hey, sorry this took me so long to respond to. it's certainly given me a lot of food for thought, & nothing i've drawn any conclusions from! but this is what comes to mind:
i agree 100% that humankind's dominance of nature is a form of imperialism in itself. i feel that it's not, however, cultural imperialism, because we're not trying to convince other organisms of the superiority of our culture & that they should adopt it over their inferior, less advanced culture - but i think there is a culture of imperialism over other lifeforms, a culture which allows many of us to view them as "resources" & bereft of their own intrinsic value, right to exit, or whatever you want to call it.
i don't know if i see animals & humans as the same in terms of cultural imperialism (in regards to whether it's good or bad, anyway). the cultural realm is human turf, no? not to suggest for a second that culture doesn't deeply affect other organisms, but i don't think they are active paricipants in the construction, development and fluxes of human culture as humans are. so do we see humans and other animals as equal subjects of cultural imperialism? my initial feeling is no. my acknowledgement of other animal's right to avoid pain, their sentience, their existence autonomous to mine & their intrinsic & equal value as such doesn't mean i see them as an equal participant in my human culture, so i don't see them as a subject of cultural imperialism as i may be (hypothetically).
if we're examining where the intersection of cultural dominance & human dominance is most critical, i'm more inclined to view it in terms of ecology than animal welfare - this is just me, i find its much broader parameters give me so much more to look at. it's my feeling that the lumber, oil and agribusiness industries commit deeds of equal heinousness in the wilderness as factory farms do in the domestic realm. while the physical location of many such industries' bases may rest on (or below) global south soil, the vast majority are owned by global north multinationals - & those that are not acquired a taste for, & the ecocidal techniques of execution, from these same countries.
there are a large number of inspiring, organic, environmental movements & organisations throughout the global south - probably equal in number to that of the global north, who knows. i'm not really sure what i'm getting at here, just blurting some thoughts out. i guess what i'm saying is that i, for myself anyway, don't find much to be gained in assessing the potential "upside" to manifestations of cultural imperialism for non-human people.
You've out-philosophered me, and me a professional philosopher! Tee hee. I agree: we're not talking about cultural imperialism applied to animals, we're talking about simple imperialism.
I'm afraid that the number of animals tortured in factory farms is much greater than the number suffering as the result of environmental degredation, though. The numbers are just staggering.
i could just be talking a lotta wank too, lulz. agreed on factory farms, the numbers are incomprehensible. did you read about bolivia's decision a few weeks ago to enshrine the environment's right to exist in national law?
i agree 100% that humankind's dominance of nature is a form of imperialism in itself. i feel that it's not, however, cultural imperialism, because we're not trying to convince other organisms of the superiority of our culture & that they should adopt it over their inferior, less advanced culture - but i think there is a culture of imperialism over other lifeforms, a culture which allows many of us to view them as "resources" & bereft of their own intrinsic value, right to exit, or whatever you want to call it.
i don't know if i see animals & humans as the same in terms of cultural imperialism (in regards to whether it's good or bad, anyway). the cultural realm is human turf, no? not to suggest for a second that culture doesn't deeply affect other organisms, but i don't think they are active paricipants in the construction, development and fluxes of human culture as humans are. so do we see humans and other animals as equal subjects of cultural imperialism? my initial feeling is no. my acknowledgement of other animal's right to avoid pain, their sentience, their existence autonomous to mine & their intrinsic & equal value as such doesn't mean i see them as an equal participant in my human culture, so i don't see them as a subject of cultural imperialism as i may be (hypothetically).
if we're examining where the intersection of cultural dominance & human dominance is most critical, i'm more inclined to view it in terms of ecology than animal welfare - this is just me, i find its much broader parameters give me so much more to look at. it's my feeling that the lumber, oil and agribusiness industries commit deeds of equal heinousness in the wilderness as factory farms do in the domestic realm. while the physical location of many such industries' bases may rest on (or below) global south soil, the vast majority are owned by global north multinationals - & those that are not acquired a taste for, & the ecocidal techniques of execution, from these same countries.
there are a large number of inspiring, organic, environmental movements & organisations throughout the global south - probably equal in number to that of the global north, who knows. i'm not really sure what i'm getting at here, just blurting some thoughts out. i guess what i'm saying is that i, for myself anyway, don't find much to be gained in assessing the potential "upside" to manifestations of cultural imperialism for non-human people.
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I'm afraid that the number of animals tortured in factory farms is much greater than the number suffering as the result of environmental degredation, though. The numbers are just staggering.
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