In 1996 I wrote an essay, “Utopian Visions and Pragmatic Politics: Challenging the Foundations of Speciesism,” which was published in Animal Rights: The Changing Debate edited by Robert Garner (Macmillan).
My central thesis was — and still is — that in order for the animal advocacy movement to be optimally effective we must develop and implement a strategy that balances simultaneously the utopian vision of a vegan world of personal lifestyle choice with the pragmatic politics of institutional change by advancing public policy in such arenas as politics and business.
Today’s article in The New York Times and several other key developments (e.g., the successful prosecution of stag hunters under the Hunting Act 2004) demonstrates the animal rights movement is at last maturing into an effective social movement.
The balance of fundamentalism and reality is the bane of all social movements and political initiatives and we are no different. Whatever may be thought about ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair I was struck recently by reading part of a speech he gave in 1995 when he urged the Labour Party to rewrite a historically important section of its constitution as part of an initiative to modernise the party in order to make it electable
I did not come into the Labour Party to join a pressure group. I didn’t become leader of this party to lead a protest movement. Power without principle is barren. But principle without power is futile. This is a party of government, and I will lead it as a party of government.
Yes, we are a protest movement advocating and personally demonstrating the principled position of veganism. But, also as a protest movement, we must also gain power to influence government to achieve institutional change.
This is why today’s NYT article is so important. It reports on the tensions between these two positions and documents the progress made to date by such companies as Burger King and Whole Foods Market and such institutions as the National Council of Chain Restaurants and the City of Chicago.
Don’t get distracted by the reality of three-steps-forward-and-two-steps-backward process(e.g., Chicago reconsidering its foie gras ban) because this is how progress is achieved. And don’t get upset by the industry’s claims that they are only affected by consumers and not the pressure from our movement (aren’t we consumers, too?). But understand my further point that fundamentally social change is achieved in five stages:
Stage One — Public Education: The Burger King campaign
Stage Two — Public Policy: Burger King announces animal welfare policies
Stage Three — Legislation: In the U.S., there is progress to report at the state level (e.g., Florida’s ban on the gestation crate) but there is still a tremendous amount to accomplish at the federal level
Stage Four — Litigation: There is some action here (e.g., Waterkeeper Alliance suing large pig farms) but not enough but keep an eye on HSUS’s legal department
Stage Five — Public Acceptance: When everyone says that this is what they thought all along
For more on this, please email the Animals and Society Institute at office@animalsandsociety.org and ask for a copy of The Animals’ Platform.
