Deep Green Resistance

In the 2011 book Deep Green Resistance, the authors Lierre Keith, Derrick Jensen and Aric McBay state that civilization, particularly industrial civilization, is fundamentally unsustainable and must be actively and urgently dismantled in order to secure a future for all species on the planet.[1]

The movement differentiates itself from bright green environmentalism, which is characterized by a focus on personal, technological, or government and corporate solutions, in that it holds these solutions as inadequate. DGR believes that lifestyle changes, such as using travel mugs and reusable bags and taking shorter showers, are too small for the large-scale environmental problems the world faces. It also states that the recent surge in environmentalism has become commercial in nature, and thus in itself has been industrialized. The movement asserts that per capita industrial waste produced is orders of magnitude greater than personal waste produced; therefore, it is industrialism that must be ended, and with that, lifestyle changes will follow.[1]

DGR's principles stem from the concept of deep ecology and state that all species are inherently equal, and thus humans are not superior to any other form of life. Deep ecology attributes the current environmental crisis to the anthropocentrism that is embedded in Western perspectives. The term, first used by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss, was quickly taken up by a variety of radical environmental groups, such as Earth First!.[3] Deep ecology provides a foundation upon which to base the cross-cultural nature-based spirituality that is often associated with radical environmental movements.[4]

A conference entitled "Deep Green Resistance: Confronting Industrial Culture" was organized by Keith in April, 2007 in Deerfield, Massachusetts.[5][6][7] Deep Green theory draws on elements of anthropology, phenomenology, deep ecology and ecofeminism.

Jensen is a prominent member of the Deep Green Resistance Advisory Board. In addition to being a radical activist, he is also a writer, philosopher and teacher. Keith, another board member, is a feminist activist, writer and small farmer. Stephanie McMillan and Jack D. Forbes are also prominent influences on the movement. DGR draws on the philosophy and writings of many authors, including Arne Næss, Richard Manning, Andrea Dworkin, Peggy Reeves Sanday, David Abram, Chellis Glendinning, Chris Hedges, Joseph Tainter, Richard Heinberg, Daniel Quinn, Tracie Marie Park (a.k.a. Zoe Blunt) and Jerry Mander, among others.

The Deep Green perspective argues that the dominant culture, a term that encompasses all the cultures within globalized civilization, will not undergo a voluntary transformation to a sustainable way of living. This includes the movement's rejection of the feasibility of a slow and soft shift to sustainability. Members of the Deep Green movement believe that industrial civilization will inevitably collapse. This notion is based on historical examples of the collapse of major civilizations such as Rome or the Mayan civilization, and statistics regarding the current system's unsustainability. DGR maintains that humans must act decisively before the collapse to ensure the Earth that remains inhabitable for all organisms and that humans build a more sustainably structured society following the collapse.[1] Deep Green Resistance supports an active resistance movement with the objective of accelerating the collapse of industrial civilization.

Within the Deep Green theory, lifestyle or personal changes are not considered effective methods of creating meaningful change. The mainstream environmental movement is seen as being distracted by its emphasis on individual lifestyle changes and technological solutions instead of confronting systems of power and holding individuals, industries, and institutions accountable.[8][9] The founders of the Deep Green movement view technological solutions, no matter how well-intentioned, as unsatisfactory and warn that they could even lead to accelerated ecological destruction and pollution.[1]

A 2012 review of the 2011 DGR manifesto criticizes DGR's ideas as polarizing, elitist, extremist or asocial.[14] Bron Taylor argues in Resistance: Do the Ends Justify the Means? that "radical tactics tend to be counterproductive" in winning over the general public.[15] DGR co-founder Jensen states that if activists do not wish to participate in more militant acts of sabotage, they, at the very least, should prepare to set up local committees to reduce or channel violence expected to be wielded by the people in power in response to the eventual collapse of civilization.[16]

DGR is a radical feminist organization,[17] and has been described by critics as transphobic and TERF.[18] In 2012, Aric McBay, a coauthor of the organization's eponymous book, left the organization, citing discontent that a trans-inclusive policy in women-only spaces was cancelled by his fellow coauthors Derrick Jensen and Lierre Keith.[19][20][21] DGR itself has disputed this, describing that the women of the organization made this policy decision collectively, rather than Jensen and Keith, and accusing McBay of stealing from the organization and trying to oust the other two.[22] DGR denies allegations of transphobia but asserts that its members are gender critical, perceiving gender as a patriarchal system, an oppressive social construct, that must be abolished.[17]

Anarcho-primitivists John Zerzan, Kevin Tucker and others criticize DGR's promotion of hierarchy in organizing an underground resistance, the code of conduct, the historical understanding of revolution and radical history, and the cult of personality around Jensen and Keith.[23][24][25][26]

• Deep ecology
• Ecofeminism
• Eco-terrorism
• Luddite
• Radical environmentalism