"If we can prevent the genocide of billions of human beings, I would be happy"

 

Jorge Riechmann and Gorka Castillo
 

Philosopher, poet, ecologist, translator and one of the most respected voices in ecosocialism, Jorge Riechmann (Madrid, 1962), has just published his latest book, Bailar encadenados. Pequeña filosofía de la libertad (Ed. Icaria), an essay in which he once again sticks his finger in the eye of power with a lucid analysis of the value most scorched by impatient neoliberalism. "Freedom does not include the right to harm", he states. Overwhelmed by the ecosocial crisis in which humanity is involved, Riechmann examines the facets that make up the false reality created by digital technologies, paying special attention to the enormous influence they exert on the acceleration capitalism is undergoing in a context of extreme limitations. As a patriot of biodiversity, he concludes with a bittersweet certainty: "We will not be able toavoid ecological-social collapse if we continue to protect this economic system". The author of more than a hundred books in which he reconciles his philosophical concerns and his pleasure in poetry, Riechmann insists that what is at stake today is, quite simply, the survival of the human species. That is why his commitment to environmentalism is indestructible. He is one of 15 activists from the Rebelión Científica collective who were arrested in April last year for staging a protest action in Congress and now face possible jail sentences. "When institutions have a sense of fragility, they tend to perceive any kind of social protest as problematic," he says.

For a full read of this essay, click here or on the picture to download the pdf file.