Rethinking Revolution: Veganism, Animal Liberation, Ecology, and the Left

Abstract

Unlike the corporate-state-security apparatus, the entire spectrum of the Left is oblivious to the fact that in the last few decades a new movement has emerged that is of immense ethical, political, and ecological significance. ¹ That movement is the animal liberation movement. Because animal liberation—and the inseparably related concept and practice of veganism—challenges the anthropocentric, speciesist, and humanist dogmas entrenched in radical and progressive traditions, leftists as a whole have ignored or mocked rather than engaged these important new movements, and most environmentalists are equally antagonistic and clueless. The vital importance of veganism and animal liberation has yet to be recognized, and both deserve a prominent role in the decisive politics of the twenty-first century. This is all the more important given the incursions into the animal advocacy movement by those on the Far Right, particularly in England, France, and Italy.