Why Permaculture?

What are the Social and Political Underpinnings of Permaculture?

“In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues….” This quote from George Orwell still rings true today and even more so if you’re trying to ‘over grow the system’. Like many before me, and as is likely to be after, I came to permaculture via a general disdain for our current system, a feeling of frustration at the general lack of positive immediate outcomes obtained through protesting, coupled with a feeling not easily described within a short essay, so let’s just call it ecological sadness. This political sentiment has been expressed both directly and indirectly by the co-founders of permaculture as an obvious catalyst for the movement, and similar feelings have been expressed by many of the pioneers of permaculture.

It was very nearly at my gloomiest moment that I stumbled upon this

I teach self-reliance, the world’s most subversive practice. I teach people how to grow their own food, which is shockingly subversive. So, yes, it’s seditious. But it’s peaceful sedition.
Bill Mollison

As a new father, an educator with a cheeky streak and a person longing for a better world, this form of subversion sounded perfect. With a background in political science, and more generally sociology, upon studying permaculture further I came to see it had many correlations with certain social and/or political theories. Though very few if any of the permaculture literature I found directly noted any of these influences. They are namely, deep, social and anarcho (green anarchism) ecology, all which, like permaculture, espouse communitarian, regenerative and ethical approaches to society in varying degrees.

(Image Courtesy of Daniel Lattore)
(Image Courtesy of Daniel Lattore)

With statements like the one above from Bill Mollison, this from David Holmgren; “The process of providing for people’s needs within ecological limits requires a cultural revolution.” Paul Taylor; “Having a home garden is an act of revolution”, and Geoff Lawton; “You can solve all the worlds problems in the garden” It’s plain to see that permaculture is, has, can and likely will continue to be overtly political in nature.

As stated above, the theoretical underpinnings, or ‘nature’, of social ecology, anarcho ecology, deep ecology and more broadly, anarchy, link closely with those of permaculture. As these movements and their philosophies tend to regard human life as just one of many equal components of a global ecosystem (see James Lovelock and the Gaia hypothesis), as is found in many instances within permaculture. Murray Bookchin, recognised as the founder of social ecology, demonstrates this idea when he writes that,

…ecology knows no ‘King of Beasts’ and no ‘lowly creatures’… Rather it deals with ecosystems in which living things are interdependent and play complementary roles in perpetuating the stability of the natural order. Murray Bookchin

Just as ecology or more poetically, mother nature, has no defined ruler, or single authority, so too does anarchy. The term ‘anarchy’ is derived from the Greek term ‘anarkhia’, meaning contrary to authority or without ruler (this being the true meaning of anarchy, as opposed to our modern, oft-misinterpreted understanding of the term). When you combine this definition of anarchy with ecology and other underpinnings of permaculture you have a clear match. The view that no single ruler is necessary however, would appear to negate these ideas’ long term association with modern politics. It has even been said that if permaculturalists were allowed to vote for a leader, they would vote unanimously not to have one.

The notion of direct action though, is very political, and one of the main tools used by anarchists and activists striving for a better world, world over. It could easily be said that the actions taken by many a permaculturalist when she or he defiantly or otherwise, converts some marginal land into an abundant perennial paradise is itself ‘direct action’. To quote famous anarchist and man noted as a key influence in the Occupy movement, David Graeber, “direct action means insisting on acting as if one is already free… A direct action successfully carried out brings about a direct rearrangement of existing conditions of life through the combined efforts of those directly affected”. Sounds to me like permaculture!

The shared ideologies are thick and true between anarchy and permaculture. We gain our much lauded love of the edge effect from the understanding for the need to allow mother nature to be our teacher, and allow, what may appear to the untrained eye as chaos, to reign. Holmgren even references the famous Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin when discussing in depth his permaculture principle, Integrate Rather Than Segregate, noting that Kropotkin, “provided a refutation of social Darwinists with very diverse examples of co-operative and symbiotic relationships both in nature and in human history.” Which again helps show us the interrelated nature, or synergy that exists between both humans and nature, something which the ideologies discussed earlier and permaculture share in spades.

(Image Courtesy of - Jannes Pockele)
(Image Courtesy of – Jannes Pockele)

The trawling of ideologies and social theories that are akin to permaculture could go on to fill a few books, and likely will one day, and this is of course just a short article and introduction, though there is one particular difference which is certainly worth expressing. Many anarchists, most noteably and famously, Mikhail Bakunin, insist on there being “no gods, no masters” yet in permaculture we tend to not mind whom or what you worship so long as you’re caring for the earth, caring for the people and to quote Mr. Mollison once more, “invest all capital, intelligence, goodwill and labour to those ends.”

I hope this has given you some introductory food for thought in regards to the political and social theoretical nature of permaculture. I hope to expand on these musings in the near future.

References:

• Bakunin, M., 1882, God and the State, Dover Publications Inc., New York
• Bookchin, M., 1982, The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy, Cheshire Books, Palo Alto, CAL. (p. 5)
• Graeber, D., 2009, “Direct Action, Anarchism, Direct Democracy”, in Direct Action: An Ethnography, AK Press, Oakland, (p. 207)
• Holmgren, D., 2011, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, Holmgren Design services, Hepburn, VIC. (p. xxv)
• London, S., 2005, Permaculture: A Quiet Revolution – An Interview With Bill Mollison, https://www.scottlondon.com/interviews/mollison.html
• Mollison, B., 1988, Permaculture: A Designers Manual, Tagari Press, Tasmania
• Orwell, G., 1946, Why I Write, Penguin, London
• Ward, C., 2004, Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, New York

Feature Image: (photo care of Lora)

4 Comments

  1. Remember, people are coming to permaculture for a myriad of reasons. We are from many political stances. I am pretty much conservative with a few liberal leanings. I don’t believe in global warming/global cooling/climate change. (Whatever they are calling it nowadays.) But I DO AGREE with you that permaculture is a better way. I like the idea of being less dependent on the system. You might be “saving the planet”. Either way, we can be friends and help each other build a food forest, or set up a pasture rotation so the cows don’t need grain. Politics will always be there for us to argue about. We can argue while helping each other. :-)

    1. Would be good to meet you Jeff. I used to have a lot of sympathy for leftist liberal ways of seeings things but have left the left behind but remain a devoted permie. Would be good to hook up with conservative permies. Although happy to hook up with any genuine permie, I am not much into the woo woo of the new age that can be seen among some people attracted to PC.

  2. I would love to know Fionn, when you note that “The notion of direct action though, is very political, and one of the main tools used by anarchists and activists striving for a better world, world over” do you include ‘ANTIFA’ and the ‘Black Block’ in that. Particularly in the sense of “anarchists and activists striving for a better world, world over”? Do you feel that, that is what hey are doing?

    1. Hi Patrick,

      Black Block and ANTIFA are pursuing the better the world they envisage by their own means. Whilst I don’t necessarily condone their methodoogies at all times, I do feel that they are striving for a better world.

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