Ecofascism: what is it and how it is expressed in political and ideological trends?
Let's see what is ecofascism as a set of ideological elements that appeal to the natural.
To a greater or lesser extent, the population is aware of the need to preserve the environment. As hard as it may be for us to recognize it, human beings continue to depend on nature and as we spoil it we are digging our own grave.
Ecologists have tried to pass restrictions on environmental exploitation and pollution, especially to prevent large multinationals from destroying nature and endangering the health and survival of all.
Some environmentalist sectors have crossed the line of respect for other people, putting the preservation of the environment ahead of social welfare, reaching the point of what has been considered ecofascism.. Let's take a closer look at what this term refers to.
What is ecofascism?
Defining what is ecofascism is not an easy task since as a movement by itself it does not have much consistency. This term is a neologism that, originally, was used as an insult rather than to describe those positions that could be considered a combination of fascism and environmentalism.
In its strictest political sense, we can understand ecofascism as any ecological ideology or position in which aspects of fascism are introduced, in one way or another. In essence, we would understand ecofascism to be any ecological ecological current in which environmental integrity is put before the welfare and rights of individuals or certain groups of people..
An ecofascist regime would be that totalitarian regime in which an exhaustive control of natural resources is applied, with the intention of preserving the environment. Among the laws that could be approved in this regime we would have the total prohibition of logging, fishing in rivers and lakes, gas emissions in industry or any measure that had the clear intention of avoiding any damage to nature, even if this meant depriving its citizens of rights, such as food or housing.
An example of a recognized ecofascist is the case of Pentti Linkola.. This Finnish ornithologist and ecologist identified himself as an ecofascist and showed his admiration for the National Socialist regime in matters of environmental protection. Linkola was a deep totalitarian ecologist who advocated a strong, centralized ecological dictatorship, with harsh population control measures to prevent overgrowth and exemplary punishments for those who violated environmental conservation laws.
Another use of the term "ecofascism" has been used to refer to those radical environmentalist movements that those radical environmentalist movements that have taken positions that are partially or overtly in line with neo-fascism, or that resemble it.or that resemble fascist ideas. This use of the term is used more as an external categorization by political scientists referring academically to nationalist, extreme right-wing or xenophobic movements that have incorporated in their discourse and ideological ideology some measure of environmental preservation.
Ecofascism in history
Although nowadays we associate environmentalism with more progressive movements, located on the left and far left, it must be said that ecofascism, understood as environmentalism within fascism, is something that has a long history.
In fact, the obsession with uniting nature with the idea of nationhood can be found in 19th century Germany, when the idea of "Blut the idea of "Blut und Boden" ("Blood and soil") arose, which linked the ancestry of peoples to the land they inhabited, making this notion one of the most important elements in the history of the nation.This notion became one of the main features of Nazism.
The nation, something fundamental in all fascism, in ecofascism is related to nature, which it must protect with all its strength. This admiration of nature was a constant theme in the Nazi Party, taken in turn from Wagnerian German romanticism from which its nationalism was inspired.
The Nazi Party took everything that was environment and agrarian life very much into consideration. The German National Socialist movement gave nature great importance in the fascist project for national regeneration.
The movement placed the birth of the German nation in the ancient Germanic pagan peoples, respectful of and linked to nature, emphasizing the need to respect the natural environment and the need to preserve it.The movement placed the birth of the German nation in the ancient Germanic pagan peoples, respectful of and tied to nature, stressing the need to respect Germany's nature. In fact, the Hitler Youth despised modernity and idealized agrarian life.
With this in mind, it is not surprising that Germany under Hitler's regime was at the forefront of conservationism, founding the first legally protected wilderness reserves and recognizing animals and nature as subjects of law rather than objects in its legislation. In fact, the Nazi Party received a lot of support from German environmentalists and conservationists, although this support faded away at the beginning of World War II, since arms production was urgent.
Although the case of Germany was not the only exception, it should be pointed out that fascism, understood in its most classical sense, cared little for nature. Most European fascism was more interested in using industrial production as a tool of national unity than in the need to protect the environment.
The other exception was Romania, where the Iron Guard. This fascist organization, composed of the Romanian peasantry, saw capitalism and the Jews as the elements that were destroying the Romanian nation, its Orthodox Christian culture and its agrarian lands. This movement advocated the preservation of the traditional countryside against modernization and the creation of industrial cities.
Far-right and environmentalism today.
Normally, 21st century environmentalism is associated with left-wing and ultra-left movements. Environmentalism is seen as a movement against capitalism and especially liberalism. Environmentalists, in most cases, want the environment to be preserved to ensure access to resources for all people, preventing large organizations from massively exploiting resources leaving practically nothing to the inhabitants living in the area.
Although for a long time the right-wing anti-environmentalist and left-wing environmentalist binomial had remained relatively intact, in recent decades environmentalism has transcended the boundaries of the political spectrum and and more than a few far-right politicians have shown themselves to be concerned about nature, mixing this concern with their nationalism.This concern has been mixed with their nationalism, identitarianism and fascism.
While there are still examples of far-right politicians, such as Jair Bolsonaro or Donald Trump, who are very much against ideas such as climate change or limiting environmental exploitation, other politicians from the same side of the political spectrum have done just the opposite. It is curious how these two politicians, especially Bolsonaro, have seen the fight against climate change as the new cultural Marxism, considering it the communist threat of the 21st century.
An example of an ostensibly environmentalist ultra-right-winger is Marine Le Pen, president of the French National Rally. It is amusing to think that her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, even mocked those who believed in global warming, saying that it even had its good things since it prevented us from freezing, while his daughter has been a climate advocate, promoting the protection of the environment from multinationals and immigrants.
Many European ultra-rightists have compared their countries' societies to ecosystems.. According to their mentality, both ecosystems and societies are governed by implicit laws that, if they are not respected and external agents are allowed to enter, make them sick. If in ecosystems it is foreign species that destabilize them, in European societies it is people coming from other continents. Based on the idea that each people takes the nature of its region as a base, the fact of introducing people from other regions is a Biological attack.
It must be said that many of the speeches of the ultra-right in favor of the environment are not really sincere and therefore could not be considered as truly eco-fascist. The fact that they talk about protecting nature or avoiding climate change has more to do with an interest in getting more votes by joining the wave of environmentalism, given the great concern and sensitivity to environmental problems today.
Ecofascism as an insult
As we mentioned, the word "ecofascism" has its origins in being used as an insult. The more liberal right-wing sectors, protectors of big industry and environmental exploitation, on more than one occasion have seen proposals for environmental conservation as an insult. have seen environmental conservation proposals as an attack on their freedoms and liberties.. Restrictions on logging, open ocean fishing or calls to reduce CO2 emissions translate into lost profits for many companies.
Environmentalism, in its most general sense, is the defense of the environment. As in any broad ideology, there are different currents that propose proposals that can range from mild to really radical. On more than one occasion, environmentalism has blamed the problem of global warming, deforestation and damage to nature on the capitalist production system and ultra-liberal ideology, which advocates that companies give free rein to any form of environmental exploitation.
In order to discredit any measure to control the exploitation of the countryside, businessmen and related people have called environmentalists on more than one occasion as ecofascists. It is not that they think that environmentalists are fascists, but that they intend to associate fascism, probably the worst ideology in history, with the movement in defense of nature, making them be seen as the threat rather than the solution.
Conservatism at all costs and ecofascism
As we were saying, ecofascism has been used in political debates as a disqualifier for environmentalist proposals that imply restrictions on the exploitation of natural resources. However, taking its more theoretical sense, it refers to political movements, to a greater or lesser extent fascist, that have made the environment one of their main concerns, the most prominent cases being the Nazi Party, the Hierra Guard or the Finnish Pentti Linkola.
However, there are some environmental organizations that, caring more for the environment than for people's health, have bordered on ecofascism.. A clear example of this are the organizations that oppose the cultivation of transgenic crops, claiming that they can destroy the environment, cause unknown diseases or destroy traditional crops, despite the fact that everything points to the contrary.
With transgenic crops, it is possible to grow plants that require fewer resources than traditional crops, in addition to having more nutrients than their organic counterparts, as in the case of golden rice. The cultivation of these vegetables could reduce hunger in the world by being planted in regions with few natural resources, in addition to reducing the prevalence of diseases associated with malnutrition.
Another example of eco-fascist thinking associated with extreme conservatism comes not from environmental organizations in particular but rather from society in general. With the COVID-19 health crisis, environmentalists have come to the fore, rejoicing in the pandemic. On the one hand, thanks to the confinements applied in several countries, CO2 emissions have been reduced because transport has not been used as much, and on the other hand, they are happy about the virus because it has helped to reduce the world population.
This view of the COVID-19 pandemic is clearly ecofascist because, to begin with, it implies rejoicing that there has been a reduction in the global population, it implies rejoicing that there has been a reduction in pollution at the cost of limiting basic human rights.Secondly, there is a failure to empathize with the families of the thousands of people who have died from the virus. The irony of this is that with the pandemic has come an increase in the amount of plastics in the sea, thanks to the uncontrolled use of hygienic masks and gloves.
Bibliographic references:
- Zimmerman, Michael E. (2008). Ecofascism. In Taylor, Bron R. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, Volume 1. London, UK: Continuum. pp. 531-532.
- Olsen, Jonathan. (n.d.) Nature and Nationalism: Right-Wing Ecology and the Politics of Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Matthew Phelan (2018). The Menace of Eco-Fascism. New York Review of Books.
(Updated at Apr 15 / 2024)