ABSTRACT
The parallels between Illich’s political ecology and Bookchin’s social ecology go no further than the connection both draw between the emergence of an ideology of equality and the introduction of the premise of scarcity. There is a yawning abyss between their respective views on the true essence of human nature. Whereas Illich follows Girard in his definition of man as a thoroughly violent being, Bookchin takes the more cheerful view that man is naturally disposed to co-operate peacefully with others. This optimistic view is characteristic of the anarchist tradition to which Bookchin belongs and which he attempts to bring up to date by aligning it with the ecological body of thought.
