Imagining Otherwise: Conceptualising Sustainability in an Era of Extractivism Through an Agonistic Feminist Lens: A Response to Gendron (2024)

This article explores the tension between sustainability, accounting and governance from an agonistic pluralist perspective adopting feminism as a methodology. Inspired by a commentary by Gendron (2024, in this issue) on the trustworthiness of science in the light of industry sponsorship of academic institutions, this article questions more deeply the acceptance of an extractive mindset which weaves into the organising of society as it influences what topics to prioritise and what to leave out of the mainstream narrative. The article draws in particular from the work of Mouffe (2000, 2013; see also Laclau and Mouffe, 2014) and Davis (2016). These studies, alongside other work, in particular by Black and Indigenous scholars, seeking to dismantle the oppressive bodies of capitalism, colonialism, racism, and patriarchy, have inspired my own reflections for this article. While these are all complex issues in and of themselves, which need further exploration beyond the rich body of existing literature, discussing them together and in relation to sustainability provides an opportunity to realise the equivalences in the struggles and encourage the formation of solidarity.