by Eleanor Finley
Pluto Press
2/20/2025, paperback
SKU: 9780745346908
How can we unlock society's potential to shift the course of the climate crisis? So many of us feel helpless in the face of corporate-fueled environmental destruction. However, Practicing Social Ecology shows that there is an amazing well of untapped power in our communities--we just need to know how to use it. Drawing from her experience of working in democratic ecology movements from the revolution in Rojava to Barcelona's municipalist movement, Finley shows how to develop assemblies, confederations, study groups, and permaculture projects. Looking to history, she maps out how social ecologists, such as Murray Bookchin, have led inspirational struggles around climate and energy, agriculture and biotechnology, globalization, and economic inequality. This guide is perfect for anyone curious about how to challenge unending capitalist growth through the democratic power of social ecology.
Reviews:
"At a time of ecological collapse and rising authoritarianism, when we desperately need new forms of social organization, this lively book provides a wonderfully accessible exposition of the foundational ideas of social ecology - and inspiring examples of its practice. A powerful call to action for all who believe we can, and must, create a more democratic and ecological society" -- Debbie Bookchin, journalist, author, daughter of Murray Bookchin
"Practicing Social Ecology comes at a perfect time for our collective rethinking of how society can, and must, be reorganized so that all life can flourish with autonomy, horizontality, dignity and deep care. The theories and examples in this book guide us in our rethinking and remaking the world, not as a prescription, and still with translatable and grounded examples" -- Marina Sitrin, Professor of Sociology, Binghamton University
About the Author:
Eleanor Finley is a researcher at the University of Massachusetts and an associate editor at ROAR magazine. She has published numerous articles on social ecology and related themes, such as Kurdish democratic confederalism, energy and environmental justice, and degrowth, and conducted dozens of workshops, talks, and lectures to diverse audiences in North America and Europe.