Introduction to Ecological Liberalism

Preface
Neoliberalism may be on its deathbed.  The ideology began in the late 1930's, bloomed in the 1970's and 1980's, and essentially has ruled the economics, finance, & politics of the developed world ever since.  COVID-19 (SARS-2) has dealt it a blow from which (hopefully) it may never recover.

What will replace it?  Here's some insight---
https://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/coronavirus-spells-the-end-of-the-neoliberal-era-whats-next/
https://www.ehn.org/pandemic-population-covid-19-2645518249.html
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For years I wrote (on another blog) about the disastrous effects of Neoliberalism.  Here's the final essay---
http://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2020/05/neoliberalism-has-ruled-for-decades-is.html
With this new blog, it's my intention to provide resources enabling open-minded people to educate and inspire themselves (& hopefully, others) on a path forward.

We'll explore subjects which are both social and scientific.  Because politics has become so polarized in this Land, we'll stay away from that topic to a large degree.  It won't be possible to avoid it entirely.

We'll take it as a given that readers here have a basic Main Street knowledge of natural science, common economics, world affairs, and ethics.  Should anyone encounter a term that's unfamiliar (and not defined here), we'll leave it up to them to do a Search for it.  That approach is necessary because of time and energy constraints on me.  😊

Here's a very brief introduction to Ecological Liberalism---

1.  Liberalism is a moral/ethical philosophy and ideology based on the tenets of liberty, consent of the governed, equality before the Law, and tolerance.  Different forms of the belief sometimes depart from one or more of those tenets.  Despite that, the general definition is valid.

2.  Ecology is the branch of Biology which studies the relationships of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.  It's essentially the study of ecosystems (to be defined/discussed in a later post).  There are many sub-branches of Ecology, e.g., wetlands ecology, grasslands ecology, desert ecology, Human Ecology, etc.

Significant parts of Ecological Liberalism have been in existence for decades.  To my knowledge, though, those parts never have coalesced into a unified, single ideology.  [If I'm in error, someone please correct me.]  One of the major parts is Ecological Economics, which has been around for over thirty years.  That will be discussed in depth later.  A group similar to Ecological Economists refers to itself as Environment and Resource Economists.  The noted ecologist, Paul R. Ehrlich, believes the two groups are identical in their principles.  Here's a "fair use" quote from his paper, Key issues for attention from ecological economists:
"Environment and resource economists (hereafter 'ecological economists', which I consider to be an identical group) are the scholars examining the most critical problems that will dominate economics in the twenty-first century.". [Emphasis added.]  From:  https://www.jstor.org/stable/44378980?read-now=1&seq=1

The main components and principles of Ecological Liberalism are:  ecology, economics (including finance), ethics and morality (including spirituality, but not "religion"), and social equity.  This is the best path forward.

In addition to the terms above, future posts here necessarily will explore the following topics:  the biosphere, carrying capacity, biodiversity, unlimited growth, over-consumption, industrial agriculture, corporate globalization, industrial ecology, epidemiological environment, sustainable living, sustainable development, climate disruption, the methane bomb, nuclear problems, food and water problems, ecosystem services, technology, the assault on science, local v. global, ecocentric ideology, the population bomb, the holistic approach, world view, and more.

Because of the current pandemic, the door to serious consideration of alternative views regarding the organization of humanity is wide open.  The massive failure of many institutions (public and private) has become glaringly evident.  A new approach is needed if our species is to survive (& thrive) the many severe problems we now face.  We don't need to throw out the baby with the bath water, but a different path is essential.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well