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Ayer, Joshua

University of British Columbia

By sealing off economics from ecology as distinct disciplines, modern economics gained a subject of study that was wholly liberated from the physical restraints of the planet. However, limits, imposed by the environment, have seemingly returned and maintaining a strict division between economics and ecology is no longer advantageous. Where modern economics saw its potential as boundless and the environment as something from which societies could draw endlessly, ecology now threatens to limit how fast and how much societies can grow. Ecological economics is the (inter-) disciplinary attempt to reconcile the modern hopes of a boundless economy with an ecology that appears increasingly volatile to human interventions. Growth (how much and how fast) is one of the key focal points in ecological economics. In this thesis I argue that modern economic growth is propelled (energized) by phenomena that arise ontologically, that is, from a modern mode of being itself. I propose that Modern being is characterized by an experience of ontological anxiety that culminates in nihilistic expansion, and that this expansion is confronting physical limitations. I begin with a brief overview of the ecological economics literature that problematizes growth as a structural-cultural-political phenomenon and argue that where philosophical approaches have been successful in the ecological economics literature, an ontological approach like the one I propose is unique. The next chapter (chapter I) theorizes ontological anxiety where chapter II analyzes a specifically modern articulation of anxiety. Finally, chapter III brings the topics of modernity and anxiety together in an analysis of contemporary eco-politics (which philosopher Bruno Latour refers to as the new climate regime). I conclude with a discussion of trust and social capital, indicating that both have strong potential for future research and constructive policy solutions.

Text

2022-06-30

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/81865

Interdisciplinary Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/