A Summary of Environmentalism (Introduction to Politics, PO107)
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Course
Introduction To Politics (PO107)
Institution
The University Of Warwick (UoW)
A concise summary of Environmentalism constructed in accordance with the module's prompt seminar and revision questions/ debates.
For Warwick PAIS PO107
Environmentalism: ‘A belief in and concern for the importance and
influence of environment within a society – environmentalism has come to
refer to a combination of beliefs in the value and fragility of the environment,
and a tendency to be conservationist with respect to it’. Brown, GW, McLean,
I, & McMillan, A 2018.
What is environmentalism?
Environmentalism came to a peak in the 1960s-80s; influenced by
environmental disasters such as acid rain, ozone depletion, nuclear war and
the Chernobyl and Bhopal disasters. The 1988 Toronto Conference on the
Changing Atmosphere was the first global scientific consensus and
symbolised growing recognition among nations that the globe was entering
into unchartered territory regarding climate change. However,
environmentalism is not new! Is has roots going back to the seventeenth
century linked to the emergence of Newtonian science and a belief of human
superiority over nature.
Eighteenth/ Nineteenth century Romanticism has close links to
Environmentalism also, and acted as a rebellion against the ‘material
changes in society – changes in the mode of production which can be
regarded as part of the emergence and expansion of industrial capitalism in
the eighteen century’. Pepper 1986.
Barbara Goodwin, 2014, explained the difference between
environmentalism, and ecology. According to Goodwin, environmentalism
is ‘concerned with moderating the impact of human activity on the
environment and with protecting nature as far as is compatible with human
purposes’. An environmentalist response to climate change may be to switch
over to an electric vehicle, for example. Ecology, however, is a science. It is
the study of organisms in their natural environment. Ecologism as an
ideology ‘advocates the radical transformation of the relationship between
human beings and their environment’, maybe through being more self-
sufficient, or radically upheaving and ‘greenifying’ public transport.
References:
Goodwin, B. (2014) Using Political Ideas. 6th edn. West Sussex: Wiley
Brown, G., Mclean, I. & McMillan, A. (2018) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of
Politics and International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pepper, D. (1986) Radical Environmentalism and the Labour Movement.
in J. Weston (ed.), Red and Green: The New Politics of the
Environment, London: Pluto.
, Is environmentalism an ideology?
An ideology can be defined as ‘any comprehensive and mutually consistent
set of ideas by which a social group makes sense of the world. An ideology
needs to provide some explanation of how things have come to be as they
are [and] some indication of where they are heading’. Brown, GW, McLean, I,
& McMillan, A 2018.
Green Ideas fulfil the criteria to fit an ideology; they contain explanations for
the current situation, and a path towards change. However, according to
Dobson (2007), only ecology qualifies as an ideology. This is because
environmentalism is simply concerned with weak conservation, as opposed to
the radical upheaval of institutions and ideas. Dobson states that ecology is
an ideology, just as liberalism, socialism, conservatism and fascism are. The
current state of the world, and the growing concern regarding climate change
and climate disasters, has allowed ecologism to ‘well entrench itself as
ideology’ (Luke, 2009). And just like every ideology, ecologism has various
strands each with their ‘own political map, social critique, and
transformational program, which enable their proponents to espouse some
special version of ecologism’ (Luke, 2009).
According to Dobson (2007), ecology constitutes an ideology because its
various strands contain:
- Analytical descriptions of the current state of society
- Beliefs about the new society
- A program to achieve the new society
‘Shades’ of Green Ideas:
The biggest distinction to be made between schools of Green thought,
according to Goodwin, are ecocentric and anthropocentric approaches.
‘Dark Greens’ or ‘Deep Ecologist’ argue from an ecocentric standpoint. They
perceive the earth and the earth’s ecosystems as something beyond
measurable value, and this value is being destroyed by humans. However,
‘Light Greens’ or ‘Shallow Ecologists’ argue from an anthropocentric
approach; they worry for the human condition and the survival of the human
race if climate change and destruction continues. However, there are also
ideological strands as explained by Newell (2019)
Eco-Socialism: eco-socialist perceive capitalism as the ‘enemy of nature’
(Kovel, 2002). Wealth accumulation in the hands of the few results in poverty
and environmental degradation. Additionally, consumer culture has
devastated the environment. Eco-Socialists believe that market institutions
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