Have Ecosystem Services Been Oversold?

The concept of ecosystem services (ES) neatly encapsulates the ways in which human society depends upon the existence and functioning of nature, but also draws power by chiming with dominant neoliberal ideology. Scientific paradigms such as this have an inherent tendency to stop adherents from recognizing alternative approaches. It is high time to examine whether the concept is being oversold with potentially damaging consequences. Many authors have questioned the monetization of ES, but the origin of the problem lies deeper in anthropocentrism. By illustration with alternatives, I attempt to show how the ES paradigm has constrained thought, particularly towards the monetization and financialization of nature, even when many ecologists and others oppose this trend.