Unlike Enlightenment modernizers who focus on the hope of the future by denigrating the past, the politics of renewal and re-evolution create new visions by drawing on the wisdom of tradition. Here again there is an important kinship with Gandhi. Within the politics of renewal, an awareness of the people and practices that preceded us is necessary to determine the repercussions of our present activities and technologies. By resisting our modern language of control, and by invoking respect for the fertility of the soil, our bodies, and the communities that nourish our hearts and minds, ecofeminists and Greens seek to sustain both the living Earth and all her unique creatures. Nor is this commitment to diversity an abstract ideal or some easy substitute for eternal truth.
Diversity is basic to ecosystemic well-being.
By opposing the homogenizing, elitist vision of technological control with a more complex understanding of diversity and the practices of indigenous peoples who honor the continuity and sacredness of life, ecofeminists and Greens struggle to preserve yet transform community and democracy in the modern world. Rather than bemoan the end of nature, we humans, women and men, need to re-evolve into beings who prefer our local gardens. We must resist the call of Western tradition to bring enlightenment to all the planet. The sorry history of the language of control tells us that the difficult, yet essential, task of creating communities that honor the manifold wonders of fertility is the primary task before us. The living Earth beckons.