As a political doctrine for intellectuals ‘ecologism’ has great
advantages – it has something to say on almost every issue, is
opposed to many contemporary orthodoxies (especially the desirability
of economic growth), has a variety of esoteric insights to offer
and has appealing emotional undertones. In this sense, then, ecologism
can be seen as a rather radical and oppositional doctrine. On
the other hand, in asserting the rights of succeeding generations
against the present, there are echoes of the conservative sentiments
expressed by Burke. He wrote: ‘I attest the retiring, I attest the
advancing generations, between which, as a link in the great chain of
eternal order we stand’ (quoted in Sabine, 1951: 519).