Robin Everett: Welschmertz to Utopia

Page 1

W
e
l
t
s
c
h
m
e
r
z


t
o


U
t
o
p
i
a
 
 or:

A
Study
of
Communalism
as
an
Alternative
to
Extinction

Robin
Everett

Fine
Art
Painting
&
Printmaking

The
Glasgow
School
of
Art

Contact
Tutor:
Dr.
Ross
Birrell

Synopsis
 
 This
dissertation
examines
humankind’s
turbulent
relationship
with
the
natural
world,
questioning
the
 origins
of
the
separation
between
the
human
and
non‐human
worlds.
I
study
the
concept
of
the
eco‐ commune
 as
 a
 potential
 avenue
 to
 salvation
 from
 a
 self‐engineered
 apocalypse,
 querying
 the
 practical
 effectiveness
 of
 this
 nation‐wide;
 using
 information
 garnered
 from
 visits
 to
 Findhorn,
 communication
 with
 members,
 as
 well
 as
 literature
 on
 this
 situation.
 
 Chapter
 1
 examines
 case
 studies
 demonstrating
 the
 destructive
 capabilities
 of
 early
 humanity.
 From
 this
 I
 investigate
 the
 myriad
of
possibilities
for
the
 cause
of
this
bifurcation.
Chapter
2
is
concerned
 with
the
 exploration
 into
the
effects
of
use‐value
and
exchange‐value
that
is
placed
upon
the
non‐human
world,
examining
 capitalism
and
 its
by‐products
and
the
 effect
this
has
upon
interaction
and
 consumption.
 Chapter
3
 contains
 the
 presentation
 of
 self‐reliant
 sustainable
 communities,
 examining
 in
 particular
 the
 Findhorn
 Ecovillage.
 Finally,
 Chapter
 4
 questions
 the
 human
 reaction
 to
 such
 proposals
 and
 studies
 the
 theories
 behind
 the
 formation
 of
 societies.
 Looking
 at
 the
 writings
 of
 key
 figures
 in
 these
 fields
 spanning
 several
 centuries
 such
 as
 E.
 F.
 Schumacher,
 Thomas
 Hobbes,
 and
 Joel
 Kovel,
 this
 essay
 examines
initiatives
and
proposals
for
a
self‐reliant
sustainable
future
and
questions
the
possibility
of
 a
potential
auto‐extinction.

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|
2

Contents
 
 Image
List

4

Introduction

5

Chapter
1

1.1


A
History
of
Violence:
From
Hunter‐Gatherer
to
Urban
Cultivator

8

1.2


The
Consequences
of
Opportunistic
Affluence

9

1.3


The
Elevation
of
Humans
by
the
Creation
of
the
Divine

13

1.4


Reintegration
Through
Ecocentrism

14

Chapter
2

2.1


Capitalism
is
Cannibalism:
The
Value
in
the
Use
of
Use
Value

18

2.2


Subversion
in
the
Shift
and
Aggression
in
Response

19

2.3


Zen
Affluence:
Unparalleled
Material
Plenty

20

2.4


Steady‐State
Society

22

Chapter
3

3.1


Making
Salvation
Overt:
Eco‐Communalism
in
Practice

25

3.2


The
Constant
Ideal
of
Communalism
Through
Time

26

3.3


The
Bruderhof
Community:
Christian
Anti‐Capitalism

27

3.4


The
Findhorn
Foundation

29

3.5


Findhorn’s
Reliance
on
the
Capitalist
Existence

32

Chapter
4

4.1


A
Grand
Scale
Survival:
The
Commune’s
Notion
of
the
Commons
Nation‐Wide

35

4.2


Locke’s
Third
Party
Falls
Victim
to
the
Hobbesian
Leviathan

36

4.3


Rousseau
and
the
Recalcitrant
Masses

37

Conclusion

40

Glossary

43

Appendix

44

Bibliography

45

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|
3

Image
List

Image

Page
 10

Figure
1:

Photograph
from
the
mid‐1870s
of
a
pile
of
buffalo
skulls.
 http://papershake.blogspot.com/2011/10/tragedy‐of‐american‐bison.html

(accessed

10//02/2012)
 
 Figure
 2:
 Map
 demonstrating
 the
 area
 covered
 by
 the
 ‘Fertile
 Crescent’
 of
 ancient
 Mesopotamia,

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/HarranPlains/

11

(accessed

10/02/2012)
 Figure
3:
Satellite
photographs
taken
9
years
apart,
demonstrating
the
intensive
irrigation

12

of
 the
 desert
 landscape
 to
 cultivate
 cotton
 crops
 in
 the
 Harran
 Plains
 of
 south‐eastern
 Turkey,
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/HarranPlains/
(accessed
10/02/2012)
 Figure
4:
Satellite
photographs
taken
135
days
apart
displaying
the
extent
to
which
the

12

irrigation
of
the
Harran
Plains
has
decimated
the
surrounding
vegetation.
 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/HarranPlains/
(accessed
10/02/2012)
 
 Figure
4:
A
photograph
showing
the
Earthship
structure
in
Kinghorn,
Fife.

31

http://www.sead.org.uk/wp‐content/uploads/home_earthship.jpg
(accessed10/02/2012)

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|
4

Introduction
 
 When
 a
 species,
 owing
 to
 highly
 favourable
 circumstances,
 increases
 inordinately
 in
 numbers
 in
 a
 small
 tract,
 epidemics
 –
 at
 least,
 this
 seems
 generally
 to
 occur
 with
 our
 game
 animals
 –
 often
 ensue;
 and
 here
 we
 have
 a
 limiting
 check
 independent
 of
 the
 1 struggle
for
life.
–
Charles
Darwin,
On
the
Origin
of
Species 
 
 This
 dissertation
 is
 being
 written
 in
 the
 wake
 of
 one
 of
 the
 most
 exhaustive
 financial
 crises
 experienced
 by
 contemporary
 humanity,
 rivalling
 that
 of
 the
 Great
 Depression.
 The
 world
 stood
 witness
as
the
entire
global
economy
contracted
on
a
scale
not
seen
since
World
War
II.
The
majority
 of
 modern
 society
 under
 capitalist
 rule
 is
 choked
 with
 debt,
 battling
 ever‐increasing
 prices
 for
 2

commodities
whilst
suffering
devastating
numbers
of
unemployment .
With
the
imminent
collapse
of
 the
 Greek
 economic
 infrastructure,
 bankruptcy
 hanging
 heavy
 around
 the
 nation’s
 neck,
 there
 are
 veins
 of
 dissent
 emerging,
 hinting
 towards
 the
 fall
 of
 the
 Western
 world.
 However,
 despite
 such
 inauspicious
 conditions,
 the
 planet’s
 population
 also
 bore
 witness
 to
 the
 birth
 of
 the
 7
 billionth
 member
of
our
ever‐expansive
number.
In
1960
the
World
Bank
collection
of
development
indicators
 3

showed
the
world
population
to
be
marginally
over
3
billion 
and,
by
just
under
half
a
century
later,
in
 2009
that
number
had
more
than
doubled
to
approximately
6.7
billion,
showing
a
123.33%
increase.
 The
 exponential
growth
displayed
by
these
figures,
 when
 coupled
 with
statistics
presented
in
noted
 4

eco‐socialist
and
politician 
Joel
Kovel’s
2007
polemic
against
Capitalist
society
The
Enemy
of
Nature:
 The
End
of
Capitalism
or
The
End
of
the
World,
sheds
light
on
a
troubling
state
of
affairs:
 
 • Oil
consumption
rising
from
46
million
barrels
a
day
to
73
million
 • Human
 carbon
 emissions
 increasing
 from
 3.9
 million
 metric
 tons
 annually
 to
 an
 estimated
6.4
million
–
this
despite
the
additional
impetus
to
cut
back
caused
by
an
 awareness
of
global
warming,
which
was
not
perceived
to
be
a
factor
in
1970
 • Natural
gas
extraction
increasing
from
34
trillion
cubic
feet
per
year
to
95
trillion
 • Coal
extraction
rising
from
2.2
billion
metric
tonnes
to
3.8
billion
 • The
degradation
of
40%
of
agricultural
soils
 5 • Species
vanishing
at
a
rate
that
has
not
occurred
in
65
million
years. 
 
 These
 figures
 were
 gathered
 between
 1970
 and
 2000
 in
 the
 genesis
 of
 what
 could
 be
 titled
 the
 ‘environmentally
sensitive’
age.
Since
then,
the
cracks
have
deepened
in
the
facade
of
contemporary
 society,
proliferating
from
a
conscientious
few
to
an
outraged
majority,
adopting
the
recent
moniker
 of
 the
 ‘99%’.
 With
 the
 advent
 of
 this
 data,
 the
 front
 of
 capitalist
 affluence
 reigning
 eternal
 1

Charles
Darwin,
On
the
Origin
of
Species,
in
Derek
Wall,
Green
History,
p.
110 
In
the
United
Kingdom
by
December
2011
unemployment
had
risen
to
2.67
million,
the
highest
since
in
1994.
–
 ‘UK
Unemployment
Continues
to
Edge
Up’,
BBC
Business
News,
15/02/2012,
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business‐17039513
(accessed
15/02/2012) 3 
Pier
Carlo
Santini,
Modern
Landscape
Painting,
p.
1 4 
Kovel
is
a
member
of
the
Green
Party
of
the
United
States,
running
for
the
party’s
presidential
nomination
in
 2000
where
he
finished
fourth
overall.
‐
http://www.joelkovel.com
(accessed
09/11/2011) 5 
Joel
Kovel,
The
Enemy
of
Nature:
The
End
of
Capitalism
or
The
End
of
the
World,
pp.
1‐3 2

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5

disintegrates
 under
 the
 profusion
 of
 faults
 and
 the
 reality
 is
 laid
 bare:
 this
 is
 also
 one
 of
 the
 most
 environmentally
 degrading
 eras
 of
 the
 planet.
 Now,
 with
 the
 population
 blasting
 through
 the
 ‘7
 billion’
mark
and
showing
no
signs
of
slowing,
to
take
into
consideration
the
fact
of
a
planet
of
finite
 resources,
makes
the
idea
of
a
truly
sustainable
future
a
questionable
pipe‐dream.

 
 This
 dissertation
 will
 question
 the
 existing
 initiatives
 and
 designs;
 re‐examine
 the
 social
 structures
 that
are
aimed
towards
creating
a
sustainable
future
for
humanity,
both
of
which
aim
to
prolong
our
 role
in
the
evolution
of
the
planet.
By
exploring
the
ever‐changing
world
of
political
theory
and
action,
 as
well
as
delving
into
the
philosophical
ideals
of
ecocentrism
pitted
against
anthropocentrism,
I
hope
 to
be
able
to
evaluate
the
position
of
humankind
and
its
projected
 stance
 within
the
natural
 world.
 The
 first
 chapter
 will
 examine
 the
 extent
 of
 the
 domination
 of
 nature
 by
 man
 through
 the
 ages,
 attempting
 to
 discover
 the
 origins
 of
 this
 great
 divide
 and
 the
 impact
 that
 the
 rejection
 of
 a
 pantheistic
approach
towards
the
natural
world
had,
spawning
an
ever‐destructive
objectification
of
 systems
 as
 resources,
 shifting
 the
 values.
 This
 leads
 into
 the
 second
 chapter
 which
 will
 identify
 the
 separation
 between
 the
 ideas
 of
 use‐value
 and
 exchange‐value,
 exploring
 the
 intrinsic
 value
 in
 the
 non‐human
 world
 and
 the
 rapid
 eradication
 of
 this
 in
 capitalist
 society.
 Having
 ascertained
 these
 impressions
I
will
then
begin
to
study
them
in
practice.
This
gives
the
main
body
to
the
third
chapter;
 a
case
study
of
an
active
eco‐commune
in
the
United
Kingdom.
I
will
explore
the
various
initiatives
in
 practice,
the
ecological
footprint
projected
by
such
a
site,
and
the
economic
cost
of
such
a
site.
This
 leads
 to
 the
 fourth
 chapter;
 a
 questioning
 of
 inherent
 human
 behaviour
 and
 the
 willingness
 of
 the
 majority
 to
 accept,
 embrace,
 and
 practice
 a
 radical
 new
 lifestyle.
 In
 an
 effort
 to
 produce
 a
 full
 and
 objectively
 conscientious
 study
 I
 will
 be
 engaging
 with
 a
 number
 of
 sources
 ranging
 from
 texts
 by
 eminent
figures
such
as
John
 Locke,
E.
F.
 Schumacher,
and
Aldo
 Leopold,
to
 experiencing
first‐hand
 the
 organisation
 of
 an
 eco‐commune,
 and
 interaction
 with
 members
 currently
 residing
 in
 the
 Findhorn
Foundation
Ecovillage.
 
 This
dissertation
takes
into
account
the
full
scope
of
humankind’s
occupation
of
the
planet
and
asks
 not;
how
can
we
best
manage
nature
to
ensure
our
survival
as
a
species;
but
why
should
‘man
value
 67

himself
 as
 more
 than
 an
 infinitely
 small
 composing
 unit
 of
 one
 great
 unit
 of
 creation’ .
 Will
 the
 beckoning
light
in
the
darkness
that
mankind
sees
at
the
inevitable
end
of
its
habitation
of
the
Earth
 in
fact
be
the
harsh
neon
glare
of
its
self‐inflicted
apocalypse?

6

John
Muir
in
William
Devall
&
George
Sessions,
Deep
Ecology:
Living
as
if
Nature
Mattered,
p.
104 
This
poses
the
question:
Will
the
rest
of
the
biosphere,
from
macrocosm
to
continental
ecosystem,
benefit
from
 our
sustained
existence,
and
is
it
possible
for
us
to
create
a
sustainable
ecocentric
position
for
ourselves? 7

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6

‘Talk
of
Heaven!
Ye
disgrace
Earth.’
 8

Henry
David
Thoreau,
Walden

8

Henry
David
Thoreau,
Walden,
p.
188

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|
7

Chapter
1
 1.1


A
History
of
Violence:
From
Hunter­Gatherer
to
Urban
Cultivator
 
 Even
now
indeed
the
power
of
life
is
broken,
and
the
earth
exhausted
scarce
produces
 tiny
creatures,
she
 who
once
produced
all
kinds
and
gave
birth
to
huge
bodies
of
wild
 9 beasts.
–
Lucretius,
De
Rerum
Natura,
ca.
99
BCE
–
ca.
55
BCE 
 The
concern
with
and
questioning
of
mankind’s
relationship
with
nature
and
the
detrimental
effect
he
 has
had
upon
the
world
is
by
no
means
a
new
revelation.
Writers
as
far
back
as
Plato
and
Lucretius
 have
 condemned
 their
 contemporary
 agricultural
 methods
 and
 attitudes
 towards
 the
 non‐human
 world,
 lamenting
the
 loss
of
species
and
the
 ravaging
of
fertile
land.
 Whilst
 it
 is
becoming
 easier
to
 obtain
 and
 access
 statistics
 on
 these
 issues
 this
 does
 not
 by
 any
 stretch
 mean
 that
 it
 is
 a
 relatively
 new
 dilemma.
 Plato,
 writing
 between
 423
 BCE
 and
 347
 BCE,
 hints
 at
 an
 early
 form
 of
 environmentalism,
or
at
least
the
presence
of
an
environmental
awareness.
By
this
early
age
of
man,
 anthropocentric
 arrogance
 seemed
 to
 have
 projected
 itself
 in
 the
 complete
 domination
 and
 subjugation
of
the
natural
world
and
would
appear
to
have
been
present
for
long
enough
for
this
self‐ interest
to
have
manifested
itself
in
severe
ecological
repercussions:
 
 ...for
although
some
of
the
mountains
now
only
afford
sustenance
to
bees,
not
so
very
 long
ago
there
were
still
to
be
seen
roofs
of
timber
cut
from
trees
growing
there,
which
 were
of
a
size
sufficient
to
cover
the
largest
houses;
and
there
 were
 many
other
high
 trees,
cultivated
by
man
and
bearing
abundance
of
food
for
cattle.
Moreover,
the
land
 reaped
the
benefit
of
the
annual
rainfall,
not
as
now
 losing
the
 water
 which
flows
off
 10 the
bare
earth
into
the
sea,
but,
having
an
abundant
supply
in
all
places. 
 
 This
 is
 however,
 not
 the
 earliest
 evidence
 of
 a
 damaging
 split
 between
 the
 human
 and
 non‐human
 worlds.
 In
 1969,
 ecologist
 Winifred
 Pennington
 published
 The
 History
 of
 British
 Vegetation
 in
 which
 she
 references
 a
 1953
 case
 study
 undertaken
 by
 Danish
 botanists.
 This
 study
 demonstrated
 the
 destructive
power
inherent
in
man
regardless
of
evolutionary
development
or
his
point
in
Time.
The
 Danish
 study
 examined
 the
 fluctuations
 in
 levels
 of
 pollen
 over
 time;
 using
 this
 to
 determine
 the
 11

period
 in
 which
 the
 decline
 of
 the
 elm
 tree
 in
 the
 British
 Isles
 took
 place .
 When
 this
 was
 first
 undertaken
 in
 1941
 the
 decline
 was
 still
 mainly
 attributed
 to
 climatic
 change
 not
 of
 human
 design.
 When
 examining
 the
 fluctuations,
 the
 Danish
 botanists,
 however,
 discovered
 a
 downward
 pollen
 curve
 just
 before
 the
 elm
 decline
 which
 suggested
 deliberate
 forest
 clearance
 by
 Neolithic
 agriculturalists.
The
presence
of
a
charcoal
layer
in
the
soil
samples
was
evidence
of
forest
clearance

9

Lucretius,
The
Exhausted
Earth
in
Derek
Wall,
Green
History,
p.
37 
Plato,
Eroded
Attica
in
The
Dialogues
of
Plato,
in
Derek
Wall,
Green
History,
p.
36 11 
The
‘Elm
Decline’
is
generally
considered
to
signal
the
end
of
the
Atlantic
era,
leading
into
the
Sub‐Boreal
 th around
the
4 
millennium
BCE
in
the
geological
epoch
of
the
Holocene
–
George
Frederick
Peterken,
Woodland
 Conservation
and
Management,
pp.
8–9 10

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8

12

by
the
felling
and
burning
of
trees
and
vegetation
to
allow
for
a
primitive
form
of
cultivation .
For
a
 small
group
of
primitive
nomadic
agriculturalists
to
have
cleared
such
areas
and
to
have
had
such
a
 profound
 impact
 on
 the
 Sub‐boreal
 vegetation
 is
 by
 no
 means
 any
 small
 feat.
 However,
 it
 was
 not
 beyond
 their
 capabilities
 as
 the
 pollen
 analysts
 demonstrated
 in
 1953,
 carrying
 out
 a
 brief
 field
 13

experiment. 
 The
 experiment
 clearly
 demonstrated
 that
 the
 Neolithic
 agriculturalists
 were
 able
 to
 destroy
considerable
areas
of
forest,
thus
altering
the
composition
of
the
primary
vegetation
over
a
 large
area
of
the
British
Isles.
Whilst
the
cultivation
of
cereals
showed
an
extensive
knowledge
of
local
 ecosystems
which
allowed
prehistoric
man
to
live
in
prosperity,
this
knowledge
was
not
conducive
of
 sustainable
 affluence
 and
 showed
 a
 disregard
 for
 the
 balances
 inherent
 in
 the
 ecosystems.
 The
 consequences
 of
 this
 were
 catastrophic
 on
 this
 small
 scale.
 Over
 time,
 this
 has
 been
 magnified
 to
 transnational
proportions,
leading
to
the
current
situation.
In
comparing
the
growth
of
the
population
 since,
 to
 speculate
 on
 the
 consequences
 of
 our
 endeavours
 would
 be
 to
 flirt
 with
 a
 fatalistic
 morbidity.
Yet
this
is
not
the
earliest
example
of
the
masters
of
profligate
ruin
in
action.

1.2


The
Consequences
of
Opportunistic
Affluence
 
 Reaching
further
into
the
annals
of
the
human
history
brings
up
evidence
of
the
most
prolific
hunter
 imagined
whose
indifference
for
the
balance
outstrips
that
of
his
future
Neolithic
counterpart.
At
the
 end
of
the
last
Ice
Age
on
the
American
continent
there
are
believed
to
have
been
around
31
genera
 14

of
 megafauna
 that
 disappeared
 from
 the
 North
 American
 landmass .
 In
 his
 text
 The
 Discovery
 of
 America,
 geoscientist
 Paul
 S.
 Martin
 postulated
 that
 a
 ‘blitzkrieg
 model’
 of
 overkill
 hunting
 was
 in
 action.
 Hunter‐gatherer
 societies
 had
 migrated
 South
 from
 the
 Arctic
 circle
 and,
 after
 travelling
 through
 vast
 areas
 of
 sparse
 vegetation
 and
 little
 animal
 prey,
 reached
 an
 area
 of
 affluence
 and
 proceeded
to
hunt
the
profusion
of
large
mammals
mercilessly,
enjoying
the
relative
naivety
of
their
 prey.
The
human
population
exploded
with
this
abundance
but
in
classic
Malthusian
fashion
in
which
 ‘the
 power
 of
 the
 population
 is
 indefinitely
 greater
 than
 the
 power
 of
 the
 earth
 to
 produce
 15

subsistence
 for
 man’ 
 they
 outgrew
 their
 food
 source
 and
 rapidly
 dwindled
 in
 numbers.
 Martin
 summarises
the
geometric
relationship
between
predator
and
prey
in
stating
that:

12

Winifred
Pennington,
The
History
of
British
Vegetation,
pp.
60
‐
73 
A
small
team
of
three
men
armed
only
with
replications
of
Neolithic
axes
cleared
roughly
600
square
yards
of
 forest
in
four
hours
by
way
of
a
slash‐and‐burn
method
as
mentioned
above. 14 
‘Nothrotherium,
Megalonyx,
Eremotherium,
and
Paramylodon
(ground
sloths);
Brachyostracon
and
 Boreostracon
(glyptodonts);
Castorides
(giant
beaver);
Hydrochoerus
and
Neochoerus
(extinct
capybaras);
 Arctodus
and
Tremarctos
(bears);
Smilodon
and
Dinobastis
(saber‐tooth
cats);
Mammut
(mastodon);
 Mammuthus
(mammoth);
Equus
(horse);
Tapirus
(tapir);
Platygonus
and
Mylohyus
(peccaries);
Camelops
and
 Tanupolama
(camelids);
Cervalces
and
Sangamona
(cervids);
Capromeryx
and
Tetrameryx
(extinct
pronghorns);
 Bos
and
Saiga
(Asian
antelope);
and
Bootherlum,
Symbos,
Euceratherium
and
Preptoceras
(bovids).’
–
P.
S.
 Martin,
The
Discovery
of
America
in
Science
vol.
179,
issue
4077,
09/03/1973,
pp.
969–974 15 
‘Population,
when
unchecked,
increases
in
a
geometrical
ratio.
Subsistence
increases
only
in
an
arithmetical
 ratio.

A
slight
acquaintance
with
numbers
will
shew
the
immensity
of
the
first
power
in
comparison
of
the
 second.
By
that
law
of
our
nature
which
makes
food
necessary
to
the
life
of
man,
the
effects
of
these
two
 unequal
powers
must
be
kept
equal.’
–
Thomas
Robert
Malthus,
On
the
Principle
of
Population,
p.
70 13

Page
|
9

8

...a
 very
 large
 biomass,
 even
 the
 2.3
 x
 10 
 metric
 tonnes
 of
 domestic
 animals
 now
 ranging
 the
 continent,
 could
 be
 overkilled
 within
 1000
 years
 by
 a
 human
 population
 6 never
exceeding
10 .
We
need
only
assume
that
a
relatively
innocent
prey
was
suddenly
 exposed
to
a
new
and
thoroughly
superior
predator,
a
hunter
who
preferred
killing
and
 16 persisted
in
killing
animals
as
long
as
they
were
available. 
 
 Martin’s
 theory
 demonstrates
 the
 unbridled
 destructive
 influence
 that
 early
 man
 had
 over
 his
 surroundings
in
times
of
such
prosperity.
This
is
not
the
last
example
t
of
the
‘blitzkrieg
overkill’.
The
 hunter‐gatherer
 described
 here
 also
 has
 a
 relatively
 modern
 counterpart
 in
 the
 early
 American
 pioneer
to
the
West.
It
was
estimated
that
around
7.5
million
buffalo
were
slaughtered
between
1872
 17

and
 1874 
 by
 the
 march
 of
 settlers
 steadily
 colonising
 westward.
 The
 buffalo
 fell
 victim
 to
 its
 own
 naivety
 with
 regards
 to
 the
 firepower
 of
 the
 settlers’
 rifle,
 having
 previously
 been
 hunted
 only
 for
 subsistence
by
the
Plains
Indians.
With
its
numbers
reaching
somewhere
between
an
estimated
50
–
 18

60
million
prior
to
the
arrival
of
 Western
settlers ,
the
animal
 was
the
 most
abundant
food
source
 conceivable
 on
 the
 plains
 of
 the
 Mid‐Western
 States.
 It
 was
 consequently
 hunted
 with
 an
 attitude
 similar
to
the
seemingly
endless
supply
(Figure
1).
This
resulted
in
the
near‐extinction
of
the
American
 th

buffalo,
their
numbers
dropping
to
below
an
alarming
1,000
by
the
end
of
the
19 
Century.
 Figure
1:
 
 Photograph
 from
 the
 mid‐1870s
 of
 a
 pile
 of
 buffalo
skulls.

The
affluence
experienced
by
the
pioneers
would
eventually
become
a
mechanized
industry,
assuring
 that
such
losses
need
not
be
experienced.
This
industry
 would
result
in
man
losing
his
immersion
in
 the
 natural
 systems
 and
 becoming
 an
 outsider
 to
 the
 biosphere,
 effectively
 rebranding
 the
 natural

16

P.
S.
Martin,
The
Discovery
of
America,
pp.
969–974 
‘The
Buffalo
Harvest’,
ICE
Case
Studies,
18/12/1997,
http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/buffalo.htm
(accessed
 10/02/2012) 18 
Donald
Fixico,
‘Interview:
Native
Americans’,
American
Experience,
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/interview/tcrr‐interview/
(accessed
10/02/2012) 17

Page
|
10

19

world
as
simply
a
bank
of
instrumental
resources.
Professor
J.
Donald
Hughes ,
recognised
authority
 on
global
environmental
history,
 examines
the
movement
 of
man
from
nomadic
hunter‐gatherer
to
 urban
 agriculturalist
 in
 his
 work
 Ecology
 in
 Ancient
 Civilisations.
 A
 part
 of
 this
 text
 examines
 the
 environmental
 ill‐effects
 of
 urban
 life
 in
 ancient
 Mesopotamia,
 focusing
 on
 the
 salinization
 through
 intensive
irrigation
and
consequent
desolation
of
the
cultivated
‘Fertile
Crescent’
(Figure
2)
that
arced
 across
the
Middle
East
from
Sumeria
–
modern
day
Iraq
–
to
Palestine.

 Figure
2:
 
 Map
 demonstrating
 the
 area
 covered
 by
 the
 ‘Fertile
 Crescent’
 of
 ancient
 Mesopotamia.

A
similar
process
still
occurs
today
in
many
places
including,
despite
the
evidence
of
the
calamitous
 results
 of
 the
 ancient
 Mesopotamian
 irrigation,
 the
 Harran
 Plains
 (Figure
 3)
 in
 the
 very
 area
 that
 suffered
 so
 heavily
 in
 Turkey.
 Here,
 the
 desert
 landscape
 has
 been
 similarly
 irrigated
 and
 the
 surrounding
 area
 decimated
 as
 a
 result
 (Figure
 4),
 technology
 barely
 combating
 the
 devastating
 results.
 This
 reiterates
 the
 disregard
 for
 the
 future
 and
 ignorance
 towards
 cause
 and
 effect
 which
 perhaps
spawned
from
the
rejection
of
the
intrinsic
value
in
the
natural
world.
Hughes
states
that
the
 ‘Mesopotamians
had
a
well
developed
sense
of
distinction
between
the
tame
and
the
wild,
between
 civilisation
 and
 wilderness.
 The
 proper
 effort
 of
 mankind
 toward
 wild
 things,
 they
 believed,
 is
 to
 20

domesticate
them.’ 
This
echoes
the
assertion
of
early
Christianity’s
claim
that
the
natural
world
was
 created
solely
for
the
use
and
enjoyment
of
mankind,
finding
similarities
again
in
the
speculations
of
 21

Aristotle
and
the
early
Stoics
as
well
as
the
reflections
of
Cicero .

19

J.
Donald
Hughes
is
John
Evans
Distinguished
Professor,
and
Professor
Emeritus
of
History,
at
the
University
of
 Denver,
having
published
several
notable
books
on
the
environmental
history
of
the
planet
as
well
as
the
 ecological
history
of
ancient
civilisations.
‐
https://portfolio.du.edu/pc/port?portfolio=dhughes
(accessed
 12/02/2012) 20 
J.
Donald
Hughes,
Ecology
in
Ancient
Civilisations,
p.
31 21 
‘We
are
the
absolute
masters
of
what
the
earth
produces.
We
enjoy
the
mountains
and
the
plains.
The
rivers
 are
ours;
we
sow
the
seed
and
plant
the
trees.
We
fertilize
the
earth...We
stop,
direct,
and
turn
the
rivers.
In
 short,
by
our
hands
we
endeavour,
by
our
various
operations
on
this
world,
to
make,
as
it
were,
another
nature.’
 –
Cicero
[106
–
43
BCE)
in,
J.
Donald
Hughes,
Ecology
in
Ancient
Civilisations,
p.
30

Page
|
11

Figure
3:
 
 
 
 Satellite
 photographs
 taken
 9
 years
 apart,
 demonstrating
 the
 intensive
 irrigation
 of
 the
desert
landscape
to
 cultivate
 cotton
 crops
 in
 the
 Harran
 Plains
 of
 southeastern
Turkey.

Figure
4:
 
 
 Satellite
 photographs
 taken
 135
 days
 apart
 displaying
 the
 extent
 to
 which
 the
 irrigation
 of
 the
 Harran
 Plains
 has
 decimated
 the
 surrounding
 vegetation.
 One
 must
 not
 fail
 take
 into
account
the
dates
of
 the
 images;
 the
 first
 being
 taken
 after
 the
 winter
 precipitation,
 the
 second
in
the
peak
of
the
 dry
 summer.
 Despite
 this,
 the
 contrast
 is
 shocking.

Page
|
12

1.3


The
Elevation
of
Humans
by
the
Creation
of
the
Divine
 
 These
early
urban
societies
were
among
the
first
to
abandon
a
pantheistic
attitude
of
‘oneness’
with
 nature
and
adopt
one
of
separation.
The
dominant
myth
and
consequent
reality
in
Mesopotamia
was
 the
 conquest
 of
 chaotic
 nature
 by
 divine‐human
 order.
 Such
 societies
 it
 should
 be
 noted
 were
 ultimately
unsuccessful
in
maintaining
the
balance
with
their
natural
environment.
The
Judaic
Bible
is
 a
prime
example
of
this
rejection
of
symbiotic
relationships
and
the
creation
of
a
hierarchy
at
the
top
 of
 which
 is
 a
 divine
 entity
 responsible
 for
 all
 creation;
 condemning
 or
 condoning
 acts
 of
 the
 lower
 levels.
By
the
creation
of
a
deity,
the
ultimate
responsibility
for
long‐term
environmental
damage
was
 outside
 of
 human
 control,
 as
 Percy
 Bysshe
 Shelley
 observes;
 ‘Every
 man
 forms,
 as
 it
 were,
 his
 God
 22

from
 his
 own
 character’ .
 This
 is
 a
 point
 of
 contention
 that
 has
 been
 dealt
 with
 by
 a
 number
 of
 23

figures
 to
 great
 extent .
 To
 many
 theorists,
 God
 is
 the
 manifestation
 of
 the
 polar
 opposite
 to
 24

humankind,
embodying
the
universal
wishes
that
transcend
the
everyday .
This
is
evident
in
passages
 25

of
the
Genesis
chapter
of
the
Judaic
Bible
(Genesis,
1:26
–
30) .
Judeo‐Christianity
effectively
denies
 non‐human
entities
a
‘soul’
or
‘indwelling
spirit’
 essentially
stripping
the
natural
world
of
any
worth
 other
 than
 that
 which
 leads
 exclusively
 to
 the
 satisfaction
 of
 humans.
 This
 consequently
 reduces
 26

nature
 to
 the
 ‘status
 of
 mechanical
 contrivance’ .
 To
 this
 ‘mechanical
 contrivance’
 is
 added
 the
 domestication
of
livestock
which
creates
an
artificial
affluence,
and
in
conjunction
with
the
economic
 rationality
 of
 the
 maximisation
 of
 individual
 gain
 over
 the
 short‐term,
 is
 a
 manifestation
 of
 the
 hunter‐gatherer
subsistence
model.
As
this
 is
on
a
vast
mechanical
 scale,
 it
allows
the
manufacture
 and
 stockpiling
 of
 abundance
 and,
 by
 the
 late
 1970s,
 the
 goods
 grown
 under
 the
 guaranteed
 increased
productivity
subsidies
of
the
Common
Agricultural
Policy
had
become
so
overproduced
that
 27

they
 simply
 could
 not
 be
 sold,
 resulting
 in
 the
 storage
 of
 food
 ‘mountains’
 and
 ‘lakes’ .
 Herein,
 perhaps,
lays
the
genesis
of
the
‘valuation
of
land’
which
potentially
aided
in
exacerbating
the
chasm
 between
 the
 natural
 world
 and
 the
 human
 world,
 expanding
 to
 such
 great
 widths
 that,
 as
 notable
 author
and
environmentalist
Aldo
 Leopold
mused,
‘Your
true
modern
 is
separated
from
the
 land
by

22

Percy
Bysshe
Shelley,
A
Vindication
of
Natural
Diet
in
Derek
Wall,
Green
History
by
p.
72 
Christopher
Hitchens
wrote
on
the
causality
dilemma
of
‘God
vs.
Man’
that:
‘If
we
are
indeed
created
in
God’s
 image,
then
that
image
must
have
room
.
.
.
for
vile
thoughts
and
dubious
motives.
Much
more
probable,
really,
 is
the
countertheory
that
man
created
God
in
his
image.’
Hitchens
proposes
here
that
God
is
a
manmade
idea
 created
to
give
allowances
for
questionable
ethical
motives.
–
Christopher
Hitchens,
‘Mr.
Universe’,
Vanity
Fair,
 12/1992,
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/1992/12/mr‐universe‐199212,
(accessed
09/12/2011) 24 
[what
we
wish
for
most
is]
‘...
first,
not
to
die,
not
completely,
not
irreversibly;
second,
to
be
united
with
the
 loved
ones
we
have
lost;
third,
for
justice
and
peace
to
triumph;
finally,
and
most
important,
to
be
loved.
Now,
 what
does
religion
tell
us...?
That
we
shall
not
die;
that
we
shall
rise
from
the
dead
and
thus
be
reunited
with
the
 loved
ones
we
have
lost;
that
justice
and
peace
will
prevail
in
the
end;
and,
finally,
that
we
are
already
the
object
 of
infinite
love...
This
is
what
makes
religion
so
very
suspicious,
it
is
too
good
to
be
true!’–
Andre
Comte‐Sponville
 quoted
by
Robert
Banks,
‘And
God
Created
Man
in
His
Image’,
11/2011,
http://www.ea.org.au/Ethos/Engage‐ Mail/And‐Man‐Created‐God‐in‐His‐Image.aspx
(accessed
09/12/2011) 25 
See
Appendix
1. 26 
Donald
Worster,
Nature’s
Economy,
p.
29 27 
Miles
Collins,
‘Food
Mountains
in
the
European
Union’,
25/08/2008,
 http://www.milescollins.com/wordpress/food‐mountains‐in‐the‐european‐union
(accessed
15/02/2012) 23

Page
|
13

many
middlemen,
and
by
innumerable
physical
gadgets.
He
has
no
vital
relation
to
it;
to
him
it
is
the
 28

space
between
cities
on
which
crops
grow.’

1.4


Re­integration
Through
Ecocentrism
 The
 progression
 of
 such
 technology
 has
 aided
 in
 the
 brutal
 emancipation
 of
 humanity
 from
 the
 natural
order.
It
is
a
firm
conviction
in
much
modern
thought
that
the
current
state
of
the
human
race
 is
 an
 improvement
 on
 what
 was
 before
 –
 that
 all
 change
 is
 progress.
 The
 Collins
 Dictionary
 of
 the
 29

English
 Language
 defines
 ‘evolution’
 as
 ‘a
 gradual
 development,
 esp.
 to
 a
 more
 complex
 form’” 
 Development
 however,
 can
 be
 seen
 as
 a
 particularly
 egocentric
 word
 and
 what
 may
 compound
 30

‘progress’
for
one
body
will
not
always
be
in
the
best
interest
of
the
rest .
The
ecologically
informed
 31

approach
aims
to
enable
the
recognition
of
the
intrinsic
value 
not
only
of
individual
organisms
but
 also
 of
 ecological
 entities
 in
 varying
 levels
 of
 aggregation,
 from
 hive
 populations
 to
 continent‐ spanning
 ecosystems
 and
 to
 the
 entire
 biosphere.
 This
 would
 take
 into
 account
 the
 impact
 on,
 and
 well‐being
 of,
 other
 bodies
 in
 a
 more
 ecologically
 respective
 view.
 Kovel
 illustrates
 this
 in
 his
 2007
 critical
 rhetoric
 on
 capitalism
 and
 its
 by‐products,
 The
 Enemy
 of
 Nature,
 with
 a
 parable
 on
 organic
 agriculture:
 An
organic
farm
is
not
simply
a
collection
of
organisms;
it
is
the
organisms
interrelated
 in
 a
 universe
 of
 meaningful
 recognition
 through
 the
 farmer.
 This
 does
 not
 make
 the
 farmer
 lord
 over
 the
 farm.
 It
 means
 that
 the
 farm
 is
 integral
 to
 the
 human
 self
 who
 32 produces
through
them. 
 This
example
serves
as
an
analogy
to
the
workings
of
the
vastly
larger
ecosphere,
stating
that
nature
 has
more
than
mere
instrumental
value
as
a
stockpile
of
resources
existing
to
serve
the
well‐being
of
 an
elite
of
sentient
beings.
True
to
the
anthropocentric
arrogance
in
our
interpretation
of
the
world,
 these
 ‘sentient
 beings’
 take
 on
 the
 form
 of
 humankind.
 Kovel’s
 paradigm
 proposes
 that
 the
 world
 exists
in
a
symbiotic
state,
embodying
the
ecocentric
argument
of
J.
Stan
Rowe
that:
 ...compared
to
the
undoubted
importance
of
the
human
part,
the
 whole
Ecosphere
 is
 even
 more
 significant
 and
 consequential:
 more
 inclusive,
 more
 complex,
 more
 33 integrated,
more
creative,
more
beautiful,
more
mysterious,
and
older
than
time. Rowe
continues
to
assert:
[in
the
ecocentric
view]
‘people
are
inseparable
from
the
inorganic/organic
 34

nature
that
encapsulates
them.’ 
This
maintains
that,
paramount
to
the
re‐integration
of
humankind

28

Aldo
Leopold,
A
Sand
County
Almanac,
p.
224 
Collins
Dictionary
of
the
English
Language,
p.

529 30 
‘But
what
constitutes
development,
or
progress,
for
one
person
may
not
be
development
or
progress
for
 another.
‘Development’
is
a
‘value
word’:
it
embodies
personal
ideals
and
aspirations
and
concepts
of
what
 constitutes
the
‘good
society’.’
–
David
Pearce,
Anil
Markandya
&
Edward
Barbier,
Blueprint
for
a
Green
Economy,
 p.
1 31 
Here
‘value’
is
not
used
as
indication
of
exchange
value
or
monetary
worth,
but
as
a
property
of
importance
 and
worth
to
the
well‐being
of
the
natural
world. 32 
Kovel,
The
Enemy
of
Nature,
p.
238 33 
J.
Stan
Rowe,
Ecocentrism:
The
Chord
that
Harmonizes
Humans
and
Earth,
pp.
106‐7 29

Page
|
14

into
the
natural
 world
 is
the
idea
of
an
 existential
attitude
of
mutuality;
 in
that
one’s
own
personal
 fulfilment
is
inextricably
tied
up
with
that
of
entities
besides
itself. The
ecocentric
approach
to
this
separated
state
of
contemporary
society
from
the
natural
world
is
a
 re‐integration
of
humanity
with
the
non‐human
world.
Ecocentrism
infers
that,
as
egocentrism
has
as
 its
 focal
 point
 the
 self,
 the
 ecosystem
 is
 the
 entity
 around
 which
 ecocentrism
 revolves.
 This
 would
 increase
the
receptive
capability
of
society
towards
the
larger
biospherical
systemic
model;
this
does
 not
 place
 humankind
 as
 the
 monarch
 of
 species,
 rejecting
 the
 assumption
 that
 we
 are
 the
 current
 pinnacle
of
evolution.
In
regaining
such
an
understanding
of
the
interconnectedness,
the
equilibrium
 is
 effectively
 returned
 to
 stability,
 humanity
 ideally
 settling
 into
 a
 reciprocal
 role
 as
 opposed
 to
 a
 35

egomaniacally
 domineering
 one.
 Mary
 Somerville 
 addresses
 this
 in
 her
 work
 Physical
 Geography
 (1848)
 with
 another
 agricultural
 parable
 in
 which
 man
 has
 supplanted
 himself
 outside
 of
 this
 symbiotic
balance
in
an
attempt
to
control
it: A
 farmer
 sees
 the
 rooks
 pecking
 a
 little
 of
 his
 grain,
 or
 digging
 at
 the
 roots
 of
 the
 springing
corns,
and
poisons
all
in
his
neighbourhood.
A
few
years
after
he
is
surprised
 to
find
his
crop
destroyed
by
grubs.
The
works
of
the
Creation
are
nicely
balanced,
and
 man
 cannot
 infringe
 the
 laws
 of
 equilibrium
 with
 impunity.
 Insects
 would
 become
 36 torments
were
they
not
kept
in
check
by
birds. 
 In
 elevating
 himself
 to
 a
 position
 outside
 the
 workings
 of
 this
 system
 mankind
 has
 emphasized
 the
 fatally
 short‐term
 allopoietic
 aspect
 of
 his
 progression;
 insofar
 as
 the
 autopoietic
 is
 concerned
 with
 the
 process
 of
 production
 continually
 regenerating
 within,
 by,
 and
 for
 the
 system,
 the
 allopoietic
 37

reveals
 humankind
 as
 the
 master
 of
 profligate
 waste. 
 This
 allocation
 of
 poiesis
 is
 mirrored
 in
 perhaps
 a
 slightly
 simpler
 form
 in
 physicist
 and
 eco‐socialist
 Barry
 Commoner’s
 The
 Closing
 Circle:
 Nature,
Man
and
Technology,
containing
his
legacy
of
the
‘four
laws
of
ecology’.
These
being:
 1. 2. 3. 4.

Everything
is
connected
to
everything
else
 
Everything
must
go
somewhere
 
Nature
knows
best
(i.e.
any
major
human
intervention
in
a
natural
system
is
likely
to
be
 detrimental
to
the
system)
 38 
There
is
no
such
thing
as
a
free
lunch

34

J.
Stan
Rowe,
Ecocentrism,
Pp.
106‐7 
Somerville
was
a
Scottish
polymath,
living
between
1780
and
1872,
who
wrote
extensively
on
the
physical
 sciences
and
geography
–
M.
T.
Bruck,
Mary
Somerville:
Mathematician
and
Astronomer
of
Underused
Talents,
 pp.201‐206 36 
Mary
Somerville,
Physical
Geography,
p.
504 37 
‘An
autopoietic
machine
is
a
machine
organized
(defined
as
a
unity)
as
a
network
of
processes
of
production
 (transformation
and
destruction)
of
components
which:
(i)
through
their
interactions
and
transformations
 continuously
regenerate
and
realize
the
network
of
processes
(relations)
that
produced
them;
and
(ii)
constitute
 it
(the
machine)
as
a
concrete
unity
in
space
in
which
they
(the
components)
exist
by
specifying
the
topological
 domain
of
its
realization
as
such
a
network’.
An
allopoietic
machine
is
one
in
which
the
raw
components
produce
 something
other
than
itself.
–
Humberto
Maturana,
and
Francisco
Varela,
Autopoiesis
and
Cognition:
The
 Realization
of
Living,
p.
78 38 
Barry
Commoner,
The
Closing
Circle:
Nature,
Man
and
Technology,
pp.
29
‐
44 35

Page
|
15

These
four
laws
have
slipped
to
guidelines
which
have
then
continually
been
swept
further
under
the
 smothering
 carpet
 of
 increasing
 productivity
 and
 maximising
 economic
 gain.
 The
 third
 law,
 disparaging
 human
 intervention
 in
 natural
 systems,
 appears
 to
 be
 upheld
 in
 the
 conservation
 movements
 of
 ‘preserved
 wildernesses’.
 However,
 this
 is
 a
 point
 of
 dissidence;
 in
 that
 through
 ‘preserving
the
 wild’
in
such
places
as
the
 National
Parks
of
the
USA,
humanity
removes
the
natural
 ecological
progression
of
such
areas
and
places
the
land
in
a
state
of
stasis,
preserved
as
a
snapshot
of
 an
idyllic
 situation
of
nature.
One
could
further
argue
that
these
areas
are
only
‘conserved’
as
they
 39

serve
to
increase
economic
gain
through
tourism
and
the
sale
of
‘an
experience’ .
The
few
areas
of
 land
 thus
 far
 free
 from
 intrusion
 by
 humankind
 which
 still
 maintain
 an
 unhindered
 autopoietic
 relationship
 we
 designate
 as
 these
 ‘wildernesses.’
 The
 concept
 of
 a
 ‘wilderness’
 itself
 enshrines
 a
 bifurcation
 between
 humanity
 and
 the
 natural
 world.
 It
 creates
 and
 emphasises
 a
 titled
 distinction
 between
the
two
and
when
the
modern
man
attempts
to
engage
with
this
‘wild’
land
it
is
approached
 as
a
separate
entity,
rather
than
simply
as
a
transition
from
one
space
to
the
next.
This
demonstrates
 the
Imperialist
attitude
of
humankind
towards
its
surroundings
and
other
species
thus
far
discussed.
 From
 this
 perspective
 the
 ‘non‐human
 world
 is
 reduced
 to
 a
 storehouse
 of
 resources
 and
 is
 considered
 to
 have
 instrumental
 value
 only,
 that
 is,
 it
 is
 valuable
 only
 insofar
 as
 it
 can
 serve
 as
 an
 40

instrument,
or
as
a
means,
to
human
ends.’ 
The
‘wilderness’
has
become
a
respective
‘tonic’
for
the
 jaded
consumer
soul
in
which
it
is
considered
liberating
and
revitalising
to
spend
time
amongst,
and
 therein
 lies
 the
 apparent
 instrumental
 value
 of
 wilderness,
 serving
 as
 a
 resource
 for
 the
 benefit
 of
 humankind.
 If
 this
 attitude
 is
 the
 means
 by
 which
 all
 land
 is
 approached
 then,
 despite
 an
 attempt
 against
 the
 hyperbolic
 sensationalising
 of
 the
 current
 issue,
 there
 can
 be
 nothing
 short
 of
 a
 cataclysmic
end
 result
for
all
of
the
parties
 involved.
 If
the
land
is
treated
as
only
serving
 economic
 gain
 it
 is
 given
 an
 exchange
 value.
 Objects
 with
 such
 a
 value
 are
 exchanged
 for
 equal
 values.
 The
 commodity
 of
 land
 will
 be
 expended
 through
 such
 exchanges,
 as
 the
 popular
 maxim
 instructs;
 ‘buy
 41

land,
I
hear
they
aren’t
making
it
any
more’ .
Consequently,
with
no
means
towards
the
reproduction
 of
this
necessity,
extinction
will
tap
ominously
on
the
shoulder
of
humanity.

39

‘One
is
contributing
to
losing
the
ecological
war
by
reinforcing
the
cultural
perception
that
what
is
valuable
in
 the
non‐human
world
is
what
is
useful
to
humans’
–
Warwick
Fox,
Towards
a
Transpersonal
Ecology:
Developing
 New
Foundations
for
Evironmentalism,
p.
186 40 
Robyn
Eckersley,
Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory:
Towards
an
Ecocentric
Approach,
p.
26 41 
Michael
Gouglis,
‘Bike‐Friendly
Business
Districts’,
Long
Beach
Business
Journal,
31/01/2012.
 http://lbbusinessjournal.com/long‐beach‐business‐journal‐newswatch/85‐lof‐scroller‐articles/330‐bike‐friendly‐ business‐districts‐where‐going‐green‐and‐making‐green‐meet.html
(accessed
07/02/2012)

Page
|
16

We
may
hope,
moreover
that,
with
the
increase
of
wealth,
knowledge,
and
refinement
 which
 happily
 seems
 a
 secure
 prospect
 for
 the
 long
 vistas
 of
 the
 future,
 man
 will
 endeavour
 to
 preserve
 the
 equilibrium
 which
 exists
 in
 the
 meteorological
 forces
 and
 vital
conditions
of
countries,
when
in
their
natural
state,
by
fostering
a
due
proportion
 of
woodland,
and
thus
save
from
extinction
the
myriad
of
beauteous
forms
of
life
which
 have
shared
with
him
the
inhabitance
of
this
wonderful
earth.
 42

‐ Mary
Somerville,
Physical
Geography

42

Somerville,
Physical
Geography,
p.
505

Page
|
17

Chapter
2
 2.1


Capitalism
is
Cannibalism:
The
Value
in
the
Use
of
Use­value

 
 From
 the
 standpoint
 of
 a
 higher
 economic
 form
 of
 society,
 private
 ownership
 of
 the
 globe
by
single
individuals
will
appear
quite
as
absurd
as
private
ownership
of
one
man
 by
another.
Even
a
whole
society,
a
nation,
or
even
all
simultaneously
existing
societies
 43 taken
together,
are
not
the
owners
of
the
globe.
–
Karl
Marx,
Capital
 
 How
 then
 to
 go
 about
 the
 reintegration
 of
 mankind
 into
 the
 natural
 world
 when
 humanity
 has
 created
such
an
intricate,
complex,
and
purposely
distancing
system
of
social
and
economic
values?
In
 today’s
 capitalist
 society,
 emphasis
 is
 placed
 on
 the
 mass
 production
 and
 acquiring
 of
 goods.
 The
 production
 of
 commodities
 expands
 human
 capabilities
 and
 commodity
 production
 on
 an
 industrial
 scale
exponentially
expands
these
capabilities.
However,
this
has
reached
such
a
stage
that
goods
are
 no
longer
produced
simply
to
fulfil
needs
but
are
instead
produced
to
be
exchanged
for
the
primary
 commodity
by
which
all
other
goods
are
measured.
In
 most
societies
this
takes
the
form
of
 money,
 which
is
then
used
to
obtain
other
goods.
In
this
way
the
exchange
of
goods
has
become
paramount
 to
survival
as
we
must
persuade
others
to
buy
the
goods
we
produce
in
order
to
be
able
to
buy
the
 goods
 we
 ourselves
 want.
 This
 has
 reached
 such
 a
 destructive
 extent,
 fuelling
 consumerism
 and
 consequently
 resource
 depletion
 by
 placing
 the
 natural
 world
 within
 the
 framework
 of
 a
 market
 economy.
Even
money
 itself
 is
 exchanged
for
profit,
treated
as
a
commodity,
which
has
 lead
to
the
 financial
crisis
that
is
currently
choking
many
nations.
 There
is
such
a
great
 emphasis
placed
on
the
 earning
of
capital
through
labour
that
there
 is
now
a
great
divide
between
work
–
the
means
–
and
 leisure
 –
the
result.
In
most
communities
the
division
of
labour
is
such
that
the
view
of
work
 is
as
a
 task
that
must
be
completed
in
order
to
benefit
from
leisure.
However,
the
anti‐capitalist
ecocentric
 approach
to
production:
 ...is
aligned
 with
the
product;
thus,
the
making
of
a
thing
 becomes
a
part
of
the
thing
 made.
 Since
the
 end
of
production
is
 satisfaction
and
pleasure,
pleasure
 would
obtain
 for
 the
 cooking
 of
 a
 meal
 or
 making
 of
 a
 garment.
 The
 processual
 pleasures
 are
 generally
 reserved
 for
 hobbies
 under
 capitalism;
 in
 a
 society
 organised
 around
 44 ecocentric
production,
they
would
comprise
the
fabric
of
everyday
life. 
 This
 removes
 the
 division
 between
 work
 and
 leisure
 and
 introduces
 a
 self‐directed
 labour
 model,
 beginning
 to
 eradicate
 the
 monetary
 exchange
 value
 placed
 on
 market
 goods
 and
 the
 removal
 of
 extraneous
items
produced
solely
for
exchange.
Capitalism
reacts
violently
to
any
attempt
to
halt
this
 continuous
expansion
it
relies
on.
There
are
a
myriad
of
prime
examples
of
this,
not
always
overt
in
 their
execution,
but
definitely
perceivable
as
being
aggressive
retorts
towards
agents
of
anti‐capitalist
 resistance.
An
early
illustration
of
this
lies
again
with
the
American
pioneers.
When
the
early
settlers,
 43

Karl
Marx,
Capital,
p.
776 
Joel
Kovel,
The
Enemy
of
Nature,
p.
235

44

Page
|
18

intent
 on
 expanding
 to
 create
 a
 safe
 network
 of
 controllable
 sources
 of
 profit,
 came
 across
 the
 already
settled
Plains
Indians,
there
lay
in
their
way
an
anomalous
obstacle
that
could
not
conceivably
 generate
capital.
The
Plains
Indians
practised
a
harmonious
lifestyle
of
subsistence
and
respect
for
the
 regenerative
qualities
of
their
land,
meaning
that,
as
they
lay
in
autopoiesis,
they
were
of
no
value
to
 the
 Western
settlers,
perceived
as
having
no
 generative
 input.
Consequently
there
was
an
appalling
 genocidal
attitude
formed
towards
the
indigenous
population;
to
remove
the
anomaly
standing
in
the
 way
 of
 expansion.
 Contemporary
 society,
 bound
 in
 a
 capitalist
 model,
 bears
 no
 less
 ill‐will
 towards
 those
 unwilling
 to
 participate
 in
 expansionary
 economic
 rationalities.
 This
 is
 clearly
 evident
 on
 a
 global
scale
in
the
case
of
the
Food
Not
Bombs
organisation
that
arose
in
the
United
States
in
1980.

2.2


Subversion
in
the
Shift
and
Aggression
in
Response
 There
 are
 a
 myriad
 of
 anti‐corporation
 groups
 that
 span
 the
 earth,
 all
 embodying
 the
same
 values,
 falling
under
the
collective
banner
of
Food
Not
Bombs.
Over
the
past
30
years
the
movement
brought
 severe
repression
on
itself
from
various
governing
factions
in
the
forms
of
multiple
arrests
and
cease‐ and‐desist
 orders.
 The
 organisation
 believes
 ‘that
 society
 and
 government
 should
 value
 human
 life
 over
material
wealth,
human
need
not
corporate
greed,
and
that
most
of
its
problems
stem
from
this
 45

simple
 crisis
 in
 values.’ 
 Chapters
 of
 the
 organisation
 source
 food
 from
 what
 would
 otherwise
 be
 deemed
 waste
 from
 markets
 and
 stores
 as
 well
 as
 from
 local
 farm
 donations,
 using
 this
 food
 to
 provide
free
meals
for
homeless
and
hungry
people,
aiming
to
raise
the
awareness
of
the
beliefs
of
 the
 groups.
 This,
 however,
 has
 brought
 about
 powerful
 repercussions
 with
 many
 members
 being
 46

arrested 
 and,
 prior
 to
 the
 raised
 awareness
 and
 sensitivity
 to
 police
 brutality
 cases,
 saw
 many
 controversial
 one‐sided
 clashes
 with
 the
 authorities,
 despite
 the
 groups’
 dedication
 to
 ‘non‐violent
 47

protest’. 
 The
 treatment
 of
 these
 activists
 has
 gone
 as
 far
 as
 to
 draw
 the
 attention
 of
 Amnesty
 48

International
and
created
much
civil
outcry. 
Why
is
there
such
a
backlash
from
the
very
institutions
 that
gave
the
rights
to
this
non‐violent
protest,
freedom
of
speech
and
dissemination
of
information
 to
 the
 public,
 especially
 in
 regards
 to
 a
 group
 that
 exemplifies
 the
 supposed
 ‘charitable
 spirit
 of
 freedom’
of
the
Western
nations?
 The
 organisation
 embodies
 the
 very
 antithesis
 of
 capitalism.
 It
 destroys
 the
 margins
 set
 in
 place
 by
 competition,
 wealth
 and
 class.
 Food
 Not
 Bombs
 effectively
 levels
 the
 proverbial
 playing
 field
 by
 serving
free
meals
which
have
been
sourced
for
free
as
well,
giving
something
for
nothing,
as
well
as
 ‘de‐criminalising’
 poverty
 and
 vagrancy
 and
 equalising
 the
 perceived
 ‘social
 class
 structure’.
 This
 45

‘History’,
San
Francisco
Food
Not
Bombs,
http://sffnb.org/history/
(accessed
17/01/2011) 
Brian
Clarke
Howard,
‘Please
Don’t
Feed
the
Homeless’,
Daily
Mail
Online,
06/06/2011.
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article‐1394924/Orlando‐Food‐Not‐Bombs‐activists‐ARRESTED‐feeding‐ homeless‐city‐parks.html
(accessed
17/01/2011) 47 
‘The
Three
Principles
of
Food
Not
Bombs’,
Food
Not
Bombs,
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/principles.html
 (accessed
17/01/2011) 48 
Stephen
Lendman,
‘America’s
War
on
Food
Not
Bombs’,
Op
Ed
News,
09/10/2010.
 http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/America‐s‐War‐on‐Food‐Not‐by‐Stephen‐Lendman‐101009‐275.html
 (accessed
17/01/2011) 46

Page
|
19

approach
does
not
sit
well
with
a
capitalist
economy
as
capitalism
is
a
value‐driven
system
for
which
 49

the
mantra
of
‘how
much
can
I
get
for
how
little
I
give’ 
is
reflective
of
the
egocentric
nature
inherent
 in
consumerism.
Capitalist
society
has
formed
to
produce,
secure,
and
expand
capital;
its
self‐reliant
 infrastructure
 exists
to
grow
or
die
and
thus
it
 reacts
to
any
contraction
as
a
threat
to
its
 economic
 stability
 which
 is
 based
 on
 increasing
 exchange.
 Under
 a
 more
 ecocentric
 labour
 model;
 one
 that
 focuses
not
on
constant
progression,
growth
and
quantity
exchange,
the
consumption
of
goods
would
 drop
 rapidly
 as
 the
 longevity
 of
 the
 commodities
 increases.
 The
 emphasis
 on
 quantity
 over
 quality
 severely
 increases
 obsolescence
 and
 advocates
 the
 distribution
 of
 less
 durable
 products
 through
 cheaper
production
values.
As
a
result
fewer
goods
are
 sold
and
capitalism
flounders
in
this
deficit.
 Thus
 there
 is
 an
 aggressive
 response
 and
 a
 reduction
 of
 nature
 from
 organism
 to
 object
 is
 implemented.
 The
 acts
 of
 the
 Food
 Not
 Bombs
 groups
 undermine
 this
 exploitative
 ‘supply‐and‐ demand’
system;
in
 which
the
 restriction
of
access
to
 commodities
 leads
to
the
demand
being
kept
 high
 and
 hence
 the
 exchange
 value
 also.
 The
 repercussions
 of
 this
 diminish
 the
 feasibility
 of
 an
 ecocentric
approach
to
the
division
of
labour
as
 well
as
the
emphasis
on
use
value
and
quality
over
 exchange
 value
 and
 quantity.
 Consequently
 this
 eradicates
 the
 opportunity
 for
 the
 economy
 to
 be
 embedded
within
the
society
as
opposed
to
ruling
over
it.
In
order
to
achieve
this
 realisation
of
use
 value
and
intrinsic
value
there
is
a
call
for
the
reorientation
of
perceived
human
need.

2.3


Zen
Affluence:
Unparalleled
Material
Plenty
 The
 environmental
 crisis,
 which
 is
 the
 quintessential
 crisis
 of
 capitalism,
 is
 forcing
 us
 to
 re‐examine
 the
 competitive
 and
 expansionary
 ethos
 of
 our
 materialist
 culture.
 If
 the
 earth
 was
 infinite
 and
 the
 issues
 of
 energy
 shortage
 and
 resource
 depletion
 were
 therefore
 non‐existent,
 the
 anthropocentric
 would
continue
to
manifest
the
quest
for
a
Utopia
 in
material
expansion.
The
infinite
 resource
base
 would
destroy
the
economically
perceived
dangers
of
scarcity
and
the
‘supply
and
demand’
symbiosis
 of
markets
would
be
rendered
obsolete,
consequently
ridding
the
economic
world
of
the
concept
of
 exchange
 value.
 This
 however,
 is
 not
 the
 case,
 as
 was
 ascertained
 in
 the
 introduction
 through
 the
 statistics
provided.
However,
the
issue
lies
not
with
the
state
of
the
planet
being
composed
of
finite
 matter,
 but
 with
 humankind’s
 perceived
 ‘needs’
 vastly
 exceeding
 that
 which
 the
 earth
 can
 provide.
 This
 issue
 is
 the
 basis
 on
 which
 E.
 F.
 Schumacher’s
 book
 Small
 is
 Beautiful
 (1993)
 is
 founded.
 Ecocentrism’s
advocated
usurpation
of
humanity
from
our
despotic
throne
is
echoed
in
the
subtitle,
 reading;
A
study
of
economics
as
if
people
mattered,
giving
the
reader
a
clear
indication
without
even
 opening
 the
 book
 that
 Schumacher
 approaches
 the
 contorted
 concept
 of
 economics
 from
 a
 non‐ anthropocentric
 standpoint.
 To
 support
 his
 declaration
 that
 humankind’s
 wants
 are
 not
 within
 the

49

William
McDonough
and
Michael
Braungart,
‘How
Much
Can
We
Give
For
All
We
Get?:
Regenerative
 Commerce
and
the
New
Entrepreneurial
Spirit’,
2003.
www.mcdonough.com/writings/how_much_can.htm
 (accessed
19/10/2011)

Page
|
20

50

capabilities
of
the
planet
to
produce
in
the
long
term 
Schumacher
quotes
Gandhi;
‘Earth
provides
 51

enough
to
satisfy
every
man’s
need,
but
not
for
every
man’s
greed.’ 
Regardless
of
how
clichéd
it
has
 become
 to
 quote
 popular
 figures
 such
 as
 Gandhi,
 the
 statement
 very
 neatly
 sums
 up
 the
 ill‐fated
 mismatching
of
a
finite
world
with
a
materialistic
society
apparently
reliant
on
endless
expansion.

 For
a
possible
answer
to
this
quandary
we
can
look
to
Marshall
Sahlins’
theory
of
the
‘original
affluent
 society’.
Sahlins’
suggests
that,
contrary
to
economist
John
Galbraith’s
assertion
that
eras
preceding
 the
 present
 were
 times
 of
 poverty,
 hunter‐gatherers
 were
 actually
 the
 original
 affluent
 societies.
 Common
thought
is
that
the
hunter,
focusing
all
his
time
and
energy
solely
on
surviving,
eked
out
only
 a
 meagre
 existence
 in
 a
 so‐called
 ‘subsistence
 economy’
 despite
 all
 the
 exertion.
 However,
 Sahlins’
 claims
 otherwise
 in
 his
 essay
 The
 Original
 Affluent
 Society
 by
 presenting
 us
 with
 two
 contrasting
 approaches
to
achieving
this
much
sought‐after
situation
of
plenty.
Essentially,
an
affluent
society
is
 one
in
which
peoples
material
wants
are
easily
satisfied
and
Sahlins
gives
us
two
possibilities:
‘Wants
 52

may
be
‘easily
satisfied’
either
by
producing
much
or
desiring
little.’ 
The
first
of
these
two
solutions
 fits
the
model
that
capitalism
presents:
 The
 familiar
 conception,
 the
 Galbraithean
 way,
 makes
 assumptions
 peculiarly
 appropriate
 to
 market
 economies:
 that
 man’s
 wants
 are
 great,
 not
 to
 say
 infinite,
 whereas
his
means
are
limited,
although
improvable:
thus
the
gap
between
means
and
 ends
 can
 be
 narrowed
 by
 industrial
 productivity,
 at
 least
 to
 the
 point
 that
 ‘urgent
 53 goods’
become
plentiful. 
 Here,
 Sahlins
 queries
 the
 origins
 and
 authenticity
 of
 man’s
 ‘wants’,
 which
 he
 claims
 are
 ‘peculiarly
 54

appropriate
 to
 market
 economies’ .
 In
 building
 a
 network
 of
 indefinitely
 increasing
 exchanges
 the
 55

market
 has
 possibly
 expanded
 humankind’s
 wants
 to
 those
 that
 are
 extraneous
 to
 actual
 needs 
 –
 needs
being
those
that
are
essential
to
survival.
This
Galbraithean
model
of
achieving
affluence
does
 not
 however
 address
 the
 paramount
 issue
 of
 the
 limits
 to
 realistic
 expansion.
 The
 methods
 of
 realising
 plenty
 will
 no
 doubt
 become
 more
 efficient
 in
 a
 hypothetically
 indefinite
 manner
 and
 consequently,
 there
 would
 of
 course
 be
 affluence.
 But,
 akin
 to
 the
 Malthusian
 situation
 of
 geometrically
 disproportionate
 exponential
 increase,
 humans’
 perceived
 needs
 would
 continue
 to
 exceed
the
capabilities
of
the
planet
to
provide.
A
capitalist
market
will
constantly
expand
the
‘needs’
 of
 the
 society
 over
 which
 it
 rules,
 continuously
 diminishing
 the
 perception
 of
 affluence
 and
 thus
 feeding
 the
 need
 for
 increased
 productivity
 as
 it
 becomes
 a
 basic
 human
 ‘right’
 to
 have
 ownership
 over
more
things.
Sahlins
now
brings
us
to
his
overriding
solution
to
this
situation:
 50

‘An
attitude
to
life
which
seeks
fulfilment
in
the
single‐minded
pursuit
of
wealth
–
in
short,
materialism
–
does
 not
fit
into
this
world,
because
it
contains
within
itself
no
limiting
principle,
while
the
environment
in
which
it
is
 placed
is
strictly
limited.’
–
Schumacher,
Small
is
Beautiful,
p.
17 51 
Mahatma
Gandhi,
in
Schumacher,
Small
is
Beautiful,
p.
20 52 
Marshall
Sahlins,
The
Original
Affluent
Society,
in
Derek
Wall,
Green
History,
pp.
24 53 
Sahlins,
The
Original
Affluent
Society,
pp.
24
–
25 54 
Sahlins,
The
Original
Affluent
Society,
p.
24 55 
This
then
raises
the
question:
‘did
man’s
needs
create
the
market,
or
has
the
market
manufactured
needs
to
 be
filled?’

Page
|
21

But
there
is
also
a
Zen
road
to
affluence,
departing
from
premises
somewhat
different
 from
 our
 own:
 that
 human
 material
 wants
 are
 finite
 and
 few,
 and
 technical
 means
 unchanging
but
on
the
whole
adequate.
Adopting
Zen
strategy,
a
people
 can
enjoy
an
 56 unparalleled
material
plenty. 
 Under
steady
productivity,
seeking
not
to
 expand,
but
 instead
directly
addressing
only
the
 essential
 and
 ecologically
 appropriate
 needs
 of
 humankind,
 there
 is
 affluence;
 in
 that
 all
 material
 wants
 are
 satisfied,
 them
 being
 finite
 and
 few.
 This
 will
 only
 be
 applicable
 if
 the
 needs
 of
 humankind
 are
 re‐ addressed.
 If
 hunters
 were
 affluent
 it
 was
 in
 a
 Zen
 way
 as
 they
 would
 have
 been
 free
 from
 market
 obsessions
of
scarcity
and
their
economic
propensity
may
have
been
more
consistently
predicated
on
 abundance
 than
 our
 own
 inclination,
 which
 is
 to
 consume
 all
 stocks
 on
 hand.
 Many
 anthropologic
 theorists
posit
that
early
societies
were
based
on
sharing
as
opposed
to
competitive
exchange,
which
 allowed
them
to
prosper
without
the
need
for
constant
expansion.

It
is
this
reorientation
of
human
 needs
that
is
an
essential
part
of
the
next
stage
of
development
in
society.
It
would
move
us
from
the
 unsustainable
 ‘pioneer’
 state
 of
 existence
 which
 we
 are
 currently
 in;
 in
 which
 rapid
 growth
 and
 aggressive
expansion
take
place,
to
a
more
mature,
steady‐state
‘climax’
community.
The
steady‐state
 society
 can
 be
 defined,
 in
 a
 somewhat
 grandiose
 manner,
 akin
 to
 the
 cosmological
 principle
 of
 the
 universe:
matter
is
created
equally
as
matter
is
destroyed
through
dying
stars
and
the
entropy
of
such
 events,
 thus
 the
 features
 of
 the
 universe
 change
 across
 time,
 but
 not
 through
 space,
 maintaining
 equilibrium.
To
translate
this
to
a
societal
format
one
can
observe
that
a
community
would
essentially
 become
an
autopoietic
society,
regenerating
its
sustenance
as
it
is
consumed,
without
the
necessity
 placed
on
increase.

2.4


Steady­State
Society
 To
move
to
a
steady‐state
society
would
mean
a
reduction
in
the
size
of
communities,
each
being
able
 to
support
its
population,
utilising
resources
in
a
sustainable
manner
without
the
need
for
aggressive
 expansion.
 A
 move
 towards
 a
 bioregional
 structure
 in
 which
 each
 region
 can
 effectively
 sustain
 a
 population,
theoretically
avoiding
a
potential
Malthusian
backlash,
is
an
approach
which
is
currently
 gaining
 support
 amongst
 many
 political
 parties.
 It
 can
 be
 seen
 pitched
 in
 Robert
 Heilbroner’s
 An
 Inquiry
 into
the
Human
Prospect
 where
he
calls
for
‘a
diminution
in
scale,
a
 reduction
 in
size
of
the
 human
community
from
the
dangerous
level
of
immense
nation
states
toward
the
‘polis’
that
defined
 57

the
appropriate
reach
of
political
power
for
the
ancient
Greeks.’ 
This
completely
rejects
the
idolatry
 of
size
–
the
larger
an
entity,
the
more
powerful
and
prosperous
–
that
still
runs
through
the
majority
 of
 modern
 thought.
 For
 every
 activity
 and
 endeavour
 there
 is
 an
 appropriate
 scale,
 a
 scale
 which
 caters
 to
 the
 needs
 of
 the
 matter
 and
 no
 further,
 returning
 here
 to
 the
 attempted
 reorientation
 of

56

Sahlins,
The
Original
Affluent
Society,
p.
25 
Robert
Heilbroner,
An
Inquiry
into
the
Human
Prospect,
p.
135

57

Page
|
22

58

human
‘needs’.
Heilbroner
believes
that
we
have
grossly
exceeded
this
scale
and
are
suffering
for
it .
 Father
 of
 ‘deep
 ecology’
 Arne
 Naess
 stresses
 the
 importance
 in
 the
 reversal
 of
 this
 condition
 with
 specific
emphasis
on
the
continuation
of
the
non‐human
world,
relegating
the
‘comfort’
of
the
human
 race
 as
 of
 secondary
 importance:
 ‘The
 flourishing
 of
 human
 life
 and
 cultures
 is
 compatible
 with
 a
 substantial
 decrease
 of
 the
 human
 population.
 The
 flourishing
 of
 non‐human
 life
 requires
 such
 a
 59

decrease’. 
Whilst
Naess’
statement
focuses
on
a
decrease
in
overall
population,
the
general
gist
of
 this
 thought
 can
 also
 be
 applied
 to
 the
 dispersion
 of
 intensely
 populated
 urban
 environments.
 The
 purpose
of
this
being
the
re‐integration
of
mankind
into
the
natural
world,
a
re‐association
with
the
 means
of
production
geared
towards
the
continued
survival
of
the
entire
biosphere.

58

One
need
only
study
the
progression
of
terminology
over
time
with
regards
to
settlements
to
see
this
in
action:
 from
the
rural
denominations
of
village
and
town,
to
the
creation
of
the
new
‘megalopolis’
after
the
giant
 ‘metropolis’
was
inconceivably
surpassed. 59 
Arne
Naess,
Sustainable
Development,
p.
140

Page
|
23

An
 attitude
 to
 life
 which
 seeks
 fulfilment
 in
 the
 single‐minded
 pursuit
 of
 wealth
 –
 in
 short,
 materialism
 –
 does
 not
 fit
 into
 this
 world,
 because
 it
 contains
 within
 itself
 no
 limiting
principle,
while
the
environment
in
which
it
is
placed
is
strictly
limited.
 
 60 ‐ E.
F.
Schumacher,
Small
is
Beautiful

60

Schumacher,
Small
is
Beautiful,
p.
17

Page
|
24

Chapter
3
 3.1


Making
Salvation
Overt:
Eco­Communalism
in
Practice
 
 [The
aim
is]
to
create
a
self‐reliant
community
based
way
of
life
within
the
framework
 of
a
stable
economy
and
a
just,
democratic
society,
so
that
people
may
live
in
harmony
 with
 each
 other
 and
 the
 rest
 of
 the
 natural
 environment
 by
 acknowledging
 and
 adapting
 to
 the
 limitations
 of
 the
 earth’s
 finite
 resources.
 –
 British
 Green
 Party,
 The
 61 Politics
of
Ecology 
 To
implement
this
though
is
by
no
means
a
small
undertaking.
The
modern
society
can
be
said
to
be
 built
on
pillars
of
sand
and
it,
playing
the
part
of
the
ocean
in
this
analogy
as
 well,
destroys
its
own
 foundations.
Schumacher
acknowledges
this
and
says
that
it,
‘...with
all
its
intellectual
sophistication,
 consumes
 the
 very
 basis
 on
 which
 it
 has
 been
 erected...It
 lives
 on
 irreplaceable
 capital
 which
 it
 62

cheerfully
treats
as
income.’ 
With
this
in
mind
there
can
be
no
question
as
to
the
need
for
a
shift
in
 priorities.
But,
as
William
Leiss,
author
of
The
Limits
to
Satisfaction,
posits:
 
 ...everything
depends
upon
whether
we
regard
such
limits
as
bitter
disappointment
or
a
 welcome
 opportunity
 to
 turn
 from
 quantitative
 to
 qualitative
 improvement
 in
 the
 63 course
of
creating
a
conserver
society. 
 
 The
 creation
 of
 a
 conserver
 society
 out
 of
 one
 brought
 up
 with,
 and
 reliant
 on,
 consumerism
 is
 a
 daunting
 prospect.
 However,
 it
 is
 not
 a
 new
 one,
 or
 by
 any
 means
 an
 entirely
 original
 and
 novel
 notion.
Here
 enters
the
 libertarian
socialist
philosophy
of
Eco‐Communalism
 which,
borrowing
from
 communism,
 supports
 Marx’s
 popularised
 slogan
 of;
 ‘From
 each
 according
 to
 his
 ability,
 to
 each
 64

according
 to
 his
 need.’ 
 This
 embodies
 the
 very
 ideals
 of
 the
 re‐orientation
 of
 needs
 and
 the
 ecocentric
production
values
discussed
in
Chapter
 2.
 In
such
a
structure
the
destructively
 expansive
 economics
 of
 modern
 capitalism
 would
 be
 near
 abolished,
 instead
 the
 syndicated
 becomes
 the
 symbiotic,
 the
 land
 and
 the
 enterprises
 removed
 from
 the
 grasp
 of
 private
 ownership
 and
 placed
 under
the
usufruct
of
the
community.
The
result
is
a
direct
contact
with
the
means
of
production,
a
 re‐acquaintance
 with
the
 resources,
and
the
 re‐association
with
the
use
value
and
intrinsic
value
of
 commodities,
essentially
shifting
the
intrusive
to
the
integrated.
 
 The
 idea
 of
 creating
 stable
 integrated
 ecological
 communities
 has
 been
 a
 long‐standing
 theme
 in
 Western
social
philosophy,
albeit
one
of
the
lesser
practiced,
stretching
as
far
back
as
the
collapse
of
 the
 Roman
 Empire.
 After
 the
 fall
 of
 Rome,
 Saint
 Benedict
 of
 Nursia
 created
 a
 number
 of
 monastic
 61

British
Green
Party,
The
Politics
of
Ecology,
1979
pamphlet 
E.
F.
Schumacher,
Small
is
Beautiful,
p.
8 63 
William
Leiss,
The
Limits
to
Satisfaction,
p.
112 64 
Karl
Marx,
Critique
of
the
Gotha
Program,
transcribed
by
Brian
Baggins,
1999,
 http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/ch01.htm
(accessed
13/10/2011) 62

Page
|
25

65

orders 
in
the
ruins
of
the
heart
of
the
Empire
which
subsequently
spread
throughout
Europe
and
are
 the
 foundation
 upon
 which
 many
 contemporary
 monastic
 communities
 are
 built.
 Robyn
 Eckersley
 suggests
 in
 her
 book
 Environmentalism
 and
 Political
 Theory
 that
 this
 conformed
 to
 the
 common
 theme
 among
 eco‐communal
 theorists
 of
 ‘the
 idea
 of
 disengagement
 or
 withdrawal
 from
 corrupt
 social
 and
 political
 institutions
 and
 the
 establishment
 of
 exemplary
 institutions
 and/or
 pursuit
 of
 66

exemplary
 personal
 action.’ 
 There
 is
 no
 great
 stretch
 of
 imagination
 needed,
 or
 suspension
 of
 disbelief
 necessary,
 to
 draw
 parallels
 between
 the
 ruin
 of
 the
 Roman
 Empire
 and
 the
 multifaceted
 crises
 that
 threaten
 modern
 society.
 Thus
 this
 theme
 is
 as
 applicable
 today
 as
 it
 was
 to
 Saint
 Benedict’s
 medieval
 communalism.
 The
 communities
 offered
 ‘liberation
 from
 waste
 and
 busywork,
 from
excessive
appetite
and
anxious
competition
that
allows
one
to
get
on
with
the
essential
business
 67

of
life,
which
is
to
work
out
one’s
salvation
with
diligence’. 
This
is
an
example
of
the
‘Zen
Affluence’
 discussed
by
Sahlins
earlier
in
practice,
in
that
the
wants
have
been
reduced
to
few
and
all
extraneous
 complications
 are
 condensed
 to
 the
 necessary.
 In
 order
 for
 such
 communes
 to
 function
 however,
 there
needs
to
be
a
body
of
citizens
 committed
to
such
a
 cause.
 In
Saint
 Benedict’s
 case
this
 cause
 was
the
simple
survival
and
promise
of
a
better
life
following
the
ending
of
an
Empire.
To
wait
for
the
 ultimate
collapse
of
the
present‐day
human
‘empire’
would
be
truly
fatalistic
however,
and
thus
there
 is
the
need
for
groups
of
denizens
committed
to
an
exemplary
ecocentric
way
of
living
to
spearhead
 the
shift.

3.2


The
Constant
Ideal
of
Communalism
Through
Time
 It
 appears
 that
 throughout
 history,
 whilst
 the
 majority
 of
 humankind
 has
 been
 wholeheartedly
 engaging
in
the
systematic
destruction
of
resources
and
ecosystems
as
discussed
in
Chapter
1,
there
 68

have
also
been
factions
of
these
societies
that
stand
separate .
There
is
a
constant
that
is
apparent
in
 the
 values
 which
 these
 groups
 upheld.
 Plato
 writes
 of
 this
 in
 Eroded
 Attica
 when
 describing
 social
 stratification.
We
are
first
introduced
to
the
society
with
which
we
are
all
acquainted;
various
citizens
 filling
 an
 assortment
 of
 roles.
 However,
 we
 are
 then
 presented
 with
 a
 group
 embodying
 values
 entirely
separate
to
those
of
the
aforementioned
community:
 
 Now
the
country
was
inhabited
in
those
days
by
various
classes
of
citizens;
‐
there
were
 artisans,
and
there
were
husbandmen,
and
there
was
also
a
warrior
class
originally
set
 apart
 by
 divine
 men.
 The
 latter
 dwelt
 by
 themselves,
 and
 had
 all
 things
 suitable
 for
 nurture
 and
 education;
 neither
 had
 any
 of
 them
 anything
 of
 their
 own,
 but
 they
 regarded
 all
 that
 they
 had
 as
 common
 property;
 nor
 did
 they
 claim
 to
 receive
 of
 the
 69 other
citizens
anything
more
than
the
necessary
food. 
 65

Saint
Benedict
can
be
seen
as
the
‘Father
of
Monasticism’
and,
as
many
of
the
ideologies
of
this
feed
into
 modern
day
Communalism,
can
also
be
seen
as
a
major
contributor
to
the
rise
of
the
eco‐commune. 66 
Eckersley,
Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory,
p.
163 67 
Theodore
Roszak,
Person/Planet:
The
Creative
Disintegration
of
Industrial
Society
in,
Eckersley,
 Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory,
p.
165 68 
Whether
these
groups
were
aware
of
the
ultimately
destructive
nature
of
their
contemporary
cultures
is
 unclear. 69 
Plato,
Eroded
Attica
in
The
Dialogues
of
Plato,
in
Derek
Wall,
Green
History,
p.
36

Page
|
26

Whilst
 it
 is
 implied
 that
 this
 ‘warrior
 class’
 had
 been
 appointed
 a
 higher
 place
 in
 the
 contemporary
 social
order,
setting
them
aside
from
the
‘common
class’
of
citizenry,
this
in
no
way
reflects
the
values
 or
status
of
the
‘higher
order’
that
could
be
garnered
modern
society’s
select
elevated
few.
Imagine
 the
 current
 phenomenon
 of
 the
 ‘celebrity’
 status,
 equating
 this
 with
 the
 warrior
 class
 described
 by
 Plato;
 and
 similarly,
 liken
 the
 majority
 population
 to
 Plato’s
 ‘divine
 men’,
 our
 adulation
 having
 elevated
the
celebrity
to
a
higher
class.
Now
compare
this
higher
order
with
that
of
Plato’s
and,
in
this
 instance,
to
say
that
they
are
the
polar
opposite
is
in
no
way
sensationalistic
or
hyperbolic.
The
values
 that
the
warrior
class
hold
can
be
likened
to
many
Marxist
socialist
philosophies,
their
attitude
toward
 needs
mirroring
that
of
a
form
of
Zen
affluence,
whilst
the
higher
orders
of
today
are
the
epitome
of
 the
 capitalist
 consumerist
 tenet.
 These
 ideals
 emerge
 again
 later
 in
 the
 New
 Testament
 of
 the
 Christian
 Bible,
 once
 more
 pre‐empting
 many
 of
 Marx’s
 communist
 ideals,
 themselves
 appearing
 in
 varying
forms
in
the
eco‐socialist
manifestos:
 
 And
all
that
believed
were
together,
and
had
all
things
common;
 And
 sold
 their
 possessions
 and
 goods,
 and
 parted
 them
 to
 all
 men,
 as
 every
 man
 had
 70 need.
(Acts,
2:44
–
45) 
 
 The
New
Testament,
being
essentially
a
Christian
guide
to
morals
and
ethics,
proclaims
all
men
equal,
 ‘as
every
man
had
need’,
and
thus
the
ownership
of
all
things
should
be
held
as
‘common’;
the
needs
 of
no
one
person
should
come
above
those
of
another.
This
is
essentially
an
anthropocentric
decree
 as
it
does
not
take
into
account
species
other
than
that
of
humankind
and,
taking
into
consideration
 the
earlier
quotation
from
the
Old
Testament
on
the
God‐given
right
of
man
to
rule
(Genesis
1:26
–
 30),
 could
 hardly
 appear
 to
 be
 an
 environmentally
 conscientious
 dogma.
 However,
 the
 basic
 values
 described
here
are
also
the
basis
of
the
eco‐socialist
movement,
and
so
the
New
Testament
 gets
an
 honorary
 mention
 as
 it
 levels
 the
 playing
 field
 between
 classes
 and
 pre‐emptively
 opposes
 the
 privatisation
of
land.
It
is
by
this
creed
that
the
radical
Christian
community
of
the
Bruderhof
operate.

3.3


The
Bruderhof
Community:
Christian
Anti­Capitalism
 The
Bruderhof
Community
is
a
Christian
community
loosely
associated
with
the
Hutterite
Brethren
of
 71

the
Anabaptist
Christian
faith .
Similar
to
the
more
recognised
Amish
faith,
the
Hutterites
grew
out
of
 th

the
Radical
Reformation
of
the
16 
Century.
The
Hutterite’s
premise
was,
analogous
to
the
theme
of
 communalism
 presented
 by
 Eckersley,
 a
 separation
 in
 response
 to
 corruption
 and
 dissent
 in
 the
 Roman
Catholic
Church,
this
being
likened
to
the
social
and
political
institutions
Roszak
suggests.
One
 of
 the
 themes
 most
 central
 to
 the
 Community
 is
 that
 of
 all
 possessions
 being
 held
 common,
 the
 equalising
 of
 every
 member.
 This
 ideology
 is
 taken
 from
 the
 New
 Testament
 and
 appears
 to
 be
 a
 70

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:44%20‐%2045&version=ASV
(accessed
 05/12/2011) 71 
Founder
of
the
Bruderhof,
Eberhard
Arnold,
developed
a
great
interest
in
the
Hutterite
faith
and
based
the
 religious
community
that
he
founded
in
Germany
in
1920
on
many
of
their
values
and
teachings.

Page
|
27

frequent
 point
 of
 discourse
 in
 Acts.
 This
 adds
 further
 confusion
 as
 to
 the
 state
 of
 capitalist
 society
 today;
a
large
portion
of
the
population
adhering
to
and
preaching
the
values
posited
in
this
book
and
 yet
acting
out
the
exact
reverse
to
one
of
the
most
central
themes:
 And
the
multitude
of
them
that
believed
were
of
one
heart
and
soul:
and
not
one
of
 them
said
that
aught
of
the
things
which
he
possessed
was
his
own;
but
they
had
all
 72 things
common.
(Acts,
4:32) 

 With
this
as
one
of
the
key
themes
around
which
the
Community
revolves
it
can
essentially
be
classed
 as
a
communist
society,
upholding
many
of
the
philosophies
on
the
division
of
labour
and
the
holding
 of
all
goods
common.
Members
of
the
Community
possess
no
personal
belongings
and
stand
by
the
 emphasis
on
use
value
over
exchange
value,
being
titled
as
an
‘intentional’
commune
rather
than
an
 ‘instrumental’
one;
things
being
done
with
the
intention
for
production
and
not
for
accumulation
and
 73

consumption
of
capital.
The
 work
of
the
Bruderhof 
is
 entirely
 self‐directed,
 impacting
little
on
the
 productivity
and
profitability
of
the
factories
as,
with
no
necessity
placed
on
capital,
the
members
are
 not
 driven
 to
 accumulate
 and
 increase
 market
 share.
 Instead
 the
 production
 is
 aimed
 towards
 the
 incremental
 profit
 sufficient
 to
 meet
 the
 requirements
 of
 the
 Community
 and
 the
 continued
 production
 under
 a
 steady‐state
 model.
 
 Thus,
 without
 the
 emphasis
 on
 accumulation
 and
 consequently
 quantity
 production,
 there
 is
 an
 emphasis
 on
 the
 quality
 of
 items,
 ensuring
 the
 longevity
 and
 well‐being
 of
 goods,
 as
 well
 as
 the
 larger
 ends
 to
 which
 the
 objects
 are
 put.
 This
 socialist
 organisation
 of
 labour,
 echoing
 communistic
 conditions,
 causes
 the
 capitalist
 creed
 to
 collapse.
 As
 a
 result
 of
 this
 structure
 the
 Bruderhof
 Community
 manage
 to
 operate
 outside
 the
 74

capitalist
majority,
maintaining
a
thriving
society
that
remains
within
the
realms
of
sustainability. 
 
 Having
 successfully
 supplanted
 themselves
 outside
 the
 capitalist
 economy,
 the
 community
 must
 retain
a
size
that
equates
to
the
steady‐state
‘climax’
society
model
around
which
their
profit
margins
 and
 resources
 are
 structured.
 If
 this
 is
 not
 controlled
 then
 the
 community
 will
 fall
 victim
 to
 the
 indefinite
 expansionary
 models
 under
 which
 the
 majority
 of
 societies
 today
 function.
 This
 would
 result
in
them
consequently
having
to
increase
output
to
maximise
profit,
pandering
to
the
growing
 75

number
of
 members.
The
solution
to
this
is
simple;
when
 the
Community
 reaches
a
 certain
size 
it
 divides,
 creating
 a
 new
 settlement,
 essentially
 preserving
 the
 sustainable
 base
 of
 the
 parent
 community.
 Whilst
 this
 is
 still
 technically
 an
 expansionary
 process
 it
 is
 a
 step
 towards
 a
 more
 ecocentric
approach
as
the
necessity
for
a
stable
population
size
and
culling
of
accumulation
to
a
level
 of
requirement
and
no
further
is
realised
and
practised.
The
Bruderhof
Community,
following
a
faith
 of
radical
Christian
denomination,
operate
under
a
strict
religious
hierarchical
model.
This
structure,
 72

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204:32%20‐%2035&version=ASV
‐
for
full
passage
see
 Appendix
2
(accessed
05/12/2011) 73 
This
is
primarily
that
of
‘Community
Playthings’
–
a
classroom
toy
and
furniture
line. 74 
Kovel,
The
Enemy
of
Nature,
pp.
207
‐
208 75 
This
size
roughly
equates
to
‘Dunbar’s
Number’
–
a
theoretical
number
of
people
with
which
a
person
can
 maintain
reciprocal
social
relationships
in
a
stable
manner.

Page
|
28

echoing
 Edward
 Goldsmith’s
 rejection
 of
 social
 security
 institutions
 in
 favour
 of
 family
 or
 religious
 hierarchies,
is
also
a
point
of
contention
amongst
eco‐communal
theorists.
It
allows
for
the
possibility
 of
autocratic
ruling,
 embodying
 –
on
a
smaller
scale
 –
the
 basis
of
the
survivalist
school
of
thought;
 76

self‐sufficient
 communities
 engineered
 and
 executed
 by
 a
 nation
 state. 
 This
 totalitarian
 rule
 risks
 the
 manifestation
 of
 the
 many
 pitfalls
 shown
 by
 humanity
 thus
 far.
 The
 power
 behind
 the
 ideals
 creating
these
stable
communities
is
corrupted
and
destroyed
in
wake
of
autocratic
ruling.
One
need
 only
 look
 to
 the
 many
 socialist
 nations
 of
 the
 Eastern
 Block
 enacting,
 however
 eventually
 ineffectively,
 some
 of
 the
 ideals
 held
 by
 Marx
 and
 Engels.
 In
 this
 portion
 of
 history
 we
 can
 see
 just
 how
 subversive
 the
 authoritarian
 rule
 can
 be;
 from
 the
 ‘the
 leading
 people’
 of
 post‐World
 War
 II
 Russia
to
the
eventual
 collapse
of
the
Soviet
Union
in
1991
and
the
dissolution
of
Czechoslovakia
in
 77

1993 .
 There
 are,
 however,
 communities
 existing
 today
 which
 fully
 embrace
 and
 embody
 the
 ecocentric
 ideology
 with
 regards
 to
 division
 of
 labour
 as
 well
 as
 social
 structure
 and
 environmental
 awareness,
moving
towards
securing
a
sustainable
future
for
humankind.
These
communes
span
the
 globe,
giving
weight
to
the
idea
that
the
basic
human
ideals
of
equality,
community
and
an
awareness
 of
 the
 ecological
 systemic
 surroundings
 are
 universal.
 A
 forerunner
 in
 this
 ecocentric
 field
 of
 the
 intentional
commune
is
the
Findhorn
Foundation.

3.4


The
Findhorn
Foundation
 Situated
in
the
Findhorn
Bay
of
Moray
on
the
North
East
coast
of
Scotland,
the
Findhorn
Ecovillage
is
 a
 synthesis
 of
 ecologically
 applied
 technology,
 holistic
 educational,
 societal,
 and
 communal
 values.
 78

This
approach
gives
the
Ecovillage
an
ecological
footprint 
that
is
half
the
United
Kingdom’s
national
 79

average .
 Currently
 comprised
 of
 around
 90
 ecological
 buildings,
 all
 using
 environmentally
 sound,
 energy
efficient
materials,
the
community
is
unique
in
the
fact
that
it
sits
on
its
own
electricity
grid,
 generating
 its
 own
 power
 through
 four
 privately
 owned
 wind
 turbines.
 The
 turbines
 provide
 more
 than
100%
of
the
community’s
energy
needs
and
thus
the
excesses
of
production
are
exported
to
the
 80

national
grid .
This
green
energy
generation
creates
a
major
sustainable
business
for
the
Ecovillage.
 The
 concentration
 on
 renewable
 resources
 is
 a
 focal
 point
 in
 the
 construction
 of
 the
 community
 buildings,
each
house
being
modelled
on
a
‘cradle‐to‐cradle’
design.
The
concept
of
‘cradle‐to‐cradle’
 was
 introduced
 by
 architect
 William
 McDonough
 and
 chemist
 Michael
 Braungart
 as
 an
 ecologically
 intelligent
approach
to
design
and
architecture.
The
concept
effectively
gives:

76

Eckersley,
Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory,
p.
13 
It
can
be
proposed
that
these
nations
eventually
practised
a
form
of
‘state
capitalism’
as
opposed
to
socialism. 78 
‘An
Ecological
Footprint
is
a
measure
of
the
amount
of
bioproductive
land
and
sea
required
to
support
a
 person’s
lifestyle.
It
includes
the
land
needed
to
grow
their
food,
dispose
of
their
waste
and
absorb
their
carbon
 emissions.
The
footprint
counts
all
the
impacts
of
personal
spending
as
well
as
the
business
and
government
 expenditure
on
their
behalf.’
–
Alan
Calcott
and
Jamie
Bull,
Ecological
Footprint
of
British
City
Resident,
p.
5 79 
The
UK
National
Average
is
5.4gha
(global
hectares)
whereas
the
Findhorn
Foundation’s
Ecological
Footprint
is
 a
mere
2.56gha.
–
Taken
respectively
from
Counting
Consumption:
Executive
Summary,
pp.
1,
and
Ecological
 Footprint
of
the
Findhorn
Foundation
and
Community,
p.
4 77

Page
|
29

...an
 entirely
 new
 relationship
 to
 materials,
 energy,
 and
 the
 making
 of
 things.
 Where
 eco‐efficient
 designs
 aim
 to
 dematerialize
 –
 minimizing
 the
 negative
 effects
 of
 toxic
 materials
 and
 polluting
 fuels
 –
 cradle‐to‐cradle
 design
 seeks
 the
 rematerialization
 of
 81 safe,
productive
materials
in
systems
powered
by
the
sun. The
design
system
advocated
here
has
grown
from
a
realisation
of
the
environmental
situation
and
a
 rejection
 of
 the
 short‐sighted
 nature
 of
 many
 supposedly
 eco‐friendly
 industries
 whose
 aim
 is
 to
 simply
 reduce
 the
 harmful
 effects
 of
 products.
 McDonough
 and
 Braungart
 see
 these
 industries’
 efforts
 as
 being
 misguided,
 as
 ‘they
 are
 merely
 reaching
 for
 sustainability,
 which
 is,
 after
 all,
 only
 a
 82

minimum
 condition
 for
 survival.’ 
 The
 cradle‐to‐cradle
 principle
 is
 based
 on
 that
 of
 a
 system
 of
 decomposition
 and
 recomposition,
 a
 closed
 loop
 cyclical
 system
 mirroring
 that
 of
 nature.
 This
 is
 in
 place
of
the
‘cradle‐to‐grave’
focus
of
short‐term
waste
management.
The
concept
of
the
entire
world
 existing
in
a
symbiotic
relation
with
every
organism
is
a
key
theme
amongst
ecocentric
theorists
and
 practitioners.
 In
 the
 non‐human
 world
 the
 environment
 is
 an
 objective
 fact,
 and
 its
 effects
 can
 be
 ascertained
 and
 formulated
 in
 laws.
 Man,
 however,
 creates
 his
 own
 environment,
 circumventing
 these
 laws
 and
 thus
 attempting
 to
 dominate
 nature,
 altering
 a
 natural
 situation
 to
 that
 which
 best
 suits
 him.
 Re‐addressing
 this
 system
 is
 integral
 to
 the
 ecocentric
 approach,
 effectively
 undoing
 the
 supplanted
nature
of
humanity,
and
ensuring
the
survival
of
the
biosphere,
as
philosopher
Jan
Smuts
 states:
 
 Nothing
exists
for
itself
alone;
there
are
no
isolated
units,
but
only
structured
patterns
 and
 inter‐relations,
 from
 the
 primordial
 electrons
 to
 the
 most
 developed
 physical
 or
 83 moral
or
social
complexes
in
the
universe. 
 
 The
 philosophy
 of
 interconnectedness
 is
 applied
 to
 the
 technology
 that
 the
 Ecovillage
 employs.
 In
 1995,
eminent
environmentalist
Jonathon
Porrit
opened
the
ecologically
engineered
Living
Machine®;
 84

a
 unique
 sewage
 treatment
 plant
 based
 around
 living
 systems .
 The
 design
 follows
 the
 cradle‐to‐ cradle
 model,
 shifting
 from
 chemically
 intensive,
 wasteful
 processes
 to
 one
 of
 zero‐impact.
 The
 resulting
water
is
pure
enough
to
be
discharged
directly
into
the
sea,
free
of
chemicals,
or
re‐used.
 
 The
 importance
 of
 the
 revolutionary
 design
 and
 architecture
 of
 the
 Findhorn
 Foundation
 is
 that
 it
 inverts
the
view
of
the
non‐human
 world
as
a
storehouse
 of
resources.
Under
the
design
principles
 and
 building
 methods
 it
 is
 instead
 the
 human
 world
 which
 is
 conceived
 as
 existing
 solely
 in
 the
 previously
discussed
state
of
‘mechanical
contrivance’.
This
approach
converts
materials
on
a
cradle‐ to‐grave
path
to
having
a
recycled
and
equally
valuable
function.
Among
the
innovative
designs
of
the
 buildings
 is
 the
 ‘Earthship’
 model.
 First
 introduced
 by
 the
 founder
 of
 Earthship
 Biotecture
 Mike
 Reynolds
in
1970s
New
Mexico,
the
Earthship
structure
is
primarily
manufactured
from
used
car
tyres,
 81

st

William
McDonough
and
Michael
Braungart,
Towards
a
Sustaining
Architecture
for
the
21 
Century:
The
 Promise
of
Cradle‐to‐Cradle
Design 82 st 
McDonough
and
Braungart,
Towards
a
Sustaining
Architecture
for
the
21 
Century 83 
Jan
Smuts,
The
Holistic
Doctrine
of
Ecology,
in
Derek
Wall,
Green
History,
p.
98 84 
The
plant
employs
a
set
of
sequenced,
complete
ecologies
containing
communities
of
bacteria,
algae,
plants,
 snails
and
fish,
all
acting
as
biofilters,
mirroring
the
naturally
occurring
processes
on
an
intensive
scale.

Page
|
30

reclaimed
and
given
a
new
use
(Figure
4).
Packed
with
dirt,
the
tyres
form
a
solid,
structurally
sound
 wall;
 waterproof,
 effectively
 heat‐retentive
 and
 less
 flammable
 than
 conventional
 materials
 due
 to
 the
densely
packed
soil.

Figure
4:
 
 The
Earthship
structure
in
Kinghorn,
Fife.
An
example
of
the
tyre
 
 method
of
construction
can
be
seen
in
the
foreground.
 
 The
design
of
such
structures
releases
the
resources
embedded
in
the
already
built
environment,
thus
 85

including
 the
 human
 world
 among
 the
 moniker
 of
 ‘the
 commons’ .
 These
 modes
 of
 construction
 86

have
spread,
 with
projects
being
undertaken
 globally .
The
 ethos
of
the
design
is
pivotal
to
that
of
 the
 Findhorn
 Foundation
 and
 other
 eco‐communes:
 the
 return
 to
 the
 natural
 world
 and
 the
 integration
 of
 sustainable
 means
 of
 production
 into
 naturally
 occurring
 systems.
 This
 involves
 embracing
 a
 holistic
 approach
 to
 the
 world
 similar
 to
 that
 perceived
 by
 Transcendentalist
 author
 Ralph
Waldo
Emerson:
 
 From
 the
 beginning
 to
 the
 end
 of
 the
 Universe,
 she
 has
 but
 one
 stuff
 –
 but
 one
 stuff
 with
its
two
ends,
to
serve
up
all
her
dream‐like
variety.
Compound
it
how
she
will,
star,
 87 sand,
fire,
water,
tree,
man,
it
is
still
one
stuff,
and
it
betrays
the
same
properties. 
 
 
 88 This
declaration
of
 ‘oneness’
 is,
as
stated
before,
a
 central
theme
to
the
eco‐commune .
However,
 the
 Foundation,
 unlike
 the
 Benedictine
 monastic
 communes
 and
 the
 Bruderhof
 Communities

86

There
are
Earthship
projects
currently
existing
in
Texas,
Montana,
the
Netherlands,
France,
Canada,
and
 Georgia
with
many
more
under
construction
and
at
various
stages
of
the
planning
process.
–
‘Radically
 Sustainable
Buildings’,
Earthship
Biotecture,
http://earthship.com/buildings
(accessed
20/10/2011) 87 
Ralph
Waldo
Emerson,
Nature
in
Essays:
First
and
Second
Series,
Library,
p.
311 88

‘Recognising
the
interdependence
of
all
life
is
at
the
heart
of
all
learning
and
practice
here.
This
becomes
 increasingly
important
as
people
come
to
terms
with
global
conflict,
depletion
of
the
world’s
resources,
changes
 in
our
climate
and
ask
questions
about
the
purpose
of
our
lives
and
the
values
we
live
by.’
–
‘Living
Education’,
 Findhorn
Foundation,
http://www.findhorn.org/aboutus/vision/living‐education/
(accessed
20/10/2011)

Page
|
31

discussed
 earlier,
 employs
 no
 formal
 creed
 or
 teaching,
 instead
 accepts,
 and
 borrows
 from,
 all
 the
 world’s
 major
 religions
 with
 the
 key
 ideology
 being
 the
 interdependence
 and
 equality
 of
 all
 life
 –
 a
 principle
 found
 in
 almost
 every
 faith.
 As
 a
 result
 of
 this,
 there
 is
 no
 set
 hierarchy
 –
 other
 than
 the
 familial
 –
 by
 which
 the
 Foundation
 can
 be
 ordered
 by.
 This
 is
 the
 direction
 in
 which
 libertarian
 founder
 of
 the
 social
 ecology
 movement
 Murray
 Bookchin
 urges
 humankind.
 Bookchin
 postulates
 that:
‘To
create
a
society
in
 which
 every
individual
is
 seen
 as
capable
of
participating
directly
in
the
 89

formulation
 of
 social
 policy
 is
 to
 instantly
 invalidate
 social
 hierarchy
 and
 domination.’ 
 This
 is
 the
 state
 towards
 which
 modern
 day
 Communalism
 strives,
 believing
 that
 within
 the
 eradication
 of
 the
 power
 of
 one
 man
 over
 another
 also
 lays
 the
 eradication
 of
 the
 subjugation
 of
 the
 natural
 world.
 Bookchin
 goes
 on
 to
 describe
 what
 achieving
 a
 situation
 like
 this
 entails:
 ‘we
 are
 committed
 to
 dissolving
 State
 power,
 authority,
 and
 sovereignty
 into
 an
 inviolate
 form
 of
 personal
 90

empowerment’ .
 As
 the
 Findhorn
 Foundation
 employs
 no
 formal
 hierarchy
 they
 are
 free
 of
 sovereignty
and
State
power,
 existing
in
near
autonomy.
In
1997
the
Foundation
was
recognised
by
 the
 Department
 of
 Public
 Information
 of
 the
 United
 Nations
 as
 an
 official
 Non‐Governmental
 91

Organisation
and
participates
in
many
UN
events .

Under
the
New
Findhorn
Association,
control
of
 all
 aspects
 of
 the
 affairs
 of
 the
 Community
 remains
 under
 that
 of
 the
 members,
 being
 carried
 out
 through
various
democratic
processes.
Although
there
is
an
elected
voluntary
council,
it
appears
only
 as
an
ear
for,
and
consequent
voice
of,
the
members;
organising
meetings
to
discuss
community‐wide
 issues
and
facilitating
intra‐
and
extra‐communal
communication.

Thus
far
the
Findhorn
Foundation
has
presented
itself
as
a
precise
synergistic
community,
embracing
 the
many
facets
of
socialist
and
ecocentric
thought
and
practice
from
past
and
present
to
construct
a
 society
 in
 which
 the
 possibility
 for
 sustainable
 survival
 can
 be
 seen.
 The
 immersion
 back
 into
 the
 natural
world
is
first
and
foremost
in
the
majority
of
the
literature
of
the
Foundation.
This
is
coupled
 with
 the
 labour
 models
 proposed
 by
 Kovel
 and
 Heilbroner,
 and
 Naess’
 call
 for
 a
 reduction
 in
 the
 appropriate
 reach
 of
 communities
 following
 a
 bio‐regionalist
 format.
 In
 all
 essence,
 the
 Findhorn
 Foundation
 appears
 to
 suggest
 the
 perfect
 model
 to
 achieving
 a
 Utopia
 void
 of
 subjection,
 opportunistic
destruction
and
hierarchical
dominance
and
control;
offering
unparalleled
affluence
and
 sustainable
 means
 of
 accomplishing
 this.
 However,
 further
 examination
 of
 the
 Foundation
 and
 its
 history
belies
this
near
self‐sufficiency
it
so
promotes.

3.5


Findhorn’s
Reliance
on
the
Capitalist
Existence
 
 The
 Findhorn
 Foundation
 presents
 itself
 as
 having
 near
 economic
 autonomy.
 In
 May
 2002
 the
 Foundation
launched
its
own
community‐based
currency
called
the
‘Eko’.
The
currency
is
designed
to
 89

Murray
Bookchin,
Ecology
of
Freedom,
in
Eckersley,
Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory,
p.
134 
Bookchin,
Ecology
of
Freedom,
in
Eckersley,
Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory,
p.
134 91 
The
various
organisations
and
associations
of
the
community
within
a
50
square
mile
area
all
existed
 independent
of
each
other
until
1999
when
the
New
Findhorn
Association
was
formed. 90

Page
|
32

work
as
an
alternative
to
Pounds
Sterling
in
transactions
with
participating
businesses.
This
is
basically
 a
 means
 of
 generating
 income
 in
 Sterling
 as
 visitors
 and
 residents
 purchase
 the
 Eko
 notes
 with
 92

Pounds
and
are
unable
to
redeem
any
exchanged
notes .
Outside
the
Foundation’s
own
generation
 of
 income
 they
 have
 received
 grants
 from
 various
 organisations,
 associations,
 and
 trusts
 that
 equal
 93

the
approximate
sum
of
£11,000
 .
This
stands
independent
of
the
vast
sums
of
capital
required
for
 the
wind
farm
located
at
the
Ecovillage.
The
cost
of
purchasing
and
installing
the
first
turbine
in
1989
 required
an
initial
investment
of
£75,000.
Whilst
this
primary
payment
was
regained
after
the
first
5
 94

years,
the
expansion
of
the
wind
farm
with
three
additional
turbines
cost
a
further
£605,000 ,
relying
 on
external
industries
and
co‐operatives
to
complete.
 The
 power
generated
by
the
turbines
 is
more
 than
 enough
 to
 fulfil
 100%
 of
 the
 Foundations
 energy
 requirements,
 excesses
 being
 sold
 to
 the
 national
grid.
This
creates
a
large
portion
of
relatively
ecologically
benign
sustainable
income
for
the
 Foundation
which,
despite
meeting
the
requirements
of
a
‘green’
initiative,
 is
entirely
reliant
on
the
 existence
of
an
outside
capitalist
structure,
pandering
to
the
formative
needs
of
such
a
 community.
 These
extravagant
costs
appear
right
down
to
an
individual
level.
To
simply
obtain
the
land
for
a
170
 95

square
metre
house
 cost
one
resident
approximately
£178,500 .
Here
one
has
to
beg
the
question:
 what
has
become
of
the
struggle
against
the
privatisation
 and
ownership
of
 land
and
the
 commons
 96

and
under
which
capitalist
doctrine
did
the
words
of
Kovel 
become
obscured?
 
 With
regards
to
an
anticipatory
stance
towards
environmental
policies
such
costs
are
to
be
expected.
 To
 incur
 a
 larger
 financial
 cost
 in
 anticipating
 damage
 far
 outweighs
 the
 environmental
 cost
 of
 a
 reactive
stance;
that
being
to
deal
with
such
issues
only
after
they
have
arisen.
However,
one
must
 question
the
longevity
of
this
particular
anticipatory
approach
whilst
it
is
still
so
reliant
on
the
fatally
 flawed
 capitalist
system
described
 in
 Chapter
2.
Such
a
system
 is
suggested
to
be
 wholly
ultimately
 unsustainable.
 Therefore,
 if
the
approach
that
the
 eco‐commune
advocates
 is
 so
dependent
on
this
 system,
 perhaps
 it
 is
 less
 of
 an
 anticipatory
 stance
 and
 more
 of
 a
 temporarily
 preventative
 one,
 merely
 introducing
 a
 provisional
 stalemate
 between
 contemporary
 society
 and
 the
 multifaceted
 ecological
crises.

92

This
income
is
then
put
towards
financing
and
loans
within
the
Community,
making
such
growth
and
 development
essentially
reliant
on
the
currency
it
aims
to
replace. 93 
‘Grant
Aided
Projects’,
Ekopia
Resource
Exchange,
http://www.ekopia‐findhorn.org/grantaided.shtml
 (accessed
20/10/2011) 94 
‘Findhorn
Wind
Park’,
Findhorn
Ecovillage,
http://www.ecovillagefindhorn.com/findhornecovillage/wind.php
 (accessed
20/10/2011) 95 
R.
Everett,
Email
to
M.
Start
re.
Housing
costs,
02/02/2012 96 
‘...there
must
be
basic
changes
in
ownership
of
productive
resources
so
that,
ultimately
the
earth
is
no
longer
 privately
owned;
and
our
productive
powers,
the
core
of
human
nature,
have
to
be
liberated,
so
that
people
self‐ determine
their
transforming
of
nature.’
–
Kovel,
The
Enemy
of
Nature,
p.
160

Page
|
33

Society
is
a
joint‐stake
company,
in
which
the
members
agree,
for
the
better
securing
of
 his
bread
to
each
shareholder
to
surrender
the
liberty
and
culture
of
the
eater.

‐ Ralph
Waldo
Emerson,
Self‐Reliance97

97

Emerson,
Self‐Reliance
in
Essays:
First
and
Second
Series,
p.
31

Page
|
34

Chapter
4
 4.1


A
Grand
Scale
Survival:
The
Commune’s
Notion
of
the
Commons,
 Nation­wide
 
 Ceding
 complete
 political
 autonomy
 to
 the
 existing
 local
 communities
 that
 inhabit
 bioregions
 will
provide
no
guarantee
that
the
development
will
be
 ecologically
benign
 or
 cooperative.
 Nor
 will
 it
 provide
 any
 guarantee
 that
 they
 will
 form
 a
 confederation
 with
 neighbouring
 local
 communities
 in
 their
 bioregion
 so
 as
 to
 enable
 proper
 98 bioregional
management.
–
Robyn
Eckersley,
Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory 
 Suppose,
for
all
intents
and
purposes,
that
the
model
of
eco‐commune
that
the
Findhorn
Foundation
 exemplifies
is
in
fact
a
solution
to
all
the
world’s
woes;
environmental,
social,
and
political.
The
logical
 next
step
would
be
to
dispense
this
form
nation‐wide.
For
this
purpose,
imagine
the
Ecovillage
as
the
 zero‐impact,
harmonious,
fulfilling,
and
ecologically
benign
way
of
living
it
is
promoted
to
be.
Surely
 there
 is
 no
 reason
 as
 to
 why
 this
 should
 not
 be
 everyone’s
 lifestyle?
 The
 only
 other
 visible
 option
 being
the
path
to
certain
extinction
that
humankind
is
currently
racing
down?
Firstly
though,
there
is
 the
theoretic
 issue
of
how
 exactly
this
new
 intranational
 structure
 would
be
formed,
assuming
that
 the
 populous
 has
 agreed
 to
 this
 radical
 new
 way
 of
 life
 and
 has
 formed
 numerous
 eco‐communes
 across
 the
 country.
 Exactly
 what
 defines
 the
 appropriate
 borders;
 political,
 judicial
 and
 resource‐ based,
of
each
commune?
 
 The
formation
of
societies
and
the
bonds
into
which
individuals
enter
is
a
matter
of
much
contention
 and
has
been
tackled
from
a
myriad
of
angles
by
a
number
of
political
theorists,
their
discourse
falling
 under
 the
 title
 of
 Social
 Contract
 Theory.
 Key
 in
 this
 school
 of
 thought
 are
 John
 Hobbes,
 Thomas
 Locke,
 and
 Jean‐Jacques
 Rousseau;
 each
 presenting
 perhaps
 the
 seminal
 arguments
 of
 their
 respective
eras,
exploring
the
‘agreement,
entered
into
by
individuals,
that
results
in
the
formation
of
 99

the
 state
 or
 of
 organised
 society.’ 
 Thomas
 Hobbes
 wrote
 of
 the
 situation
 in
 which
 individuals,
 in
 grouping,
 cede
 some
 of
 their
 individual
 rights
 so
 that,
 mutually,
 other
 would
 cede
 theirs,
 thus
 entering
into
a
form
of
social
agreement
and
creating
the
basis
of
a
society.
However,
when
amplified
 to
 a
 level
 at
 which
 multiple
 states
 are
 created
 there
 unfolds
 the
 issue
 of
 individual
 states
 acting
 in
 self‐interest,
 with
 no
 leadership
 to
 regulate
 the
 social
 interaction.
 Hobbes
 believed
 this
 to
 be
 the
 State
 of
 Nature;
 each
 individual
 acts
 in
 self‐interest
 to
 improve
 their
 own
 situation
 through
 the
 pursuit
of
pleasure
and
avoidance
of
pain.
In
this
case
the
figure
of
the
individual
becomes
the
body
 of
people
in
a
community.
Hobbes
saw
this
an
issue
to
which
there
was
only
one
solution:
‘During
the
 time
men
live
without
a
common
power
to
keep
them
all
in
awe,
they
are
in
that
condition
which
is

98

Eckersley,
Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory,
p.
169 
Collins
Dictionary
of
the
English
Language,
p.

1447

99

Page
|
35

called
war.
And
such
a
war
as
is
of
every
man
against
every
man.’

100

Hobbes
advocated
near
absolute

authoritarian
sovereignty
as
a
‘common
power’,
essentially
creating
a
federation
of
semi‐autonomous
 states
under
a
monarchy.
This
is
what
Hobbes
named
the
‘Leviathan
State’.
Founding
member
of
the
 Green
Party,
Edward
Goldsmith,
promoted
this
idea
in
an
immediate
transition
towards
decentralised
 communities,
visualising
this
to
be
engineered
and
executed
by
the
ruling
nation
state.
This
ideology
 almost
directly
opposes
the
eco‐socialist
approach
with
its
paternalistic
radical
conservatism.

4.2


Locke’s
Third
Party
Falls
Victim
to
the
Hobbesian
Leviathan
 
 Contrary
to
this
train
of
thought
is
John
Locke’s
idea
proposed
in
his
Second
Treatise
of
Government.
 Whilst
 keeping
 the
 basis
 of
 Hobbes’
 philosophy;
 in
 that
 individuals
 naturally
 gravitate
 towards
 one
 another
to
form
a
social
state,
this
is
as
far
as
Locke
agrees
with
the
Hobbesian
politic.

Instead
Locke
 argues
that
individuals
joining
together
would
create
a
neutral
third
party
‘judge’
which
would
protect
 the
lives
and
the
property
of
those
individuals.
This
government
would
act
as
an
impartial,
objective
 agent
 of
 self‐defence,
 opposing
 the
 condition
 of
 Natural
 Law
 in
 which
 each
 individual
 acts
 as
 their
 own
 judge,
 jury,
 and
 executioner,
 promoting
 extremes
 of
 self‐interest.
 The
 contemporary
 state
 sits
 slightly
 confused
 somewhere
 between
 these
 two
 theories.
 McDonough
 and
 Braungart
 address
 the
 basic
premise
and
ideal
of
Locke’s
theory,
claiming
that:

 
 It
is
the
government's
job
to
protect
the
shared
benefits
of
the
biological
commons
for
 all
 to
 enjoy.
 Ideally,
 regulations
 create
 a
 social
 framework
 in
 which
 commerce
 can
 operate
responsibly
and
freely...
If
a
company
puts
a
burden
on
the
public
sphere,
if
it
 destroys
 the
 water,
 pollutes
 the
 air,
 or
 degrades
 the
 land,
 it
 is
 the
 government's
 101 responsibility
to
step
in
and
regulate
its
activities. 
 
 In
 this
 examination,
 the
 government
 does
 indeed
 act
 as
 a
 third
 party
 true
 to
 Locke’s
 suggestions,
 protecting
the
lives
and
property
of
the
individuals
under
its
safeguard.
The
‘biological
commons’
of
 which
 they
 speak
 essentially
 ‘includes
 the
 air
 we
 breathe,
 the
 water
 we
 drink,
 the
 sunlight
 and
 soil
 102

that
provide
our
nutrition.
These
are
our
shared
birthright,
our
inheritance
and
our
legacy’ ,
and
it
is
 these
 which
 the
 government
 should
 seek
 primarily
 to
 protect
 as
 they
 are
 the
 very
 core
 of
 our
 existence.
However,
how
is
one
to
ensure
that
this
supposed
‘impartial
third
party
agent’,
defending
 the
lives
and
property
of
the
subjects
of
the
state,
does
not
act
in
its
own
self‐interest?
Humans
are
 passionate
by
nature
and
self‐regulation
is
a
major
 issue
 in
this
suggested
reform.
If
this
is
not
self‐ imposed
 there
 then
 becomes
 the
 need
 for
 an
 external
 sovereign
 power
 to
 impose
 checks
 on
 will,
 consumption
 and
 appetite.
 This
 then
 takes
 on
 the
 form
 of
 the
 Hobbesian
 situation,
 creating
 a
 federation
over
which
there
is
a
single
autonomous
rule.
To
solve
the
latent
dilemma
apparent
in
the

100

Thomas
Hobbes
quoted
by
Melvyn
Bragg,
In
Our
Time:
Hobbes,
01/12/2005,
BBC
Radio
4
website.
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003k9l1
(accessed
25/01/2012) 101 
William
Mcdonough
and
Michael
Braungart,
Regulation
and
Redesign:
Tapping
Innovation
and
Creativity
to
 Preserve
the
Commons 102 
Mcdonough
and
Braungart,
Regulation
and
Redesign

Page
|
36

social
 contract
 of
 Locke
 we
 find
 ourselves
 returning
 to
 Hobbes’
 Leviathan
 state.
 However,
 as
 was
 discussed
 before,
 this
 potentially
 paves
 the
 way
 for
 the
 extreme
 despotic
 self‐interest
 of
 the
 ruling
 party.
 In
 light
 of
 the
 recent
 Occupy
 movement
 and
 pan‐global
 riots
 shaking
 the
 world,
 Richard
 Barnet’s
‘hungry
mob’
is
an
apt
denomination
for
the
outraged
‘99%’.
Barnet’s
solution
to
the
hungry
 mob
calls
for
the
social
contract
of
Hobbes,
‘a
world
of
struggle
over
inadequate
resources
that
cries
 out
 for
 Leviathan,
 the
 authoritarian
 state
 that
 can
 keep
 minimal
 order’

103

,
 a
 worryingly
 fitting

ultimatum
for
the
current
situation.
The
Malthusian
fantasy
of
natural
order
has
been
thoroughly
put
 to
bed
when
dealing
with
the
situation
of
humanity
with
our
creation
of
artificial
affluence;
it
exists
as
 a
law
of
order
only
in
the
confines
of
the
natural
world.
In
such
a
natural
world
there
is
no
need
for
 authoritarian
 rule
 simply
 because
 Nature
 intermittently
 thins
 any
 over‐expansion
 of
 its
 counterparts.

104

Whilst
 this
 rule
 is
 currently
 in
 effect
 in
 large
 areas
 of
 the
 planet
 with
 regards
 to

humanity,
 such
 as
 the
 impoverished
 nations
 of
 the
 African
 continent
 and
 many
 areas
 of
 the
 Asian
 subcontinent,
it
is
of
little
consequence
to
the
exponentially
mitotic
majority.

4.3


Rousseau
and
the
Recalcitrant
Masses
 
 Jean‐Jacques
Rousseau
offers
a
respite
from
finding
ourselves
impaled
on
the
horns
of
this
dilemma
 between
Locke
and
Hobbes;
both
offering
theoretically
sound
social
contracts
but,
when
dealing
with
 the
innate
egocentrism
of
humankind,
appear
to
be
practically
flawed.
Rousseau
recognises
this
weak
 characteristic
of
our
development
and
appeals
directly
to
this
very
issue.
Addressing
the
nature
of
a
 social
contract,
he
identifies
the
need
for
a
common
goal,
a
universal
idea
towards
which
a
collective
 body
 may
 strive,
 all
 aiming
 for
 the
 same
 result
 and
 thus
 promoting
 equality
 and
 mutual
 existential
 beneficence.
 Under
 such
 an
 idea,
 all
 mean
 egotism
 vanishes,
 self‐interest
 becoming
 a
 destructive
 impediment.
From
this
position
there
may
rise
a
governing
figure
or
body
who
would
lead
the
values
 of
 the
 individuals
 in
 the
 direction
 of
 their
 best
 interest.
 Whilst
 this
 appears
 to
 be
 similar
 to
 the
 Hobbesian
 condition
 of
 a
 state
 under
 sovereign
 rule
 it
 differs
 in
 that
 the
 body
 of
 the
 people
 has
 created
 this
 ruling
 figure
 to
 direct
 and
 regulate
 them.
 Essentially
 the
 citizenry
 is
 performing
 self‐ regulation
through
a
third
party;
keeping
checks
on
will,
appetite,
and
consumption
by
a
self‐imposed
 governing
law.

 
 However,
 each
 of
 these
 options
 presents
 issues
 when
 attempting
 to
 orchestrate
 and
 manage
 a
 nation‐wide
bioregional
divide
of
communities.
Under
every
condition
there
is
the
lurking
fatalism
of
 obdurate
 human
 characteristics
 that
 cannot
 be
 ignored.
 Such
 damaging
 inclinations
 have
 been
 presented
and
examined
in
Chapter
1
of
this
study.
None
of
the
theories
thus
far
presented
offer
any
 reprieve
from
the
individual
community’s
state
of
conflict
with
the
larger
society.
The
issue
of
success

103

Richard
Barnet,
The
Lean
Years:
Politics
in
the
Age
of
Scarcity,
p.
296 
‘The
Malthusian
fantasy
offers
an
alternative
to
the
Leviathan
state.
There
is
no
need
for
civil
authority
to
 regulate
scarce
goods,
because
Nature,
cruel
to
be
kind,
periodically
thins
the
surplus
population
by
famine’
‐
 Barnet,
The
Lean
Years,
pp.
296
–
97 104

Page
|
37

in
 the
 aspect
 of
 longevity
 is
 approached
 by
 no‐one,
 and
 the
 communities
 appear
 to
 be
 destined
 to
 exist
 in
 either
 perpetual
 or
 intermittent
 conflict
 with
 any
 governing
 body
 that
 arises.
 Perhaps
 the
 issue
 here
 is
 that
 many
 theorists
 appear
 to
 conflate
 humanity’s
 potential
 nature
 with
 our
 essential
 nature:
 the
 potential
 nature
 of
 humankind
 being
 the
 ideal
 which
 we
 preach
 and
 towards
 which
 we
 strive,
a
state
of
reciprocal
mutuality

105

.
Opposing
this
is
the
essential
nature;
this
being,
at
the
risk
of

appearing
decidedly
misanthropic,
the
unfortunate
 reality
 of
recalcitrant
 egotism.
This
 is
one
of
the
 main
 downfalls
 of
 the
 eco‐communalist
 movement;
 when
 considered
 on
 the
 national
 scale
 the
 anarchistic
 and
 utopian
 aspects
 open
 the
 many
 vulnerable
 facets
 in
 the
 fundamental
 ideology
 to
 criticism.
The
very
nature
of
the
concept
itself
appears
simplistic
and
myopic,
relying
on
voluntarism,
 and
 having
 relative
 naivety
 to
 many
 of
 these
 obdurate
 issues
 thus
 far
 discussed.
 This
 by
 no
 means
 invalidates
the
prevailing
theories
behind
the
tenet
by
which
such
communities
are
formed
but
only
 gives
rise
to
issues
yet
to
be
effectively
tackled
in
the
practical
application
of
said
theories.
The
matter
 of
 contention
 here
 is
 the
 apparent
 inability
 of
 collective
 states
 of
 humanity
 to
 achieve
 a
 level
 of
 interaction
that
is
mutually
beneficial
for
all
parties
involved,
none
acting
in
the
express
self‐interest
 that
 is
 the
 underlying
 theme
 throughout
 the
 occupation
 of
 the
 planet.
 Each
 situation
 proposed
 eventually
 leads
 back
 to
 the
 need
 for
 a
 form
 of
 authoritarian
 control
 in
 order
 for
 the
 stability
 and
 sense
of
individual
liberty
alongside
community
that
is
conclusively
an
overt
requisite
for
a
potential
 sustained
existence.
The
continued
endeavour
of
the
eco‐commune
seems
futile
when
considered
on
 this
scale.
It
no
longer
becomes
an
acceptable
resolution
to
the
plight
while
it
still
fails
to
address
this
 next
step;
instead
it
emerges
as
merely
a
tonic
serving
to
sooth
the
guilty
soul,
adopting
a
survivalist
 demeanour
 somewhat
 akin
 to
 an
 ostrich,
 head
 buried
 in
 the
 sand,
 whilst
 preaching
 from
 an
 elitist
 pulpit
on
the
ignorance
and
ills
of
capitalist
society.

105

Eckersley,
Environmentalism
and
Political
Theory,
p.
171

Page
|
38

Thus
 we
 see
 that,
 just
 as
 industrial
 society
 is
 fundamentally
 unstable
 and
 subject
 to
 reversion
 to
 agrarian
 existence,
 so
 within
 it
 the
 conditions
 which
 offer
 individual
 freedom
 are
 unstable
 in
 their
 ability
 to
 avoid
 the
 conditions
 which
 impose
 rigid
 organisation
 and
 totalitarian
 control.
 Indeed,
 when
 we
 examine
 all
 the
 foreseeable
 difficulties
which
threaten
the
survival
of
industrial
civilisation,
it
is
difficult
to
see
how
 the
 achievement
 of
 stability
 and
 the
 maintenance
 of
 individual
 liberty
 can
 be
 made
 compatible.
 
 106 –
Harrison
Brown,
The
Challenge
of
Mans
Future

106

Harrison
Brown,
The
Challenge
of
Mans
Future,
in
Schumacher,
Small
is
Beautiful,
p.
45

Page
|
39

Conclusion
 
 How
 is
 the
 common
 interest
 of
 the
 collectivity
 to
 be
 achieved
 when
 man
 throughout
 history
 have
 shown
 themselves
 to
 be
 passionate
 creatures
 prey
 to
 greed,
 selfishness,
 and
violence?
–
William
Ophuls,
Reversal
is
the
Law
of
Tao:
The
Imminent
Resurrection
 107 of
Political
Philosophy 
 
 It
 is
 evident,
 even
 through
 such
 a
 brief
 study
 as
 this,
 that
 the
 multifaceted
 dilemma
 humankind
 is
 facing
 is
 a
 potential
 catastrophe
 that
 grows
 seemingly
 impossible
 to
 avoid.
 There
 is
 a
 veritable
 cornucopia
 of
 literature
 on
 this
 quandary,
 each
 detailing
 the
 various
 short‐comings
 of
 the
 contemporary
 societies,
 condemning
 all
 that
 has
 happened
 and
 all
 that
 is
 happening
 whilst
 barely
 attempting
to
broach
the
subject
of
an
effective
solution,
simply
addressing
this
on
a
local
scale.
From
 these
writings
there
have
been
drawn
vague
theories
and
hypotheses,
some
put
into
practice
such
as
 the
 notion
 of
 the
 eco‐commune,
 on
 possible
 solutions
 to
 such
 a
 state.
 However,
 each
 of
 these
 are
 themselves
 flawed,
 retrospectively
 discredited
 and
 shunned
 with
 each
 new
 publication
 and
 humankind
sinks
ever
deeper
still
into
the
mire
of
impending
extinction.
 
 As
 initially
 presented,
 the
 Findhorn
 Foundation
 and
 Ecovillage
 market
 themselves
 as
 being
 tantamount
 to
 a
 self‐reliant,
 autonomous,
 sustainable
 community,
 and,
 for
 all
 practical
 purposes,
 verging
 on
 a
 Utopia.
 However,
 through
 the
 examination
 of
 the
 ongoing
 reliance
 on
 capitalist
 input
 that
appears
to
be
the
crux
of
the
Foundation’s
ecologically
benign
existence,
it
has
been
ascertained
 that
this
is
not
entirely
so.
The
Foundation
has
simply
emerged
as
a
successful
business
model.
Unless
 an
 individual
 has
 partaken
 in,
 and
 greatly
 profited
 from,
 the
 very
 system
 against
 which
 the
 Foundation
stands
–
the
ruling
capitalist
economy
–
then
inclusion
into
the
elitist
eco‐club
is
proven
 to
be
problematic
at
best.
The
fee
for
entry
is
a
large
sum
of
the
capital
earned
prior
to
becoming
a
 conscientious
 objector
 to
 the
 system
 one
 has
 been
 enveloped
 in,
 that
 is
 required
 to
 purchase
 land
 and
establish
residency.
Once
accepted
 into
this
organisation
one
 would
 expect
the
nirvana
of
self‐ reliant
 sustainability
 to
 be
 instantly
 achieved,
 freeing
 oneself
 from
 all
 ties
 to
 the
 prevailing
 failing
 state.
Yet
there
still
remain
the
various
fees
to
be
paid
and
services
provided
that
require
income
in
 order
to
be
benefited
from.
Thus
there
is
still
the
underlying
issue
of
the
generation
of
profit.
As
cited
 earlier,
 many
 of
 the
 residents
 still
 maintain
 employment
 in
 businesses
 outside
 the
 Foundation,
 bringing
in
outside
capital.
Where
is
the
autonomy
and
self‐reliance
in
this?
 
 In
harking
back
to
the
example
of
nomadic
Neolithic
agriculturalists
of
the
first
chapter,
one
can
see
 that
the
characteristics
evident
in
such
a
society
have
not
waned
with
the
progression
of
time.
If
each

107

William
Ophuls,
Reversal
is
the
Law
of
Tao:
The
Imminent
Resurrection
of
Political
Philosophy,
in
Stuart
S.
 Nagel,
Environmental
Politics,
p.
37

Page
|
40

element
 of
 the
 study
 is
 exchanged
 for
 a
 facet
 of
 modern
 society,
 with
 the
 sub‐boreal
 forest
 being
 replaced
by
the
capitalist
economy
and
the
agriculturalists
with
eco‐patriots,
then
a
parallel
is
drawn
 between
the
nomadic
natures.
The
state
has
stripped
itself
bare,
resembling
the
expended
soil
of
the
 Neolithic
 landscape;
 exceeding
 the
 ability
 to
 reproduce
 at
 the
 same
 rate
 as
 consumption
 requires.
 Consequently,
there
are
the
conscientious
few
who
move
on
to
greener
pastures.
In
our
modern
day
 parable
 these
 ‘greener
 pastures’
 take
 the
 form
 of
 the
 intentional
 eco‐commune.
 However,
 like
 the
 new
forest
to
be
cleared
and
 cultivated,
this
 is
simply
a
temporary
 solution
that
 will
 run
its
 course.
 Without
the
ability
to
manoeuvre
such
an
operation
as
this
to
a
nation‐wide
situation
free
from
the
 trappings
of
a
dominant
capitalist
influence
it
could
be
surmised
as
impossible
to
live
out
the
ideals
of
 such
philosophies
as
have
been
presented
thus
far.
The
multitudinous
anti‐capitalist
insurgency
of
the
 eco‐communalist
body
leads
to
an
inadequate
conclusion
of
little
consequence
when
the
issue
of
the
 commons
is
not
addressed
on
the
global
scale
that
is
required.
The
majority
of
literature
published
on
 such
matters
is
sadly
just
the
rehashed
realisation
of
impeding
apocalypses
that
first
appeared
in
the
 1960s.
 All
 major
 initiatives
 undertaken
 to
 solve
 the
 environmental
 crises
 examined
 to
 date
 have
 involved
various
rearrangements
of
enclosures
regarding
the
commons.
This
only
serves
to
enable
the
 potentiality
 of
 a
 Mesopotamian
 ecological
 disaster
 for
 each
 state
 as
 there
 is
 no
 thought
 towards
 interregional
 animosity
 and
 self‐interest,
 feeding
 the
 struggle
 for
 dominance.
 The
 obdurate
 characteristics
of
humankind
are
not
addressed
and
the
Hobbesian
idea
of
free
will
merely
being
the
 manifestations
 of
 passion
 and
 appetite;
 objective
 morality
 and
 reason
 disappearing
 in
 the
 stead
 of
 pursuit
of
pleasure
and
avoidance
of
pain,
becomes
increasingly
difficult
to
avoid
accepting.
 
 What
 has
 been
 addressed
 here
 displays
 the
 beginnings
 of
 a
 movement
 in
 the
 direction
 of
 a
 sustainable
 future
 that
 benefits
 both
 the
 human
 world
 and,
 more
 importantly,
 the
 non‐human,
 all‐ encompassing
biosphere.
These
are,
however,
just
the
beginnings;
the
genesis
of
a
potential
salve
for
 the
 ills
 of
 modern
 society.
 The
 foundations
 that
 ecocentric
 theory
 has
 laid
 down
 are
 establishing
 deeper
roots
in
mainstream
social
and
political
thought,
giving
rise
to
a
house
under
which
the
issues
 of
global
 involvement
and
distribution
 can
be
discussed.
 As
usufructuaries
of
the
planet
there
is
no
 other
 option
 than
 to
 address
 these
 issues.
 They
 cannot
 be
 seen
 as
 merely
 a
 possibility,
 but
 instead
 must
 be
 seen
 as
 an
 eventuality.
 However
 fatalistic
 this
 may
 sound,
 it
 is
 the
 reality
 that
 is
 being
 dragged
kicking
and
screaming
in
front
of
the
collective
panel
of
global
citizens.
It
has
taken
millennia
 for
us
to
haul
its
leering
carcass
to
the
forefront
of
our
consciences,
but
it
has
finally
manifested
itself
 in
the
multitudinous
recent
economic
and
ecological
disasters
and
can
now
no
longer
be
observed
in
 the
 periphery
 as
 a
 shadow
 lurking
 in
 the
 realms
 of
 potentiality.
 The
 ideas
 presented
 are
 the
 examinations
 of
 the
 beginnings
 of
 a
 paramount
 discourse
 affecting
 every
 organism
 existing
 in
 the
 present
 and
 every
 organism
 that
 is
 to
 exist
 in
 the
 future.
 There
 is
 no
 denying
 it;
 this
 has
 become
 a
 redemptive
cause
in
the
eyes
of
the
biosphere.

Page
|
41

‘For
we
shall
make
after
all
a
fair
conclusion
to
the
brief
music
that
is
man’
 Olaf
Stapledon,
Last
and
First
of
Men

108

108

Olaf
Stapledon,
Last
and
First
of
Men:
A
Story
of
the
Near
and
Far
Future,
p.
288

Page
|
42

Glossary
 
 
 Weltschmerz
 German.
n.
sadness
or
melancholy
at
the
evils
of
the
world;
world‐weariness.
[literally:
world
pain]

Utopia
 n.
any
real
or
imaginary
society,
place,
state,
etc.,
considered
to
be
perfect
or
ideal.
[C16:
from
New
 Latin
Utopia
(coined
by
Sir
Thomas
More
in
1516
as
the
title
of
his
book
that
described
an
imaginary
 island
representing
the
perfect
society),
literally:
no
place,
from
Greek
ou
not
+
topos
a
place]

Communalism
 n.
 1.
 a
 system
 or
 theory
 of
 government
 in
 which
 the
 state
 is
 seen
 as
 a
 loose
 federation
 of
 self‐ governing
communities.
2.
the
practice
or
advocacy
of
communal
living
or
ownership.

Communal
 adj.
1.
Belonging
or
relating
to
a
community
as
a
whole.
2.
Relating
to
different
groups
within
 a
society.
3.
Of
or
relating
to
a
commune
or
a
religious
community.

Extinction n.
1.
the
act
of
making
extinct
or
the
state
of
being
extinct.
2.
the
act
of
extinguishing
or
of
being
 extinguished.
3.

complete
destruction;
annihilation.
 
 
 –
Collins
Dictionary
of
the
English
Language,
Second
Edition,
William
Collins
Sons
&
Co.
Ltd.,
1986

Page
|
43

Appendix

1:
 Then
God
said,
“Let
us
make
mankind
in
our
image,
in
our
likeness,
so
that
they
may
 rule
over
the
fish
in
the
sea
and
the
birds
in
the
sky,
over
the
livestock
and
all
the
wild
 animals,
and
over
all
the
creatures
that
move
along
the
ground.”

 
So
God
created
mankind
in
his
own
image,

 
in
the
image
of
God
he
created
them;

 
male
and
female
he
created
them.

 God
blessed
them
and
said
to
them,
“Be
fruitful
and
increase
in
number;
fill
the
earth
 and
subdue
it.
Rule
over
the
fish
in
the
sea
and
the
birds
in
the
sky
and
over
every
living
 creature
that
moves
on
the
ground.”
 
Then
God
said,
“I
give
you
every
seed‐bearing
plant
on
the
face
of
the
whole
earth
and
 every
tree
that
has
fruit
with
seed
in
it.
They
will
be
yours
for
food.
 And
to
all
the
beasts
of
the
earth
and
all
the
birds
in
the
sky
and
all
the
creatures
that
 move
along
the
ground—everything
that
has
the
breath
of
life
in
it—I
give
every
green
 109 plant
for
food.”
And
it
was
so.
(Genesis,
1:26
–
30)

2:
 And
the
multitude
of
them
that
believed
were
of
one
heart
and
soul:
and
not
one
of
 them
said
that
aught
of
the
things
which
he
possessed
was
his
own;
but
they
had
all
 things
common.
 
And
with
great
power
gave
the
apostles
their
witness
of
the
resurrection
of
the
Lord
 Jesus:
and
great
grace
was
upon
them
all.
 
For
neither
was
there
among
them
any
that
lacked:
for
as
many
as
were
possessors
of
 lands
or
houses
sold
them,
and
brought
the
prices
of
the
things
that
were
sold,
 
And
laid
them
at
the
apostles'
feet:
and
distribution
was
made
unto
each,
according
as
 any
one
had
need.
(Acts,
4:32
–
35)

110

109

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1%3A26‐30&version=NIV
(accessed
05/12/2011) 
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204:32%20‐%2035&version=ASV
(accessed
 05/12/2011) 110

Page
|
44

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