Photo by Danita Delimont, Alamy
In the absence of humans, swans began floating through the clear waters of the Venice canals. Wild boars strolled empty streets in Barcelona. Elephants slept in village gardens in Yunnan province after drinking corn wine.
These endearing (and even uplifting) images and stories went viral at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, they were too often coupled with nightmarish slogans either implying, or explicitly stating, that humans are the real virus.
Though many of these images and stories turned out to be fake, the responses they provoked were not. Many of those responses revealed a growing embrace of environmentalism’s dark side: ecofascism.
Ecofascism is not a new concept (some of its more famous adherents date back to World War II Nazi Germany) but its growing influence in extreme right-wing circles like the alt-right is cause for concern.
The central tenet that guides the ecofascist movement is a push against immigration and overpopulation. The gripping patriotic language that often accompanies much of its dangerous rhetoric has unfortunately led many extremists to put belief into action – as they did in El Paso and New Zealand, resulting in a tragic loss of life. Although still a fringe political movement, the underpinning ecofascist ideology which gave rise to these mass shootings continues to gain traction.
The shared political space of environmental concern that connects environmentalists on the left with ecofascists on the right has raised eyebrows as it points to a blurring of lines between the two. This is especially true for alt-right ecofascist movements that are propelled by a genuine interest and advocacy for the environment and which are not just a mere co-optation of environmentalism.
Despite this shared political space, the left has made strides in recognizing the dark underbelly of environmentalism through its condemnation of controversial figureheads like John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club. The left’s grounded ethos of climate and environmental justice – which have become central to the environmental movement – has allowed it to stand firm against the violent and extreme views of ecofascism.
Some of the central questions I seek to answer are: How is the term “ecofascist” contested between the left and the right? How is ecofascism deployed by right-wing pundits as a rallying call against immigration? To what extent can the modern-day anti-immigration movement be traced back to environmental anxieties and ecofascism? How do we contend with some of the racist and fascist history of environmentalism?