page_title: Ecofascism
section_title: Garrett Hardin, Pentti Linkola, and "Lifeboat Ethics"
hierarchical_section_title: Ecofascism / Ideological origins / Garrett Hardin, Pentti Linkola, and "Lifeboat Ethics"
caption_attribution_description: English: Finnish environmental philosopher and writer Pentti Linkola at the Helsinki Book Fair 2010. Suomi: Ympäristöfilosofi ja kirjailija Pentti Linkola Helsingin kirjamessuilla 2010.
context_page_description: Ecofascism is a theoretical political model in which an authoritarian government would require individuals to sacrifice their own interests to the "organic whole of nature".
  Some writers have used it to refer to the hypothetical danger of future dystopian governments, which might resort to fascist policies in order to deal with environmental issues. Other writers have used it to refer to segments of historical and modern fascist movements that focused on environmental issues.
context_section_description: Two figures influential in ecofascism are Garrett Hardin and Pentti Linkola, both of whom were proponents of what they refer to as "Lifeboat Ethics". Garrett Hardin was an American ecologist accused by the Southern Poverty Law Center of being a white nationalist, whilst Pentti Linkola was a Finnish ecologist accused of being an active ecofascist who actively advocated ending democracy and replacing it with dictatorships that would use totalitarian and even genocidal tactics to end climate change. Both men used versions of the following analogy to illustrate their viewpoint:
  What to do, when a ship carrying a hundred passengers suddenly capsizes and there is only one lifeboat? When the lifeboat is full, those who hate life will try to load it with more people and sink the lot. Those who love and respect life will take the ship's axe and sever the extra hands that cling to the sides
caption: Pentti Linkola advocacy of "Lifeboat Ethics" is cited by commentators as an example of ecofascism
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