On Eco-Populism
“We are seeing a new kind of social-uplift environmentalism, and a new image of an environmentalist with a hard hat, a lunch bucket, and rolled-up sleeves: somebody who says, “Give us the tools. Give us the technology. We can fix America.” I believe this kind of working-class eco-populism will become the dominant political mode for progressives in the new century as we put people to work weatherizing buildings, installing solar panels, building windmills, and creating public-transportation systems.
It used to be that the more radical you were on environmental issues, the farther you were from working-class people, poor people, and people of color, because you were making individual lifestyle changes that alienated you from the majority. You looked different; you ate different foods; you wore different clothes. Working-class people were shopping at Wal-Mart and eating at McDonald’s, and you were mad at them for it. With this new environmentalism, the more radical you are on environmental solutions, the closer you are to the working class.
We’ve reached the limits of what can be done with individual lifestyle choices. From now on it’s going to require a massive investment from government and the private sector to completely restructure the economy. If you’re a radical environmentalist, you may still look a little odd, but you have a reason to talk to that labor leader, that African American preacher, that kid living in rural or urban poverty who doesn’t have a future. You can say to that person, “We want you to help save the world, and you can get paid doing it.” Once activists do that, I think a new day will dawn in American politics. You are going to see a major realignment, as occurred with the New Deal and the Great Society programs of the mid-twentieth century and the rise of the Far Right toward the end of that century.
Both the welfare state and the warfare state are exhausted ideas in U.S. politics. There has to be a new political center of gravity, where people join with government to try to solve the problems of the economy and the environment. Those people are going to be the eco-entrepreneurs, progressive labor, and antipoverty activists who are looking to create ecologically responsible jobs. They will show that you can have a populist movement based on environmental values.”
Sun Magazine: Bridging the Green Divide (link)