PERMACULTURE AS A NEW POLITICAL CULTURE

Text topic: Political Culture

Text author: Јелена Ђурић

This article deals with the potential of a subculture which considers itself sustainable through orientation towards natural (re)production of life. Distinctiveness of this subculture is spreading across the planet, gathering its supporters in Serbia as well. It shows a developing awareness of various aspects of need for reconnection with nature and its laws in all the lifeforms. It is rooted in caring for life on Earth by following the principles of nature. By harmonizing relations within the environment connected to the principles of ecological economy, it links technology and science with ancient insights that are in accord with contemporary scientific views. The label “permaculture” stands to point out the idea of a permanent regenerating of culture and cultivating all aspects of life. It is directed towards a conception of niches in which the ecological way of living represents a pattern of restraint from the shortcomings of civilization which rapidly destroy the environment and dehumanize the world. The concept of permaculture surpasses the common urban/rural dichotomy although its resemblance to the utopian desire to escape the system of technological civilization makes it, from the point of view of that system, marginal by default. However, considering catastrophic weaknesses of the neo-liberal political culture, the concept still has a potential to create a new kind of political culture.