The environment is so often forgotten in politics the world over. Stemming from a history of western political thought, where ‘humanity’ is separate from ‘Nature’, other-than-human beings like mountains, water, air and soil have been excluded. The anthropologist Marisol de la Cadena uses the term ‘Earth beings’ to refer to these forces in Nature that are considered agents by many people across the world. ‘Earth beings’ is a translation of tirakuna, the word used by a community in southern Peru. Many different communities, including those in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and South America, recognise ...

 

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