Photo by Marcos del Mazo

Browsing through the bookshelves of your local bookstore you might just have the misfortune of coming across James Deilingpole’s The Little Green Book of Ecofascism: The Left’s Plan to Frighten Your Kids, Drive Up Energy Costs, and Hike Your Taxes! In it, he details the sinister plans of the ecofascist left to strip away human rights, wealth, and freedom, all in the name of its irrational and authoritarian mania for nature.

Seems a bit much, but these sorts of attacks against the left are not at all unusual. Many right-wing political commentators and pundits have often framed the left as authoritarian and fascist. These exaggerated fears of a left-wing dictatorship even helped win voters for Trump in Miami-Dade County during the 2020 Presidential elections.

By definition, fascism is a far-right movement and philosophy that is characterized by its adherence to a one-party state with overt authoritarian control and a belief system that places the nation and race above individuals and foreigners. Ecofascism follows the exact same script – albeit through an environmental context.

Despite the continued use of the term “fascist” and “ecofascist” by many right-wingers to describe their leftist counterparts, it sits on the right side of the political spectrum. This is especially the case for the more extreme far-right movement, the ‘alt-right’ or alternative right, whose fascist talking points have veered into ecofascism.

What gives then? Why does the right continue to peddle ecofascism as a leftist stance?

Well, it isn’t a new trick. Michael E. Zimmerman’s classic 1995 article, “The Threat of Ecofascism,” details the ways that the right paints, in very rough and broad strokes, its leftist counterparts as nature-loving, environment-obsessed fascists.

Leftists, in their firm criticisms of capitalism, stand in the way of some of the most central tenets of American culture – liberty and private property. As a result, progressives’ relentless lobbying for environmental regulations and legislations are often met with opposition from those on the right who see it as an authoritarian intrusion on the free market.

Conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and anti-ecological groups like the “Wise Use Movement” were quick to describe environmental activists as ecofascists in the 1990s when environmentalists supported a “takings bill” that threatened private property rights. The bill met heavy opposition from many conservatives and right-wingers.

This same right-wing reactionary backlash can be seen today in response to one of the most contested pieces of environmental legislation yet: the Green New Deal. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Edward Markey (D-MA), which calls for a transformation of the economy to address climate change and inequality, is often described as an authoritarian, militarized, and fascist resolution by many on the right. Sean Duffy, a Fox News contributor and former Rep. of Wisconsin, writes “Green New Deal supporters don’t care about the climate – they want control over your life.” Such attacks perpetuate the same false narratives that describe the left as fascists intent on seizing tyrannical control to achieve their environmental goals.

But as Zimmerman made clear in the 1990s and remains true today, labeling leftists as “ecofascists” set on authoritarian control is a misguided accusation. The left’s push for regulations for the sake of the environment does not point to (or at all resemble) the sort of xenophobic, fascist environmentalism that enveloped Nazi Germany or that is currently making gains in alt-right groups. Zimmerman notes that although the measures that some on the left may impose for the sake of the environment might be severe, they certainly aren’t fascist.

What is fascist is the alt-right’s fascination with the so-called restoration of dignity and purpose for the white race above that of others. This form of fascism, in turn, intersects with ecology (hence the “eco” in “ecofascism”) in ways that call for the exclusion of immigrants so as to protect against the degradation of the environment of the homeland by “outsiders.” The descriptions offered by Zimmerman of ecofascism and a racially united white race against the imposing “other” – immigrants and people of color – rings true for ecofascists on the right more than they do for environmentalists on the left.

Yet right-wingers continue to point the ecofascist finger at leftists for supporting existing environmental regulations and new proposals, such as the Green New Deal.

As the pressures of climate change up the ante and climate change denialism starts losing credibility, the right’s full-embrace of ecofascism might just be at hand. When that happens there can’t be debates and confusion surrounding terminology but a united front that will call ecofascism out for what it is and not for what it isn’t.