"I think an old style of addressing environmental problems is ebbing, but the rise of the so-called conservative, political movement in this country is not a trend towards the future but a reaction to this very broad shift that we are undergoing"

Paul Hawken observes a changing paradigm in the approach to environmental issues. He contends that traditional methods, perhaps characterized by incremental adjustments, regulatory measures, or isolated technical fixes, are fading in relevance. There is an implicit recognition that environmental challenges require fresh frameworks, likely more systemic, holistic, and rooted in a deeper understanding of interconnectedness. This transition signals not just superficial policy tweaks, but a profound shift in how society conceptualizes its relationship to nature and responsibility toward future generations.

Amidst this transformation, Hawken identifies the rise of a conservative political movement as a significant, yet reactionary, force. Rather than representing a genuine vision for future environmental stewardship, this movement appears to resist or push back against emerging ideas that challenge the status quo. The implication is that the conservative surge serves as a kind of defensive mechanism, a social and political reaction to the discomfort caused by rapid change, rather than a thoughtful engagement with the realities of environmental degradation and planetary health.

His use of the phrase “not a trend towards the future but a reaction” underscores this idea. The conservative resurgence is contextualized as a retrenchment, clinging to older paradigms and resisting the evolution toward new, perhaps more sustainable, modes of thinking and acting. This is not unusual in periods of rapid social or environmental change: when dominant cultural narratives are threatened, counter-movements often arise to reassert traditional values or structures.

Thus, Hawken’s observation is both diagnostic and prophetic. He sees a profound shift in environmental consciousness driving new approaches, even as established interests mobilize to defend familiar patterns. The larger arc, however, is one of transformation. Resistance may slow or complicate progress, but it does not alter the underlying momentum toward a more integrated, responsive, and forward-looking way of addressing environmental challenges.