Social Ecology: Understanding Buen vivir
In a world where we emphasize economic growth as development or progress, a strong narrative and movement is being pushed to save the planet from Global warming and climate change. There are several ways in which people articulate ecological justice. Some argue that ecological injustice exists because of human-centric thinking therefore we need to think from a non-human perspective as well. There are others who argue how patriarchy and natural destruction are interlinked and therefore need to be addressed together. There is another view which argues that offers us an understanding that people and nature are interdependent.
Buen vivir is a Latin word which can be translated as Good living in English. Good living can be defined as living in harmony with oneself, with the society and with nature. In Indian context, Good life could mean bringing back the harmony between humans and mother Earth. In other words, Good life becomes the coexistence of the community and nature. This proposition of Buen vivir does not glorify the village life nor does it celebrate the past. Bringing back the harmony only refers to the relation between humans and the Earth and not the harmony within humans which did not exist especially in India.
According to this, basic unit of well being is not measured at an individual level like we do for Economic well being index which puts a dollar on well being using various indicators. It measures the well being of an individual within a community in relation to the cultural-natural environment. Here, this is taking the well being of an individual, community and also the well being of nature, a perfect blend between ecological and social justice. Likewise, Capitalism promotes individual rights like right to own, right to sell etc. But we see a shift from individual rights to community rights in this alternative paradigm of buen vivir.
According to Eduardo Gudynas, executive Secretary of the Latin American Centere for Social Ecology, Buen vivir calls for new ethics which endorses quality of life, democratization of the state(power) and a concern for biocentric ideals. It draws knowledge from the indigenous cultures making it culturally sensitive. It also incorporates the ideals of gender justice for a egalitarian society.
Buen vivir can be a future for us which describes social, economical, cultural and ecological issues working together to achieve harmony and in a hierarchical way as they exist now.
