======================================================================
=                           William_Ophuls                           =
======================================================================

                            Introduction
======================================================================
William Ophuls, the pen name of Patrick Ophuls, (born 1934) is an
American political scientist, ecologist, independent scholar and
author. He is known for his pioneering role in the modern
environmental movement. His work focuses on some of the ecological,
social, and political implications of modern industrial civilization.


                             Biography
======================================================================
Born in 1934, Ophuls obtained his AB in oriental studies from
Princeton University in 1955. Eighteen years later, in 1973, he
obtained his PhD in political science from Yale University.

After his graduation from Princeton, Ophuls served in the U.S. Coast
Guard as an officer for four years. After his discharge, he served for
the next eight years in the United States Foreign Service at embassies
in the Ivory Coast and Japan. After his graduation from Yale in 1973,
he lectured at Northwestern University and Oberlin University for
short periods. He then settled in as an independent scholar and
author.

Ophuls was awarded the Sprout Prize from the International Studies
Association for his 1977 book 'Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity'.
In 1992, a revised edition was published as 'Ecology and the Politics
of Scarcity Revisited'. This work received the Kammerer Award from the
American Political Science Association.


Role in modern environmental movement
=======================================
Ophuls played a part in the emergence of the modern environmental
movement. The precursor of this movement in the United States was the
early-20th century conservation movement, associated with President
Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. This was the period in which
U.S. Forest Service was formed, and that public concern for consumer
protection began, spurred on by the publication of 'The Jungle' by
Upton Sinclair.


The origins of the modern environmental movement took place in the
United States with the publication of Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring',
which pointed out the perils of pesticide use and rallied concern for
the environment in general. Carson argued that nature deserved human
protection and referred to pesticides as an atomic bomb for insects.
She stated that these pesticides would cycle through the environment
hurting humans and nature and thought they should be used wisely.
Carson's work encouraged the environment activism that was soon to
come.

Critiques of the misuse of technology from figures such as William
Ophuls, Barry Commoner, and Garrett Hardin, and the ineffectiveness
and criticism of the 1960s Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, gave
momentum to the environmental movement.


''Leviathan or oblivion?'', 1973
==================================
With the essay, entitled "Leviathan or oblivion?", Ophuls contributed
to the influential 1973 anthology 'Toward a Steady-state Economy',
edited by Herman Daly. Other writers and topics in the 1973 edition
included:

* Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen on "The Entropy Law and the Economic
Problem".
* Preston Cloud on mineral resources.
* Paul R. Ehrlich and John Holdren on population.
* Leon R. Kass on bioethics.
* Kenneth E. Boulding on the "Economics of the Coming Spaceship
Earth".
* Garrett Hardin's 1968 article "The Tragedy of the Commons."
* Herman Daly on the steady-state economy, and the essay, "Electric
power, employment, and economic growth: a case study in growthmania."
* Warren A. Johnson on the guaranteed income as an environmental
measure.
* Richard England and Barry Bluestone on ecology and social conflict.
* E. F. Schumacher on 'Small Is Beautiful', title of his book, also
published in 1973.
* Walter A. Weisskopf on economic growth versus existential balance.
* Jørgen Randers and Donella Meadows on the carrying capacity of the
environment.
* John B. Cobb on "ecology, ethics, and theology".
* C. S. Lewis on 'The Abolition of Man', an extract from his 1943 book
of the same name.

In his contribution, "Leviathan or Oblivion?", Ophuls wrote on the
political and economical implications of environmental problems. His
main argument was that "because of the tragedy of the commons,
environmental problems cannot be solved through cooperation...and the
rationale for government with major coercive powers is overwhelming."
According to Ophuls "reforming a corrupt people is a Herculean task,"
which only leaves us with the choice of becoming a leviathan or
oblivion.

Eckersley (1992) argued that, "...although Ophuls has since moderated
his position by placing a greater emphasis on the need for self
restraint than on the need for external coercion, he continues to
maintain that the latter must be resorted to if calls for the former
are unsuccessful."


Democratic challenges to address environmental problems
=========================================================
In the 1970s, Ophuls commented on the role of liberal democracies in
addressing environmental problems. The relation between politics and
the environment is complex. Climate change is slow, relative to
political cycles of leadership in electoral democracies, which impedes
responses by politicians who are elected and re-elected on much
shorter timescales.

Effectively responding to global warming necessitates some form of
international environmental governance to achieve shared targets
related to energy consumption and environmental usage. Climate change
complicates political ideology and practice, affecting conceptions of
responsibility for future societies as well as economic systems.
Material inequality between nations make technological solutions
insufficient for climate change mitigation. Rather, political
solutions can navigate the particularities of various facets of
environmental crisis. Climate change mitigation strategies can be at
odds with democratic priorities of prosperity, progress, and state
sovereignty, and instead underscore a collective relationship with the
environment.

The international political community is presently based on liberal
principles that prioritize individual freedoms and capitalist systems
that make quick and ambitious climate responses difficult.
Interest-group liberalism is guided by individual human priorities.
Groups unable to voice their self-interest, such as minorities without
suffrage, or non-humans, are not included in the political compromise.
Addressing environmental crises can be impeded when citizens of
liberal democracies do not see environmental problems as impacting
their lives, or when they lack the education to evaluate the
importance of the problem.  The human benefits from environmental
exploitation and protection compete. Considering the implications of
ecological degradation for future human generations can give
environmental concerns a basis in anthropocentric liberal democratic
politics.

Ophuls (1977) posits that liberal democracies are unfit to address
environmental problems, and that the prioritization of these
challenges would involve a transition to more authoritarian forms of
government.  Others counter this by pointing to the past successes of
environmental reform movements to improve water and air quality in
liberal societies.  In practice, environmentalism can improve
democracy rather than necessitate its end, by expanding democratic
participation and promoting political innovations.


''Ecology and the politics of scarcity,'' 1977
================================================
In the preface of his 1977 book 'Ecology and the Politics of
Scarcity', Ophuls declared the intention of his work:



Furthermore Ophuls argued, that



Ophuls is skeptical about the ability to anticipate a sustainable
society, or steady state society. He claimed:



Ophuls concludes that premature specificity of the steady-state
society and its required institutions can be counterproductive:


''Plato's Revenge: Politics in the Age of Ecology,'' 2011
===========================================================
In his 2011 book 'Plato's Revenge: Politics in the Age of Ecology,'
Ophuls starts with the premise that "sustainability is impossible". He
argues that "we are on an industrial Titanic, fueled by rapidly
depleting stocks of fossil hydrocarbons....  we are headed for a
postindustrial future that, however technologically sophisticated,
will resemble the pre-industrial past in many important respects."

In the end, the work is a plea for "an essentially Platonic politics
of consciousness dedicated to inner cultivation rather than outward
expansion and the pursuit of perpetual growth. We would then achieve a
way of life that is materially and institutionally simple but
culturally and spiritually rich, one in which humanity flourishes in
harmony with nature."


                             Reception
======================================================================
In response to the 2011 publication of 'Plato's Revenge,' Thomas
Homer-Dixon wrote the following endorsement:



Robert Paehlke described Ophuls' work as attempt "to rethink how
present and future societies might be organized given the array of
environmental and sustainability challenges that we face."


                       Selected bibliography
======================================================================
* 'Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity: Prologue to a Political
Theory of the Steady State,' (W. H. Freeman & Co., 1977)
* (w/ A. Stephen Boyan, Jr.)
'[https://archive.org/details/pdfy-SXVS7n8VWRQUMvFD Ecology and the
Politics of Scarcity Revisited: The Unraveling of the American
Dream],' 1992.
* 'Requiem For Modern Politics: The Tragedy Of The Enlightenment And
The Challenge Of The New Millennium,' (hardcover: Westview Press,
1997; paperback: Routledge, 1998 ; ebook: Routledge, 2019)
*'Plato's Revenge: Politics in the Age of Ecology,' (MIT Press, 2011)
*'Immoderate Greatness: Why Civilizations Fail,' (CreateSpace, 2012)
*'Sane Polity: A Pattern Language,' (CreateSpace, 2013)
*'Apologies to the Grandchildren: Reflections on Our Ecological
Predicament, Its Deeper Causes, and Its Political Consequences,'
(Independently published, 2018)
*'Electrifying the Titanic: The Shipwreck of Industrial Civilisation,'
(Independently published, 2021) ISBN 979-8754839793
*'The Tragedy of Industrial Civilization: Envisioning a Political
Future,' (Independently published, 2023)


                           External links
======================================================================
*[http://www.ophuls.org/William_Ophuls/Home.html William Ophuls
website]


License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ophuls

You are viewing proxied material from gopherpedia.com. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.