The Ecuadorian indigenist school of good living (sumak kawsay)

Abstract

Taking an analytical-descriptive and synthetical approach, this article presents a retrospective construction of the Ecuadorian indigenist school of good living from the current conception of good living as the sumak kawsay currently held by Ecuadorian indigenist intellectuals, assuming that thought on good living evolves within competitive epistemic communities. To that end, the thought on good living of this school has been characterized by nine criteria used in studies of schools of development, the various intellectuals that comprise this school have been identified and grouped into four categories, the institutional and intellectual factors that have contributed to the emergence of this school have been determined, and the main criticisms received and their countercriticism have been summarized.

Contributions of Subjective Well-Being and Good Living to the Contemporary Development of the Notion of Sustainable Human Development

“…The multidimensional character of Good Living involves great complexity when analyzed from a holistic perspective, so empirical studies on this subject are quite scarce [22,23]. This is true from the beginning of neoclassical school and its evolutionary vision of [24,25], through the Keynesian approach of [26][27][28]-called Latin American structuralism and neostructuralism-to finding radical positions such as those of [29][30][31] who, since the so-called post-development, assume currents known as degrowth and report the development for their debatable reach in the world and its findings in Latin America.…”

“…There are some previous works with partially similar approaches, such as the genealogy of Good Living at work [23]. However, there are some authors who disagree with this thesis because they defend the Andean origin of sumak kawsay [39,40], and others who disagree because they question whether there is a sumak kawsay in organizations as a way of life, since certain patriarchal, belligerent and predating practices of some Amazonian indigenous communities would have nothing to do with the idea of harmony with the community and nature [41].…”

Andean Indigenous Sustainable Development

“…Indigenous development has been institutionalized in the Andean region more than in any other region in the world (with the possible exception of Bhutan). This is most apparent when we consider the constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia, in which multiple indigenous concepts of governance and citizenship have been enshrined (Schilling-Vacaflor 2010;Hidalgo-Capitán et al 2019). Debates over the particularities of these national constitutions notwithstanding, these Andean countries provide an essential case study of indigenous sustainable development.…”

Indigenous Cultures and Sustainable Development in Latin America

“…Although the concept of Sumak Kawsay is deeply rooted in indigenous cosmology, the concept has emerged only recently as welfare or development paradigm. Hidalgo-Capitán et al (2019) explain that this formalization began with the Amazanga Plan, initiated by the Pastaza Indigenous Peoples' Organization of Ecuador in the early 1990s. The plan documented, for the first time, what is called the wisdom of the people of the jungle (sacha runa yachai in Kichwa).…”

“…1007/978-3-030-37023-7_9 CHAPTER 9 Andean Indigenous Sustainable Development Indigenous development has been institutionalized in the Andean region more than in any other region in the world (with the possible exception of Bhutan). This is most apparent when we consider the constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia, in which multiple indigenous concepts of governance and citizenship have been enshrined (Schilling-Vacaflor 2010;Hidalgo-Capitán et al 2019). Debates over the particularities of these national constitutions notwithstanding, these Andean countries provide an essential case study of indigenous sustainable development.…”