El problema ecológico como cosa pública: El sentido eminentemente político de la cuestión

Abstract

El problema ecológico no es un fenómeno natural que afecta a la vida humana, sino que representa una crisis eminentemente humana que incide en la naturaleza y por eso se trata de una cuestión política que concierne a toda la sociedad en cuanto tal. Se especifica el sentido general de lo que se entiende por “política” y se argumenta que en la actualidad se vive y practica una forma inauténtica de “política”, cuando no una franca distorsión de su sentido original.

The ecological problem is not a natural phenomenon that merely affects human life; rather, it represents an eminently human crisis that impacts nature. For this reason, it is a political issue concerning society as a whole. The general meaning of “politics” is clarified, and it is argued that today we experience and practice an inauthentic form of “politics,” if not an outright distortion of its original sense. This situation results in a growing depoliticization or privatization of the public sphere. Such a phenomenon is linked to the technoscientific mythology that seeks absolute control over nature, along with a rationalized notion of “development” understood as an ideal progression toward an always better world. A responsible politics, however, can only emerge from the recognition that nature is a common good that must be protected.