ActivismResearchSocial EconomySocial movementsSustainability

Systemic thinking, regenerative culture, and new forms of prefigurative politics

Ana Margarida Esteves, investigadora no CEI-IUL, acaba de publicar um artigo na revista “Globalizations”:

Pensamento sistémico,’ cultura regenerativa ‘e novas formas de política prefigurativa: desafios para a esquerda global

Um dos aspectos da atual crise da esquerda institucional é uma ‘cegueira epistemológica’ que impede a renovação ao ignorar formas de ação coletiva que não se encaixam no pensamento ortodoxo, incluindo iniciativas comunitárias com base no “pensamento sistêmico” e destinadas a promover uma “cultura regenerativa”. Tal categoria inclui iniciativas econômicas não capitalistas, como as do movimento de transição, da economia social e solidária e da Rede Global de Ecovilas, bem como das comunidades temporárias criadas pelo movimento Occupy Wall Street e pelos protestos do Dakota Access Pipeline. Tais iniciativas abordam a polarização social, o patriarcado e a crise da democracia como dimensões de uma disfunção civilizacional que exige soluções sistémicas. Essa abordagem, se adotada pela esquerda, pode contribuir para sua renovação e fortalecimento político.

 

Ana Margarida Esteves, Researcher at CEI-IUL, just published an article in the international journal “Globalizations”:

‘Systemic thinking’, ‘regenerative culture’, and new forms of prefigurative politics: challenges for the global left

One of the aspects of the current crisis of the Left is an ‘epistemological blindness’ that prevents it from identifying opportunities for its own renewal. That includes the dismissal of the contribution of prefigurative forms of collective action which do not fit its institutionalized orthodoxies. Their most significant expression is a range of grassroots initiatives based on ‘systemic thinking’ and aimed at promoting a ‘regenerative culture’. It includes non- capitalist economic initiatives, such as those of the transition movement, social and solidarity economy and the Global Ecovillage Network, as well as of the temporary communities created by Occupy Wall Street movement and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. They regard social polarization, patriarchy, and the crisis of democracy as interconnected dimensions of a civilizational dysfunction that asks for whole-systems solutions. Such approach, if adopted by the Left, may contribute to its renewal and political strengthening.

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Ana Margarida Esteves

Ana Margarida Esteves is a Research Fellow at the Center for International Studies of the University Institute of Lisbon, Iscte and Guest Assistant Professor of the Department of Political Economy of the same institution. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Brown University (Providence, RI, USA) where she was a Fulbright Fellow. Her research and teaching encompass the relations between the social and solidarity economy, the commons and the sustainability transition movements; synergies between nature, culture and technology; and the application of critical pedagogies, as well as strategies of non-formal education, to social mobilization and the promotion of participatory democracy. She is a founder and member of the International Editorial Committee of the journal "Interface: A journal for and about social movements" (www.interfacejournal.net). She is also a member the RC47: Social Classes and Social Movements of ISA - International Sociological Association and part of its editorial platform Open Movements / Open Democracy (https://www.opendemocracy.net/openmovements ). In 2020, Ana Margarida became a member of SEADS (Space Ecologies Art and Design), a transdisciplinary and cross-cultural collective of artists, scientists, engineers and activists that is actively engaged in deconstructing dominant paradigms about the future and develops alternative models through a combination of critical inquiry and hands-on experimentation.". Previous to joining CEI-IUL, Ana Margarida Esteves held teaching positions at Brown University, Universidade Federal Fluminense (Brazil), Tulane University (New Orleans, USA) and Sunway University (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). She is a Visiting Research Fellow at Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) and Scuola Normale Superiore (Florence, Italy).