Deep Green Resistance

Deep Green Resistance (or Deep Green) is a perspective emerging from the current environmental movement that views mainstream environmental activism as being largely ineffective.^[1]

Beliefs

The Deep Green movement believes that civilization, and especially industrial civilization, is fundamentally unsustainable and must be actively dismantled in order to secure a livable future for all species on the planet.^[1] It is based largely on the concept of Deep ecology, which recognizes the inherent worth of other life forms and features of the natural world aside from their human utility.

The movement differentiates itself from "Bright green environmentalism", characterized by a focus on personal, technological, or government/corporate solutions,^[1] in that it holds these solutions as inadequate.

Tactics

The Deep Green perspective argues that the dominant culture, a term that encompasses all societies that are based on industrialism, will not undergo a voluntary transformation to a sustainable way of living. This includes the dismissal of a possible success of a slow and soft shift to sustainability. Individuals in the Deep Green movement believe that industrial civilization must be forced into collapse in order to maintain as much of the living world as possible, noting that carrying capacity is further diminished as civilization continues. The Deep Green Resistance supports an active resistance movement with the objective of accelerating the collapse of industrial civilization.^[1]

Within Deep Green theory, lifestyle or personal changes are not considered effective methods of creating meaningful change. The mainstream environmental movement is seen as being distracted by its emphasis on individual lifestyle changes and technological solutions instead of confronting systems of power and holding individuals, industries, and institutions accountable. ^[2][3]

The founders of the Deep Green movement view technological solutions, no matter how well intentioned, as inadequate and possibly leading to accelerated ecological destruction and pollution (see Jevons paradox). The Deep Green movement looks to pre-industrial and pre-civilization, land-based cultures as models for sustainable ways of living.^[1]

Origins and advocates

The term was created by the organizers of a conference entitled "Deep Green Resistance. Confronting Industrial Culture" in April, 2007 in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Lierre Keith was the main organizer.

Deep Green theory draws on elements of anthropology, phenomenology, deep ecology and ecofeminism.

The most prominent public advocates of Deep Green Resistance are Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, Waziyatawin, Stephanie McMillan, Jack D. Forbes, and Aric McBay. They draw on the philosophy and writings of many authors, including Richard Manning, Andrea Dworkin, Peggy Reeves Sanday, David Abram, Chellis Glendinning, Chris Hedges, Joseph Tainter, John Zerzan, Richard Heinberg, Daniel Quinn, Zoe Blunt and Jerry Mander among many others.^[1]

Literature and references

A book titled Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet by Aric McBay, Lierre Keith, and Derrick Jensen was released in May 2011, from Seven Stories Press.^[4]

Criticism

Major opposition against Deep Green Resistance is similar to that of anarcho-primitivism and Deep Ecology. Opponents claim that technology and social changes will exist in the future to solve the problems. They also frequently state that advocates of these concepts are merely misanthropic, destructive nihilists and that the end of industrial civilization would pose a moral dilemma, created by the need for a reduced population and relinquishment of life-saving technologies.^[5][6] A common criticism is also that Deep Green Resistance does not offer a widely accepted desirable alternative concept of human lifestyle.^[7]

It may also be true that, as the environment's degradation^[8] increases, DGR's viewpoint becomes more and more the only game in town. The Earth First!^[9] / Edward Abbey^[10] perspective around monkey-wrenching^[11] and eco-tage^[12] were, arguably, a problematic way of addressing problems at that time (for an interesting display of division within the green radical movement on a previous occasion when a perspective similar to that held by DGR was popular, see the book Defending the Earth^[13], which recounts debate between Earth First!'s David Foreman^[14] and the social ecologist Murray Bookchin^[15], centered around statements on the part of Foreman that Bookchin deemed anti-human). Now, it is possible that the ecological inertia^[16] and the inertia of the global capitalist-industrial system^[17] means that only such methods are meaningful. Many are, and should be, discomfited by such suggestions. However, it is a long time since the Club of Rome^[18] report 'Limits to Growth'^[19], the Brundtland report^[20], and subsequent efforts to engage international governmental and corporate support were instituted (for example the Kyoto^[21] and Rio^[22] summits under the auspices of the UN), and many would now perceive them as having failed^{[23] [24]} (and, to the extent that they are argued to have been successful, many would argue that there has been a profit protecting greenwash^{[25] [26]} to hide minimal actual change).

DGR is one easily explicable response to a situation that many perceive as beyond control. It's members seek to fight back, and see themselves as tomorrow's freedom fighters, whilst being fully aware that the underground (perhaps willing to use physical coercion, for example) part of the movement, at least, is currently more likely to be perceived as terrorist in nature, though the overground^[27] part of the movement is more subtle, adhering to a code of conduct^[28]. In the book, the activities of an underground are signposted more than they are explicated, which is a wise move on the part of it's authors. And, in fact, they seek to inform and educate on 'security' and 'warfare' whilst at the same time denying that they represent an 'underground', as this quote from their website illustrates:

"It provides an exploration of organizational structures, recruitment, security, and target selection for both aboveground and underground* action. Deep Green Resistance also discusses a culture of resistance and the crucial support role that it can play.

"Deep Green Resistance is a plan of action for anyone determined to fight for this planet—and win

"*Note: We are strictly an aboveground movement. We will not answer questions regarding anyone’s personal desire to be in or form an underground. We do this for the security of all involved with Deep Green Resistance."^[29]

Further critique from this perspective, quite strongly expressed (the article accuses DGR of 'crypto-green-fascism') can be seen on the Libcom website, for example^[30].

See also

• anarcho-primitivism
• Deep Ecology
• green anarchism
• radical environmentalism

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Derrick Jensen" Presentation at Deep Green Resistance Workshop, 26 September 2009. Crescent City, CA
2. ^ Jensen, Derrick. "Forget Shorter Showers: Why personal change does not equal political change." Orion Magazine, Jul/Aug 2009. http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4801/
3. ^ "A Context for FG." Fertile Ground Webpage. http://fertileground1.ning.com/page/a-context-for-fg. Accessed 6 October 2009
4. ^ Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet Amazon product details. Accessed 30 May 2011.
5. ^ Flood, Andrew (June 11, 2004), "Civilisation, Primitivism and Anarchism", Anarkismo, http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=1451, retrieved 2011-02-24 
6. ^ McQuinn, Jason (2001), "Why I Am Not A Primitivist", Post-Civilized, http://www.postcivilized.net/2010/07/why-i-am-not-a-primitivist/, retrieved 2011-02-24 
7. ^ Hill, Marcus (July 9, 2009), "Briefly Addressing Anti-Civilization Theory: Weakness, Strengths, and the Permaculture Link between it and the Participatory Society Movement", ZCommunications, http://www.zcommunications.org/briefly-addressing-anti-civilization-theory-by-marcus-hill, retrieved 2011-02-23 
8. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_degradation
9. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_First!
10. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey
11. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Wrench-Gang-P-S/dp/0061129763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319745522&sr=8-1
12. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Ecodefense-Field-Monkeywrenching-Bill-Haywood/dp/0963775103/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319745574&sr=1-1
13. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Defending-Earth-Dialogue-Between-Bookchin/dp/0896083829/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319746316&sr=8-1
14. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foreman
15. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Bookchin
16. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_global_warming#Climate_change_science
17. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/09/15/15climatewire-world-bank-report-slams-inertia-in-the-face-18561.html
18. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_of_Rome
19. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limits_to_Growth
20. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland_Report
21. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol
22. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Summit
23. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2001/jun/15/usnews.greenpolitics
24. ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/scientists-say-kyoto-protocol-is-outdated-failure-397801.html
25. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwash
26. ^ http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/274429/greenwash_taints_most_ecofriendly_claims.html
27. ^ http://deepgreenresistance.org/action/aboveground/
28. ^ http://deepgreenresistance.org/codeofconduct/
29. ^ http://deepgreenresistance.org/book/
30. ^ http://libcom.org/forums/news/deep-green-resistance-crypto-green-fascists-01062011

External links

• Official Deep Green Resistance Website
• Social network dedicated to Deep Green Resistance