The Dictionary of Ethical Politics sets out to be a lexicon of new political thought centered on the relationship between ethics and politics. Written through the collaboration of leading writers, academics, journalists and activists, the dictionary is meant as a popular but serious examination of central political concepts in the light of current environmental, social and geopolitical realities.
The dictionary will be developed in the Wikipedia model using contributors who have been specifically invited to participate. The identification and definition of the dictionary entries will take place throughout 2009, with a live website and a print version to be delivered by the end of the year.
Who We AreThe Dictionary of Ethical Politics was created through the partnership of Resurgence and openDemocracy.
These progressive publications, dedicated to the evolution of politics, ecology, and social justice, have come together with the financial support of the Tedworth Trust to create, edit and publish this multimedia volume. To learn more about these groups and our project staff please visit our "About Us" page.
Project PhilosophyRadical progressive politics have historical and cultural roots that have underplayed both the importance of the environment and the role of personal transformation in social action.
Liberal individualism, in JS Mill, for example, sees the rational organization of society around utility as the means to a better world.
Other belief systems contend that limits to material conditions are socially-made and not the result of finite ecological systems or a balance of ecological forces. This is usually accompanied by a companion belief in progress, or human ingenuity (i.e. technology) as the solution to all our problems.
Progress typically places the focus on the potential of humanity to transform nature, instead of working with nature in an interconnected and interdependent system. Industrial progress, often synonymous with civilization, has been applauded while its negative and often toxic externalities like pollution, overpopulation, and economic disparity are either hidden or subsidized, often both.
Now we are seeing that we live under real and tangible environmental constraints, that much of the progress that progressive politics took for granted was made at the expense of the environment in the form of unsustainable energy and resource use. This requires the radical progressive tradition to re-assess many of its views.
At the forefront of this re-think of progressive politics is the renewed debate over the role of personal transformation and spirituality as a vehicle for creating social and political change. Progressive writers, environmentalists, and activists from across the spectrum are calling for a spiritual solution to our global crises.
If we are to have a new politics in Hexham and the UK we will need an appropriate language.
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