Ecologism

Ecologism purpose

The purpose of ecologism is to shed let on the relationship between humans and the environment and encourage moral considerations for the environment in various fields ranging from politics to economics. Much of ecologism advocates for a fundamental transformation in how the environment is understood, as it believes that just reform is not enough.

Fig. 1 The beauty of the natural world

Principles of Ecologism

There are several defining principles in ecologism. These are ecology, holism, environmental ethics, and environmental consciousness.

Ecology

Ecology is a term that German Zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined in 1866. Human beings have often been placed as the masters of nature due to their increasing civilisation, evolution and position at the top of the food chain. Ecology challenges this idea and sees humans as just one link in a long, interconnected chain. It argues that by believing they are the masters of nature, humans have actually upset the balance of nature due to their inconsiderate actions.

Ecology views the world as a network of complex and overlapping ecosystems. These ecosystems are natural and strive to achieve harmony through self-regulation; however, ecosystems are not always closed and therefore react with each other. All ecosystems are part of a larger network that constitutes the global system.

Holism

As a result of the advancement of science and technology, the environment has been viewed through a mechanical lens where each part has been taken apart and examined. This view argues that science views the natural world like a machine in which its parts can be repaired, tested and altered through scientific methods.

Holism rejects this mechanistic view of the natural world and instead seeks to view the world as a whole. This means an emphasis on the interdependence of different parts of the world and a belief that we can't understand the different parts of the world unless we look at the big picture.

Environmental ethics of ecologism

Environmental ethics advocates for a non-human-centred approach to morality and ethics. Environmental ethics extends problems of morality to future generations of people, other animals, and the material world around us, instead of concentrating on what is good and evil or right and wrong in terms of human beings which is typical of ethics.

Fig. 2 Promotion of ecocentrism

Environmental Consciousness in ecologism

Environmental consciousness is a state in which one is attuned to, aware of and concerned with the world, including nature. There is a need to adjust what it means to be environmentally conscious, particularly within the western world. Western environmental consciousness has often taken an anthropocentric approach instead of an ecocentric one. This idea is typical of deep ecology, which also believes that if we were to achieve environmental consciousness, there wouldn't be a need for environmental ethics.

Ecologism characteristics

Some of the main characteristics of ecologism include post-materialism, sustainability, and anti-consumerism.

Post-materialism in ecologism

Post-materialism refers to the rejection of materialism. Human beings need to restructure their entire way of thinking, which has consistently perpetuated the belief that the acquisition of material goods makes humans better and happier. This way of thinking is incompatible with ecologism, a fundamental restructuring of the way in which human beings view material consumption must occur according to Ecologists.

Sustainability in ecologism

Sustainability encourages human beings to live within their environmental means. The earth was previously viewed as having the resources for an unlimited amount of consumption as science and technology have continually found solutions to issues. However, the principle of sustainability rejects the idea of unlimited resources and calls for the recognition that the earth is a closed ecosystem. Sustainability sets limits on the consumption of non-renewable resources and aims to reduce damage to the environment.

Forms of Ecologism

Now that we have agreed that the study of the environment is important, the question remains how best to approach our relationship with it. It seems even ecologists can't decide on the best approach either and therefore and a number of forms of ecologism exist. The three main types are deep ecology, shallow ecology, and social ecology.

Deep ecology

Deep ecology is a school of ecology that advocates for fundamentally altering how people and nature interact. According to deep ecology, humans and nature are equally valuable. Nature must not be seen in regards to its use to human beings, in fact, it is the duty of humans to aid in sustaining nature and not the reverse.

Society must restructure itself to reflect this. Deep ecology is anti-growth, ecocentric, ecologically conscious, and supports the idea of holism. Deep ecology encourages population control alongside living economies and living democracies.

Shallow Ecology

Shallow ecology, also known as Modernist or Reformist Ecology, is an attempt to balance anthropocentrism and nature. This results in the idea of 'enlightened anthropocentrism'.

The key principles of shallow ecology are weak sustainability, limits to growth and intergenerational equity.

• Weak sustainability is the idea that we can develop a more environmentally friendly capitalism rather than fundamentally changing the economic system.

• The acknowledgement that there are limits to our growth due to limited resources.

• Intergenerational equity which argues that we have an obligation to preserve nature for future generations.

Those who follow shallow ecology usually promote the most common policy approaches; green capitalism, managerialism, and technological solutions.

Social Ecology

According to social ecology, today's climate crisis and the environment's continued degradation are the results of unfair hierarchical structures and relationships. As an essential feature of social ecology is its provision of a framework for understanding how human actions and behaviours affect the environment. Social ecologists examine relationships between people and their environment in order to suggest alternative ways to create a sustainable society. It is the principal aim of social ecology to create a society in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Usually, social ecology ideas involve radical transformation as deep ecology does, but it also includes radical social change, in order to break down these hierarchical systems of oppression. There are several different forms of social ecology. These include Ecosocialism, Eco Anarchism, and Ecofeminism.

Key Thinkers in Ecologism

Many scholars have contributed to the field of ecologism. Some of the most important key thinkers include Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, E. F. Schumacher, Murray Bookchin, and Carolyn Merchant.

Aldo Leopold, 1887-1948

Aldo Leopold played a critical role in the development and understanding of environmental ethics. Leopold promoted the need for wildlife conservation and protection and viewed conservation as the harmony between humans and land. He argued that conservation fails because it's still based on an economic system that doesn't value nature.

Rachel Carson, 1907-1964

Rachel Carson was a marine biologist from the US who wrote ‘The Silent Spring’. Carson’s work is credited with helping advance the environmental movement across the world and contributed to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. She particularly focused on pollution and the harmful impact of chemicals like DDT.

Fig. 3 Portrait of Rachel Carson

E.F. Schumacher, 1911-1977

Ernst Friedrich Schumacher was best known for his proposals for human-scale, decentralized, and appropriate technologies. Schumacher published ‘A Guide for the Perplexed, in which he critiqued materialistic scientism. After his travels to Burma Schumacher established his idea of Buddhist economics. This form of economics sought to centre people and aimed to produce the most amount of well-being with the least possible amount of consumption.

Murray Bookchin, 1921-2006

Murray Bookchin was both an anarchist and an ecologist thinker. Bookchin coined the term 'social ecology' and looked at ideas of domination, which argued that destructive social structures need to be overturned. He combined anarchist ideals with ecologism to propose that ecological principles should be applied to the organisation of society. Bookchin was the founder of his own libertarian and socialist ideology called communalism.

Carolyn Merchant, 1936 – present

Carolyn Merchant was an early pioneer of Ecofeminism. She argues that the death of nature is intrinsically linked with gender oppression. She, therefore, argues for the overthrow of the Patriarchy and a new social structure which centres on nature as an equal partner with humans.