Alternative Green

Alternative Green was a small British political and ecological magazine associated with the more heterodox and controversial currents of green anarchism. It emerged in 1991 after Richard Hunt left Green Anarchist following an editorial dispute over his support for British troops during the Gulf War and his favorable treatment of patriotism. Hunt had been a central figure in Green Anarchist, but disagreements within that publication’s editorial circles had already exposed a wider tension between pacifist, ecological, social-anarchist and more confrontational approaches. Alternative Green became the vehicle for Hunt’s own interpretation of green anarchism after the split. The publication rejected mainstream environmental politics and conventional left-wing class analysis, emphasizing opposition to capitalism, industrial modernity and the social effects of centralized economic systems. Its outlook developed toward rural decentralization, self-sufficient communities, local autonomy and a primitivist critique of urban-industrial society. In the late 1990s, Hunt expanded these ideas in the book To End Poverty: The Starvation of the Periphery by the Core, which presented global poverty as a consequence of economic demands imposed by wealthy industrial societies on the developing world. The book’s proposed alternative involved a return to small-scale communal organization and a radically decentralized social order. Alternative Green later became connected with Perspectives, a journal associated with the Transeuropa Collective. Perspectives had discussed European identities, autonomies and initiatives and had links to the cultural milieu around IONA, an organization that had emerged from the far-right National Front’s cultural activities. Through this connection, Alternative Green was drawn into debates involving national-anarchism and attempts to build alliances between ecological, anarchist and far-right anti-system currents. National-anarchist ideologue Troy Southgate encountered Hunt’s ideas through Perspectives and became an important contributor and later editorial figure around Alternative Green. Academic commentary has described the magazine as an intermediary platform in efforts to connect anti-capitalist ecological ideas with national-anarchist politics. Hunt’s association with the publication and with these political currents generated opposition from sections of the anarchist and green movements. He was denounced by critics as a fascist, some speaking engagements were cancelled, and some independent bookshops reportedly declined to stock the magazine. When Hunt became ill, editorial control passed to Southgate. Southgate edited one issue, after which Alternative Green was suspended and replaced by Terra Firma. The available reference material does not establish a precise final publication date, circulation figure, commercial structure or formal legal owner. Alternative Green is therefore best understood as a defunct political periodical rather than a conventional consumer brand.

Alternative Green developed out of the internal conflicts surrounding Green Anarchist, a British magazine founded in 1984 after the Stop the City protests. Green Anarchist initially brought together ecological campaigners, anarchists, anti-nuclear activists, animal-rights advocates and anarcho-punk participants. Its broad coalition eventually fractured over questions of pacifism, class politics, direct action and the legitimacy of violence. Richard Hunt was one of the publication’s important early figures. His political position increasingly diverged from other members of the Green Anarchist milieu. The decisive break came in 1991, after Hunt published an editorial expressing support for British troops in the Gulf War and praising patriotism. He left Green Anarchist and established Alternative Green as a separate publication reflecting his own version of green anarchism. Alternative Green’s politics centered on a severe critique of capitalism and industrial society. Hunt argued that economic relationships between wealthy industrial countries and the developing world produced poverty in the global periphery. His later book, To End Poverty: The Starvation of the Periphery by the Core, expanded these ideas and advocated a return to small-scale, rural and self-sufficient forms of communal life. The magazine’s outlook therefore combined ecological concerns with anti-capitalism, decentralization, primitivism and hostility toward urban-industrial modernity. During the later 1990s, Alternative Green became connected with Perspectives, a journal of the Transeuropa Collective. That connection placed Hunt’s work in a political environment concerned with European identities, regional autonomy and anti-globalization themes, but also linked to the legacy of IONA, a cultural association that had emerged from the far-right National Front. Troy Southgate encountered Hunt’s writings through Perspectives and became a prominent advocate of national-anarchist ideas. Scholarly accounts have treated Alternative Green as a bridge or contact point through which ecological and anarchist language was introduced into attempts to form alliances among otherwise marginal anti-system groups. These links provoked substantial controversy. Critics in green and anarchist circles rejected the publication’s associations with national-anarchism and far-right politics. Hunt was publicly denounced as a fascist, speaking engagements were cancelled, and some independent bookshops reportedly refused to carry Alternative Green. The controversy limited the magazine’s acceptance within established anarchist and ecological networks. Hunt later became ill and relinquished editorial control to Southgate. Southgate edited one issue, but Alternative Green was then suspended and replaced by Terra Firma. The reference material does not provide a confirmed circulation, publisher, headquarters, website, or exact date of cessation. Alternative Green consequently survives primarily as a subject in the history of fringe British ecological and anarchist publishing rather than as an active brand.

1. 1991Alternative Green is founded

   Richard Hunt left Green Anarchist after an editorial dispute over the Gulf War and patriotism and launched Alternative Green.

   Source
2. Alternative Green merges with Perspectives

   The magazine later merged with Perspectives, the journal of the Transeuropa Collective.

   Source
3. Editorial control passes to Troy Southgate

   Following Hunt’s illness, Southgate took editorial control and edited one issue.

   Source
4. Publication is suspended and replaced by Terra Firma

   Alternative Green was suspended after Southgate’s issue and replaced by a new publication titled Terra Firma.

   Source

A radical British political periodical positioned against capitalism, industrial modernity and centralized social organization, combining green-anarchist, primitivist and decentralist themes. In its later phase it became associated with national-anarchist networks and cross-spectrum anti-system politics.

• Alternative GreenPolitical magazine1991

  A British periodical focused on radical ecological politics, anti-capitalist analysis, decentralization and critiques of industrial society. Its later political environment overlapped with primitivist and national-anarchist currents.

• To End Poverty: The Starvation of the Periphery by the CorePolitical book

  Richard Hunt’s book-length development of arguments associated with Alternative Green. It attributed poverty in the global periphery to economic demands from the industrial core and proposed radically decentralized, rural and communal alternatives.

• 1991Hunt establishes an independent publicationStrategy

  Disagreements within Green Anarchist culminated in a dispute over an editorial supporting British troops in the Gulf War and praising patriotism.

  What changed. Richard Hunt left Green Anarchist and launched Alternative Green to promote his own green-anarchist position.

  Aftermath. The new magazine developed a distinct anti-capitalist, decentralist and primitivist orientation and later became connected with Perspectives.

  Source
• Alternative Green merges with PerspectivesM&A

  The publication became associated with the Transeuropa Collective’s journal Perspectives and its discussions of autonomy, European identity and anti-globalization politics.

  What changed. Alternative Green merged with Perspectives.

  Aftermath. The merger increased the publication’s association with national-anarchist political networks and contributed to controversy within green and anarchist circles.

  Source
• Editorial control passes to Troy SouthgateOther

  Richard Hunt became ill and relinquished control of the publication.

  What changed. Troy Southgate assumed editorial control and edited one issue.

  Aftermath. Alternative Green was suspended and replaced by Terra Firma.

  Source

• Association with national-anarchist and far-right political currentsControversy

  Alternative Green became connected to Perspectives and to political networks associated with national-anarchism and the legacy of IONA. The association led to denunciations of Hunt, cancelled speaking engagements and reported refusals by some independent bookshops to stock the publication.

  Source

• 1991Richard Hunt leaves Green Anarchist and launches Alternative Green

  Following an editorial dispute over a Green Anarchist editorial supporting British troops in the Gulf War and praising patriotism, Richard Hunt departed and began publishing Alternative Green.

  Product launchLeadership change
  Source
• Alternative Green becomes connected with Perspectives

  The magazine later merged with Perspectives, a journal associated with the Transeuropa Collective and debates over European identities, autonomy and decentralization.

  M&A
  Source
• Troy Southgate assumes editorial control after Richard Hunt's illness

  After Hunt became ill, editorial control passed to Troy Southgate. Southgate edited one issue before the publication was suspended and replaced by Terra Firma.

  Leadership changeProduct generation
  Source

1. Green Anarchist