the Bourgeois Republic or Improve It? Heroic Dialectics versus Liberal Reform
Chapter 4: Politics and Violence: Why Max Weber Had it Wrong
Part II: We Are Part of Nature: Being Related, Not Being Separate
Chapter 5: The Body and Its Mind
Chapter 6: Relationship Already Is
Chapter 7: Concrete Other: The Core Relationship
Chapter 8: Action
Part III: How Being Related is Transforming Economic, Social, and Cultural Life: Is Politics Next?
Chapter 9: Economy
Chapter 10: Race
Chapter 11: Sexuality
Chapter 12: Religion
Chapter 13: University
Part IV: Ecological Wisdom and the Renewal of Politics
Chapter 14: Politics Gets Interesting: The Return of the Local
Chapter 15: Is World Governance in Our Future?
Chapter 16: Planet Home: Uniting Local and Global
Part V: Getting There From Here, Who Will Do It? How Will It Happen? When?
Chapter 17: We the People
Chapter 18: Past Strategies for Fundamental Change
Chapter 19: Aligning Action Movements
Chapter 20: Green Party
Chapter 21: Fundamental Change: When?
This essay, a book review essay it might be called, is my urgent attempt to urge you, the reader, to obtain a copy of this book—by hook or by crook. . . This book is political philosophy’s most advanced instrument for bringing about a peaceful transformation based on self-governance and ecological sanity for survival. . . This book has sufficient heft and precision to be deployed as a lever into a new kind of “politics” that aims to empower and “connect” so many disconnected factions of dissatisfaction with all present systems. . . . It is not too late. Our destiny is still ours to shape. “Ecological Politics” is the roadmap to a democratic and viable future for America and humankind on a rejuvenated Earth. The first step on this new “long march” is to thoroughly study and digest the contents of this book. The next steps—some suggested above—are strictly up to you.
— Green Horizon Magazine
In Ecological Politics: For Survival and Democracy, John Rensenbrink offers the possibility of a new kind of politics, with new ways of thinking about governance, the health of our planet, and the power of the people. Rensenbrink covers a lot of ground, from the historical emergence of democracy; to the coercive violence of the state; to the assignment of personhood to corporations; to our status as a species living among other species on Earth; to our definitions of freedom; and to the importance of Occupy Wall Street. Since the crises facing us are global, Rensenbrink insists we need a system of global governance—not in the sense of a world empire, but of global cooperation, democracy, nonviolence, and local autonomy. He envisions “a world that answers the need of all people for fundamental security, participation in power, and an opportunity for all to live meaningful, healthy and wealthy lives together on planet earth.”— Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, Green Party of the United States
John Rensenbrink makes a powerful argument that an ecologically-guided politics can become “a brilliant instrument of healing and thriving.” His new book represents the culmination of a career in political science and in the Green Party, of which he is a co-founder. In both he has been a strong voice for democracy and a courageous force for basic change. His book needs to be widely read by academics, students, and all citizens seeking the pathway to fundamental social and political change.— David Whiteman, Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina
This book is a tour de force of political philosophy by a deep thinker and masterful writer. It is full of insights—on a broad array of subjects—yet uses language that is accessible to a range of readers. One need not agree with every particular to recognize the wisdom of the book. — Jeff Taylor, Dordt College
Skillfully deploying his knowledge of political history, sociology and ecology, John Rensenbrink maps out a surprising route to continued human existence on our seriously threatened planet. He suggests we take our cues from the longest-lasting, most diverse and successful global political economy ever: life itself. The reciprocal relationships, organically democratic organizational structures and adaptive and cooperative behaviors of natural systems are not only ecological. Rensenbrink argues persuasively that on a finite planet they are just plain necessary.— Ellen LaConte, author of Life Rules: Nature’s Blueprint for Surviving Economic and Environmental Collapse
This book is a tour de force of political philosophy by a deep thinker and masterful writer. It is full of insights—on a broad array of subjects—yet uses language that is accessible to a range of readers. One need not agree with every particular to recognize the wisdom of the book. — Jeff Taylor, Dordt College
Skillfully deploying his knowledge of political history, sociology and ecology, John Rensenbrink maps out a surprising route to continued human existence on our seriously threatened planet. He suggests we take our cues from the longest-lasting, most diverse and successful global political economy ever: life itself. The reciprocal relationships, organically democratic organizational structures and adaptive and cooperative behaviors of natural systems are not only ecological. Rensenbrink argues persuasively that on a finite planet they are just plain necessary.— Ellen LaConte, author of Life Rules: Nature’s Blueprint for Surviving Economic and Environmental Collapse
Someday the first modern president who isn’t a Democrat or Republican will have this book on a prominent shelf. Rensenbrink is a citizen-teacher of the ancient model who has pushed the limits of contemporary political theory and activism. He has gotten his hands dirty as candidate for office and an organizer, while always seeing the world through the eyes of a philosopher and a teacher. He writes with the contagious, passionate intensity of youth and the wisdom of, well, an old man. It is powered by a phenomenal erudition, a civic wisdom born of service and an unblinkered eye for what is most truly screwed up in the world.— Dick Meyer, Chief Washington Correspondent, Scripps News
John Rensenbrink is a deeply intellectual academic who is also a pragmatic citizen of the United States and the world. This work is a reflection of his lifetime commitment to social justice and ecological wisdom through his academic scholarship and is informed by his engagement in real life solutions to the most vexing problems we have faced as a people for generations. Whether one agrees with John’s theories of politics or more generally his political perspective, this work will for sure broaden one’s understanding of our political and social relationships and our connection to the planet. — Barry Mills, President Emeritus, Bowdoin College
John Rensenbrink’s writing on politics is original, timely, and of the first importance. Most Americans are deeply dissatisfied with the way their democracy works and are looking for better ideas. Anyone who seeks to make our practices more democratic should look closely at what Rensenbrink proposes. His powerful ideas deserve a large audience; they will at least and immediately find an audience among Green Party members and in Green related circles, who already know him as something of a prophet.— Paul Woodruff, University of Texas, Austin
John Rensenbrink is a deeply intellectual academic who is also a pragmatic citizen of the United States and the world. This work is a reflection of his lifetime commitment to social justice and ecological wisdom through his academic scholarship and is informed by his engagement in real life solutions to the most vexing problems we have faced as a people for generations. Whether one agrees with John’s theories of politics or more generally his political perspective, this work will for sure broaden one’s understanding of our political and social relationships and our connection to the planet. — Barry Mills, President Emeritus, Bowdoin College
John Rensenbrink’s writing on politics is original, timely, and of the first importance. Most Americans are deeply dissatisfied with the way their democracy works and are looking for better ideas. Anyone who seeks to make our practices more democratic should look closely at what Rensenbrink proposes. His powerful ideas deserve a large audience; they will at least and immediately find an audience among Green Party members and in Green related circles, who already know him as something of a prophet.— Paul Woodruff, University of Texas, Austin