Talk to the Green Party of Canada Convention
A talk to the Green Party of Canada Convention "Is Left
Biocentrism Relevant to Green Parties?" given on August 6, 2000,
is available in both audio version - directly from the Green
Party Convention web site: http://Ottawa2000.flora.org
(see Day Three speakers), along with other speeches and coverage
of the convention; and in a print version available by
directly contacting the Green Web <[log in to unmask]>
(It is not on the Green Web home page at this time.)
There were about 70-80 people at the talk.
The print version is taken from my notes for the talk (about
6,200 words, or 40kb). Some of this talk was drawn from the four
"My Path to Left Biocentrism" bulletins which are available on
our web site, plus additional material.
The following comments are taken from my introductory remarks,
and include the outline for the talk.
I would like to thank you for the invitation to speak to your
convention on the topic "Is Left Biocentrism Relevant to Green
Parties?" It means a lot to me to be invited here to speak.
I feel I am part of the green community although not a "party"
green.
One's ethics in environmental, green, and social issues are
based on how we see reality. My task today is to try and show
you the left biocentric vision. There are other names used by
other people for this emerging vision, such as "radical
ecocentrism" associated with Andrew McLaughlin. Some of you will
know his 1993 book, _Regarding Nature: Industrialism and Deep
Ecology_. Another name is "deep green theory," associated with
the work of the late Australian forestry activist and deep
ecologist Richard Sylvan. The late Judi Bari, who died of cancer,
used the name "revolutionary ecology," and Andrew Dobson in
England speaks of "ecologism." All these people, and myself,
basically accept deep ecology and are, at the same time,
exploring what a "left" focus means within this philosophy.
I start with two presuppositions. Most of us in this room will
agree that our culture has become the enemy of life on this
planet. Also, it is up to you to decide, not myself, whether or
not left biocentrism is relevant to green political parties.
Here is the outline of the topics I would like to discuss:
- My bio
- Introduction to deep ecology
- A fundamental dilemma facing activists: Industrial capitalism -
here to stay or not?
- Natural capitalism
- Right ecocentrism
- The "left" in left biocentrism
- Positive ideas from the left
- Negative ideas from the left
- Handling contradictions within left biocentrism
- Primary and secondary contradictions
- Animal rights/liberation
- Ecofeminism
- Aboriginal issues
(There was no time for the last section of the talk, therefore
"Aboriginal issues" is not included in the text.)
For the Earth,
David Orton
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