Scan

One of the most notable phenomena of the last two years has been the sudden growth of what might be called the 'ecological movement'. I think myself that 'ecology' is a bad word to use in this context; I take the word to mean the systematic and dispassionate analysis of interrelationships between various kinds of life-forms and their physical environment?and the movement is not yet very systematic and is certainly not dispassionate. y It seems to have moved, generally speaking, pretty rapidly from the study of the natural environment to the study of the artificial environment and has become much concerned with what is called 'the quality of life'?which seems to mean the quality of man's life. This shift has meant that all sorts of political and protest groups have infiltrated the movement, and I am not at all sure that all these groups are going to go on advocating the same things. Of course herein lies first the difficulty of finding a good portmanteau title for the movement as a whole, and secondly the danger that the movement may split into fragments if it comes under pressure. I use the word 'danger' deliberately, and so declare my interest, because I wholly welcome a movement which aims primarily to reduce the intensity of the self-destructive forces in society. The movement is predominantly youthful which is a very agreeable thing. For myself, as I drift worriedly round my scented boudoir and look at the thing from the lofty age of twenty-nine, I wonder if the youngsters really appreciate the strength of the entrenched attitudes they are up against. I fear they may be forced into ridiculous nihilistic attitudes largely because of theii own impatience; and if they are made to look ridiculous then, of course, the forces of reaction will sweep down upon them.