by Thilo Spahl
The ecomodernist vision shows us a human-made and thus also artificial world that enables global prosperity. It shows us a nature that people no longer use for exploitation, but for pleasure. This is an idea that almost everyone should be excited about. But those who feel that ecology and conservation are connected will be doubtful and struggle to move away from the false idea that growth and nature preservation are irreconcilable. The path to these goals may be dominated by disagreement. The authors of the manifesto call for a role for the economy, citizens, and also an active state.
There are still many open questions. But in any case, it is worthwhile to promote the debate begun here more widely, so that it can animate the current green movement, which has been dominated by pessimism, technology skepticism, and hostility to growth.
The European is an online opinion and debate magazine. Click here for the original article in German. Thanks to Marian Swain for translation help.