Eco Anarchism

Despite what the term 'eco-anarchism' might suggest, it does not refer to mother natures attempts at an anarchic revolution. Eco-anarchism is a theory which combines ecological and anarchic ideas to form an ideology which aims for the total liberation of all living beings under the organisation of local anarchist societies which are environmentally sustainable.

Eco Anarchism meaning

Eco-anarchism (synonymous with green anarchism) is a theory that adopts key elements from the ecologist and anarchist political ideologies.

• Ecologists focus on human relations with their physical environment and hold that current consumption and growth rates are environmentally unsustainable.

• Classical anarchists are generally critical of all forms of human and social interaction which involve authority and domination and aim to abolish human hierarchy and all of its enabling institutions. Their main focus tends to be on the dissolution of the state as the main proprietor of authority and domination, alongside capitalism.

Eco-anarchism can therefore be defined as follows:

Eco-anarchists believe that all forms of hierarchy and domination (human and non-human) should be abolished; they aim for total, not just social, liberation. Total liberation includes the liberation of humans, animals and the environment from hierarchy and domination. This means that eco-anarchists wish to establish long-lasting non-hierarchical and environmentally sustainable societies.

Eco Anarchism flag

The Echo-anarchism flag is green and black, with green representing the ecological roots of the theory and black representing anarchism.

Fig. 1 The Flag of Eco-anarchism

Eco Anarchism books

A number of publications have generally directed eco-anarchic discourse since the 19th century. Below, we will explore three of them.

Walden (1854)

Eco-anarchist ideas can be traced back to the work of Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was a 19th century anarchist and a founding member of transcendentalism, which has been associated with the conception of a form of ecology called deep ecology.

Walden was the name of a pond in Massachusetts, on the edge of Thoreau's birthplace, the town of Concord. Thoreau single-handedly built a cabin by the pond, and lived there from July 1845 to September 1847, under primitive conditions. His book Walden covers this period in his life and promotes ecologist ideas of resistance to the growth of industrialised culture through the adoption of self-sufficient and simple-living practices within nature, such as anti-materialism and holism.

Fig. 2 Henry David Thoreau

This experience led Thoreau to believe that introspective pursuits, individualism and the freedom from the laws of society were the key elements needed by humans to achieve peace. He therefore adopted the aforementioned ecological ideals as a form of resistance to industrialised civilisation and societal rules. Thoreau's focus on individual freedoms echo individualist anarchist beliefs of rejecting state laws and restrictions to have the freedom to think rationally and cooperatively with humans and non-humans.

Universal Geography (1875-1894)

Élisée Reclus was a French anarchist and geographer. Reclus wrote his 19-volume book titled Universal Geography from 1875-1894. As a result of his in-depth and scientific geographical research, Reclus advocated what we now call bioregionalism.

American author Kirkpatrick Sale grasped the eco-anarchist essence of the book by stating that Reclus demonstrated

Reclus believed that large-scale societal laws based on political and economical gains had disrupted human harmony with nature and led to the domination and abuse of nature. He endorsed nature conservation and held that humans must not only preserve the environment but must also take direct action to mend the damage they have caused by abandoning authoritative and hierarchical state institutions and living in harmony with their distinct, natural environments. Reclus was awarded the Paris Geographical Society Gold medal in 1892 for this publication.

Fig. 3 Élisée Reclus

The Breakdown of Nations (1957)

This book was written by Austrian economist and political scientist Leopold Kohr and advocated the dissolution of large-scale state governance to combat what Kohr referred to as the 'Cult of Bigness'. He claimed that human problems or 'social miseries' were because

Instead, Kohr called for small-scale and local community leadership. This influenced economist E. F. Schumacher to produce a series of influential essays collectively titled Small in Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, which critiqued large industrial civilisations and modern economics for depleting natural resources and damaging the environment. Schumacher stated that if humans continued to view themselves as the masters of nature, it would lead to our doom. Like Kohr, he suggests small-scale and local governance focused on anti-materialism and sustainable environmental management.

Eco Anarchism vs Anarcho Primitivism

Anarcho-primitivism can be described as a form of Eco-anarchism, inspired by the ideas of Thoreau. Primitivism generally refers to the idea of simple living in accordance with nature and criticises modern industrialism and large-scale civilisation for being unsustainable.

Anarcho Primitivism is characterised by

• The idea that modern industrial and capitalist society is environmentally unsustainable

• The rejection of technology as a whole in favour of 're-wilding',

• The desire to establish small and decentralised communities which adopt primitive ways of life such as the 'hunter-gatherer' lifestyle

• The belief that economic exploitation originated from environmental exploitation and domination

These ideas were best outlined in the works of John Zerzan who rejects the idea of the state and its hierarchical structures, authority and domination and technology stating

Fig. 4 John Zerzan, 2010, San Francisco Anarchist Bookfair

Example of an Eco Anarchist movement

An example of an Eco Anarchist movement can be seen in the Sarvodaya Movement. A large part of the effort to liberate India from British rule can be attributed to the “gentle anarchy” of this Gandhian Movement. While liberation was the main goal, from the beginning it was clear that the movement also advocated for social and ecological revolution.

Pursuing the common good was the main focus of the movement, where members would advocate for an ‘awakening’ of the people. Like Reclus, Sarvodaya’s logistical goal was the breakdown of society’s structure into much smaller, community organisations - a system they called 'swaraj.'

Communities would run their own land based on the needs of the people, with production focused on the greater good of the people and the environment. Sarvodaya would thus hope to end the exploitation of the worker and nature, as instead of production being focused on profit-building, it would be shifted towards providing for the people of their own community.