The Plowboy Interview
(Page 14 of 18)
Then, to continue the search for a balance between
cosmopolitanism and local consciousness, the sophisticated
side of the bioregional proposal asks not only that natural
nations and ethnic entities be allowed to continue and that
we avoid strategies-economic and political strategies-that
would wear them down, but also that they be
encouraged. And then, on top of that
encouragement, we attempt to see the whole planet as
watershed-with its great body of planetary myth
lore-uniting the mosaic. Biology, ecology, and the old ways
could combine to lead us toward a workable planetary ethic.
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PLOWBOY: So an ecological consciousness
could form the overriding, almost religious, arch that
would tie the independent natural nations together?
SNYDER: It could be a start, yes. Of
course, it would be not merely "ecological" but would
address the total community, including humans. It would
hold certain basic principles of respect and
self-determination for human beings.
PLOWBOY: Right.
SNYDER: On the other hand, the bioregional
perspective probably would not push too fast and hard for
just one style of human rights. And it would be perhaps
offensive to some idealistic people to say, "Let such and
such a group of people continue with such and such a
custom, if that's part of their culture. Let them discover
for themselves over the years how they want to deal with
that, rather than trying to impose instantly a democratic,
American constitutional, kind of bill of rights."
These are the real tricky questions. Here's where you get
down to the nittygritty of it. Consider the problem, for
example, of women's rights in some aboriginal tribes. The
choice would be the integrity of the culture from one
standpoint versus the idea of equal rights from
another standpoint.
That's the kind of area where the questions of unity and
diversity really sticky. But at least we're willing to
think about them. And I take comfort in the fact
that the bioregional perspective bases itself on an
anthropological and historical humanism 40,000 years old,
rather than on a strictly Occidental humanism 6,000 or
7,000 years old.
PLOWBOY: It's also often been said that
there has almost never been a forced change of culture that
actually worked as it was planned to.
SNYDER: I imagine that's true.
Now, the philosophical wing of the bioregional concept, in
a way, seems to be deep ecology, as a formulator of a
philosophical standpoint. Also, I like Ivan Illich's term,
"the recovery of the commons," as another description of
all the dimensions of what we're talking about. Asserting
bioregional communities is just one aspect of it. There's
also human nature, and there's the mischief of history.
Bioregionalism is just part of this whole question of how
the whole human race regains its natural self=determination
and realizes its place in nature after-at least in some
parts of the world-centuries of having been disenfranchised
by the structures of hierarchy and centralized power.
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