A Political Theology of Climate Change

by Michael S. Northcott

Much current commentary on climate change, both secular and theological, focuses on the duties of individual citizens to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels. In A Political Theology of Climate Change , however, Michael Northcott discusses nations as key agents in the climate crisis.

Against the anti-national trend of contemporary political theology, Northcott renarrates the origins of the nations in the divine ordering of history. In dialogue with Giambattista Vico, Carl Schmitt, Alasdair MacIntyre, and other writers, he argues that nations have legal and moral responsibilities to rule over limited terrains and to guard a just and fair distribution of the fruits of the earth within the ecological limits of those terrains.

As part of his study, Northcott brilliantly reveals how the prevalent nature-culture divide in Western culture, including its notion of nature as "private property," has contributed to the global ecological crisis. While addressing real difficulties and global controversies surrounding climate change, Northcott presents substantial and persuasive fare in his Political Theology of Climate Change .

Genres: Theology

345 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2013

Reviews

[Wes · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a great deal of good information in this book and it is definitely worth the time to read. But it is not a "theology" of climate change. Simply put Northcott believes that secular governments must work together and take the lead in addressing issues posed by climate change. If this is true he is inherently writing a political philosophy and not a theology. There is little in this book for the individual to "take home" other than pushing the government toward action. The other major criticism I have for the book are the long digressions. For instance, in the last chapter as Northcott should be tying together all of the arguments of the book in a neat box, he takes 15 pages to discuss William Blake (pp. 287-305). Even if one wants to make the claim that Blake is necessary or even important for the topic he certainly does not need to be discussed the way Northcott does. These types of digressions made the book far longer than it needed to be and truly hindered the work. Overall good but not great, it is currently getting 3.5 stars and that is what it deserves. Read it come prepared to think and be impressed at points, but probably also skip some sections.

[renzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

a thorough look at climate change which was mostly (like really majorly) philosophical which i was not expecting grr but i welcomed them i guess. it went full theological near the end though. it goes deep into Why humans are acting like this about nature and spends like the first hundred pages talking about the disconnect between science and nature starting from newton and copernicus and francis bacon, even parts where it looks at climate change from a feminist lens. waow. this is super well-researched but a little bit convoluted to read but maybe im just not used to it. i would have annotated the crap out of this if it wasnt from the library but alas

another thing: this was written before the paris agreement in 2015.


key takeaways from my (superficial) reading:

• this is like the cycle of Judges like the book from the bible, where Israel is a land of abundance 'flowing with milk and honey' given as a gift to the israelites through divine intervention (wrestled from its previous inhabitants as usual) but

But in Israel, as in Eden, the quest for power over nature wins out over the desire for justice and peace. As the Hebrews neglect the divine command to live equitably in the land and worship the Lord, they lose the land and are turned off it into Exile.

yeah exactly

• the liturgical calendar (which ive always viewed as kinda useless) is "intricately tied to the sun-driven cycle of planting, growing, and harvesting of farmers and gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere." the medieval warm period and the little ice age (1490-1650) caused the split of the reformists from the catholic church too.

•

Modern scientific representations of reality as material substrate lacking agency or subjectivity have a factual purchase on reality which is stronger than primitive conceptions. Hence the 'primitive' fear that human disturbance of the given order of nature, such as the destruction of a tropical rainforest or the burning of a mountain of coal, will disturb human purposes is dismissed as irrational superstition.

• carbon trading and offsetting (which are kinda key strategies offered in the kyoto protocols and the paris agreement) are ineffective and do not work at all. the kyoto protocols reward first world nations for outsourcing their carbon-heavy industries to the developing world, a carbon win on paper for the global north but emissions did not go down. the protocols look out for production, not consumption.

• stop extracting fossil fuels

De-energising the economy is not part of the envisaged strategy. Nor is keeping fossil guels in the ground.

• climate change may be rooted in misogyny because nature is seen as something to be conquered by man. the author goes into how out of the classical elements, it is earth that "submits patiently to the heaven, fire, and other things"

For Bacon, nature as feminine, like women, requires control

also i love william blake now ,thanks

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A challenging book that clearly discusses the human impact on the climate/environment throughout history, and more specifically, recent global ecological issues over the past couple centuries in connection with the impact of key philosophical ideals underpinning current Western economic and political activities. The author draws on biblical, theological, and philosophical insights to better understand and redefine the era of the Anthropocene. While he makes his argument with a distinctively Christian tone, he provides much food for thought for Christians and non-Christians alike concerning the worldwide economic, political and ethical issues involved regarding the disastrous implications of continued human-made climate change. He offers practical ways forward inspired by the call to love one's neighbor. I enjoyed reading this book and its depth of research into a complex and controversial issue, despite the serious nature of the topic.

[Zoe Matties · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had many excellent points, but only gets three stars because of how incredibly hard to read it was. It was more philosophy than theology. His point, that fossil fuels should be left in the ground and that carbon trading and carbon offsetting are ineffective strategies to counter climate change is important but could have been made in a shorter book. If you are interested in the history of philosophical thought on the environment, you may enjoy this book more than I did.

[David Hawker · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some important stuff in here, particularly on explaining how politics and theology became enemies of the science of climate change, and showing how rediscovering their ancient roots can make them allies. But despite two doctorates and some basic training in philosophy, much of this dense academic book went over my head after two readings. Close attention required.

[Lauryn Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information. grueling writing

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a required read for my religion and ecology graduate seminar. Northcott is obviously a well-researched and knowledgeable guy. But the material is too dense. I was expecting more from his final chapter where he lays out his solutions, but even then, I felt like it was all too theoretical and not practical enough.