Below you will find the authors essay, a selection of comments to his text and his response after a month of very fruitful discussions.
Vivir Bien: Old Cosmovisions and New Paradigms.
David Barkin
Indigenous communities are constantly forced to accommodate the demands of global capitalism, but they are fighting back. Read
Nnimmo Bassey
The current system has hit a dead end, and we need alternative visions like Vivir Bien and Ubuntu rooted in resilience and community. Read
Adrian Beling
Radical social transformation cannot be achieved in one country alone. Transnational collaboration between movements is vital. Read
Ana Estefanía Carballo
The emergence of Vivir Bien has challenged the monolithic nature of development and revitalized the debate around it. Read
Eduardo Gudynas
Vivir Bien blends indigenous and non-indigenous ideas, with its several variants influenced by prevailing ecological conditions and political context. Read
Holly Hanson
The laudable focus on Andean belief systems draws our attention to traditional social structures that foster reciprocity and interdependence. Read
Aaron Karp
We should struggle over the meaning of “development,” not cede its definition to elites. Ultimately, social transformation will require a mass movement for a development that is rooted in the ethos of democracy. Read
Helena Norberg-Hodge
Undoing the psychological damage of globalization requires both community self-reliance and global solidarity. Read
Neera Singh
We have to radically alter the world that we encounter on a day-to-day basis to give alternative values and ways of being a chance to flourish. Read
Author’s Response
Pablo Solón addresses points raised by the contributors to this roundtable discussion.Read
Systemic Alternatives 