Foreman, Dave, “Earth First Statement of Principles and Membership Brochure” (September 1980). Environment & Society Portal, Multimedia Library. http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/6810.
In this memo to “the leading intellectual and literary lights of EARTH FIRST,” Dave Foreman drafts the principles of the new Earth First organization, along with a draft membership brochure.
EARTH FIRST STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
* Wilderness has a right to exist for its own sake
*All life forms, from virus to the great whales, have an inherent and equal right to existence
*[Hu (corrected in pen)]mankind is no greater than any other form of life and has no legitimate claim to dominate Earth
*Humankind, through overpopulation, anthropocentrism, industrialization, excessive energy consumption/resource extraction, state capitalism, father-figure hierarchies, imperialism, pollution, and natural area destruction, threatens the basic life processes of EARTH
*All human decisions should consider Earth first, humankind second
*The only true test of morality is whether an action, indivudal, social, or political, benefits Earth
*Humankind will be happier, healthier, more secure, and more comfortable in a society that recognizes humankind’s true biological nature and which is in dynamic harmony with the total biosphere
*Political compromise has no place in the defense of Earth
*Earth is Goddess and the proper object of human worship
—Dave Foreman
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