From the Margins to the Future. Cultures that can Survive Eco-Apocalypse

The common imaginary of what collapse looks like is bleak. Rather than ignoring what feel like impossible circumstances, we need a greater deal of realism, imagination, and historical awareness. The hegemonic global culture is based on colonialism, domination, and extraction. It cannot be saved, and it is not worth saving. But so many human cultures that have been pushed to the margins, existing on the violent frontiers of states or repressed within the territory occupied by states, organize on a radically different basis. Across continents and centuries, these cultures demonstrate the ability to exist as part of an ecosystem. They retain or innovate knowledge for ecocentric coexistence on the basis of mutual aid; they present models of resilience; they hone methods for collective survival; they are our best hope for the future.