8: Kumar's Unity of Ecology and Economy

Shortly, we will start exploring governance and management arrangements for the sustainable well-being of all living species. As Satish Kumar (2017, 2021) urges us to reflect on it, if we do not know what we are governing and managing, we will create a big mess – and we are indeed in a big mess as we highlighted in the Preface to this book.

The study of ecology (i.e., of the relationships between living organisms, stressing the interdependence of all life) means knowledge, understanding, and experience of the entire ecosystem and how the diverse forms of life relate to each other. There is, therefore, perfect alignment between Kumar's emphasis on ecology and Whitehead's emphasis on relatedness and interconnectedness.