Jones, O (2025) 'Toxic dwelling? Speculations on why transformations away from the ecocidal impacts of modern globalised consumer cultures of capitalism are proving so hard to make.' Hyphen Journal, 3 (2).
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Abstract
Why does modern (‘developed’) society not only fail to strategically respond to the now glaringly obvious and existential global environmental crisis we face, but instead continue to rush headlong along trajectories of ecological destruction? This paper proposes that a key reason for this dire situation is that globalised capitalist consumer culture (GCCC) creates forms of individual and collective becoming which are termed toxic dwelling. Humans, as other related non-human animals, are evolved to dwell in lifeworlds which are rich in material, emotional, affective and (in human terms), narrativised experiences. Toxic dwelling is such becoming-in-the-world through practices of narrativised consumption created by GCCC. This modern life is, in many ways, experientially rich, absorbing, exciting and fulfilling to many people, but, at the same time, it is also pathological, and destructive of individual wellbeing and the ecological webs of life. The scale and impact of GCCC, in how it is produced, sold, consumed and disposed of, is driving the ecocide of the ‘three ecologies’ as outlined by Félix Guattari (1989) (the physical, cultural, and psychic realms of becoming). There are many forms of opposition to the forces that are causing ecocide across the earth, but at present, due the power and momentum of GCCC, and related forces, they are fighting a losing battle.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | capitalism, consumerism, dwelling, ecocide, three ecologies, toxic dwelling |
| Divisions: | School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Sep 2024 15:35 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jul 2025 17:26 |
| ISSN: | 2633-4836 |
| URN: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/16482 |
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