A POSTCAPITALIST PARADIGM: THE COMMON GOOD OF ...

As can be seen, we have two concepts of the right of nature. The first
considers Mother Earth as a subject of rights and attributes this to many
of the elements and forces of nature. This is the anthropomorphic position
of the symbolic way of thinking. The second is based on the need
to ensure reproduction capacity on Earth and adopts an analytical approach,
recognizing, nevertheless, that nature has its own life and that
it is the source of human life itself. In this case, the word ‘rights’ has a
metaphorical meaning, because in the classic juridical conception, only
physical and moral persons are subject of rights. Both concepts are opposed
to the logic of capitalism that only recognizes nature as a commodity.
The problem in the future will be to introduce the rights of nature
into international law in order to define ecological crimes and eventually
to set up an international court on the crimes against nature – a subject
that was discussed in the Earth Summit in Cochabamba in 2010
(François Houtart, 2010, 2).
b) Constructing another economy
According to buen vivir, the economy consists of satisfying the material
and spiritual needs of human beings (Juan Diego García, 2011). Karl
Marx talked about the system of needs/capacities, insisting on its historical
dimension, that is on its changing aspect in function of the possibilities
of satisfying them. On this basis, the Ecuadorian National Plan
defines the economy of buen vivir as: “to integrate capacities and opportunities
into development” (Buen Vivir National Plan, 20). Nevertheless,
it is not only a question of seeking well-being, but also of being in
itself (ibid., 33). Economic activity is at the service of the happiness and
the quality of life, which presupposes harmonious relations with nature
(Diana Quirola, 2009, 103) and also ‘a balanced life’ (David Choquehuanca,
2010, 64). “Only taking from nature what is necessary to satisfy
needs in food, shelter, health, mobility…” (Diana Quirola, 2009, 105).
In measuring what buen vivir means, the GNP is not an adequate tool
and other criteria have to be taken into account, taking greater account
of the level of peoples’ material and spiritual living conditions (Buen Vivir
National Plan, 31). The concept approaches that of solidarity economics,
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