Ecofeminism by Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva – Review by Lenja Gloger

Ecofeminism by Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva. Foreword by Ariel Salleh
(Zed Books, first published in 1993, this edition published in 2014 and reprinted in 2021)
Review by Lenja Gloger

There are few subjects nowadays that are as omnipresent in public discourse as the ongoing climate crisis. At the same time, opinions and ideas on how it can best be countered have also probably never diverged more than they do right now. On one side, there are voices who call for more sustainability in current economical practices. On another, discussions on whether the climate movement should become more openly radical in its opposition of capitalism and demands for climate justice are intensifying.

Personally, I have been advocating for the latter of these two ends of the spectrum for quite some time by now. When I first stumbled across Ecofeminism by Vandana Shiva and Maria Mies, I was thus very excited about this discovery – and the anthology did indeed not leave me disappointed. In 20 essays, Mies and Shiva develop a profound critique of both the destructive effects of capitalist means of production on the environment, and of classic Marxist utopias that do not question the commodification of the “natural world”. As the name of the book suggests, they do so by highlighting the links between environmental degradation and patriarchal structures.

In doing so, they cover a broad variety of topics. Starting out with the deconstruction of the dualistic categories of “man” (i.e. primarily white, affluent, and abled cis-men) and “nature” (both the non-human world and marginalised human beings), the authors write about issues ranging from care work and reproductive rights, to colonialism and contemporary North-South-relations, to genetically modified seeds and modern agriculture. At all times, the interconnectedness of these seemingly very different topics is clarified with concrete examples, empirical data, and disarming lucidity. The book also greatly benefits from the dynamics of the two authors. With Maria Mies being a German sociologist, and Vandana Shiva being a theoretical physicist from India, their perspectives and lived experiences complement each other in a way that suits the topic of their research.

It should be noted that the essays are still very binary in their distinction of “men” and “women”. The conclusions the authors eventually come to, however, are still shockingly relevant today, even almost 30 years after the anthology was originally published. If you are interested in rethinking masculinity, modern science, consumption, and more in the light of social and ecological questions, this book is definitely for you! I do think that my pre-existing knowledge about ecofeminist ideas facilitated my understanding of the matter, but it may also be suitable for those who are just beginning to look into it.