Blog #10

What is Social Ecology (From the Readings)? What is your view/opinion of Social Ecology? 

What forms of hierarchy are in our world today and where do you think they come form? Are there and better alternatives?

                Social ecology has a democratic philosophy, and suggests the roots of ecological and social problems can be directed to modes of social organization hierarchies. The readings were all very interesting to me because it taught me a lot and I was able to grasp a different perspective on social ecology. I agree with a lot of things in social ecology, such as the roots of current ecological and social problems can be linked to hierarchical modes. The readings about third world poverty also opened my eyes to the different ways social ecology is around us and how it affects the world.

                There are hierarchies everywhere today, big and small. One example is in the Bookchin reading, and it states how Darwinism created the idea of “survival of the fittest.” There are hierarchies in jobs, school, home, sports, and many other places if you really think about it. Through social ecology and the readings, it is clear that the point they are trying to convey is that modes of hierarchies can be destructive. However, there are always better alternatives that can be worked out. Bookchin describes in one part of his paper that an ant and a lion both serve important roles in the world. Even though an ant is tiny and a lion is large, it doesn’t mean that one is greater than the other. Both serve their society and community. Social ecology is an important concept to know because it can describe a lot about ourselves and the way we live our lives.