contradiction: the possibility of a Green politics depends on the generation of surplus
goods and, therefore, the consumer society of which Greens are so critical.Environmentalism and other ideologies
As we will suggest later in this chapter, ecologism is a distinct ideology, whereas
environmentalism can be a strand in other ideologies, such as liberalism,
conservatism and socialism. Below we briefly outline possible links between the
ideologies discussed in this book and environmentalism – what we are identifying
are the affinities between environmentalism and the particular ideology in question.
It should be stressed, however, that some of the affinities identified here also hold
between ecologismand these other ideologies. This does not, however, undermine
the claim that ecologism is distinct.- Liberalism Liberals tend to be universalists. They argue that human beings have
rights independently of the culture to which they belong. Just as individuals have
rights across space (culture, geography) so they have rights across time: future –
that is, not-yet-existing – generations have moral claims. If we leave the world
more degraded than we found it then we are violating their rights. - Conservatism At a simplistic level conservatives and environmentalists share a
belief in conservation. Although conservatives focus on the preservation and
transmission of cultural traditions, respect for the environment – the maintenance
of a sense of place – is also important. At a deeper philosophical level conserva -
tives share with many ecologists a scepticism towards rationality. - Socialism Environmentalists oppose the exploitation – in the pejorative sense of
that word – of the natural world. Socialists oppose the exploitation of human
beings. There is more than a metaphorical equivalence between socialist and
environmentalist opposition to exploitation: the people most likely to suffer the
consequences of environmental degradation are the poor, especially the poor in
the developing world. This is often the result of a deliberate policy of ‘dumping’- shipping waste from wealthy countries to poor ones.
- Anarchism Anarchists share with some environmentalists a hostility towards
authority, and some anarchists join forces with environmentalists in their
opposition to what they see as the authoritarian character of globalisation. Anti-
globalisation anarchists tend to stress the importance of self-sufficient com -
munities of freely associating individuals, although this brings them closer to
ecologism than environmentalism. - Nationalism Some of the concerns mentioned above – the loss of a sense of place
due to globalisation – also inform nationalism, and provide a link between
nationalism and environmentalism. More specifically, many nationalists are
concerned with the effects on the nation of migration, which itself can be a
product of both globalisation and the environmental crisis. Immigration is viewed
as a threat to the cultural integrity of the nation-state. - Fascism Polemical opponents of environmentalism (and ecologism) sometimes
talk of ‘eco-fascists’, and the links between Nazism and early twentieth-century
green movements are highlighted. The idea of an organic and hierarchical order
Chapter 16 Ecologism 361