Retreat or re-connect: how effective can ecosophical communities be in transforming the mainstream?

Anderson, Jonathan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6052-5154 2017. Retreat or re-connect: how effective can ecosophical communities be in transforming the mainstream? Geografiska Annaler B: Human Geography 99 (2) , pp. 192-206. 10.1080/04353684.2017.1324653

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Abstract

Ecosophical communities are utopian projects that have the potential to empower socioecological transformation. However, due to their tactical withdrawal from the mainstream, they also face a tension at the heart of their transformative project; namely, how do they forge their (re-)connections to the broader population? This paper draws on research at the selfstyled ‘leading European eco-centre’ (CAT 2007a no page) – the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Machnylleth, UK, in order to gain critical insight into the tension. The paper explores how tactical withdrawal has been successful in generating a coherent and consolidated ecosophical community, but offers critical insight into how this withdrawal compounds the estrangement between this community and mainstream society. It also portrays how the pace and direction of change in both the ecosophical and mainstream community can serve to further isolate the former even when the latter makes strides towards sustainability.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Uncontrolled Keywords:	ecosophy, community, withdrawal, relations, environment
ISSN:	1468-0467
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	9 May 2017
Date of Acceptance:	21 April 2017
Last Modified:	01 Dec 2024 13:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/100438

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