Political Ideologies and the Anthropocene Crisis by David West

Political Ideologies and the Anthropocene Crisis by David West

Through a critical discussion of political ideologies, Political Ideologies and the Anthropocene Crisis seeks to extricate the values of contending traditions – freedom, equality, justice, community, tradition, welfare, family, happiness, sustainability, peace, regeneration of nature etc. – from assumptions of inevitable progress. The Anthropocene epoch is responsible for an impending crisis encompassing global warming, mass species extinctions, environmental degradation and, as a likely consequence, declining quality of life, social disruption and even societal collapse. Significantly responsible for liberal democracies' failure to act decisively in the face of these existential threats are the political ideologies that have dominated Western modernity: liberalism/neoliberalism, Marxism, socialism/social democracy and, paradoxically, even conservatism. These ideologies must be freed from their faith in guaranteed progress and limitless economic expansion. At the same time, whilst green ideology clearly addresses the ecological crisis, its broad agenda risks alienating adherents of rival ideologies. Contention between the diverse values associated with these ideologies is indispensable to any liberal democratic response to the crisis, provided it is grounded in a shared, scientifically informed commitment to the preservation and restoration of nature. Political Ideologies and the Anthropocene Crisis will be of great interest to students and scholars of political science and environmental studies, as well as activists, policymakers, and professionals interested in the Anthropocene/environmental crisis and its ideological context.

David West was recently Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canberra. Previously, he was at the Australian National University for over 20 years, including as Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Department, where he lectured and researched on political philosophy and social movements. He has also taught at the Universities of Liverpool and Bradford. He received a BA and MA in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD from the University of Bradford, UK.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781041173199
ISBN 10	1041173199
Title	Political Ideologies and the Anthropocene Crisis
Author	David West
Series	Transforming Environmental Politics And Policy
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Routledge
Year published	2026-07-31
Number of pages	200
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.