This chapter traces the figure of the witch in key theoretical texts that link capitalism, patriarchy, and environmental degradation. In Carolyn Merchant’s The Death of Nature, the witch poses a sexual threat to the emerging capitalist social order, and her image goes on to inform scientific method and the ontological de-animation of nature. In Silvia Federici’s Caliban and the Witch, persecution of the witch shores up the process of primitive accumulation in Europe and the Americas (whereby elites accrue capital, land, and natural resources), as well as the obfuscation of feminized labor. While these works offer vital insights for feminist ecosocialist theory and practice, the essay argues for deeper reflection on the legacy of the “death” of nature. Drawing on the work of Isabelle Stengers and Marisol de la Cadena, the chapter considers the divergent natures at play in recent land conflicts in Peru, where “modern” norms of knowledge strain to accommodate animate earth-beings and rivers who are relatives. Attention to these divergent natures might complicate what appear to be shared agendas in environmental justice movements, but such complexity does not preclude the possibility of political alliance and solidarity.

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Weird Sisters and Other Relatives: Witch Hunts, the Commons, and Uncommon Natures in Ecological Feminism

  • Jordan Daniels

摘要

This chapter traces the figure of the witch in key theoretical texts that link capitalism, patriarchy, and environmental degradation. In Carolyn Merchant’s The Death of Nature, the witch poses a sexual threat to the emerging capitalist social order, and her image goes on to inform scientific method and the ontological de-animation of nature. In Silvia Federici’s Caliban and the Witch, persecution of the witch shores up the process of primitive accumulation in Europe and the Americas (whereby elites accrue capital, land, and natural resources), as well as the obfuscation of feminized labor. While these works offer vital insights for feminist ecosocialist theory and practice, the essay argues for deeper reflection on the legacy of the “death” of nature. Drawing on the work of Isabelle Stengers and Marisol de la Cadena, the chapter considers the divergent natures at play in recent land conflicts in Peru, where “modern” norms of knowledge strain to accommodate animate earth-beings and rivers who are relatives. Attention to these divergent natures might complicate what appear to be shared agendas in environmental justice movements, but such complexity does not preclude the possibility of political alliance and solidarity.