Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
Motto	May we live long and die out
Founder	Les U. Knight
Website	vhemt.org

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT) is an environmental movement that calls for the human race to abstain from reproduction, leading to the gradual voluntary extinction of mankind. The group was founded in 1991 by Les U. Knight, an activist who became involved in the environmental movement in the 1970s and thereafter concluded that human extinction is the best solution to the problems facing the Earth's biosphere and humanity. Knight publishes the group's newsletter and serves as a spokesman for the movement. Although the group is promoted by a website and represented at some environmental events, it relies heavily on coverage from outside media to spread its message.

VHEMT argues that human extinction is preferable because it would prevent man-made human suffering and environmental degradation. The extinction of non-human species is frequently cited as evidence of the harm caused by humans. The group has received mixed reception from commentators, many of whom view its platform as unacceptably extreme. While some proponents of VHEMT agree that extinction is the only solution and refrain from reproducing, others support the concept of population reduction but are not committed to total extinction. In response to VHEMT, some journalists and academics have argued that humans can develop sustainable lifestyles or can reduce their population to sustainable levels. Others maintain that, whatever the merits of the idea, humans will never voluntarily seek extinction due to their drive to reproduce.

History

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement was founded by Les U. Knight, a native of Portland, Oregon, who was raised in a large family. After becoming involved in the environmental movement as a college student in the 1970s, Knight attributed most of the dangers faced by the planet to human overpopulation. He then joined the Zero Population Growth organization and chose to get a vasectomy at age 25. He later concluded that the extinction of humanity would be the best solution to the Earth's environmental problems.

In 1991, Knight began publishing a VHEMT newsletter, known as These Exit Times. In the newsletter, he asked readers not to procreate, to further human extinction. The newsletter also contained a comic strip titled "Bonobo Baby", featuring a woman who forgoes childbearing in favor of adopting a bonobo. In 1996, Knight created a website for VHEMT; it was available in 11 languages by 2010. VHEMT's logo features the letter "V" (for Voluntary) and an inverted Earth.

Organization and promotion

VHEMT functions as a loose network rather than a formal organization, and does not compile a list of members. Daniel Metz of Willamette University stated in 1995 that VHEMT's mailing list had around 400 subscribers. Six years later, the Fox News Channel claimed that it had only 230 subscribers. Knight states that anyone who agrees with his ideology is a member of the movement; he claims that this includes "millions of people".

The group conducts outreaches at environmental conferences and events, including the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference. VHEMT has, however, primarily spread its message through coverage by media outlets, rather than events and its newsletter. Knight serves as the spokesman for the movement. VHEMT sells buttons and T-shirts, as well as bumper stickers that say "Thank you for not breeding". VHEMT promotes a more extreme ideology than Population Action International, a group that argues humanity should reduce—but not eliminate—its population to care for the Earth. However, the VHEMT platform is more moderate and serious than the Church of Euthanasia, which advocates population reduction by suicide and cannibalism.

Ideology

Knight argues that the current human population is far greater than the Earth can handle, and allowing humans to die out is the best thing that can be done for Earth's biosphere. This is due to his belief that humans are "incompatible with the biosphere", and that human existence is solely self-serving, lacking any ecological benefit. He argues that the vast majority of human societies have not lived sustainable lifestyles, and that attempts to live environmentally friendly lifestyles do not change the fact that human existence is harmful to the Earth. Human extinction is promoted on the grounds that it will prevent human suffering and the extinction of other species, which are increasingly threatened by the rise of the human population.

James Ormrod, a psychologist who profiled the group in the journal Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, claims that the "most fundamental belief" of VHEMT is that "human beings should stop reproducing", and that some people consider themselves members of the group but do not actually support human extinction. Knight, however, believes that even if humans become more environmentally friendly, they could still return to environmentally destructive lifestyles and thus should be eliminated. Residents of first world countries bear the most responsibility to change, according to Knight, as they consume a large proportion of resources. He admits that his group is unlikely to succeed, but contends that attempting to reduce the Earth's population is the only moral option.

Knight casts non-reproduction as an altruistic choice, characterizing it as a way to prevent involuntary future human suffering. He notes that many children die of preventable causes and claiming that non-reproduction would eventually allow humans to lead an idyllic lifestyle in an environment similar to the Garden of Eden. He maintains that the last remaining humans would be proud of their accomplishment. Other benefits of ceasing human reproduction that he cites include the abolition of abortion, war, and starvation. Reproduction is cast as a type of child abuse; Knight argues that the standard of human life will worsen if resources are consumed by a growing population rather than spent solving existing issues. He speculates that if people ceased to reproduce, they would use their energy for other pursuits, such as gardening, and suggests adoption and foster care for people who desire children.

Knight believes that animal species are more important than human accomplishments, such as art. He argues that species which are higher on the food chain are less important than lower species, and states that humans are therefore not very valuable to the planet. He draws his ideology in part from deep ecology, and sometimes refers to the Earth as Gaia. He notes that human extinction is unavoidable, and that it is better to become extinct soon to avoid concomitant extinctions. The potential for evolution of other organisms is also cited as a benefit.

VHEMT rejects governmentally mandated human population control programs and solely promotes the idea of voluntary reduction of the human population, supporting only the use of birth control and willpower to prevent pregnancies. The group notes that coercive tactics are unlikely to permanently lower the human population, maintaining that humanity is capable of surviving catastrophic wars, famines, and viruses. Though their newsletter's name recalls the suicide manual Final Exit, the idea of mass suicide is rejected, and they have adopted the slogan "May we live long and die out".

Knight believes that the concepts that he promotes have existed in some form throughout human history. Though the group does not take any overt political stances, Knight casts contemporary society as natalist, and notes that talking about population control is often seen as taboo.

Reception

Reception of Knight's idea in the mainstream media has been mixed. Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Gregory Dicum states that there is an "undeniable logic" to VHEMT's arguments, but he doubts whether Knight's ideas could succeed, arguing that many people desire to have children and cannot be dissuaded. Stephen Jarvis echoes this skepticism in The Independent, noting that VHEMT faces great difficulty due to the human reproductive drive. Guy Dammann applauds the goals of the movement as "laudable" and "magnificent" but similarly questions whether compassion for the planet could drive humans to voluntary extinction. Abby O'Reilly writes that because having children is frequently viewed as a measure of success, VHEMT's goals will be difficult to attain. In response to these arguments, Knight contends that though sexual desire is natural, human desire for children is culturally conditioned.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has criticized Knight's platform, arguing that the existence of humanity is divinely ordained. The Economist characterizes Knight's claim that voluntary human extinction is advisable due to limited resources as "Malthusian bosh". The paper admits that Knight's support for reduction of the human population based on compassion for the planet has some validity, but counters that it does not necessarily require extinction. However, the paper describes VHEMT as the "tentative sprouting of an idea which can transfigure humanity". The paper argues that voluntary extinction is a laudable goal, noting that extinction is unavoidable and characterizing voluntary extinction as the most peaceful and noble option. Ormrod claims that Knight "arguably abandons deep ecology in favour of straightforward misanthropy". He notes that Knight's claim that the last humans in an extinction scenario would have an abundance of resources promotes his cause based on "benefits accruing to humans". Ormrod sees this type of argument as counter-intuitive, arguing that it borrows the language of "late-modern consumer societies". He faults Knight for what he sees as a failure to develop a consistent and unambiguous ideology.

Brian Bethune writes in Maclean's that Knight's logic is "as absurd as it's unassailable". He doubts Knight's claim that the last survivors of the human race would have pleasant lives and suspects that a "collective loss of the will to live" would prevail. In response to Knight's platform, journalist Sheldon Richman argues that humans are "active agents" and can change their behavior. He contends that people are capable of solving the problems facing Earth. Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us, suggests a one child per family limit as a preferable alternative to abstinence from reproduction.

Katharine Mieszkowski of Salon.com recommends that childless people adopt VHEMT's arguments when facing "probing questions" about their childlessness. Writing in the Journal for Critical Animal Studies, Carmen Dell'Aversano notes that VHEMT seeks to renounce children as a symbol of perpetual human progress. She casts the movement as a form of "queer oppositional politics" because it rejects perpetual reproduction as a form of motivation. She argues that the movement seeks to come to a new definition of "civil order", as Lee Edelman suggested that queer theory should. Dell'Aversano believes that VHEMT fulfills Edelman's mandate because they embody the death drive rather than ideas that focus on the reproduction of the past.

Although Knight's organization has been featured in a book titled Kooks: A Guide to the Outer Limits of Human Belief, Oliver Burkeman from The Guardian notes that Knight comes across in conversation as "sane" and "self-deprecating". Philosophers Steven Best and Douglas Kellner view VHEMT's stance as extreme, but they note that the movement formed in response to what the group sees as extreme anthropocentrism.

See also

• Antinatalism
• Childfree
• Malthusian
• Misanthropy
• Negative Population Growth

Bibliography

• Best, Steven; Kellner, Douglas (2001). The postmodern adventure: science, technology, and cultural studies at the Third Millennium. Guilford Press. ISBN 978-1-57230-665-3. 
• Ormrod, James S. (2011). "'Making room for the tigers and the polar bears': Biography, phantasy and ideology in the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement". Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society 16 (2): 142–61. doi:10.1057/pcs.2009.30. 
• Weisman, Alan (2010). The World Without Us. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-1-4434-0008-4. 

External links

• The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
• Voluntary Human Extinction Movement blog (U.S.), (India)
• Les U. Knight's profile at Blogger.com
• Focus Earth: No More Children. Planet Green Videos. Discovery Communications. http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/focus-earth-no-more-children.html.  (An interview with Les U. Knight)
• Taking on the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. msnbc.com. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10339030/#.TyJS7jWXSWc.