"The kind of development in which I believe and which I seek, implies an integral ecological humanism. None of the present systems provides for this, nor has the capacity to correct itself (in order to provide it) without losing the essence of its identity as a result. And since I do not believe that any of the existing systems will work itself out of business, I have ceased to believe in the value of corrective measures. It is no longer a question of correcting what already exists. That opportunity was lost long ago. It is no longer a question of adding new variables to old mechanistic models. It is a question of remaking many things from scratch and of conceiving radically different possibilities. It is a question of understanding that, if it is the role of humans to establish values, then it is the role of· nature to establish many of the rules. It is a matter of passing from the pure exploitation of nature and of the poorer people of the world, to a creative and organic integration and interdependence. It is a matter of bringing the 'invisible' sectors into the forefront of life and of letting them, finally, have their say and 'do their thing'. It is a matter of a drastic redistribution of power through the organization of horizontal communal integration. It is a matter of passing from destructive giantism to creative smallness.

Such an eutopic society, which I conceive as oriented by apolitical philosophy which I would identify (for the sake of giving it aname) as 'humanist eco-anarchism', consolidates, in my opinion, many of the possibilities for an adequate solution of the problem."

- Manfred Max-Neef, 1982/92, From the Outside Looking In.

#anarchism #sustainment #ecology #humanScaleDevelopment