In reality, eco-anarchism is more than just an ecological revolt. Eco-anarchism is a holistic philosophical, ethical, sociopolitical, and ideological concept aimed at achieving harmony in the relationship between society and nature as well as between people. Eco-anarchism is based on anarchist ideas and is directly related to the environmental movement.
There is a growing awareness in the environmental movement that it is not about individual ill-conceived projects, individual officials, or individual capitalists whose danger to society and nature can be limited by political reforms. More and more people understand that it is necessary to change the very structure of society – social institutions, relations between people, the economic and political system. But how to change and what to change for are questions that many people stop to consider.
Ecological anarchism is on the edge of the struggle against hierarchy and capital. If, for traditional anarchism, a powerless society is something abstract, a picture from the future, then for eco-anarchists, the liquidation of hierarchy and capital is the only chance for humanity to survive. And while from the point of view of traditional anarchists, social revolution is only desirable, it is vital from the point of view of eco-anarchists.
Example of Eco-anarchy
At Fruit Haven, an eco-anarchist vegan commune set in the Amazon jungle of eastern Ecuador, the inhabitants avoid meat products, grow fruit, and eat it raw. They try to do without modern technology in their work, making an exception only for the Internet.
The commune only came into existence a few years ago, limiting its inhabitants’ diet to bananas, papaya, and a few other local fruits. Other crops simply haven’t had time to grow yet. The commune has no leaders, and the voice of each permanent resident carries equal weight. It is a decentralized leadership system where everyone has equal influence. It is not a hierarchy, not a hierarchical system.
