Does 'Conservative Environmentalism' really unite?

Scruton clearly anticipates resistance to his arguments, especially from left-leaning and other radical environmentalists and climate change campaigners. One way he seeks to address this is to contend that environmentalists are increasingly moving towards the forms of 'conservative environmentalism' he champions, e.g. by "dissociating themselves from campaigning NGOs, and preferring the small scale work that both supports and expresses the low impact life" (p.89). Examples provided include the growing movements for 'Transitions Towns', permaculture, and 'slow food', as well as advocates of farmers' markets and low-carbon communities. I would also add the patriotic climate change campaigns that have recently emerged which appeal more to national self-interest and pride. He also devotes early chapters to discussing climate change ('Global Alarming') and both 'salvationist' and environmental politics ('The Search for Salvation') which, in sum, seek to challenge both the view that "ordinary forms of politics" and our various adaptations will be ineffective, and any impulse to dismiss local-level action. This defence of current "social ecology" – along with the fierce critique of centralised approaches to environmental problems and bureaucracies – is consistent with a European conservative view; however, it's not at all clear that many 'commons' problems can be addressed with their typical prescriptions. Further, Scruton appears blind to the more rapid growth in NGOs, and new environmental movements which focus as much on the prospects of current generations as future ones.

One of the more interesting questions suggested by this book is, if conservatism and environmentalism do share a significant amount of common ground then why are they now further apart than ever? This question is not really addressed. The main views related to this issue are expressed as part of Scruton's critique of environmentalists. For example, he argues we "should not ignore the legacy of socialism" and that 'egalitarians' tend to see politics and markets in similar terms to socialists, which can contribute to the subsuming of related questions "in a wider ideological conflict, between egalitarian 'justice' and individualist 'freedom'" (pp.80-1). "Salvationist politics... in the environmental movements of our day" (p.85) and "emergency-mongering" threaten the current "social ecology". Scruton also contends that environmentalists often "baulk at the suggestion that local loyalty should be seen in national terms" (p.20) and that national attachment could motivate actions. To the extent these aspects are true, they will create conflict, and may create communication gaps if arguments do not resonate with conservative values. However, Green Philosophy mostly ignores the conservative side of the equation.

The only criticism conservatives cop is for contributing to the environmentalists' perception of conservatism as "the ideology of free enterprise and free enterprise as an assault on the earth's resources, with no motive beyond short-term gain" (p.7). These conservatives have mistakenly "tended to see modern politics in terms of a simple dichotomy between individual freedom on the one hand, and state control on the other" (p.8). We hear such views expressed every day, but simplistic dichotomies are a significant barrier to addressing complex and novel environment problems. Moreover, creativity is obstructed when adherents to rigid ideologies ignore, or refuse to tolerate, ambiguity.

A key related problem with Green Philosophy is that it, too, remains stuck in the Left vs. Right mode of an ideological battle. Scruton freely states that his aim is "to re-situate the environmental agenda where it belongs – in the European conservative tradition" (cited in Else, 2012). For me this is the underlying problem: as the environment – or any major societal challenge – becomes a pawn in wider ideological conflict, it seems to me that adequate responses become far more difficult to realise. To the extent that Scruton's book may help is the extent to which it points to ways to resolve such issues.

On this point I think Scruton's clearly difficult battle in Green Philosophy to only propose solutions which are consistent with his model of European social conservatism is instructive. He arguably does not maintain 'ideological purity'. This may, in fact, be the key point: the ideologies that emerged over recent centuries, especially the core modern 'isms', appear ill-suited to twenty-first century challenges. Further, today's ideological conflicts – particularly those related to the environment – are likely to only get worse unless all sides show greater willingness to deeply reflect on their views and belief systems. Perhaps, only perhaps, Green Philosophy will help to enable and stimulate this essential task.