While it might seem counterproductive, the extension of ‘rights’ to non-humans, including landscape elements, in an effort to bring them into the circle of human ethico-legal protection, will also not be in the spirit of the sumbios (living together) and the Symbiocene. This is because ‘rights’ have their origin in exploitative and manipulative modes of human decision-making arising from the need for secular wealth and property to be protected from the privilege and power of the Church and the Crown (MacIntyre 1984, Albrecht 1994).

The possession of rights depends on the idea of the autonomous individual (personhood) as the bearer of rights in a contestable social context. Moreover, a hierarchy of rights emerges where, for example, males and their power structures preference masculinist rights over all others (see Salleh 1984).

Rights are wrongs and we do not need them in a non-hierarchical world of permeable and porous intersections of interest. Sumbioethics is the application of Symbiocene principles to the pursuit of a good life. Within ethics and law there will need to be a new concept for ‘rights’, one that takes into account symbiotic interconnectedness within the Symbiocene and the human sumbios.

Perhaps ‘ghehds’? A replacement term for ‘rights’ where instead of a hierarchy of competing rights, assuming autonomous individuals or entities in a contested domain, ‘ghehds,’ are the entitlements of passage, movement and flow within organically and symbiotically unified wholes. The good of the whole is guaranteed by the protection of the ‘ghehds’ that symbiotically connect and hold things together. Rights assume division, ghehds assume unity.

Ghehds may also have many areas of overlap with traditional indigenous knowledges, however, given that many of the discoveries in symbiotic science involve that which was formerly unknown and invisible, no past culture has been able to incorporate many aspects of micro-symbiosis into past lore. Now, emergent hybrid knowledges enable such incorporation as the basis for new lore and law.

I see ghehds as similar in function to the song-lines and ‘yarning’ of Australian Aboriginal people, they help educate people to live successfully on land or ‘how to do the right thing’ by it. Ghehds also provide guidance on how human communities ought to live within a new communitarian ethos as outlined within the concept of the Symbiocene. We can now move seamlessly from regenerating those relationships that have been symbioviable in the past to symbioemergent novelty in the future.

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[‘Ghehd’ (to unite) is an old root word in Indo-European languages and has meanings linked to Old English and Germanic words such as ‘together’, ‘to gather’ and ‘good’.]

For more, see: https://glennaalbrecht.wordpress.com/2021/03/19/the-extinction-of-rights-and-the-extantion-of-ghehds-2/

Image of Glenn Albrecht by Doug Gimesy.

Toponesia is the process of forgetfulness of precious places, which afflicts us as we leave the world of our childhood and enter adult life (Heneghan 2013).

Topowokia is the process of remembering precious places as our memories are reminded by photographs, smells, objects and a myriad things that return a loved place to the the forefront of memory. The word, ‘woke’ implies an awakening of consiousness and to be aware of important social issues.

Awakening almost lost memories of place (the topos) is what topowokia attempts to describe. It may even cover the emotional experience of remembering places that you have never been to, but are part of your family history as revealed by old photo albums, the accents of relatives, old newspapers etc.

I am in that pram, Perth C1953.

The generations produced by the Boomers, and now, their own children (Gens X, Y and Z), are labelled as vague, directionless tribes in the Anthropocene, but now is their time in history to unite and fight for a cause that is without peer … themselves and their own future. In Australia, in late 2018, the school children (Gen Z) are now leading the opposition to ecocide and climacide.

The artistic tribes have already moved in this direction and I am buoyed the emergence of Symbiocene art in the last few years. The idea of the Symbiocene, and the need for Generation Symbiocene (collectively to be known as Gen S) to become tribal champions for positive Earth emotions, are their guideposts. Symbiocene principles form a coherent and unifying manifesto. The Symbiocene and its positive Earth emotions give generously of directionality in life. They both say go in the direction of increasing symbiotic unity and diversity. They both give expression to good Earth emotions that must fight climate warming and the extinction of species.

The application of Symbiocene principles will also ensure that a sumbioregional focus returns to human industry and agriculture. They will respect the nuances of place in situ, the world over. In essence, I am hopeful that a new form of human community can arise out of the current identity crisis of all the post-Boomer Gens and other people already emplaced at small scale all over the world. They will use their own inner distress, the scientific critique of homogeneous gigantism and its toxic legacy, and climate chaos, plus sumbiophilia and tribalism, to create the Symbiocene. In addition, the Symbiocene just might be the de-colonising agent needed to address the de-contextualising and homogenisation of the Anthropocene.

The inertia of others will be unblocked by positive Earth emotions based on the understanding of the symbiotic revolution in science and the overwhelming appeal to be a part of a mentally and physically strong Generation Symbiocene.

See: Earth Emotions: http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140104119890

As the economy undergoes de-growth … the sumbonomy undergoes pro-growth.

My work is pro-growth. However, it is not pro-parasitic or terraphthoric (earth destroying) growth which is tierracide (Earth murder). It is the negation of the above and its re-placement with a form of growth that is consistent with symbiosis, a foundation of life on Earth as we know it. Terranascient (earth nurturing) growth is good and we need as much of it as we can create.

We can call this new form of economy* the ‘sumbonomy’ from sumbios (living together) and nomia, (to manage). The ‘economy’ of the Anthropocene is re-placed by the sumbonomy** of the Symbiocene.

The sumbonomy is a form of economy that enables humans to live symbiotically along with the rest of life and living processes in the one home known as the Earth. To generate this type of growth we will need new, creative forms of design and technology based on symbiomimicry. The sumbonomy will be the result of sumbiocentric thinking and will require the most intense period of genuine growth since the industrial revolution and the rise of the Anthropocene.

As the old indicator of ‘growth’, GNP, rapidly goes down, new indicators, genuine sumbiosic indicators of gross sumbioregional product (GSP) start going up. Cancerous growth is replaced by normal growth, that is, growth that assists maturity and reproduction. The sumbonomy will be both restorative of life, and innovative of new forms of symbiotic activity. It will have a good purpose and a clear direction (directionality).

The Symbiocene entails a real revolution, because the challenge for the current society is to replace every single toxic and polluting Anthropocene essential artefact with an equivalent (if possible) benign Symbiocene ‘sumbiofact’.

There are now so many humans on the planet that the Earth cannot tolerate anything less than the complete adoption of Symbiocene principles. Those who want innovation to drive a new way of life that is productive within the associations of life, now have a new narrative to give an outlet for their creativity. There is no hopium here, it is radical anticipation for a future worth living in.

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* The term, ‘economy’, is based on ‘oikos’ or the Greek word for home. The general meaning relates to the management of the household. The word, ‘ecology’ shares the same root. I have found it problematic to connect the ‘oikos’ to the meme of the Symbiocene, so now I try to avoid the use of both economy and ecology in my most recent work.

** I have used ‘sumboikos’ as my term for the new symbiosis-based economy in the past. Nobody liked it, not even me. This new term, the sumbonomy (sum-bon-o-mee), in addition to the sumbios (living together), has echoes of the summum bonum, a Latin expression for the highest or ultimate good. The French, ‘bon’, also means good. Therefore, the sumbonomy is the highest form of living humans can undertake for a good life. The sumbonomy is the material foundation for humans living in Nature and we can now discuss the new conceptual domain of sumbonomics. It has a transdisciplinary partner in Sumbiology or the study of humans living together with each other and other forms of life.

Key Foundational Symbiocene Principles (SP) are:

SP 1 Regeneration: complete regeneration or biodegradability of all symbiotic inputs and outputs;

SP 2 Safety: socially just forms of safe and renewable bioenergy;

SP 3 Integration: complete integration of human systems with biogeochemical systems at all scales;

SP 4 Renewal: use of the renewable resources of place and bioregion;

SP 5 Bioproduction: organic materials from life to replace extraction of raw materials;

SP 6 Biotechnology: the foundation of all forms of production, consumption and enterprise;

SP 7 Respect: all species, great and small, having their biocommunal properties respected;

SP 8 Harmony: order is maintained and conflict is recognized as a sub-set of grand-scale cooperation;

SP 9 Protection: existing symbiotic bonds between and within species must be maintained, and,

SP10 Creativity: active creation of new symbiotic human-non-human relationships.