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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
A South American approach to metamorphosis as a horizon of equality: Focusing on controversies over lithium
Contributor:
Vara, Ana María
imprint:
SAGE Publications, 2015
Published in:Current Sociology
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1177/0011392114559950
ISSN:
0011-3921;
1461-7064
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
<jats:p> The fact that a large portion of the lithium needed for the batteries of electric or hybrid cars required for the technological change lies in a triangle between Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, has put these countries under the spotlight. Historically, exploitation of natural resources in Latin America has been conducted under colonial and neocolonial conditions, a kind of enforced inclusion that is based on domination and implies inequality between and within countries. This article discusses Ulrich Beck’s 2014 Seoul lecture on ‘Emancipatory catastrophism: What does it mean to climate change and risk society?’ to analyze if and how the ‘hidden emancipatory side effects of global risk’ he diagnoses, which imply a ‘metamorphosis of the world,’ can be seen in the case of lithium mining and processing in South America. The case, which focuses mostly on the equality–inequality dimension, may represent an empirical contribution to the discussion of the novelty of Beck’s proposal, and the accuracy of its implied prognosis. </jats:p>