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Anarchy, Geography, Modernity: Selected Writings of Elisée Reclus

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Anarchy, Geography, Modernity: Selected Writings of Elisée Reclus This sweeping generalization is in some ways even an under- statement of the case. The kind of ecological perspective that Reclus developed, especially in his great culminating work, Man and the Earth, effectively disappeared from mainstream social thought early in the century and did not reemerge Anarchy, Geography, significantly until well into the 1970s, in response to growing Modernity public awareness of the ecological crisis. In the meantime, ecological thinking remained an undercurrent of anarchist Selected Writings of Elisée Reclus and utopian thought and practice, as, for example, in the work of such communitarian groups as the School of Living of Ralph Borsodi and Mildred Loomis.5 However, it did not become a Elisée Reclus central theme in anarchist and utopian theoretical discussion until the ideas of Paul Goodman and Murray Bookchin began to have a noticeable influence in the late 1960s.6 larger structure,” that it is “useful in appreciating the integral functioning of the various regions into which the planet is divided,” and that it “provides the context for ecological thinking.” The Great Work: Our Way to the Future (New York: Bell Tower, 1999), 86. 5 The School of Living is a radically decentralist, back-to-the-land movement based on ideas developed by Borsodi and his associates in the 1920s and early 1930s. The first experimental community was begun in 1934, and various communities and educational centers have existed ever since as part of this important grassroots movement. According to Loomis, one of the founders, the School of Living advocates a “Green Revolution” (a term used since 1940) based on such principles as “family homesteads, organic agricul- ture” and “activities in small communities,” in addition to “freeing the land of price and speculation, cooperative credit, a stable exchange medium” and “replacing government with voluntary action.”Mildred J. Loomis, Alternative Americas (New York: Universe Books, 1982), 73. 6 The significance of Goodman’s ideas for late twentieth-century eco- logical thought has not been adequately appreciated. One might think in this connection of his many decentralist social and political essays, which were widely influential in the 1960s, but the philosophical basis of his contribution is found above all in his relatively early work Gestalt Therapy (New York: Dell, 1951), which is one of the most sophisticated theoretical works in modern anarchist thought. One of the few commentators to grasp the importance of Goodman’s psychological writings and what we might call their ecologi- cal import is Taylor Stoehr. See the introduction to his Goodman collection 2013 Nature Heals: The Psychological Essays of Paul Goodman (New York: E.P. Dut- 44 casionally noted, the connection is usually made through ref- erence to Kropotkin as a forerunner of ecological anarchism. Few commentators have understood that Reclus, much more than Kropotkin, introduced into anarchist theory themes that were later developed in social ecology and eco-anarchism. In- deed, Reclus explored these social ecological issues with con- siderable theoretical sophistication— more than a century ago.3 Béatrice Giblin, in her article “Reclus: An Ecologist ahead of His Time?” contends that Reclus “had a global ecological sensibility that died with him for almost a full half-century.”4 manity and the entire course of human history, in relation to natural history and the evolution of life on earth. A social ecology is, however, more than an ecological philosophy; it is also a social practice that aims at creating a free, cooperative, ecological society in which not only the human quest to conquer nature but also all forms of domination within society are overcome. 3 Reclus’ connection with contemporary social ecology has not been widely recognized. A notable exception is Peter Marshall’s chapter on “Elisée Reclus: The Geographer of Liberty” in his monumental work Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism (Oakland, CA: PM Press, 2009), 339–44. Marshall concludes that Reclus “had a profound ecological sensibility,” and that he was “a forerunner of modern social ecology” (344). 4 Béatrice Giblin, “Reclus: un écologiste avant l’heure?” in Elisée Reclus: Un géographe libertaire, ed. Yves Lacoste, Hérodote 22 (1981): 110. Giblin edited and wrote the introduction for a book of selections entitled L’Homme et la Terre—morceaux choisis (Paris: Maspero, 1982). The entire issue of Hérodote containing her article is devoted to studies of Reclus’ work, with a strong emphasis on the ecological implications of his social geography. Joël Cornuault, in his excellent and highly perceptive little book Elisée Reclus, géographe et poète (Eglise-Neuve d’Issac, France: Fédérop, 1995) also recog- nizes Reclus as “one of the first ecologists” and points out that although Reclus does not use the word “ecology,” he showed his ecological tenden- cies by “commenting favorably on the works of George P. Marsh as early as 1864” (73). Cornuault shows very convincingly that Reclus’ books His- tory of a Brook and History of a Mountain are crucial to understanding his ecological sensibility and his work as a natural historian. Contemporary eco- logical thought has devoted little attention to the connection between geog- raphy and ecology. An exception is Thomas Berry, one of the best-known contemporary ecological thinkers, who devotes an entire chapter in one of his works to “Ecological Geography.” He states that “geography provides a comprehensive context for understanding the functioning of the Earth in its 43 ing a strongly ecological dimension into the tradition of anar- chist and libertarian social theory. This tradition, like Western thought in general, has been marked by humanity’s alienation from the natural world and its quest to dominate nature. Yet it has been, on the whole, more successful than most others Contents in uncovering the roots of this alienation, looking beyond the project of planetary domination, and attempting to restore hu- manity to its rightful place within, rather than above, nature. Dedication ....................... 5 Reclus made a powerful contribution to introducing this more ecological perspective into anarchist thought. Preface to the PM Press Edition 7 It is noteworthy that social geography had an impact on an- Preface to the First Edition 13 archist theory at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, just as social ecology has had a cer- tain influence on anarchist thought in the late twentieth and Part I: An Introduction to Reclus’ Social Thought 18 early twenty-first century.2 While this historical parallel is oc- 1: The Earth Story, the Human Story 19 a “pioneer” or “founder” of continental drift theory, since others proposed the theory long before he discussed it. But while its possibility was men- 2: The Anarchist Geographer 26 tioned before his time, Alfred Wegener published the first major theory of the phenomenon in 1912, and it did not receive general acceptance until the 3: The Dialectic of Nature and Culture 41 1960s; see A. Hallam, “Alfred Wegener and the Hypothesis of Continental Drift,” Scientific American 232, no. 2 (February 1975): 88–97. Reclus’ support 4: A Philosophy of Progress 77 for continental drift thus predates its classic formulation by almost halfa century and its firm establishment by almost a century. The fact that oneof the foremost geographers of that era defended it at this early date was thus 5: Anarchism and Social Transformation 104 a significant step in the history of continental drift theory. I am gratefulto Gary Dunbar and to geologist Anatol Dolgoff for their contrasting but highly 6: The Critique of Domination 142 enlightening views on this topic. 2 “Social ecology,” in the sense used here, is an ecological philosophy 7: The Legacy of Reclus: Liberty, Equality, Geography182 based on a dialectical (but nontotalizing) view of reality. It interprets all nat- ural and social phenomena as mutually determining parts of larger wholes and as being in a process of development and unfolding. Any whole is seen as a complex, developing unity-in-diversity that can be understood to the de- Part II: Selected Writings of Elisée Reclus 185 gree that its elements, their relationships, and the history of its development are understood. A consistent social ecology must, in view of its radically 8: The Feeling for Nature in Modern Society (1866) 186 dialectical quality, reject any kind of reification of phenomena or concepts, any dualistic divisions within any sphere of reality, or any process of totaliza- 9: To My Brother the Peasant (1893) 200 tion that transforms dynamic wholes into closed systems (whether natural, social, or intellectual). These principles are applied to the evolution ofhu- 42 3 10: Anarchy (1894) 210 11: The Extended Family (1896) 229 12: Evolution, Revolution, and the Anarchist Ideal (1898) 238 3: The Dialectic of Nature and 13: On Vegetarianism (1901) 264 Culture 14: The History of Cities (1905) 274 It is likely that Reclus’ most enduring intellectual legacy will 15: The Modern State (1905) 308 be his contribution to the development of the modern ecologi- cal worldview and his role in the creation of radical ecological 16: Culture and Property (1905) 331 social thought.1 More specifically, he is important for introduc- 17: Progress (1905) 340 1 While the emphasis in the present discussion is on the relevance of Reclus’ social geography to ecological thought and social theory, the consid- 18: Advice to My Anarchist Comrades (1901) 379 erable importance of his contribution in other areas, including physical geog- raphy and geology, should not be overlooked. Among Reclus’ achievements Bibliography 382 is his early advocacy of the theory of continental drift and his defense of the view that this phenomenon is compatible with uniformitarian explanation. About the Contributors 394 As early as 1868, in The Earth, he proposed that the planet is many times older than most contemporary theory indicated and that the continents formed a single landmass as recently as the Jurassic period.
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