Anarcho-cosmopolitanism: The Universalisation of the Equal Exchange

This paper concerns itself with the values which make up what has been labelled “ethical cosmopolitanism”—that which entails a universal scope of ethical concern. Conceptions of this ethic have underpinned the development of a “global civil society” and associated humanitarian and activist campaigns. However, such cosmopolitan campaigns have illustrated the ways in which the dismissals of difference and importance of embeddedness have caused suffering to the supposed beneficiaries of such campaigns. This is because of the unrecognised power relations that exist between moral agents, which result in “unequal exchanges”, that is, the exchange of physical, material and mental resources from positions of unequal negotiating positions, driven by power differentials and hierarchy. A theory of the “equal exchange” is developed upon which to base alternative cosmopolitan practices. Such a theory is grounded in Anarchist thought, which, it is argued, provides the most stringent philosophical underpinning for such a cosmopolitan theory.     

Three types of Family Environment Scale profiles: Functional,distressed, and abusive families

In order to facilitate the interpretation of Family Environment Scale (FES) profiles, Moos and Moos (1976, 1984) developed a typology of family environments based on data drawn from a representative community sample. The present study attempts to extend this work by describing three types of FES profiles from abusive, distressed (clinic referred for child behavior problems), and functional families. All families were impoverished, single parent, and mother-headed. Data were gathered in their homes. Profile types for the three groups and implications for intervention are discussed.     

Power,politics and policy in the appropriation of urban wetlands: the critical case of Sri Lanka

Little is known about the drivers and governance strategies of appropriation of urban nature in the global south. We compare urban land-grabbing in the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, with broader understanding of rural land-grabbing in the developing world. We show that the colonial legacy of appropriation and alteration of urban wetlands in Colombo has attained new heights in the neo-liberal period. This cyclical process has caused acute irreversible damage to the wetland ecosystem and a vast majority of the urban poor, with the marginalised continuing to suffer dispossession and environmental hazard. In recognition of the inherent limitations of ‘uncontrollable’ hybrid ecologies, potent social struggles have emerged to resist the continued appropriation agenda. As this cycle is perpetuated, broader social struggles for democratic urban governance have overtaken the pursuit of narrow political-economic goals and internal policy reform.