Blueprint for Survival
Encyclopedia
A Blueprint for Survival was an influential environmentalist text that drew attention to the urgency and magnitude of environmental problems.
First published as a special edition of The Ecologist
in January 1972, it was later published in book form and went on to sell over 750,000 copies.
The Blueprint was signed by over thirty of the leading scientists of the day—including Sir Julian Huxely
, Sir Frank Fraser Darling
, Sir Peter Medawar
, and Sir Peter Scott—but was written by Edward Goldsmith
and Robert Allen (with contributions from John Davoll and Sam Lawrence of the Conservation Society
, and Michael Allaby) who argued for a radically restructured society in order to prevent what the authors referred to as “the breakdown of society and the irreversible disruption of the life-support systems on this planet”.
It recommended that people live in small, decentralised and largely de-industrialised communities. Some of the reasons given for this were that:
The authors used tribal societies
as their model which, it was claimed, were characterised by their small, human-scale communities, low-impact technologies, successful population controls, sustainable resource management, holistic and ecologically integrated worldviews, and a high degree of social cohesion, physical health, psychological well-being and spiritual fulfilment of their members.
First published as a special edition of The Ecologist
The Ecologist
The Ecologist is a British environmental publication founded in 1970 by Edward Goldsmith. It addresses a wide range of environmental subjects and promotes an ecological systems thinking approach through its news stories, investigations and opinion articles. The Ecologist encourages its readers to...
in January 1972, it was later published in book form and went on to sell over 750,000 copies.
The Blueprint was signed by over thirty of the leading scientists of the day—including Sir Julian Huxely
Julian Huxley
Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century evolutionary synthesis...
, Sir Frank Fraser Darling
Frank Fraser Darling
Sir Frank Fraser Darling was an English ecologist, ornithologist, farmer, conservationist and author, who is strongly associated with the highlands and islands of Scotland.-Early life:...
, Sir Peter Medawar
Peter Medawar
Sir Peter Brian Medawar OM CBE FRS was a British biologist, whose work on graft rejection and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance was fundamental to the practice of tissue and organ transplants...
, and Sir Peter Scott—but was written by Edward Goldsmith
Edward Goldsmith
Edward René David Goldsmith , widely known as Teddy Goldsmith, was an Anglo-French environmentalist, writer and philosopher....
and Robert Allen (with contributions from John Davoll and Sam Lawrence of the Conservation Society
The Conservation Society
The Conservation Society was an early British environmental organisation founded by Douglas M. C. MacEwan in 1966, in response to what were seen to be fundamental ecological constraints on continued economic growth and population growth in the UK ....
, and Michael Allaby) who argued for a radically restructured society in order to prevent what the authors referred to as “the breakdown of society and the irreversible disruption of the life-support systems on this planet”.
It recommended that people live in small, decentralised and largely de-industrialised communities. Some of the reasons given for this were that:
- it is too difficult to enforce moral behaviour in a large community
- agricultural and business practices are more likely to be ecologically sound in smaller communities
- people feel more fulfilled in smaller communities
- reducing an area's population reduces the environmental impact
The authors used tribal societies
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
as their model which, it was claimed, were characterised by their small, human-scale communities, low-impact technologies, successful population controls, sustainable resource management, holistic and ecologically integrated worldviews, and a high degree of social cohesion, physical health, psychological well-being and spiritual fulfilment of their members.