Vandana Shiva // Earth Democracy : Connecting the Rights of Mother Earth and the Well Being of All

"Earth Democracy : Connecting the Rights of Mother Earth and the Well Being of All" by Vandana Shiva.

We are facing an existential crisis with multiple emergencies.

The multiple crises and pandemics we face today—the health pandemic; the hunger pandemic; the poverty pandemic; the climate emergency; the extinction emergency; the emergency of injustice,exclusion, and inequality; dispossession and the disposability of large numbers of humanity—are all rooted in a worldview based on the illusions of separation and superiority which deny interconnectedness and oneness.

One million species are threatened with extinction, with 200 going extinct every day. Humanity’s present path is clearly non-sustainable because it is destroying life on Earth. Humans, too, are a threatened species. Non-sustainability and the multiple emergencies that are destroying the very infrastructure of life threaten the survival of the human species. Earth Democracy is a worldview, paradigm, and practice based on the recognition that everything is interconnected. The Earth is living. The Earth has rights. And we as humans have duties to care for the Earth and regenerate her soil, seeds, biodiversity, water, and food systems. Our rights flow like a spring from our duties.

This video was recorded during the Mind & Life Institute's Summer Research Institute 2021 on June 9, 2021.