El derecho del hombre a disponer del mundo

Abstract

The utilitarian consideration of nature as a mere object of use, typical of the modern mercantile society, is not natural or objective but rather the result of a symbolic construct. In other cultures (Incas, Apaches, Ashantis, Eskimos, Malgaches, etc.) the relations with nature and things is charged with social obligations that determine their use and access to them. The possibility of owning the earth, for example, appears mediated, delimited by relations that are established with the sacred powers of the ancestors. In a different way, in the modern mercantile society, the right to ownership releases humans from social obligations concerning the use or exchange of goods, thus constituting them on the basis of the instrumental relationship with nature, living beings, and things.