Introduction to Political Theory

impacts disproportionately on the poor, because they have to commit a greater

proportion of income to paying for energy. These problems are not insuperable but

it is significant that Green parties across all the developed countries draw their

support primarily from the better off.

Is ecologism compatible with value pluralism?

Critics argue that ecologism, unlike environmentalism, is not simply a political

programme, but requires individuals to endorse religious or spiritual beliefs that

they might reasonably reject. Despite Arne Næss’s insistence that ecologists can

come together from a variety of different religious and philosophical perspectives,

the ecological critique of industrialism identifies human motivation as the source of

acquisitive attitudes, demands very significant changes in the way society is

organised, and holds out the prospect of a reconciliation between human beings

and nature that extends beyond political ideas. Most orthodox monotheists – Jews,

Christians, Muslims – would interpret ecological ideas as a form of pantheism (earth

as God) or panantheism (earth as part of God), standing against the metaphysical

separation of God as creator from his creation. Many atheists would treat ecologism

with the same suspicion that they treat other religions.

Energy

All living things require energy. Energy is defined by physicists as ‘work’: if you

pick up a chair then the work done on the chair is the force required to lift it. The

first law of thermodynamics states that energy is never lost from a closed system

(conservation of energy). The second law states that entropy never decreases,

meaning in effect that in a closed system life will run down. Without food human

beings will die; energy is locked up in food and released slowly. The production of

food itself requires energy. The earth is not, however, a closed system because it

gains energy (primarily) from the sun and life forms survive because they capture

energy. However, ecologists argue that there are limits to energy. Humans have

exploited the energy bound up in dead organisms (fossil fuels). While there are

‘renewable’ sources of energy, these are often less easily exploited than fossil fuels

and they actually require non-renewable sources of energy to produce them: wind

turbines had to be built and moved into place such that they already embody energy

before they start producing it.

There are a couple of strategies in the face of energy depletion. Human beings

are intelligent and have through technological ingenuity transformed the earth. We

might hope that there will be a technological fix that will save the day and unlock

new forms of energy, or at least ameliorate the effects of existing technology. For

example, we might create safer and more efficient nuclear power plants.

Alternatively, we could reduce productivity. This is the scenario that many green

activists are reluctant to publicise, especially if they are pursuing an electoral path

to success. Essentially, it would require a significant reduction in consumption and

would run counter to the Zeitgeist. Politically, it would be difficult because states

Chapter 16 Ecologism 375