buen-vivir

This chapter engages in a critical dialogue about the need to fundamentally rethink and 'unthink' the dominant world-system and its epistemological foundations to enable emancipatory social transformation. It highlights the limitations of traditional left/progressive frameworks and emphasizes the importance of incorporating subaltern and indigenous knowledges, questioning assumptions about scale, modality, and the nature of resistance. The authors advocate for epistemological humility and openness to diverse forms of struggle as essential to envisioning and enacting alternatives to neoliberal capitalism that prioritize justice and ecological sustainability.

This chapter explores the concept of Buen Vivir, an Indigenous paradigm emphasizing spiritual ecology and cyclical time, as a potential framework to rethink politics and social movements in the face of ecological crisis. It critiques modernist and Eurocentric ideologies for their linear, growth-focused views that separate human and ecological exploitation, arguing that Buen Vivir offers an ethos that could transform contemporary movements by integrating spiritual and ethico-political relations with nature. The chapter also warns against homogenizing Indigenous perspectives or uncritical appropriation, highlighting the need for reflexivity and adaptation to global scale challenges.

This chapter explores how indigenous knowledge and movements contribute to envisioning alternatives to global capitalism, emphasizing biocentric perspectives such as buen vivir and rights for Mother Earth. It highlights the emergence of a global indigenous identity through transnational engagement, the critique of anthropocentrism and modernity, and the role of ideas and organizational practices in fostering global antisystemic movements aimed at transforming the world-system. The chapter underscores the importance of decolonizing consciousness and integrating indigenous spiritualities and values into broader social justice and environmental struggles.