Contribution short abstract:

This paper explores possible grounds of solidarity beyond “humanity” and the “nation” in times of climate change and right-wing populism by building on critiques of the Anthropocene concept as well as on studies of commoning that foreground power dynamics and inequalities in their analyses.

Contribution long abstract:

Notions of humanity have played a central role in public discussions of climate change. The widely debated concept of the Anthropocene has emphasized the destructive impact humanity had on the earth, culminating at times in apocalyptic visions of a self-made erasure of human life from the planet. When the unequal impact of climate change in the global South is discussed, payments from the global North to counter its effects are framed as a humane gesture, a form of charity towards the poor who are not able to shoulder this burden on their own – rather than as reparation payment. In turn, the denial of climate change in particular from the populist political Right frequently goes hand in hand with a denial of a common humanity - for example when Donald Trump called illegalized immigrants “animals”. Affected are, among others, those who flee their home countries because of the consequences of climate change.

This paper suggests that both of these political articulations of humanity obfuscate the power relations and inequalities that are at the root of the politics of climate change. It builds on critiques of the Anthropocene concept that have problematized its undifferentiated notion of humanity as well as on studies of commoning initiatives that seek to embrace difference to examine possible grounds of solidarity beyond “humanity” and the “nation” in times of climate change and right-wing populism. Rather than leading to charity or exclusion, an analysis of power poses the question: What do we owe each other?