Deep Green Politics

Dark Green Environmentalism

Dark Green Environmentalism is closely associated with ideas of ecocentrism, Deep Ecology, degrowth, anti-consumerism, post-materialism, holism, the Gaia hypothesis of James Lovelock, and sometimes a support for a reduction in human numbers and/or a relinquishment of technology to reduce humanity's effect on the planet and the environment. As Alex Steffen notes, Dark Greens believe that environmental problems are an inherent part of industrialised civilisation, and seek radical political change. Dark Greens believe that currently and historically dominant political ideologies (sometimes referred to as Industrialism) inevitably lead to consumerism, overconsumption, waste, alienation from nature and resource depletion. Dark Greens claim this is caused by the emphasis on economic growth that exists within all existing ideologies, a tendency referred to as growth mania.

Alex Steffen continues by describing how, more recently, ‘Bright Greens’ have emerged as a group of environmentalists who also believe that radical changes are needed in the economic and political operation of society in order to make it sustainable, but that better designs, new technologies and more widely distributed social innovations are the means to make those changes—and that society can neither stop nor protest its way to sustainability.

Buddhism and the Ecological Self

As Joanna Macy’s notes in her work on ‘The Ecological Self’, Lynn White, Jr., suggested as long ago as 1967 that Western philosophical and religious traditions had led to a devaluation of nature and an anthropocentric view of the world. This, he (White) argued, has been a major contributor to our current ecological crisis. Others subsequently proposed Buddhism as a source for more ecologically friendly ways of being in the world due to its conception of humans being deeply interconnected with their environment. In recent years, scholars have investigated into Asian and Western religious approaches to ecology, with Buddhism offering fertile ground for many thinkers striving to provide a theoretical basis for a more sustainable relationship with the environment.

Although it would be short-sighted to suggest that the founders of Buddhism were Deep Ecologists, it is possible to identify many elements of Deep Ecology in Buddhism, and elements of Buddhism in Deep Ecology, and they have long been inextricably linked. Buddhist teachings focus on reducing suffering, which is indeed how humans should strive to treat all living creatures, including the Earth itself – an idea also tied to Buddhism's belief in interconnectedness and its opposition to consumerism. Buddhist moral thought encourages refraining from activities such as consuming certain types of meat, polluting water and cutting down trees – all of which are seen as contributing towards creating an ecologically sustainable existence. Furthermore, the sacred precept against killing other living beings - even those lower down the food chain – along with encouraging goodwill towards others, not just within humankind, but also other sentient creatures is often seen as embodying the essence of ecological sustainability and compassion.