Thesis: As environmentalists agitate for the humane treatment of animals, animal liberators
argue that the only way to end animal suffering is by assigning them equal rights with human
beings, which undermines the efforts towards establishing a society that will protect people and
animals.
Humanity and Nature
Cruelty to animals and environmental destruction are outcomes of human domination of
nature.
The conventional world lacks a lasting balance; hence, all species are struggling to
survive (Harvard Divinity School, 2015).
Human history is founded on domination and manipulation of nature for food, shelter,
clothing, health, among other needs.
Pre-class societies draw from nature whatever they needed in a range of activities such as
cutting trees,
selective breeding
Domesticating animals
Profit madness
Because of the influence of capitalism, humans tend to use nature to suit their interests.
Capitalists compete to accumulate more profits than competitors do.
Capitalistic exploitation is significantly damaging to human and non-human societies.
On the one end, nature is pillaged for raw materials but used as a bottomless pit on the
other end.
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Speciesism
Speciesism is the practice of assigning a particular species greater value over another.
Animal liberationists agitate for similar consideration for animals and humans.
For survival needs, every species must place its needs above others.
Human Rights
Terminating control over animals would imply disaster for humans and animals;
domesticated animals would suffer, and humans would starve (Zaleha & Szasz, 2015).
Since you cannot separate nature from human control, the only way to ensure an
amicable interaction of humans and the environment is to tackle capitalism.
Animal Research
All human societies emerge from science, which creates the need for understanding and
conserving the ecology we live in.
A capitalists approach is toxic and generates numerous unsafe products, eliminates the
need for animal testing, and enhances human life.
Instead of calling for a ban on animal testing, ending capitalism will constrain the need
for testing to only truly demanding research.
Food animals and food workers
Food workers who enhance their conditions influence the condition of food animals and
the safety of food products.
Moralism
A moralist approach challenges the human dominance of nature.
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Moralism also blames humans for capitalism, which is responsible for environmental
destruction (Tickell, 2015).
Conclusion
How humans relate to non-human relies on how humans treat each other.
Egalitarian societies promote responsibility towards nature.
Most people are advocating for responsibility for the environment, although capitalism
complicates the process.
The fate of non-humans is inextricably associated with human society.
To settle the debate, humans must support the working class to end the profit madness
that is tied to capitalism to eliminate animal and human suffering.
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References
Harvard Divinity School. (2015). 'The earth, our
home'. https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2015/06/18/earth-our-home#
Tickell, C. (2015). Human responsibility in the global environment. Asian Affairs, 33(2), 206-
215. https://doi.org/10.1080/714041469
Zaleha, B. D., & Szasz, A. (2015). Why conservative Christians don’t believe in climate
change. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 71(5), 19-
30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0096340215599789