Despite widespread public concern and scientific consensus about the ecological crisis, current efforts to curb global emissions are falling short. National and international efforts are permeated...Show moreDespite widespread public concern and scientific consensus about the ecological crisis, current efforts to curb global emissions are falling short. National and international efforts are permeated by a lack of ambition and urgency. Psychosocial scholars have argued that this reflects a state of ecoparalysis, a result of ecoanxiety and fear of ecological destruction. However, this thesis argues that the ecological crisis and our responses to it cannot be seen in isolation from the hegemony of capitalism. Capitalism’s need for unlimited growth drives the ecological crisis. Under the current stage of capitalism, neoliberal rationality permeates our every interaction, neoliberal logics govern every sphere of life, and becomes common-sense. This thesis explores how this influences our responses to the ecological crisis. It argues that the hegemony of capitalism distorts reality in such a way that capitalism becomes what is real, and as a consequence we cannot conceive of ourselves or of the world outside of capitalism. This fosters an inability to see alternatives, thus, preventing us from collectively and meaningfully responding to the ecological crisis.Show less
Authors of books on minimalism often frame a simple lifestyle as a countercultural mode of resistence to a society made unbearable by consummerism. Decluttering and deciding to severely limit one's...Show moreAuthors of books on minimalism often frame a simple lifestyle as a countercultural mode of resistence to a society made unbearable by consummerism. Decluttering and deciding to severely limit one's purchases are seen as reliable ways to achieve happiness and to live more sustainably. What this thesis argues is that, far from proposing alternatives to a late-capitalist system that is alienating and environmentally disastrous, narratives of lifesyle minimalism fully embrace a neoliberal ethos of personal responsibility, individualization and faith in the free market. These recurring themes, together with a thoroughly depolicized view of social engagement, emerge over and over again in my analysis of two central topics in minimalist how-to literature: the pursuit of happiness and the attempt to reduce one's environmental footprint.Show less
