The Ecological Imperative

Abstract

Other civilizations created Altamira, Stonehenge, and Borobudur; ours has produced the shopping mall, the missile silo, and the cooling tank. In the modern world, which has fostered individualism and detached autonomy as fundamental forms of self-definition, no life is sacred because we do not recognize it as such. Modern individuals do not see the Earth as a source of spiritual renewal, but as a stockpile of raw materials to be exploited and consumed. Native Americans say that for whites, every blade of grass and spring of water has a price tag on it. We are bred from birth to be consumers.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Suzi Gablik

SUZI GABLIK is an artist, writer, and teacher. Her most recent book. The Reenchantment of Art, is a meditation on the politics of art and culture.