The idea that human liberation and animal liberation must advance together suggests that the freedom of one is inherently linked to the freedom of the other. However, the term “human liberation” might be more accurately framed as “social justice,” as it specifically highlights the challenges and struggles faced by oppressed human groups. Promoters of collective liberation argue that addressing these interconnected systems of oppression simultaneously can lead to a more comprehensive and just society. However, while this perspective seeks to merge different struggles against oppression, it fails to acknowledge the distinct and immediate need for animal liberation and the fundamentally different nature of human oppression and animal exploitation. In this article, we will debunk the notion of collective liberation and emphasize the unique urgency of addressing animal liberation independently.
Human Oppression and Animal Expoitation: Distinct Struggles, Not Collective Liberation
Human oppression encompasses systemic discrimination, social inequality, and human rights violations. Some human communities face various forms of oppression, including systemic discrimination such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination embedded within societal structures, laws, and institutions.
Social inequality manifests in economic disparity, lack of political representation, and limited social mobility.
Human rights violations include political persecution, censorship, wrongful imprisonment, and atrocities caused by conflicts, wars, and genocides driven by cultural and ideological differences.
These forms of oppression are systemic and pervasive, affecting millions of people worldwide and perpetuating cycles of disadvantage, exclusion, and killing.
Animal Expoitation: Unlike the oppression faced by marginalized and oppressed human communities, animals are exploited for food, clothing, entertainment, and other purposes.
Animals are bred into existence as commodities, controlled, used, and killed solely for human purposes, with no regard for their well-being. Animals raised for food endure a unique and harrowing form of suffering, often experiencing abnormalities due to genetic modification and selective breeding.
Most farmed animals are forcibly impregnated and separated from their offspring shortly after birth, confined in factory farms, where they live in crowded cages and restrictive pens within large warehouses, often never seeing sunlight until they are transported to slaughterhouses. In these dire conditions, animals are frequently mutilated without anesthetics, enduring immense pain and stress. The appalling living environments lead to hundreds of millions of animals worldwide dying from deformities, diseases, starvation, and aggression from other animals trapped in the same stressful, crowded conditions.
Dairy mammals are hooked up to painful machines that continuously suck their milk, which was initially meant for their calves.
Additionally, fish are dragged from the ocean, valued by their weight rather than their numbers, and suffer by suffocating or being crushed under the weight of other fish in nets. Pets are bred and sold as toys, suffering from genetic abnormalities caused by irresponsible breeding practices. Animals are exploited for various human purposes, including entertainment, clothing, and testing. Practices such as using animals in circuses, zoos, and rodeos and horseback riding for entertainment, breeding animals for fur and leather, and subjecting animals to painful experiments in laboratories for testing further exemplify the wide-ranging exploitation they face.
These animals suffer not for our survival or necessity, but for mere financial gains, taste pleasure, entertainment, and fashion.
Animal liberation is a movement focused on freeing animals from exploitation, cruelty, and enslavement at the hands of humans.
Debunking the Notion of Human Liberation & Collective Liberation
Human oppression and animal exploitation are fundamentally different. Human oppression often involves systemic discrimination, social inequality, and human rights violations, while animal exploitation involves the physical and psychological suffering of non-human beings for human benefit. Recognizing these differences is essential for understanding why both movements can and should progress independently. Throughout history, various movements have independently progressed, such as the abolition of slavery, the fight for women’s rights, and the civil rights movement. Each of these movements advanced without waiting for other injustices to be addressed first. Similarly, animal liberation can progress alongside human oppression, as history shows that social justice movements do not need to wait for each other to achieve progress. According to a document from the UK Government’s Social Development Research Centre, social movements have historically progressed independently. For example, the movement to end the transatlantic slave trade began in the 16th century, the women’s suffrage movement emerged in the late 19th century, and the civil rights movement gained momentum in the mid-20th century. Each of these movements advanced their causes without waiting for other injustices to be resolved first.
Breaking Speciesism: Challenging the Ideology of Human Supremacy
The belief in human supremacy over animals is widely held, even among oppressed human populations. This pervasive ideology often leads to the justification of animal exploitation, reinforcing speciesism and perpetuating the cycle of cruelty and exploitation. Recognizing and challenging this belief in human supremacy is crucial for achieving a society that values all sentient beings equally, as human supremacy and the idea that humans come first are barriers that must be dismantled to achieve comprehensive justice. When we succeed in breaking speciesism and the belief that human lives are worth more than those of other species, we challenge the fundamental mindset of superiority and domination. This shift can help eliminate all other forms of discrimination, as it encourages a more inclusive and compassionate worldview that values all sentient beings morally. Breaking speciesism and rejecting the belief in human supremacy over animals is a transformative step towards a more just and equitable world.
Conclusion
While the idea of collective liberation aims to address interconnected systems of oppression, it is crucial to recognize the distinct and immediate need for animal liberation as a separate and urgent cause. Human oppression and animal exploitation, though interconnected, are fundamentally different in nature. The animal liberation movement strives to end animal exploitation and cruelty by advocating for the fundamental rights of animals not to be used for human benefit, promoting veganism, and raising awareness about the ethical implications of animal exploitation. Similarly, social justice focuses on addressing the challenges and struggles faced by oppressed human groups, highlighting the need for equitable treatment and opportunities.
It is essential for the animal liberation movement to progress independently in order to address the unique and urgent need to dismantle human supremacy and free animals from exploitation at the hands of humans.
Recommended Reads: https://choosecompassion.net/brain-tune/human-supremacy-over-animals-a-dangerous-ideology/
