"Reduced to merely one life-form among many, the poor and the impoverished either become fair game for outright extermination if they are socially expendable, or they become objects of brutal exploitation if they can be used to aggrandize the corporate world. Accordingly, terms like "oneness" and a "biocentric democracy" go hand-in-hand with a pious formula for human oppression, misery, and even extermination."
- Murray Bookchin, 1989
This essay is in response to an article written by David Orton for the July - August 1996 issue of Canadian Dimension [Deep Left Dilemmas, CD 30-4]. While Orton's article addresses a lot of issues, I would like to focus specifically on his efforts to link deep ecology, and biocentric thinking, with leftist practice. It is my contention that deep ecology and left politics are irreconcilable positions.
I can pinpoint the moment when I started to drift away from the "environmental movement." It was during a meeting of the Ottawa chapter of the Green Party. We were brainstorming platform positions for the upcoming municipal election when one of the members suggested banning people from moving into Ottawa. Another member, aghast, blurted out that this was fascism, only to be argued against by a sizable number of those in attendance. The arguments were the usual: can't exceed the "carrying capacity of the area," Ottawa's "ecological footprint" and assorted eco-justifications. In the face of such blatant and crudely defended selfishness I felt, as did many of the others in attendance, little choice but to leave the Green Party.
Another anecdote about my disillusionment with environmentalism: I had helped to bring well-known "eco-warrior" …
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий