Ecologism
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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Although modern environmental politics did not emerge until the 1960s and 1970s, ecological ideas can be traced back to much earlier times. Many have suggested that the principles of contemporary ecologism owe much to ancient pagan religions, which stressed the concept of an Earth Mother, and to eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Daoism. However, to a large extent, ecologism was, and remains, a reaction against the process of industrialization. This was evident in the nineteenth century, when the spread of urban and industrial life created a profound nostalgia for an idealized rural existence, as conveyedby novelists such asThomasHardy andpolitical thinkers such as theUK libertarian socialistWilliamMorris (1834–96) and Peter Kropotkin (see p. 113).This reaction was often strongest in those countries that had experienced the most rapid and dramatic process of industrialization. For example, Germany’s rapid industrialization in the nineteenth century deeply scarred its political culture, creating powerful myths about the purity and dignity of peasant life, and giving rise to a strong ‘back to nature’ movement among German youth. Such romantic pastoralism was most likely to surface during the twentieth century in right- wing political doctrines, not least the ‘Blood and Soil’ ideas of the German Nazis. The growth of ecologism since the 1960s has been provoked by the further and more intense advance of industrialization and urbanization, linked to the emergence of postmaterial sensibilities among young people in particular. Environmental concern has become more acute because of the fear that economic growth is endangering both the survival of the human race and the very planet it lives on. Such anxieties have been expressed in a growing body of literature. Rachel Carson’s The Silent Spring (1962) is often considered to have been the first book to draw attention to a developing ecological crisis. Other important early works included Ehrlich and Harriman’s How to Be a Survivor (1971), Goldsmith et al. ’s Blueprint for Survival (1972), the unofficial UN report Only One Earth (1972) and the Club of Rome’s The Limits to Growth (1972).
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RACHEL CARSON (1907–1964) A US marine biologist and conservationist, Carson did much through her writings to stimulate interest in scientific and environmental topics, contributing to the growth of the green movement. In her best-selling The Silent Spring (1962), she highlighted the malign consequences to humans, birds, fish and plant life of the widespread use of powerful toxic agents within US agriculture, reflecting the extent to which agri- business and state sponsorship threaten ecological balance and therefore sustainability.
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A new generation of activist pressure groups has also developed – ranging from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth to the non-violent civil disobedience group
Extinction Rebellion, animal liberation activists and so-called ‘eco-warrior’ groups – campaigning on issues such as air, river and sea pollution, deforestation, animal experimentation and climate change and its associated challenges. Together with established and much larger groups, such as the Worldwide Fund for Nature, this has led to the emergence of a high profile and increasingly influential green movement. From the 1980s onwards, environmental questions have been kept high on the
Pastoralism: A belief in the virtues of rural existence: simplicity, community and a closeness to nature, in contrast to the allegedly corrupting influence of urban and industrialized life.
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