A Left Perspective in Deep Ecology
Below is a recent
posting to the leftbio discussion group concerning an important new book
in
deep ecology, which I first obtained
in late August 2004. I think this book will be of interest to those
who take deep ecology seriously. My
posting gives some information about the book, although it is
not a review.
David Orton, October
14, 2004
The Culture Of Extinction: Toward A Philosophy Of
Deep Ecology
by Frederick Bender, 2003, Humanity Books,
488 pages, hardcover, ISBN 1-59102-055-7
This book is, I
believe, very important for left bios and the philosophy of deep ecology,
although left
biocentrism is not mentioned in this
book. Yet this is a left bio book:
I am optimistic
that deep ecology, with a strong social-political dimension, can motivate
new
generations to save
the Earth. p. 363
Progressive political
change, Earth-oriented spirituality, and an ecological worldview can and
must reinforce each
other, since they are equally vital to radical ecology's future impact.
p. 355
I would say that
anyone who has a serious theoretical interest in deep ecology should have
a copy of this
expensive book. Bender wants to help
"draw millions to deep ecology." p. 446
Personally, this book has
forced me to look at the evolution
of deep ecology, as reflected in the writings of Naess, in a new, supportive
yet more critical manner. For Fred
Bender, the distinguishing characteristic of deep ecology is "nondualism"
(what we would perhaps call ecocentricism).
He argues that Naess has moved away from this nondualist
position as reflected in the original
1972 statement and also become more apolitical. Speaking of the Platform,
Bender says:
Its language,
in contrast to the speech (1972 initial formulation of deep ecology), decouples
deep
ecology from nondualism,
obscuring many senses of deep ecology's depth. For example, points 1
and 2 use the language
of values: 'values in themselves,' 'intrinsic value,' 'inherent worth,'
'...realization of
these values and are values in themselves,' though value terms presuppose
substance/property
ontology - that is, certain substances allegedly have, while others lack,
the
property of 'value
in themselves.' This is very far from point one of Naess's 1972 speech, which
called for jettisoning
the dualistic, 'man in the environment' standpoint, in favor of a relational
and 'total-field'
model. Language, especially the language of value, is never ontologically
neutral.
'Language is the
house of being,' as Heidegger said. Value-language contravenes the nondualist
'relational and
total-field' ontology that makes deep ecology DEEP. p. 408
Today, people
see that deep ecology can help them see things as BOTH one and related,
dissolving the conventional
split between humans and nature, and reawakening depth in many
ways. p.
446
Nondualistic statements
in popular parlance would be "all things are connected" and "the earth does
not
belong to us, we belong to the earth."
On the turn away
from radical politics in the 1972 document, Bender says that Naess:
Called for an
anticlass posture in intrahuman affairs, both because class domination robs
exploiter and exploited
alike of their potentialities for Self-realization, and because long-term
success in preventing
overshoot requires genuinely democratic ways of life. 'Anticlass posture'
affiliates deep
ecology with Green Marxism, social ecology, and ecofeminism. Unfortunately,
the anticlass stance
soon fell off deep ecology's platform. p. 401
This book has a
thoughtful and very interesting discussion of Bender's own "ecosophy", named
after the
place where he wrote much of his book.
His book concludes with a ten-point "Proposed New Deep-Ecology
Platform" which incorporates the
critique he is raising. The book has glowing book cover endorsements by
George Sessions and Alan Drengson,
and a tribute from Arne Naess himself.
It seems that Bender
'discovered' left biocentrism after his book had come out. He is a professor
of philosophy
at the University of Colorado and was,
according to book cover information, the editor of The Communist
Manifesto: A Norton Critical Review;
The Betrayal of Marx; and Karl Marx: The Essential Writings.
None of these books I have previously
seen, so I am not familiar with the overall ideological tone. But what is
mainly interesting for me is that such
a substantive book on deep ecology has been written by someone who
very definitely considers himself part
of the Left. So Fred Bender now takes his place alongside other Left deep
ecologists who have books out, like
Richard Sylvan, Andrew McLaughlin and Andrew Dobson.
This is not a review
but some notes and quotations taken from the 17 pages of my own notes that
I made
from the sections of this book that
I have now read and which I thought other left bios might appreciate. The
book is divided into three parts: The
Culture Of Extinction; The Lies Of Millennia; and Faithful
To
the Earth, and there are 17
chapters. I have read the first and last sections of this book which are
the ones
of most interest to me and perhaps
to those left bios who are not professional philosophers. I would like to
emphasize that what I am presenting
here is some of what I found of interest to me personally. I will leave it
to
others, who have read all of
this book, to present an overall summary of what the book sets out to do
and
whether or not it is successful, from
the perspective of the reviewer.
Interesting Quotations
Species are neither
higher nor lower than, nor superior or inferior to,
one another. Each
simply is what it is: a life form adapted to its
ecospheric niche
and valuable to the extent it contributes to ecospheric
integrity. p.
94
Amazingly, Darwin's
greatest philosophical breakthrough, his reframing of
humans as thoroughly
natural beings, has been all but lost on Western
philosophy.
p. 94
Only after separating
ourselves from Earth, chiefly through agriculture
and anthropocentric
religion, have we come to do violence against the Earth
systematically.
This is why we are the culture of extinction. p. 101
I do not think
ecology sufficient to explain every aspect of human
culture... We must
also discover how human culture evolved, how social,
political, and religious
factors, etc., became predominant at various
times. Ecological
models frame such factors' significance, but do not
replace them.
p. 102
Nondualism can
help us toward a new civilization measured both by
ecological sustainability
and satisfaction of basic human needs. If the
latter is neglected,
few would give up the culture of extinction
voluntarily. p.
105
Native peoples
never treat animals or ecosystems as mere resources, but as
strands in Earth's
complex web of life. In contrast, Western-trained
wildlife or forest
managers frame wildlife and habitat as resources to
exploit for economic
gain. p. 106
Since accumulation
of property leads inexorably to ecological
unsustainability,
from the evolutionary perspective, capitalism is the
deviant economic
system. p. 111
In thoroughly
bourgeois society, nothing is sacred or of intrinsic value.
If sufficient demand
exists, then nothing is beyond price and everything is
offered for sale.
p. 269
Social ecology
turns out to be just a convoluted form of human
chauvinism.
p. 341
Social ecology remains
more a remnant of the Old Left than part of the
ecology movement.
p. 354
Radical ecofeminism's
primary affiliation, like that of social ecology, is
with the Left, not
with ecology. If so, then ecofeminism is much closer to
social ecology than
to wilderness defense, bioregionalism, or deep
ecology. p.
364
I believe that
radical ecofeminism is more feminist than ecological... p. 367
The culture of
extinction lures its subjects with its cornucopia of goods
and services, its
facade of justice (liberal democracy), its promises of
individual salvation
via conventional, dualist religion, and its
nihilistic, modernist
worldview. p. 375
Progressive forces
must contest dimensions of culture the traditional Left
has always conceded,
biology and religion prominent among them. p. 375
Human survival
requires some killing or exploitation of nonhuman organisms,
commensurate with
genuine needs, like what was practiced among old-ways
peoples. Thus, we
should do as little harm as possible, recognizing other
beings' right to
live and flourish. p. 400
Minor disagreements
- I do not agree
with or understand the following statement, "For all practical purposes,
Earth First! no
longer exists."
p. 363
- I do not agree
with calling the Platform "neo-Malthusian." p. 412
- Bender does not
seem to see the "conserving" aspect of a potential section of the conservatives,
so for him,
Blue politics and
significant ecological improvements are incompatible... " p. 413
- The author seems
to support "pollution vouchers" as a "secondary market" and
a "useful" idea from
the Right. I disagree
with this. p. 414
As I have said previously,
this is a very important book for left bios and I urge you all to obtain
a copy. Fred
Bender wants to reformulate deep ecology
and we all need to pay attention to what he is telling us. I did find the
book on the abstract side. This was
shown, unnecessarily from my perspective, in the discussion of the well
known deep ecology Apron Diagram and
the ecosophy discussion in the last few pages of the book. Overall
however, this book is a wonderful achievement
and will help us all move forward on the deep ecology path.
Best, David
P. S. There seems to be a footnote
numbering screw-up on pages 407-408.
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Last updated:
January 21, 2005