"It is not polemical, it is empirical" - Jason W. Moore on the "Sustainability of the Rich"

Jason W. Moore opened his talk with probing questions: "Why does new sustainability seem to worsen the situation? And what progress is being made in the sustainability transition?" His critical analysis delved into how planetary elites exploit biospheric crises to secure their wealth and power while imposing austerity measures on the masses. "This is not polemical, this is empirical," he emphasized.

Addressing the dichotomy of "doomism" and "fixism," Moore argued that there is a reluctance to acknowledge the imperial nature of climate change, which hinges on political dominance. He traced the term sustainability back to the late 1960s and early 1970s by the countries of the Global North, illustrating how it came into political play.

Moore underscored the incompatibility of capitalism—rooted in competition and capital—with genuine sustainable policies. To truly effectuate sustainability, he proposed dismantling the binary of maximalism and minimalism, targeting the industrial complex through "a beneficial application of science that opposes markets and green austerity".

Currently a Global Environmental History professor at Binghamton University, USA, Moore coordinates the World-Ecology Research Collective. His influential contributions, such as the concepts of "Capitalocene" and "Cheap Nature", have significantly impacted socio-ecological discourse. His seminal works have earned awards, including the Alice Hamilton Prize and the Distinguished Scholarship Award from the American Society for Environmental History, along with the Byres and Bernstein Prize in Agrarian Change.

What does the lecture series "Beyond Sustainability: Humanities and Social Sciences Perspectives on the Ecological Crisis" cover in the winter term 2025/26?

The lecture series "Beyond Sustainability: Humanities and Social Sciences Perspectives on the Ecological Crisis" intends to tackle pressing issues like climate change and extractivism. As the crisis escalates, humanities and social sciences are tasked with developing conceptual, analytical, and methodological strategies to comprehend and address these challenges. Sustainability, once central to environmental discourse, is critiqued for aligning with technocratic and neoliberal goals, lacking attention to structural and cultural environmental degradation.

Hence, the series seeks not merely critique but innovative approaches to engage with human-environment relationships from diverse perspectives like critical sustainability studies, decolonial ecologies, environmental justice, and posthumanist theory.

Organized by Dr. Amelie Kutter and PD Dr. Estela Schindel of the Viadrina Institute for European Studies, the series is accessible to viadrina students but also to students and researchers from the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA).

Katrin Hartmann