Las ciencias sociales ya no pueden hacer oídos de mercader

Abstract

Social sciences are called upon to play a more important role than ever before. The challenges are manifold and of crucial importance for the future of humankind: from growing social inequalities to climate and pandemic emergencies, from current post-democratic drifts and authoritarian temptations to the risks of digital surveillance systems and artificial intelligence. They will only be able to do so if they break with the hegemony of the neoliberal paradigm of market competition, that is, if they stop “making merchant’s ears” and open themselves to new priorities, values and needs. This contribute aims to draw a new agenda for the social sciences in the so-called Anthropocene era, starting from the realisation that humanity can no longer arrogantly represent itself as the master of the planet, rather must begin to think and act as nothing more than one of the many, heterogeneous and entangled hosts.