The Ecomodernist (formerly Breakthrough Journal)
Ten years ago, the Breakthrough Institute published the Ecomodernist Manifesto, co-authored by 18 researchers, theorists, and advocates, with the goal of inspiring what they called, “A good anthropocene.” The authors aimed to create an ecological alternative to environmentalism and correct the view that humanity must “harmonize with nature to avoid economic and ecological collapse.”
Since the publication of the Ecomodern Manifesto, the Breakthrough Institute has been the central hub around which the ecomodernist community has evolved, intellectually and institutionally. We hosted more than a decade of Breakthrough Dialogues where we convened fellow travelers, alongside many of our loudest critics, to explore the possibilities, realities, and limitations of ecomodernism. And we’ve worked assiduously to make ecomodernism live in the world, through our advocacy of nuclear energy, large-scale, technological agriculture, and material and energy abundance.
Ten years on, the ecomodernist project is far less tenuous than it was. Whether proselytized under the banner of ecomodernism, climate pragmatism, or abundance, ecomodernist commitments to decoupling, innovation, and building a prosperous, materially abundant, and technologically advanced future are far more explicit and legible in ecological discourse and politics than they were a decade ago.
At The Ecomodernist we are committed to being epistemically open, to question our own assumptions, and to avoid descending into the empty slogans and comfortable verities that characterize so much present day discourse. In that spirit, we aim to build a new environmental paradigm and provide the analytical and argumentative undergirding for a broader ecomodernist movement.
Why Subscribe?
We publish essays and analyses three times per week—on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We are committed to keeping this work free to all, but all of the research, writing, and editing takes work. Subscribing to The Ecomodernist—whether as a paid or unpaid subscriber—keeps that work going.
As an unpaid subscriber, you can look forward to all of our pieces arriving in your inbox.
As a paid subscriber, you will receive all of our work, plus have access to the growing ecomodernist community. You will be able to comment on our pieces and to join our subscriber-only chat where you can interact directly with our editorial staff. As our platform grows, we hope to be able to offer more to our subscribers in the form of community development and opportunities to directly engage with the community—subscriber-only webinars and zoom conversations with our leadership and analysts or IRL meetups.
Overall, paid subscriptions will go to supporting our groundbreaking analyses and to help grow ecomodernism.
About the Breakthrough Institute:
The Ecomodernist is a publication of the Breakthrough Institute, a 501(c)3 non-profit research center that identifies and promotes technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges. You can read more about the Breakthrough Institute on our website.
