What Is Deep Ecology?
Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and argues that modern human societies should be restructured… Part of the Green family.
Definition
Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and argues that modern human societies should be restructured in accordance with such ideas.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Deep ecology (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Intrinsic value of all life.
- Reduction of human impact on nature.
- Rejection of human-centered values.
Origins
Norway, 1973, with Arne Næss.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Arne Næss
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Deep Ecology sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 20 | toward collective / planned | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 34 | toward progressive | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 40 | near the center | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 40 | near the center | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 16 | toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 27 | toward collective ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 45 | near the center |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 40 | near the center |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 36 | near the center |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 35 | near the center |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 26 | toward egalitarian |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 92 | strongly toward state planning |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 16 | toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 29 | toward secular state |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Markets generally distribute goods more effectively than government planners. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Major industries should be publicly owned rather than privately controlled. | Agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Foreign students should be deported for taking part in protests the government considers supportive of terrorism. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Degrowth, Deep Ecology sits 9 points further toward traditional on the social dimension.
- Compared with Post-Growth Politics, Deep Ecology sits 19 points further toward collective / planned on the economic dimension.
- Compared with Eurocommunism, Deep Ecology sits 19 points further toward non-intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Deep Ecology.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Deep ecology
- Wikipedia: Deep Ecology (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Environmental Ethics
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.