The Agroecological Paradigm and the Crises of Contemporary Society: Socio-Anthropological Contributions from the Mimetic Theory Perspective

Abstract

Due to its potential and large range of ecological, theoretical and efficient methods, agroecology stands out among the several alternatives that enable the socio-ecological contemporary crisis, a consequence of globalization, to overcome its challenges. Hence her dimension of a paradigm. Several theoretical and analytical proposals try to understand the roots and the historical circumstances of the current global situation in which the agricultural challenges take place. We chose one of them for its explanatory power: mimetic theory, which analyses the anthropological role of sacred preventing violence throughout prohibitions in limiting access to certain kinds of goods and in performing sacrifice in moments of crisis. It also enables to understand the effects of desacralization as a factor of unlimited consume in modernity by unbinding desires. If nothing is considered sacred anymore then there are no more obstacles for manipulating what once was nature, except laws. Desacralization means also desritualization of the man-nature-agriculture relationship, leading to integration of agriculture within the global market. In modern times, hubris can only be contained by genuine autonomy (i.e. self-limitation). If autonomy fails, what does remain? Anomy? Agroecology, due to its anthropological pertinence and consistency, represents one of these alternative options. This paper aims to establish a link between mimetic theory and agroecological paradigm.