Gaia Theory, Ecovillages, and IR Taking Material Limits Seriously: An Interview with Karen Litfin

Abstract

Karen Litfin argues that IR needs to seriously engage with the idea of limited energy resources and the essential embeddedness of human society in the earth system. Stressing the multiple purposes and often unexpected applications of technology, Litfin talks about interdisciplinary research as an important way of overcoming a mechanistic worldview and the example of ecovillages as a sustainable form of living