The Idols of Environmentalism

Greetings, all~

Rick was sent an article published in Orion Magazine, and he thought it might spark some thoughts and conversation here.  It’s a formidable piece, spanning two issues of the mag – I am posting just a couple of excerpts here and providing a link further down for anyone interested to pursue.

Have a brilliant summer!

Whitehawk

The Idols of Environmentalism
Do environmentalists conspire against their own interests?   
by Curtis White

Published in the March/April 2007 issue of Orion magazine

THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE powerful corporate villains to thank for the sorry state of the natural world is what Francis Bacon called an “idol of the tribe.” According to Bacon, an idol is a truth based on insufficient evidence but maintained by constant affirmation within the tribe of believers. In spite of this insufficiency, idols do not fall easily or often. Tribes are capable of exerting will based on principles, but they are capable only with the greatest difficulty of willing the destruction of their own principles. It’s as if they feel that it is better to stagger from frustration to frustration than to return honestly to the question, does what we believe actually make sense? The idea of fallen idols always suggests tragic disillusionment, but this is in fact a good thing. If they don’t fall, there is no hope for discovering the real problems and the best and truest response to them. All environmentalists understand that the global crisis we are experiencing requires urgent action, but not everyone understands that if our activism is driven by idols we can exhaust ourselves with effort while having very little effect on the crisis. Most frighteningly, it is even possible that our efforts can sustain the crisis. The question the environmental tribe must ask is, do our mistaken assumptions actually cause us to conspire against our own interests?

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