Everyday Resistance and Grassroots Environmental Activism

Abstract

This chapter examines grassroots activism within decentralised protest movements that prioritise participatory organisation over formal leadership. The decentralised organisational logic of such movements enables loosely affiliated individuals and small collectives to undertake autonomous action without reliance on hierarchical authority or institutional coordination. The radical environmentalist movement encompasses a wide spectrum of groups marked by ideological diversity and differing strategic approaches. Nevertheless, two foundational perspectives frequently underpin environmental activism: biocentrism and deep ecology. Biocentrism asserts the intrinsic value and moral standing of all living beings while deep ecology calls for a fundamental restructuring of industrial society to foster ecological harmony and sustainable modes of living. Together, these perspectives provide an ethical and philosophical framework that challenges anthropocentric models of development.

Contemporary movements addressing food security and climate change similarly promote alternatives to industrial food systems, emphasising sustainability, public health and ecological resilience. The activism of José Bové exemplifies critiques of corporate agriculture and highlights broader concerns about society’s estrangement from nature, advocating a re-evaluation of technology’s role in shaping human–environment relations.

The chapter also considers movements such as Extinction Rebellion (XR), which emphasise the urgency of ecological crises. These groups challenge corporate capitalism and call for transformative environmental policies in response to accelerating climate change.