Double Morality of Environmental Activism

• In Event: Environmental Movements: New Challenges and Tactics

Abstract

This paper examines the intersection of morality and environmental politics in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We explore how a standard of moral exceptionality is frequently invoked to undermine the work, truth claims, and political decisions made by actors that oppose extractive agendas. Through three vignettes, we trace how allegations are levied to question the veracity, motive, and character of these actors following any hint of moral imperfection or political or personal contradiction. Tracing the assertions of morality and corruption through these vignettes allows us to draw out an important contrast between the oil complex and the simplicity of the judgments of actors who are perceived as standing against the industry. We ask: why is an impossible moral standard so frequently used to derail the work and claims of actors that oppose extractive agendas, but yet the same standards are never applied to their corporate counterparts? This paper calls for a greater interrogation of the assumed relation of environmentalism and ethics. Firstly, it argues that corporate practices are often presumed to fall outside the realm of the ethical and thus remain beyond moral critique. Secondly, it suggests broadening understanding of credit/debt relationships in ways that challenge common-sense notions of corruption within environmental activism.

Authors

• Amelia M Fiske, University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill

• Lindsay P Ofrias, Princeton University