Natural Allies? Mapping the Relationship between Conservatism and Environmentalism
| Date | 01 October 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-9248.00437 |
| Published date | 01 October 2003 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Natural Allies? Mapping the
Relationship between Conservatism
and Environmentalism
Bruce Pilbeam
South Bank University
This article examines the relationship between conservatism and environmentalism, including the
viability of an eco-conservative ideology. The discussion emphasizes two major points. First, that
there is much greater shared ground between greens and conservatives than is often recognized.
Yet second, that there are nonetheless significant obstacles to any harmonious alliance between
the two. However, what is also shown is that these obstacles are not necessarily those most
commonly cited.
Within the literature on environmentalism, the affinities between green and con-
servative philosophies are frequently noted, but rarely dwelt upon. This is perhaps
unsurprising: despite regularly disavowing conventional left/right labels, environ-
mentalists nonetheless typically operate on intellectual territory at least once occu-
pied by the left, only with some reluctance caring to admit to sharing ground with
the right. However, in light of the abundant attention paid to environmentalism’s
relationships with socialist and feminist perspectives – together with manifold
attempts at hybridization – this deficiency is an especially striking one.
This article represents an attempt to address this failing, by providing a detailed
examination of the relationship between conservatism and environmentalism,
including the viability of an eco-conservative ideology. The discussion will empha-
size two major points. First, that there is much greater shared ground between
greens and conservatives than is often recognized. Yet second, that there are
nonetheless significant obstacles to any harmonious alliance between the two.
However, what is also shown is that these obstacles are not necessarily those most
commonly cited.
It is important at the outset to specify the boundaries of the investigation. The
primary concern here is with intellectual conservatism rather than conservative
politics. The highly intimate nature of the connections between conservative
thought and politics means that the discussion will undoubtedly possess some
bearing upon the latter, but only tangentially. Furthermore, the principal – though
not exclusive – focus is to be upon contemporary conservatism, specifically that
of the post-Cold War era. A major reason for this is that there has emerged in
recent years, largely in response to the parallel decline of traditional left-wing
ideologies and the ascendancy of green ones, an especially instructive body of
conservative writings devoted to examining both environmental issues and green
philosophies.
© Political Studies Association, 2003.
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C O N S E RVAT I S M A N D E N V I R O N M E N TA L I S M
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One notable difficulty that arises in addressing this issue is that conservatism
possesses no unitary meaning, with conservatives ranging from arch-traditionalists
(typically concerned with defending authority and upholding cultural and moral
absolutes) to committed devotees of the free market (who emphasize the priority
of market relations and individual economic liberty). However, although much of
the literature implicitly operates with a simple two-fold distinction between free-
market and traditionalist varieties, the realities of contemporary conservatism are
more complex. In particular, the concerns of many conservatives do not fit easily
within the bounds of their conventionally assigned roles. For example, it is erro-
neous to suggest that economic liberals pay no heed to non-economic issues: today
moral and cultural concerns figure strongly within free-marketeers’ agendas, even
if often in highly defensive ways (Pilbeam, 2000, pp. 94–8).
Problems are magnified by the fact that green philosophies also come in various
shades. Probably the most useful distinction to consider is between ‘radical’ and
‘moderate’ varieties, as suggested by the commonly used classification of ‘deep’ and
‘shallow’ ecological perspectives. Whereas the former implies a fundamental ques-
tioning of humanity’s relationship to the environment and the nature of modern
industrial societies, the latter is concerned simply with particular issues and imme-
diately available solutions. This type of understanding may indicate the need to
question the very way in which terms are conventionally employed. For example,
Andrew Dobson argues that ‘environmentalism’ and ‘ecologism’ – despite the
common identification of the two – are qualitatively different (Dobson, 2000, pp.
2–3). Thus environmentalists argue for a managerial approach that seeks technical
solutions to environmental problems without addressing underlying issues,
whereas ecologists adopt more radical stances, being willing to argue against
present patterns of consumption and production and to recognize that the
non-human world possesses intrinsic value.
These distinctions may appear to offer an obvious answer to the question of how
to classify conservatives who show a concern for environmental issues. That is, it
might be thought that such conservatives, obviously not ‘radicals’, can simply be
placed on the shallow end of the ecological spectrum; or, in Dobson’s terms,
regarded as at best environmentalists, but never true ecologists. One aspect of con-
servative writings that may lend credence to this suggestion is that conservatives
generally employ only the environmentalist label. Indeed, some American writers
have adopted the self-description of ‘conservative environmentalists’ (Durnil,
1995; Dunn and Kinney, 1996). Similarly, it is rare to find any explicit recognition
of the difference between shallow and deep perspectives.
However, one of the contentions of this article is that conservatives cannot straight-
forwardly be mapped on to any shallow/deep spectrum, with conservative writ-
ings displaying both shallow and deep qualities; nor can these simply be attributed
to different varieties of conservatism. For this reason, and because conservatives
themselves rarely use the term ecologism, environmentalism is to be employed
here as an umbrella term for green perspectives in precisely the way writers such
as Dobson dislike. In any case, as will be seen, it is necessary to be highly circum-
spect about relying too greatly upon predetermined definitions. The article will
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therefore proceed more as an exploration than an attempt to apply pre-existing
labels.
Towards a green conservatism?
The best place to begin in investigating the relationship between conservatism and
green philosophies is with a consideration of how conventionally it is presented.
Probably the most valuable source to consider is one of the most significant
attempts to elaborate a green conservative philosophy, that presented by John
Gray. (Although Gray himself has subsequently become far less sanguine as to the
feasibility of a green conservatism, his article on the subject remains amongst the
most illuminating.)
The first element of the standard view presented by Gray is the belief that con-
temporary conservatives are largely antagonistic towards environmentalism:
It is fair to say that, on the whole, conservative thought has been hostile
to environmental concerns over the past decade or so in Britain, Europe
and the United States. Especially in America, environmental concerns
have been represented as anti-capitalist propaganda under another flag
(Gray, 1993, p. 124).
Yet second, although conservatives are believed in fact to be hostile to environ-
mental concerns, theoretically Gray perceives a strong affinity between a particu-
lar tradition of conservatism and environmentalism. Thus, rather than possessing
‘a natural home on the Left’, concern for the environment ‘is most in harmony
with the outlook of traditional conservatism of the British and European varieties’.
In fact, Gray suggests that the orientation of traditional conservatism aligns it
specifically with the perspective of deep ecologists (p. 128). What he also empha-
sizes is the importance of distinguishing traditional conservatism from economic
liberalism, underscoring the distinction by arguing that the points at which the
former and a green perspective converge are ‘the very points at which they most
diverge from fundamentalist liberalism’ (p. 136).
Similar observations are made by many green writers (Porritt, 1984, pp. 230–2)
and there is undoubtedly some truth in this depiction. Nonetheless – and particu-
larly in relation to the post-Cold War era – it is far from wholly true. In fact, it is
relatively easy to find approbation amongst conservatives for some form of envi-
ronmentally aware philosophy (Paterson, 1989; Patten, 1990). Moreover, it may
be a mistake to perceive American conservatives as especially suspicious towards
environmental concerns (Durnil, 1995; Bliese, 1996; Vinson, 1996).
Yet what is perhaps most interesting to note is the attitude of the free market’s
defenders. Rather than simply dismissing or ignoring environmental issues, a
number have sought to incorporate aspects of green ideology within their own, in
propounding a notion of ‘free market environmentalism’ (Anderson and Leal,
1991). Similarly, Margaret Thatcher argues that: ‘The core of Tory philosophy and
the case for protecting the environment are the same’ (Thatcher, 1990,...
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