In Memoriam: Murray Bookchin

by: odum

Mon Jul 31, 2006 at 14:45:46 PM EDT

Love him, hate him, or (sadly) don't know him, it is impossible to dispute that Bookchin was one of the few truly original thinkers of the last century. Having grown to political maturity in the trenches of class conflict in the early 20th Century, Bookchin became rightfully disenchanted with the authoritarian Statism of the radical left and came to embrace the left-libertarianism associated with Social Anarchism (although he became concerned in his later years with the viabiity of the term "anarchism," co-opted as it had become by seeming ethic-less, slash-and-burn activism). Bookchin's utopian vision was far more appealing than the frighteningly authoritarian vision of the Marxists, but as communism and socialism occupied places on the active political spectrum, alternative communitarian visions that were based on true individual freedom and diversity (and were rightfully as leery of unchecked governmental power as they were of corporate power) fell by the academic and cultural wayside, much to the diminishment of political theory and discussion. There is no question that, in my opinion, Bookchin should be a far more recognizable name than the likes of the largely discredited Marx and Engels.

Most significant, though, was the philosophical structure from whence his political theory sprang. "Social Ecology" is a narrative, not just of human history, but of natural history. Bookchin's embrace of political diversity and absolute Democracy sprang from a nature-based ethic. It was based on his observation that the pattern of nature from the moment of creation was one of ever-increasing degrees of diversity and complexity, and that human social evolution should fit into that narrative in order to be truly sustainable. Bookchin's narrative sees human civilization and technology as a part of nature (which he termed "second nature") - a view which often put him into conflict with "deep ecologists" who in contrast see a need for humanity to return to an arbitrary, inconsistent and romanticized hunter/gatherer period. Overall, Social Ecology provides a truly consistent, defensible, and appealing basis for an objective Moral Framework unattached (but not incompatible with) religion, and it is that framework which will likely have impact for years to come.

Closer to home, Bookchin's radical politics (which could be described as "Green", although he went to some effort to distinguish the different political "flavors" of Greens and disassociate himself with those he did not approve of) often put him in direct conflict with activists associated with the Progressives, whom he seemed to consider largely irrelevent at some times, or too socialist in character at others. As such, even in his adopted home of Vermont, his ideas found themselves elbowed out of the active political spectrum.

Bookchin's work survives through his family, his many adherents, and the Institute for Social Ecology in Plainfield.