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Hervé Corvellec.

Hervé Corvellec

Professor

Hervé Corvellec.

The Resourcification of Waste: A Critique of Heroic Efficacy

Author

  • Hervé Corvellec

Editor

  • Hervé Corvellec

Summary, in English

This chapter questions the rallying cry that ‘waste is a resource’ through the lens of François Jullien’s critique of efficacy. Focusing on the waste hierarchy, the lean movement, and the circular economy, it shows that viewing waste as a resource privileges a heroic mode of action based on ideals, means and ends, and intended outcomes. Contrasting ancient Greek and Chinese philosophies, Jullien contrasts this proactive approach, which defines efficacy as the ability to solve problems and achieve goals, with an anti-heroic focus on immanence, situational circumstances, and transformations. This contrast leads to a critique of the overconfidence currently placed in heroic efficacy. Heroic efficacy appears as a conservative posture that supports the dominant social order and deflects fitting social critique. But the Anthropocene epitomizes the need to re-evaluate current confidence in heroic efficacy and to seek non-heroic approaches.

Department/s

  • Department of Service Studies

Publishing year

2024-02-12

Language

English

Pages

1-1

Publication/Series

Waste as a Critique

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Topic

  • Business Administration

Keywords

  • Waste
  • Heroism
  • Efficacy
  • François Jullien
  • Anthropocene

Status

Submitted