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Total liberation, also referred to astotal liberation ecology,[1] is apolitical philosophy andmovement that combinesanarchism with a commitment toanimal andearth liberation. Whilst more traditional approaches to anarchism have often focused primarily on opposing the state and capitalism, total liberation is additionally concerned with opposing all additional forms of human oppression as well as the oppression of other animals and ecosystems.[2] Proponents of total liberation typically espouse a holistic andintersectional approach aimed at usingdirect action to dismantle all forms of domination and hierarchy, common examples of which include thestate,capitalism,patriarchy,racism,heterosexism,cissexism,disablism,ageism,speciesism, andecological domination.[3]
Discussing "total liberation" in 1961'sThe Wretched of the Earth,Frantz Fanon emphasized a link between psychological and social freedom. He said: "Total liberation is that which concerns all sectors of the personality."[4]Third World movements, such as thePalestine Liberation Organization andAfrican National Congress, subsequently used the term to signify a rejection of compromise with colonizers.[5]
Also in the 1960s, a new era of anarchist struggle was distinguished by its adoption of a range of concerns such asfeminism,anticolonialism,queer liberation,antispeciesism, andecology that were previously of little or no concern for most anarchists.[6] More specifically, the involvement by anarchists in the animal and earth liberation movements was in part characterized by the rising popularity ofveganism within radical circles, something that has been grounded in concerns for both animal rights and environmentalism[7] as well as the formation of direct action groups such as theHunt Saboteurs Association,Earth First!, theAnimal Liberation Front and theEarth Liberation Front.[8]
Moreover, a commitment to total liberation, beyond its emergence from the historical development of the anarchist movement, is also typically grounded in a concern for contemporary schools of political thought such asintersectionality, antispeciesism,ecofeminism,deep ecology andsocial ecology.[9] AsDavid Pellow summarises:
The concept of total liberation stems from a determination to understand and combat all forms of inequality and oppression. I propose that it comprises four pillars: (1) an ethic of justice and anti-oppression inclusive of humans, nonhuman animals, and ecosystems; (2) anarchism; (3) anti-capitalism; and (4) an embrace of direct action tactics.[2]
In February 1999, animal rights activists organized a Total Liberation Conference in Boca Raton, Florida, featuring speakers from the American Indian Movement and MOVE.[10]Earth First! Journal announced:"To make change, we must band together. Join MOVE, the Anarchist Black Cross Federation, American Indian Movement, Animal Liberation Front Supporters, Food Not Bombs and others at this important conference."[11]
On January 10–11, 2004, anarchists in Erie, Pennsylvania held a Total Liberation Fest featuring hardcore punk sets and speakers includingAshanti Alston,Russell Means,Rod Coronado,Steven Best andRamona Africa.[12] A few of the attendees formed a band called Gather and wore "Total Liberation" shirts modeled on well-known "Animal Liberation" shirts worn by the band Earth Crisis. Gather member Eva "Genie" Hall has explained what total liberation meant to the band:"We simply wanted to be clear that we weren't a single-issue band and that we believed in animal, earth, and human liberation. For us, that meant anarcha-feminism and the end of patriarchy; it meant acknowledging that a "vegan revolution" doesn't challenge the problems with modern totalitarian agriculture; it meant that we were aware that consumerist choices about our diets wouldn't lead to a magical downfall of oppressive capitalist systems; and it meant acknowledging the horrible costs of imperialism/globalization and industrial civilization. 'Total liberation' was our way of talking about 'intersectionality,' I suppose."[13]
In his 2014 bookThe Politics of Total Liberation: Revolution for the 21st Century, American philosopherSteven Best argues for the necessity for disparate social movements to embrace the concept:
Theglobal capitalist world system is inherently destructive to people, animals and nature. It is unsustainable and the bills for three centuries of industrialization are overdue. It cannot be humanized, civilized or made green-friendly, but rather must be transcended through revolution at all levels–social, economic, political, legal, cultural, technological, moral, and conceptual. We must replace single-issue approaches and fragmentary struggles with systemic battles and political alliances. In the most encompassing terms, these clashes address the war against humans, animals and the earth, and must combine in a politics of total liberation. We must link the liberation of humans to other animals to the planet as a whole. We need to build a revolutionary movement strong enough to vanquish capitalist hegemony and to remake society without crushing lodestones of anthropocentrism, speciesism, patriarchy, racism, classism, statism, heterosexism, ableism, and every other pernicious form of hierarchal domination.[3]
Active Distribution published an anonymously-authored book onTotal Liberation in 2019. Insisting that "animal and earth liberation are no less integral to the new revolutionary mosaic" than human liberation, the volume explored the praxis of total liberation as exemplified in MOVE, the Animal and Earth Liberation Fronts, the 2008 Greek insurrection, and the Rojava Revolution.[14]
In 2022,Green Theory & Praxis Journal published a Total Liberation Pathway which involved "an abolition of compulsory work for all beings".[15]
Theanarchist philosophical andpolitical movement has some connections to elements of theanimal liberation movement. Many anarchists arevegetarian orvegan (orveganarchists) and have played a role in combating perceived injustices against non-human animals. They usually describe the struggle for the liberation ofnon-human animals as a natural outgrowth of the struggle forhuman freedom.[16]
Veganarchism is thepolitical philosophy ofveganism (more specificallyanimal liberation) and anarchism, creating a combinedpraxis as a means forsocial revolution.[17]: 5–6 This encompasses viewing thestate as unnecessary and harmful toanimals, bothhuman and non-human, whilst practicing a vegan lifestyle. Veganarchists either see the ideology as a combined theory, orperceive bothphilosophies to be essentially the same.[17]: 1 It is further described as ananti-speciesist perspective ongreen anarchism, or ananarchist perspective on animal liberation.[17]: 5 Vegan anarchist subcultures promotetotal liberationism, which seeks to unite the fragmented movements for human, animal and earth (ecosystem) liberation into a larger and stronger movement.[18]
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