How to Think Seriously About the Planet: The Case for an Environmental Conservatism 1st Edition by Roger Scruton (PDF)

Description

The environment has long been the undisputed territory of the political Left, which casts international capitalism, consumerism, and the over-exploitation of natural resources as the principle threats to the planet, and sees top-down interventions as the most effective solution. In How to Think Seriously About the Planet, Roger Scruton rejects this view and offers a fresh approach to tackling the most important political problem of our time. The environmental movement, he contends, is philosophically confused and has unrealistic agendas. Its sights are directed at the largescale events and the confrontation between international politics and multinational business. But Scruton argues that no large-scale environmental project, however well-intentioned, will succeed if it is not rooted in small-scale practical reasoning. Seeing things on a large scale promotes top-down solutions, managed by unaccountable bureaucracies that fail to assess local conditions and are rife with unintended consequences. Scruton argues for the greater efficacy of local initiatives over global schemes, civil association over political activism, and small-scale institutions of friendship over regulatory hyper-vigilance. And he suggests that conservatism is far better suited to solvingenvironmental problems than either liberalism or socialism. Rather than entrusting the environment to unwieldy NGOs and international committees, we must assume personal responsibility and foster local control. People must be empowered to take charge of their environment, to care for it as they would a home, and to involve themselves through the kind of local associations that have been the traditional goal of conservative politics. Our common future is by no means assured, but as Roger Scruton clearly demonstrates in this important book, there is a path that can ensure the future safety of our planet and our species.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “A dazzling book.” –Simon Jenkins, Sunday Times”Beautifully written and ambitious in its scope… an immensely readable book and a valuable contribution to the debate over environmental politics.”–Caroline Lucas, The Independent About the Author Roger Scruton is currently visiting professor in the School of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies at the University of St Andrews and in Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is also a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington and a contributing editor to The New Atlantis. He has taught at the Universities of Cambridge, London, Oxford, Princeton, and Boston and has been a free-lance writer and commentator for the past 15 years. His many books include Beauty: A Very Short Introduction, Death-Devoted Heart, and The Uses of Pessimism.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐The media bombard us with news of abstract environmental problems like oil slicks and global warming; we are frightened but not recruited to help; we feel only the more powerless. A handful of us join non-governmental organisations, but NGOs—Greenpeace is a prime example—are inherently dysfunctional: deriding nation-states, the most able communities, while lamenting the dearth of able communities; suspecting government while advocating the seizure of private property; even, without knowing it, threatening the basis of democratic politics, which thrives on piecemeal conflict-resolution, by pushing goal-directed laws. If not towards NGOs, then, what steps can we take? Great conservative philosopher Sir Roger Scruton kindles our desire to help in new ways.An important motif of contrast running through How To Think is that between NGOs and the Victorian-style friendly society, which latter Sir Roger advocates. (The Women’s Institute, founded to support women in the countryside during wartime, and certain local-activist anglers’ clubs are prime examples.) Sir Roger explains that the friendly society exists “for the sake of membership” rather than for a single cause only. This makes friendly societies broader, more flexible, and better able to adapt their activities to the territory its members share. Nor do friendly societies threaten democracy, for they are themselves instances of ongoing compromise and conflict resolution.As Sir Roger goes on to explain, the key environmental question is that of human motivation: what impels people to protect their environment? In the game-theory scenario known as “the tragedy of the commons,” one greedy person’s seeking to take all of a scarce resource can trigger a corresponding motive on everyone else’s part, and the resource is quickly exhausted. Fearing this and related scenarios, many think that the state should therefore take on ownership and regulation of many resources now held in common or in private hands. According to Sir Roger, however, hunting landowners in league with their neighbours, not government or non-governmental agencies, are the best trustees of the countryside—partly because they have strong, immediate interests in its continued beauty.A follow-up question that might be posed to Sir Roger. What is the essential difference between an NGO and a friendly society with a cause built into its name, we wonder? Sir Roger is always the first to concede what he can to his opponents, and he tips his hat to The Red Cross as that rarity, a good, functional NGO; we also wonder what specifically organisations like The Red Cross do understanding which might lead to our working with certain NGOs rather than always in their shadow.

⭐Roger Scruton, a British author, spent the better part of a year accumulating the background information for this book. The result is an extremely rewarding and educational treatise on what works and what doesn’t work in terms of getting people to change their behavior to improve the environment.Much of the book is based around the concept of oikophilia, which is roughly translated as “love of home.” Human beings have a difficult time relating to things that are far removed from their everyday experience. International treaties, for example, mean little or nothing to them, whereas protecting their property from things that might cause damage is readily comprehended.Regulations made by bureaucrats at the European Union, or even by our own Environmental Protection Administration, engender little in the way of warm feelings that can be translated into individual action. Rules that forbid taking measures to improve one’s private property (such as rules against filling in “wetlands”) elicit frustration and anger; why not improve your land so as to make it more habitable to yourself and your heirs?Scruton shows that many government regulations are counterproductive. For instance, regulations requiring packaging of food products leads to proliferation of non-biodegradable plastics that pile up in spaces where they will degrade the environment for generations to come. The author asks why local farmers cannot present their wares for sale in local (mom and pop) grocery stores, without wrapping everything in plastic? The advent of supermarkets has improved access to food while simultaneously contributing to an environmental disaster.Essentially, the conservative approach to environmental issues is predicated on taking into account the natural tendency of people to love their home, and want to protect it. Governments have tried to take the easy road of grinding out regulations that are neither appreciated or understood. The little platoons, such as neighborhood improvement associations, bring people together with their neighbors to deal with common concerns. Big government is more likely to drive out these organizations by legislation and administrative regulations, which do not work overall.I doubt that anyone will be able to “speed read” this book and get much out of it. My own experience was to read every sentence and reflect on its meaning at length. We owe a debt of appreciation to this scholar from across the Atlantic, and I hope that his efforts will be well rewarded by an improved approach to conservation of our resources.

⭐One of the most important books I’ve ever read on environmental philosophy and the history of ideas in the environmental movement. The concept of “Home” as the great motivator for our care of the earth is Scruton’s key insight and pathway to solutions. “Home” and “local” care can act as the bridge between left and right on issues of conservation and environmental protection; creating a shared language where there currently doesn’t seem to be one. Great book, with practical examples as well! Mine is very full of highlighting!!

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