Restore the Charm of Nature: Reflections on the Ecological Movement

Author: Serge Moscovici
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The ecological movement is becoming a global culture. However, few have reflected on the origins of the ecological movement, even from a philosophical perspective. As far as I know, Serge Moscovici is one of the few scholars in France who have deeply explored this issue. In 1968, On the Human History of Nature, published as part of a series edited by Fernand Braudel, caused shock in the scientific and intellectual circles of the time. They were curious, even somewhat bewildered, to see nature re-entering political life and even becoming an object of social science research. The publication of A Sociological Counter-Nature in 1972 moved us deeply. Now, Moscovici has revised most of the articles in the book, partly to outline the development of his thought and partly to reflect the experiences and concerns of the younger generation he has encountered. When the articles were first published, the future of the Green Party movement was uncertain. Later, although uncertainty still exists, the Green Party has become a reality, and everything has changed fundamentally. The way of discussing this movement in these two periods is entirely different. In other words, this is a new book, and we cannot maintain continuity with the past—the historical period when these ideas matured—we only add some notes in different places. Today, the political ecological movement has truly come into being, and readers can understand its main ideas and development through the arguments in the book. We hope that this book will help more people develop ecological and political awareness, because we firmly believe that only when the ecological movement becomes a genuine cultural phenomenon can it establish its position and carry out a revolution in science and consciousness. We also hope to reiterate through this book that the future of the ecological movement depends on whether it can clearly oppose racism in reality. Today, this also determines the future of humanity in nature.