Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
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The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, or VHEMT (pronounced "vehement"[1]), is a movement which calls for the voluntary self-extinction of the human species. It was founded in 1991 in Portland, Oregon, by Les U. Knight.
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[edit] Basic concept
As summarized in Disinfo in 2001, the basic concept behind VHEMT is the belief that the Earth would be better off without humans, and as such, humans should refuse to breed.[2] Or, as the movement puts it: "The Movement presents an encouraging alternative to the callous exploitation and wholesale destruction of Earth's ecology. [...] the hopeful alternative to the extinction of millions of species of plants and animals is the voluntary extinction of one species: Homo sapiens... us. [...] When every human chooses to stop breeding, Earth's biosphere will be allowed to return to its former glory [...] the day there are no human beings on the planet."[1]
[edit] History
Les U. Knight, who is credited with giving the name Voluntary Human Extinction Movement to the philosophy,[1] is the owner of VHEMT.org, and is cited as the founder, de facto leader or "prime avatar" in different publications.[3][4]
However, some believe that this name clearly represents an ideal rather than an actual person, as Les U. Knight is a pseudonym, representing "Let's Unite".
[edit] Support
VHEMT recognizes two levels of support:
- "Volunteers" are people who believe in the VHEMT goal of eventual human extinction, and have decided to have no children (or no more, if they already have children).
- "Supporters" are people who believe that "intentional creation of one more of us by any of us is unjustifiable at this time, but extinction of our species goes too far".
VHEMT requests participants to declare which type of member they are, and the movement also requires the choice to be implicitly made.[5]
[edit] Interviews and media coverage
There has been some media coverage of the ideas of Knight and of VHEMT: in 2001, Knight appeared on Hannity & Colmes to present VHEMT's ideology. On the program, he stated that "as long as there's one breeding pair of Homo sapiens, there's too great a threat to the biosphere".[6] He also expressed no hope for voluntary human extinction, but stated that "it is the right thing to do".
Knight was also interviewed by MSNBC's Tucker Carlson, during which he debated with the host on the merits of the movement.[7] Knight stressed the movement's peaceful, nonviolent goals and reiterated that the movement's motivation is environmental protection.
[edit] Criticism
VHEMT spreads its message through the Internet, thus reaching mainly wealthier nations. A few of these countries already have fertility rates below the replacement rate and are thus already trending towards "human extinction", or at least a reduced population. However, according to VHEMT,[8] wealthier nations have the largest impact on world resources.
Transhumanists and other critics reject the VHEMT assumption that humans have ceased to be a part of nature. Instead they argue that nature has, through humanity, become conscious and self-reflective for the first time,[9] and that it is inconsistent for those who claim to value the biosphere to seek to extinguish one of its creations. Furthermore, as transhumanist Nick Bostrom has argued, only humanity is in a position to avert existential risks to the biosphere, such as asteroid impact.[10]
[edit] See also
[edit] Compare and contrast
- Anthropocentrism
- Biocentrism
- Childfree
- Church of Euthanasia
- Deep ecology
- Egoism
- Immortalism
- Natalism
- Nihilism
- Quiverfull
- Singularitarianism
- Survivalism
[edit] References
- ^ a b c VHEMT, "About the Movement", www.vhemt.org, accessed April 2009
- ^ http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id831/pg1/index.html (accessed 2007-04/15)
- ^ Beware the ecosexual | NEWS.com.au
- ^ Features : Radar Online : Appetite for Extinction
- ^ How to join VHEMT
- ^ Sean Hannity. Televised on Hannity & Colmes (FOX News Channel) "Should Humanity Let Itself Die Out?", August 14, 2001.
- ^ "Taking on the Human Extinction Movement". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10339030/.
- ^ http://vhemt.org/economics.htm#worse (accessed 2007-08-21)
- ^ Transhumanist FAQ
- ^ "Existential Risks Analyzing Human Extinction Scenarios and Related Hazards". Journal of Evolution and Technology 9. March 2002.
[edit] Further reading
- Kossy, Donna. "Voluntary Human Extinction Movement" in Kooks: A Guide to the Outer Limits of Human Belief, Los Angeles: Feral House, 2001 (2nd ed. exp. from 1994). (ISBN 978-0-922915-67-5)
[edit] External links
- Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
- Sui genocide The Economist, Dec 17th 1998
- Voluntary Human Extinction Movement at the Kooks Museum
