5. THE ENVIRONMENT
Anarchism ... has always fostered an intense interest
in the proper ecological management of the Earth, and its history,
theory and practice contains valuble clues and suggestions as to how
we might overcome the ecological crisis that presently confronts the
human species.
Graham Purchase, Anarchism and Ecology: the
Historical Relationship of Anarchism to Ecological Thought, Black
Swan, 1992.
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1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1. The Earth is facing an environmental crisis on a scale
unprecedented in human history. This environmental crisis is already
responsible for high levels of human suffering. If the crisis
continues to develop at its current rate, the ultimate result will be
the extinction of human life on the planet.
2. We call for action to end the environmental crisis because of
the threat it poses to humankind, and because we recognize that
nature and the environment have value in their own terms. Although we
hold human life above all other life on the planet, we do not think
that humans have the right destroy animals, plants and eco- systems
that do not threaten its survival.
3. The main environmental problems include:
3.1. Air pollution: destroys the ozone layer that filters out
dangerous rays from the sun; creates a general increase in planetary
temperatures (the greenhouse effect) that will severely disrupt
weather patterns; turns rain water into acid that destroys plant and
animal life; causes respiratory and other diseases amongst humans.
3.2. Solid waste: the sea and the land environments are poisoned
by the dumping of dangerous industrial wastes (such as mercury and
nuclear waste); the use of materials that nature cannot break down in
packaging and in other products, particularly disposable products,
have turned many parts of the world into large rubbish dumps as well
as wasting resources; poisons and injures people.
3.3. Soil erosion: this takes place in both the First and the
Third World, and is the result of factors such the (mis-)use of
chemical fertilizers, dangerous pesticides etc, as well as
inappropriate land use, land overuse, and the felling of trees. For
these reasons, soil is eroded at a rate faster than that at which it
is being produced; contributes to rural poverty <1>.
3.4. Extinction: plants and animals are being made extinct at a
faster rate than any time since the dinosaurs died out, 60 million
years ago; results in the loss of many species, and undermines the
ecosphere on which all life depends.
4. All of these environmental problems exist on a serious scale in
South Africa <2>.
4.1. For example, in 1990 coal burning power stations and
factories in the Eastern Transvaal and Vaal Triangle pumped acid
rain- producing chemicals into the atmosphere at levels twice those
of (ex-) East Germany, which is the country with the world's most
serious acid rain problem <3>.The area affected includes half
of South Africa's agricultural land and forest resources, whilst the
rivers that drain out of it provide a quarter of the country's
surface water.
4.2. As for soil erosion, this takes place in South Africa at a
very high rate: on average, at least 20 tons of topsoil are lost for
every ton of grain produced. Rates are higher in many areas.
5.The environmental crisis has contributed strongly to the
emergence of a large world- wide environmental movement. This
movement first emerged in the nineteenth- century but has become
especially prominent since the 1960s.
2. EXPLAINING THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
6. We reject the argument that economic development and economic
growth always leads to the destruction of the environment. The
implication of this type of argument is either that the environmental
crisis is unavoidable and that we should just "grin and bear it", or
that the world's economy must be drastically shrunk, and industry
replaced with small- scale craft and agricultural production.
6.1. By "development" we mean a sustained structural shift in the
economy from the primary sector (farming, mining) towards
manufacturing and the service sector; by "economic growth" we mean
the expansion of per capita output in a given economy. <4>.
6.2. There is nothing inherently environmentally destructive about
modern industrial technologies <5>. Many dangerous technologies
and substances can be replaced. For example, petrochemical based
plastics, which are not biodegradable, can be replaced by starch-
based plastics (which safely disintegrate if left outside in a couple
of weeks), palm- oil can be used to replace diesel etc.
6.3. There is nothing wrong in and of itself with development and
economic growth <6>. The point is that these processes can and
must take place on environmentally- sensitive and sustainable lines.
Dangerous technologies must be replaced with sustainable ones (eg).
nuclear energy with solar energy. Wasteful practices must be ended
(eg). the use of disposable containers as opposed to recyclable ones
like glass bottles; the production of more of a good than can be
used.
6.4. There is still a need for (environmentally- sustainable)
development and economic growth in order to deal with poverty and
under- development (eg). need for a massive program of house-
building.
6.5. In addition, industrial technology holds a number of
advantages over small- scale craft production <7>. Industry can
produce many types of goods on a larger scale and at a faster rate
than craft production, and can thus not only increase the level of
economic growth, but also help shorten the working day, and free
people from many unpleasant jobs.
7. We reject the argument that the First World is, as a whole,
responsible for the environmental crisis <8>. By the "First
World" we mean the advanced industrial capitalist countries of West
Europe, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and Japan.
According to this kind of argument living standards in the First
World are excessively high, with the "average" person not only
consuming resources at a much higher rate than people elsewhere, but
also owning far more things than are remotely neccesary for a
comfortable existence.The implication of this argument is that there
must be a drastic reduction in First World living standards, and that
the rest of the world can never hope to raise their living standards
to the levels supposedly enjoyed by the "rich countries.
7.1. The majority of people in the First World- the working class-
are not a rich elite living it up at the expense of the planet and
the Third World (Africa, Asia, South America, and arguably, parts of
the ex- Eastern bloc) <9>.There are massive levels of
inequality in wealth and power in the First World.
7.2. For example, in the United Kingdom (UK) (Britain and Northern
Ireland) at the start of the 1980s, the top 10% of the population
received 23.9% of total income while the bottom 10% received only
2.5%. The top 10% of the population also owned four fifths of all
personal wealth, and 98% of all privately held company shares and
stocks. The top 1% itself owned 80% of all stocks and shares.
Meanwhile the bottom 80% of the population owned just 10% of the
personal wealth, mostly in the form of owning the house they live in.
These economic inequalities correspond to material deprivation and
hardship. A study published in 1979 found that about 32% of the
population of the UK (15-17.5 million out of a population of 55.5
million) was living in or near poverty.A 1990 United Nations survey
of child health in the UK showed that 25% of children were
malnourished to the extent that their growth was stunted <10>.
7.3. From these figures it should be clear that the majority of
the working class in the First World is not enjoying "very high per
capita material living standards". The high levels of consumption
that exist in the First World can only be explained by reference to
the excessively high living standards of the ruling classes as well
as parts of the middle class. In the Third World, too, there is a
small ruling elite whose jet- set lifestyle contributes directly to
environmental degradation.
7.4. In fact, given that most industry (and hence pollution) is
located in the First World, the working class of these countries is
among the primary victims of environmental degradation.
7.5. Thus, the majority of people in the First World do not need
"de- development" and a scaling down of living standards, but
increased (egalitarian and environmentally- sensitive) growth to
improve their living standards.
3. CAPITALISM AND THE STATE: AT THE ROOT OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
8. The real blame for the environmental crisis must be laid at the
door of capitalism and the State, and the society which these forces
have created.
9. Capitalism is an enormously wasteful system of production,
which is geared towards competition in the market, and to making
profits. Under capitalism, the needs of the working class are not
met, a false sort of "over- production" takes place, and pollution is
endemic <11>. SEE POSITION PAPER ON
CLASS STRUGGLE FOR DISCUSSION OF
CAPITALISM.
9.1. Huge amounts of goods are built to break as soon as possible
in order to keep sales up (built- in obsolescence).
9.2. A large number of useless or inefficient goods are promoted
and sold by means of high pressure advertising (eg) private cars in
place of large- scale public transport.
9.3. We must not make the mistake of assuming that all goods
produced under capitalism are actually consumed by ordinary people.
Often the bosses produce more of a given good than can be sold on the
market, and this can lead to a price collapse and a recession. The
bosses' solution is to destroy or stockpile the "extra" goods, rather
than distribute them to those who need them (which would cut into
profits) (eg). In 1991 there were 200 million tons of grain worldwide
which were hoarded to preserve price levels. Three million tons could
have eliminated famine in Africa that year.
9.4. It also costs money and cuts into potential profits to
install safety equipment and monitor the use of dangerous materials.
It is more profitable for the capitalists to shift these costs
(sometimes called "externalities") onto the consumer in the form of
pollution. 9.5. We noted above that there are many environmentally-
friendly technologies that can replace environmentally destructive
ones. Many of these have been bought up and suppressed by vested
capitalist interests that do not want technological changes that will
threaten their profits <12>.
10. The State, like capitalism, is a major cause of environmental
degradation. SEE POSITION PAPER ON CLASS
STRUGGLE FOR DISCUSSION OF THE STATE.
10.1. The State is a structure created to allow the minority of
bosses and rulers to dominate and exploit the masses of the working
class (and working peasants). The State will not willingly enforce
strong environmental protection laws against the bosses because it
does not want to cut into the profits of the bosses and into its own
tax revenue.
10.2. In addition, the rulers of the State are afraid that strong
environmental laws will chase away investors (eg). in 1992,
capitalists in Holland were able to block a proposed tax on carbon
pollution by threatening to relocate in other countries <13>.
10.3. The State directly contributes to the environmental crisis
in its drive to strengthen its military power against the working
class and against rival States. War and the mobilization of resources
for war has devastating effects on the environment <14>.
10.4. Massive amounts of resources that could be used to introduce
environmentally- friendly technologies, promote soil conservation and
the like are spent on military projects: worldwide military
expenditure amounts to $900 billion a year.
10.5. Military technology such as atomic weapons are more than
capable of destroying all life on the planet. Beyond this, many
technologies developed in wars have been adapted to industry,
resulting in very dangerous products (nuclear weapons --> nuclear
reactors; nerve gases --> pesticides).
10.6. Both war and environmental destruction are based on a
disrespect for life and the values of domination, conquest and
control (over people or nature).
10.7. Another example of the links between the State's war against
people and its war against the environment: evidence has emerged that
the South African Defense Force (SADF) was involved in the smuggling
of ivory and rhino horns to fund Unita and Renamo rightwing armed
operations in Angola and Mozambique <15>. In this case, rare
animals were slaughtered to prop up reactionary movements aligned to
the Apartheid state.
11. Capitalism and the State also contribute to environmental
degradation by generating massive inequality.
11.1. One reason for the environmental crisis is clearly the
excessively high consumption of the ruling classes of the First World
and the Third World. Capitalism and the State always result in the
accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of a few.
11.2. Poverty also leads directly to environmental
destruction(eg). the homelands system in South Africa. The homelands
only make up 13% of the country's surface territory but are home to
more than 10 million people, thus creating severe pressure on the
land: the land is overgrazed, scarred by dongas, and natural
woodlands are denuded <16>.
11.3. Poverty is the direct result of the system of capitalism and
the State(eg). the capitalists supported the homelands system because
they wanted farming in the homelands to subsidize cheap migrant labor
by supporting the workers' families, and providing a retirement home
for old and crippled workers. In addition, they wanted to prevent
African peasants from competing with them in agriculture and the land
market. The size of the homelands reflects the process of colonial
dispossession that resulted in the White farmers owning most of the
land. The State supported the homelands system because it promotes
the interests of the capitalists and also because it wanted to
prevent the development of a urbanized African working class. SEE
POSITION PAPER ON FIGHTING RACISM
FOR DISCUSSION OF RACIAL CAPITALISM IN SOUTH AFRICA
12. It is possible that the very idea that people should dominate
and exploit nature only emerged after relationships of domination and
exploitation developed within human society<17>. In classless
societies, according this theory, people saw themselves as part of
nature, but with the emergence of inequality a new worldview in which
others (humans and the environment) were seen as things to be
manipulated and controlled develops.
13. We reject the idea that the environment can be saved by means
of the State, or by electing a Green Party. Not only does the State
defend capitalism, but the State is itself one of the main causes of
environmental destruction.
4. WHY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ARE DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE
WORKING CLASS.
14. At a general level, it is clear that the environmental crisis
affects everybody, and threatens the survival of the human race as a
whole.
15. However, even though the environmental crisis is a global
threat, it is the working class (and working peasantry) that is most
severely affected by the various environmental problems <18>.
15.1. It is the working class which has to take the dangerous jobs
that cause environmental degradation. At least three workers died of
exposure to mercury waste at the Thor Chemicals plant in KwaZulu-
Natal <19>.. The company got off with a R13,500 fine in 1995.
Farmers in South Africa (as well as the State) routinely make use of
dangerous pesticides which are banned or restricted in their
countries of manufacture<20>. The workers who do the actual
spraying are often untrained, lack protective clothing, and are often
not able to read the labels that explain appropriate safety
procedures. As a result, at least 1600 South Africans die from the
chronic effects of pesticides every year.
15.2. Working class communities, particularly working class Black
townships and squatter camps, also bear the brunt of environmental
problems. Pollution levels in Soweto are two and a half times higher
than anywhere else in the country, and children in Soweto suffer from
more asthma and chest colds, and take longer to recover from
respiratory diseases, than children elsewhere <21>.
15.3. Because of the racial division of labour in South Africa
(which confined Africans to low- paying unskilled and semi- skilled
jobs), because of the design of the Apartheid city (dirty industries
and dumps were located near townships rather than White suburbs), and
because of the homeland system, it is clear that the Black working
class is the main victim of South Africa's environmental crisis.
15.4. Therefore, a safe environment is a basic need for the
workers and the poor of South Africa. The environment is not just
something "out there" such as the veld, sea etc. The environment also
refers to where people live and work <22>.We can distinguish
between "green" environmental issues (like wildlife, trees, ozone
layer etc.), and "brown" environmental issues (like workplace safety
and community development) <23>.The two are obviously
connected: brown ecological issues (like lack of sewerage facilities)
directly affect green ecological issues (like marine life); tackling
brown issues will generally improve green ecology.
15.5. Unlike the working class, the bosses and the rulers,
including the Black politicians and Black business, are protected
from the effects of their greed and appetite for power by their air-
conditioned offices and luxury suburban homes.
15.6. While in the long- term a global environmental crisis would
obviously affect everyone, it is not true that everybody shares an
immediate interest in fighting against the environmental crisis: the
bosses and the State benefit from the processes that harm the
environment and the middle classes can at the very least avoid
contact with many environmental hazards <24>.. Only the workers
and the poor have a direct interest right now in fighting for a clean
environment.
16. There is clear evidence of environmental concern and awareness
on the part of the Black working class (eg). the involvement of the
Chemical Workers Industrial Union in the campaign against Thor
Chemicals, linking opposition to the dangerous working conditions at
the Thor plant to opposition to the company's practice of importing
toxic waste <25>.
17. It is, however, undoubtedly true that the membership of most
environmental organizations in South Africa (and in a number of other
countries) is mainly White and middle- class <26>. As should be
obvious from what we have said before, we reject the view that this
membership profile can be explained in terms of the inherently
"White" or "petty- bourgeois" nature of environmental issues
<27>.
17.1. A number of factors make it difficult for Black working
class people to get involved in environmental organizations. These
include:a lack of time, inability to pay high membership fees (the
Wildlife Society charges R80 per year), a degree of ignorance around
environmental problems, and, finally, a lack of confidence in getting
involved in political activity <28>. This explanation is
inadequate because the Black working class has, despite these sorts
of obstacles, built large and powerful trade union and civic
movements.
17.2. Part of the explanation lies with the fact that many working
class people have been alienated by the actions of sections of the
environmentalist movement. These sections focussed their attention on
wilderness and wildlife conservation, and strongly supported the
State's establishment of nature reserves. But many of these reserves
were established by means of the forced removal of rural communities,
who thus lost their land as well as access to natural resources such
as fish and building materials. To add insult to injury, many of
these nature reserves were(until the 1990s) reserved for "Whites
only". These practices can only breed hatred for conservation among
the rural poor<29>.
17.3. Related to this is the fact that few environmental
organizations in South Africa address environmental issues of direct
relevance to the working class <30>. To use the distinction we
drew above, they focus on "green" environmental issues (wildlife,
ozone layer etc.) as opposed to the "brown" environmental issues
(health and safety, community development) that working class people
tend to emphasize. "For example, the Campaign to Save St. Lucia
nature reserve that begun in 1989 generally failed to consult the
people who lived in the area, many of whom had been forcibly removed
when the reserve was set up
5. MASS ORGANIZING AND ANARCHO- SYNDICALISM: THE WAY
FORWARD FOR THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET
18. Mass action and a working class revolution are the only real
ways to deal with the environmental crisis.
18.1. The environmental crisis was generated by capitalism and the
State, and can only be dealt with by challenging the power of these
forces. We believe that only mass organizing and mass actions, as
opposed to elections and lobbying, are effective methods of struggle.
18.2. Because of the manner in which capitalism and the State by
their very nature generate environmental destruction it is necessary
in the long term to overthrow these structures and create a society
based on real freedom and production and distribution on the basis of
need, not profit. This society can be called Anarchism or stateless
socialism.
18.3. The working class is the only force in society capable of
accomplish these tasks. As the main victim of the environmental
crisis, and as the victim of capitalism as a whole, the working class
has a direct interest in dealing with the environmental crisis and in
resisting and overturning the capitalist system as a whole. By
contrast, the ruling class, and sections of the middle class, are
dependent on the continued survival of capitalism and the State, and
are also able to avoid the worst effects of the environmental crisis.
18.4. In addition, the working class (and working peasantry) is
the source of all social wealth and is thus able, by action at the
point of production, to wield a powerful weapon against the bosses
and the rulers. we believe that the power of the workers must be
brought to bear in the struggle to halt the environmental crisis.
18.4. Finally, because the working class (and working peasantry)
produce all social wealth, only these classes can overthrow
capitalism and the State and create a free society in their place,
because only these classes do not need to exploit.
19. We believe that workplace organizing is the key to saving the
environment, in both the short- term and the long- term.
19.1. Because a large proportion of environmental damage takes
place at the point of production (as the result of dangerous
technologies, poor plant maintenance, hazardous operating procedures,
the handling of dangerous substances, poor worker training), and
because the workers andtheir communities are the main victims of this
pollution , "[t]rade union struggles for health and safety constitute
the first line of defense for an embattled environment"<31>.
19.2. The working class, organized in trade unions, allied with
communities struggling against environmental abuses can go a long way
in stopping the State/ capitalist onslaught against the planet. As we
argued above, dealing with brown ecological issues (safety, health
etc.) will definitely benefit green ecological issues (wildlife, sea
etc.). This sort of mass organizing by the productive working class
will do far more to stop the bosses than the small- scale guerrilla
and obstruction tactics favored by groups such as Earth First!, such
as sabotaging bulldozers <32>.
19.3. In the long- term the unions can not only defend the
environment but save it. Inspired by the revolutionary ideas of
Anarchism, and structured in a non- bureaucratic, decentralized and
democratic manner, the unions can be the battering ram that smashes
capitalism and the State, by seizing the factories, mines etc. and
putting them under the control of the workers (in cooperation with
community structures).
19.4. A working class revolution will help the environment in four
ways. First, the capitalist/ State system that was the main cause of
environmental problems, a system oriented to profit and power, will
be replaced by a society based on need- satisfaction and grassroots
democracy. Secondly, the excessive levels of consumption by the upper
class and the middle class will be eliminated altogether, as will the
idea that happiness can only be gained by buying more and more
useless commodities <33>. Thirdly, the introduction of social
and economic equality will end the environmental degradation forced
on the poor by means such as land shortages and the homelands system.
And finally, the workers will be able to install (and further
develop) the ecologically sustainable technologies that the bosses
suppress <34>.
6. WHAT WILL A FUTURE ANARCHIST SOCIETY LOOK LIKE, AND
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO THE ENVIRONMENT?'
20. The two fundamental structures of the Anarchist society will
be the Syndicate (democratic workplace associations) and the Free
City- Commune (the self- managed city or village, made up of
syndicates and community committees in a given area) <35>.
20.1. Communes will be federated into regions and nations; they
will also be linked by federations of Syndicates that provide
services impossible to organize purely at the level of the individual
Commune (eg. transcontinental railways, post).
20.2. Each Commune must be located in a particular ecological
region (Bio- region) and must learn to preserve, enhance and
integrate itself into that region's natural dynamics.
20.3. The trade unions and civic associations provide the nucleus
of the future syndicates and communes.
7. WORKERS SOLIDARITY FEDERATION ACTIVITY ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
General perspectives
21. The role of Workers Solidarity Federation is first and
foremost to spread the ideas of Anarchism as far and far as possible.
We are also in favor of helping the working class organize itself and
increase its confidence in its own decision- making capacity.
22. A crucial part of our work is to link a criticism of the
present society with a vision of how society could be organized to
benefit the masses. We support all progressive struggles, for their
aims, for the confidence that campaigning gives people, and because
it is in struggle that ideas are spread.
23.We always try to relate our ideas to the day to day needs and
struggles of the working class. We are opposed to an abstract form of
environmentalism that does not link itself to the class struggle.
Guidelines for day-to-day activities
24. Call for workers in polluting factories to enforce safety
rules and monitor pollution. Support actions by workers and the local
community to stop/ reduce pollution. Where factories cannot be made
safe we can demand that they be closed but that their workers get
employed at the same pay levels and skill in the local area.
25. Call for the shutting down of all nuclear power stations under
capitalism because the placing of profits before human needs means
that these facilities will never be safe.
26. Link the fight for land redistribution to the issue of how the
homelands system has generated severe environmental problems. Argue
that the redistributed land should be farmed by means of sustainable
agricultural practices.
27. Support wilderness preservation in the form of nature
reserves, but, recognizing that such reserves have often been set up
at the expense of local communities, and the resentment this creates,
call for these communities to retain access to some grazing, dry
wood, and other resources. Demand that local communities receive cut
from gate takings. Unionize workers at these facilities.
28. Oppose all testing of atomic, biological and chemical weapons
in all circumstances and support blacking of goods and services as
well as other direct action to halt these tests.
29. Oppose the practice of vivisection not just fir its cruelty
but for its scientific flaws. Link this issue to the struggle for
health and safety by pointing out how bogus "scientific" testing on
animals results in the exposure of the working class to unsafe
medicines.
30. Call for strike action against companies strip mining forests
to force them to reforest and manage extraction. Support unionization
of workers in these industries and their revolutionary education.
31. Call on unions to fund their own environmental monitoring
section answerable to the workers and community affected. Call on
unions to publicize and organize action against industries that
expose workers and the community at large to toxic substances,
pollution etc.
32. Within unions also demand industry use recycled products where
possible and find alternatives for products or by-products that harm
the environment. This should be backed by industrial action.
TO SUM UP
(1) The Earth is facing a serious environmental crisis with
potentially catastrophic results.
(2) The environmental crisis has been created by capitalism and
the State.
(3) The working class has a direct interest in fighting to halt
the environmental crisis as it the main victim of this crisis. By
contrast the ruling class profits from the crisis.
(4) Mass action against the capitalists and the State is the only
effective way to fight the environmental crisis in the short- term.
(5) The only effective long- term solution to the crisis is the
replacement of capitalism and the State by Anarchism or stateless
socialism.
(6) There will continue to be economic growth and industry in the
Anarchist society, but this will take place only on an
environmentally- sustainable basis.
(7) Workplace organization will play a central role in fighting
and winning the battle to end the environmental crisis, and its
causes.
NOTES
<1>. Cooper, Dave, (1991) "From Soil Erosion to
Sustainability: land use in South Africa," in Cock, Jacklyn and Eddie
Koch (editors), (1991), Going Green: People, Politics And The
Environment In South Africa. Cape Town. Oxford University Press.
p177.
<2>. Three books that provide a good overview of
environmental issues in South Africa are Cock, Jacklyn and Eddie Koch
(editors), (1991), Going Green. Cape Town. Oxford University Press;
Koch, Eddie, Cooper Dave and Henk Coetzee, (1990), Waste, Water And
Wildlife: The Politics Of Ecology In South Africa. Penguin Forum
Series; Ramphele, Mamphela (editor), (1991), Restoring The Land:
Environment And Change In Post- Apartheid South Africa. London. Panos
Institute.
<3>. This figure and the next one come from Koch, Cooper and
Coetzee, (1990), p5. and Cooper (1991), p177, respectively.
<4>. Basically the same definitions as those provided by
Gould, J.D. (1972), Economic Growth in History pp1-2.
<5>. Purchase, Graham (1993), "Rethinking the Fall of State-
Communism", in Rebel Worker, volume 12, no 9 (108) pp15-16. The
examples of environmentally- friendly technologies come from
Purchase, (1993), pp15-6 and Graham Purchase, (1991), Anarchist
Organization: Suggestions and Possibilities. Sydney. Black Swan.
pp3-5, 21-3.
<6>. The following two sections are based on McLoughlin,
Conor, (1992), "Does 'Saving The Planet' Mean An End To Industry,
Progress And Development?", in Workers Solidarity no 36. Ireland.
<7>. Graham Purchase, (1993), p17.
<8>. For an example of this kind of argument, see Ted
Trainer, (1991), "Third World Poverty", in Andrew Dobson (ed) The
Green Reader. Andre Deutsch. London.
<9>. The argument presented in this section draws on Bill
Meyers. "Ecology and Anarcho -syndicalism", Ideas and Action no 13.
<10>. Figures for the UK from Robert Lekachman and Borin van
Loon, (1981), Capitalism for Beginners. Pantheon Books. New York,
esp. 44-5, 67, 70. and Class War (1992),Unfinished Business: The
Politics Of Class War. AK Press and CWF, p. 77.For the USA see Lind,
Micheal, The Next American Nation, cited in "Stringing up the
Yuppies", (24 September 1995), Sunday Times, p14; Business Week which
estimated in 1991 36 million Americans (15% of the total population)
were living in poverty; and New York Times, Sept. 25, 1992
<11>. This section is based on McLoughlin (1992); Class War
(1992), pp30-1; and Lekachman and van Loon, (1981), pp62-4.
<12>. McLoughlin (1992); Purchase (1991), p4.
<13>. Weekly Mail (22-8 May 1992) p34 for this and other
examples.
<14>. This section is based on Cock, Jacklyn, (1991a),
"Going Green at the Grassroots: The Environment As A Political
Issue," in Cock, Jacklyn and Eddie Koch (editors), 1991, Going Green.
Cape Town. Oxford University Press. pp8-9.
<15>. Koch, Cooper and Koetzee (1990), pp15-6, 25-27; Ann
Eveleth, (September 1-7, 1995), "SADF used ivory to fund war in
Angola", in Mail and Guardian, p6; Ann Eveleth, (Sept 8-14 1995) "New
claims of SADF ivory smuggling", in Mail and Guardian, p8.
<16>. On the environmental impact of the homelands system
see Koch, Cooper and Coetzee (1990), pp6-9; also Cooper (1991)
pp177-9). For an analysis of why the capitalists and the government
promoted the homelands system and migrant labor, see Callinicos,
Luli, (1981),Gold and Workers 1886-1924, volume 1 of A People's
History of South Africa. Ravan Press. Braamfontein, especially
Chapter 17; Lacey, M., (1981), Working For Boroko: The Origins Of A
Coercive Labor System In South Africa. Ravan. Braamfontein.;
Legassick, M, (1974), "South Africa: capital accumulation and
violence," Economy and Society vol. 3, no. 3.; Saul, John S. and
Stephen Gelb, (1986), The Crisis in South Africa, Zed Books. Revised
edition; Posel, D., (1991), The Making Of Apartheid 1948-61: Conflict
And Compromise. Clarendon Press. Oxford, esp Chapter 1.
<17>.Green Anarchism: Its Origins And Influences, text of
PNR's lecture during the Workers Education Association (Oxford
Industrial Branch), Anarchism Course, (24 November 1992), pp21-2.
<18>. Crompton, Rod and Alec Erwin, (1991), "Reds And
Greens: Labor And The Environment," in Cock, Jacklyn and Eddie Koch,
1991, Going Green. Oxford University Press. Cape Town. p80; Chemical
Workers Industrial Union (1991), "The Fight for Health and Safety",
in Ramphele, Mamphela (editor), 1991, Restoring the Land. London.
Panos Institute. p80; also Koch and Hartford cited in Cock (1991a)
p14. For similar arguments for the USA, see J. Baugh, (1991),
"African- Americans and the Environment: A Review Essay," in Policy
Studies Journal, vol. 19, no. 2, p194; Morrison, D.E. and R.E. Dunlap
(1986), "Environmentalism And Elitism: A Conceptual And Empirical
Analysis," in Environmental Management, vol. 10, no. 5, pp586; van
Liere, K.D. and R.E. Dunlap, (1980), "The Social Bases of
Environmental Concern: A Review Of Hypotheses, Explanations And
Empirical Evidence," in Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 2.
pp183-4, 189-90. Cf. to Lowe, P. and J. Goyder, (1983), Environmental
Groups in Politics. George Allen and Unwin. London. pp14-5;
McCloughlin (1992).
<19>. Crompton and Erwin (1991) pp82-3; Mail and Guardian
April 1995.
<20>. Cooper (1991) p185.
<21>. Cock (1991a) p4; for other examples see Koch
(1991),"Rainbow Alliances: Community Struggles Around Environmental
Problems," in Cock, Jacklyn and Eddie Koch, 1991, Going Green. Oxford
University Press. Cape Town. pp21-2; and Khan, Farieda, 1991,
"Environmental Sanitation", in Ramphele, Mamphela (editor), 1991,
Restoring the Land. London. Panos Institute. p132.
<22>. Crompton and Erwin, (1991), p80; also David
McDonald,(September 1994), "Black Worker, Brown Burden: municipal
workers and the environment", South African Labor Bulletin, Vol 18,
no 4. p73.
<23>. McDonald (1994) p73.
<24>. see also A. Dobson, (1990), Green Political Theory: An
Introduction. Unwin Hyman. London. pp152-3.
<25>. see Koch (1991), "Rainbow Alliances" for an overview
of community and worker struggles around environmental issues since
the late 1980s
<26>. On South Africa, see Ulrich, N. and L. van der Walt,
(1994), Green Politics In South Africa: The Ideological And Social
Composition Of The South African Environmentalist Movement, With
Special Reference To Earthlife Africa And The Wildlife Society Of
Southern Africa. Sociology Dept. University of the Witwatersrand. For
elsewhere, see (eg). see Baugh, J., (1991); Cotgrove, S. and A. Duff,
(1980), "Environmentalism, Middle Class Radicalism, and Politics," in
Sociological Review, Vol 32. pp334,340,342; Lowe, P. and J. Goyder,
(1983); Morrison, D.E. and R.E. Dunlap (1986); Taylor, D.E., (1989),
"Blacks and The Environment: Towards And Explanation Of The Concern
And Action Gap Between Blacks And Whites," in Environment and
Behavior, vol. 21, no. 2; van Liere, K.D. and R.E. Dunlap, (1980).
<27>. For examples of this line of argument see Dobson
(1993) p218; Koch, Cooper and Koetzee, (1990), p. iv; Lowe and Goyder
(1980), p10; Lowe and Goyder (1983) pp25-6; van Liere and Dunlap
(1980) p183.
<28>. McDonald, David, (September 1994), "Black Worker,
Brown Burden: municipal workers and the environment", South African
Labor Bulletin, Vol 18, no 4. p76; Ramphele, Mamphela, (1991), "'New
Day Rising': Environmental Issues And The Struggle For A New South
Africa," in Ramphele, Mamphela (editor), 1991, Restoring the Land.
London. Panos Institute p6; also Taylor (1989) pp199-200, also 190-2;
Taylor, D., (1990), "Can the Environmental Movement Attract and
Maintain the Support of Minorities?," in B. Bryant and P. Mohai
(eds), The Proceedings of the Michigan Conference on Race and the
Incidence of Environmental Hazards. pp38-40; footnote 3 (p 54); the
converse argument (that middle class people are generally especially
prominent in political and voluntary organizations) is found in Lowe
and Goyder (1983) p11; Morrison and Dunlap (1986) p583; Taylor (1989)
p184; van Liere and Dunlap (1980) p184.
<29>. See Cock (1991a) pp1-2; Cock (1991b), "The Politics of
Ecology: Moving Away From The Authoritarian Conservation And Towards
Green Politics," Ramphele, Mamphela (editor), 1991, Restoring the
Land. London. Panos Institute; also see AFRA (1991), "Animals versus
People: the Tembe Elephant Park," in Cock, Jacklyn and Eddie Koch,
1991, Going Green. Oxford University Press. Cape Town; Ramphele
(1991) p6; Koch, Cooper and Coetzee (1990) pp22-5.; for similar
experiences in the USA see Taylor (1990) p42.
<30>. cf. Taylor (1990) pp40-1; Baugh (1991) pp182-3; Cock
(1991a) p2; Cock (1991b) pp13-14; Koch, Cooper and Coetzee (1990) p2;
Ramphele (1991) p6; also Khan (1990) p36; Marais, H., (1991), "When
Green Turns to White," in Work in Progress, no 89.; Koch, Cooper and
Koetzee (1990) pp24-5; quoted in Koch, Cooper and Coetzee (1990)
pp24-5; Ramphele, Mamphela, (1991), p7.
<31>. Crompton and Erwin (1991) p80; also Chemical Workers
Industrial Union (1991); McDonald (1994).
<32>. Bill Meyers. "Ecology and Anarcho -syndicalism", Ideas
and Action; see Anon. You Can't Blow Up A Social Relationship: The
Anarchist Case Against Terrorism for a detailed examination of the
case for mass organizing and actions instead of small- scale
guerrilla and terrorist approaches.
<33>. see Bill Meyers. "Ecology and Anarcho -syndicalism"
<34>. Mark McGuire, (1993), "Book Review Corner", Rebel
Worker, vol 12, no. 6 (108)). p12.
<35>. on the theory of the Communes and the Syndicates as
developed by classical Anarchism, see Guerin, Daniel, (1970),
Anarchism: From Theory To Practice. Monthly Review Press. New York
and London. Chapter 2, esp. pp56-60. The addition of the Bio-
regional dimension is found in Purchase (1993), Purchase (1991) and
Purchase, Graham, (1990), Anarchist Society and its Practical
Realization. San Francisco. See Sharp Press.
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