Determinism, idealism and the politics of environmentalism—a view point

Abstract

Over the past 15 years there have been ideological shifts in the ecologically‐based environmentalist movement. The earlier emphasis was on reactionary ideologies of neo‐Malthusianism and the lifeboat ethic, romantic anti‐urbanism and rural escapism. These were strongly underpinned by the notion of naturally‐imposed limits on human endeavour which sprang from a philosophy of environmental determinism. Now there is more emphasis upon human free will and less which is escapist, defensive and socially regressive. The green movement is increasingly compatible with socialism, but there is still a large ideological gap between “Green” and “Red” wings of the movement. Green Greens are idealistic, and mistakenly believe that they have discovered a new politics which are “above” the politics of class conflict. They call for a common unity and for spiritually‐inspired value changes, and erroneously think that their ecotopian vision is becoming a widespread reality. Green socialists, however, are more realistic becau...