Books by Jeremy Baskin
A new Introduction to an old book - an account of the first five years of the Congress of South A... more A new Introduction to an old book - an account of the first five years of the Congress of South African Trade Unions
Geoengineering, the Anthropocene and the End of Nature, 2019
Introductory Chapter of recently published monograph: 'Geoengineering, the Anthropocene and the E... more Introductory Chapter of recently published monograph: 'Geoengineering, the Anthropocene and the End of Nature'
https://www.amazon.com/Geoengineering-Anthropocene-Nature-Jeremy-Baskin/dp/3030173585
This book takes a critical look at solar geoengineering as an acceptable means for addressing climate change. It explores the assumptions and imaginaries which animate ‘engineering the climate’ and discusses why this climate solution is so controversial. The book explains geoengineering’s past, its revival in the mid-2000s, and its future prospects including its shadow presence in the Paris climate accord. The main focus however is on dissecting solar geoengineering today – its rationales, underpinning knowledge, relationship to power, and the stance towards nature which accompanies it. Baskin explores three competing imaginaries associated with geoengineering: an Imperial imaginary, an oppositional Un-Natural imaginary, and a conspiratorial Chemtrail imaginary. He seeks to explain why solar geoengineering has struggled to gain approval and why resistance to it persists, despite the support of several powerful actors. He provocatively suggests that reconceptualising our present as the Anthropocene might unwittingly facilitate the normalisation of geoengineering by providing a sustaining socio-technical imaginary.
Chapters by Jeremy Baskin
Journal articles by Jeremy Baskin
Melbourne Journal of International Law, 2009
It will be difficult to find an agreed solution to climate change that does not engage with clima... more It will be difficult to find an agreed solution to climate change that does not engage with climate justice. It is generally regarded as naïve, when considering international relations, to focus on justice, or to emphasise right over might. In the case of climate change -perhaps uniquelyeven the powerful need a genuinely global solution, which cannot be achieved without an engagement with justice. In this instance, might needs right. This think piece focuses on the North-South aspect of climate justice. It starts by unpacking the reasons why climate justice is important. It then argues that to assess whether a climate agreement or proposal is just, we need to examine four factors. Two are positive: that it should involve dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas concentrations; and that it should be fair and take into account both the varied current and historical responsibilities and the differing existing capacities of all involved. Two are negative: that it should not increase inequality; and that it should not increase the potential for international conflict. After outlining each of these components and why they are critical, I assess four broad proposals for dealing with climate change to see how they measure up. These are: equally-shared cuts in emissions; the 'contract and converge' model; the greenhouse development rights framework; and geo-engineering.
Final version available in Environmental Values 24 (2015): 9–29.
The Anthropocene is a radical... more Final version available in Environmental Values 24 (2015): 9–29.
The Anthropocene is a radical reconceptualisation of the relationship between humanity and nature. It posits that we have entered a new geological epoch in which the human species is now the dominant Earth-shaping force, and it is rapidly gaining traction in both the natural and social sciences. This article critically explores the scientific representation of the concept and argues that the Anthropocene is less a scientific concept than the ideational underpinning for a particular worldview. It is paradigm dressed as epoch. In particular, it normalises a certain portion of humanity as the ‘human’ of the Anthropocene, reinserting ‘man’ into nature only to re-elevate ‘him’ above it. This move promotes instrumental reason. It implies that humanity and its planet are in an exceptional state, explicitly invoking the idea of planetary management and legitimising major interventions into the workings of the earth, such as geoengineering. I conclude that the scientific origins of the term have diminished its radical potential, and ask whether the concept’s radical core can be retrieved.
Interventions by Jeremy Baskin
Critical Legal Thinking, 2020
Early relections (March 2020) on who will 'win' and 'lose' as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds.
Arena, 2020
Reflections on the Great Barrington Declaration
Arena, 2020
Are we really being 'guided by the science'?
Arena magazine, 2019
A brief journalistic article arguing that solar geoengineering should be resisted, despite the ... more A brief journalistic article arguing that solar geoengineering should be resisted, despite the blandishments of the climate policy Saviours and Marketeers.
Arena magazine, 2018
Civilisation, white farmers and being a South African Australian today
South African publications (archived) by Jeremy Baskin
Mail & Guardian, 2000
Analysis of South Africa's employment data -- 2000
Notes from a presentation to a panel discussion on 'Responses to Mass Atrocities and National Tra... more Notes from a presentation to a panel discussion on 'Responses to Mass Atrocities and National Trauma', hosted by La Trobe University 2009. Never published
Mail & Guardian, 2001
Where were you on June 16th 1976 ? The question has an iconic status among South Africans of a ce... more Where were you on June 16th 1976 ? The question has an iconic status among South Africans of a certain age, the way Americans remember where they were when Kennedy was shot. Three new books all deal, in different ways, with that turbulent year. With hindsight we know the Soweto uprising led, by twists and turns, to the democratic elections of 1994. They were the moment when the tide turned against apartheid.
Industrial Law Journal, 1998
Uploads
Books by Jeremy Baskin
https://www.amazon.com/Geoengineering-Anthropocene-Nature-Jeremy-Baskin/dp/3030173585
This book takes a critical look at solar geoengineering as an acceptable means for addressing climate change. It explores the assumptions and imaginaries which animate ‘engineering the climate’ and discusses why this climate solution is so controversial. The book explains geoengineering’s past, its revival in the mid-2000s, and its future prospects including its shadow presence in the Paris climate accord. The main focus however is on dissecting solar geoengineering today – its rationales, underpinning knowledge, relationship to power, and the stance towards nature which accompanies it. Baskin explores three competing imaginaries associated with geoengineering: an Imperial imaginary, an oppositional Un-Natural imaginary, and a conspiratorial Chemtrail imaginary. He seeks to explain why solar geoengineering has struggled to gain approval and why resistance to it persists, despite the support of several powerful actors. He provocatively suggests that reconceptualising our present as the Anthropocene might unwittingly facilitate the normalisation of geoengineering by providing a sustaining socio-technical imaginary.
Chapters by Jeremy Baskin
Journal articles by Jeremy Baskin
The Anthropocene is a radical reconceptualisation of the relationship between humanity and nature. It posits that we have entered a new geological epoch in which the human species is now the dominant Earth-shaping force, and it is rapidly gaining traction in both the natural and social sciences. This article critically explores the scientific representation of the concept and argues that the Anthropocene is less a scientific concept than the ideational underpinning for a particular worldview. It is paradigm dressed as epoch. In particular, it normalises a certain portion of humanity as the ‘human’ of the Anthropocene, reinserting ‘man’ into nature only to re-elevate ‘him’ above it. This move promotes instrumental reason. It implies that humanity and its planet are in an exceptional state, explicitly invoking the idea of planetary management and legitimising major interventions into the workings of the earth, such as geoengineering. I conclude that the scientific origins of the term have diminished its radical potential, and ask whether the concept’s radical core can be retrieved.
Interventions by Jeremy Baskin
South African publications (archived) by Jeremy Baskin
https://www.amazon.com/Geoengineering-Anthropocene-Nature-Jeremy-Baskin/dp/3030173585
This book takes a critical look at solar geoengineering as an acceptable means for addressing climate change. It explores the assumptions and imaginaries which animate ‘engineering the climate’ and discusses why this climate solution is so controversial. The book explains geoengineering’s past, its revival in the mid-2000s, and its future prospects including its shadow presence in the Paris climate accord. The main focus however is on dissecting solar geoengineering today – its rationales, underpinning knowledge, relationship to power, and the stance towards nature which accompanies it. Baskin explores three competing imaginaries associated with geoengineering: an Imperial imaginary, an oppositional Un-Natural imaginary, and a conspiratorial Chemtrail imaginary. He seeks to explain why solar geoengineering has struggled to gain approval and why resistance to it persists, despite the support of several powerful actors. He provocatively suggests that reconceptualising our present as the Anthropocene might unwittingly facilitate the normalisation of geoengineering by providing a sustaining socio-technical imaginary.
The Anthropocene is a radical reconceptualisation of the relationship between humanity and nature. It posits that we have entered a new geological epoch in which the human species is now the dominant Earth-shaping force, and it is rapidly gaining traction in both the natural and social sciences. This article critically explores the scientific representation of the concept and argues that the Anthropocene is less a scientific concept than the ideational underpinning for a particular worldview. It is paradigm dressed as epoch. In particular, it normalises a certain portion of humanity as the ‘human’ of the Anthropocene, reinserting ‘man’ into nature only to re-elevate ‘him’ above it. This move promotes instrumental reason. It implies that humanity and its planet are in an exceptional state, explicitly invoking the idea of planetary management and legitimising major interventions into the workings of the earth, such as geoengineering. I conclude that the scientific origins of the term have diminished its radical potential, and ask whether the concept’s radical core can be retrieved.