How to make a villain: Rachel Carson and the politics of anti-environmentalism

Abstract

This article explores the evolution of anti-Carson rhetoric. It argues that this rhetoric has evolved significantly over the past fifty years. Early critics of Silent Spring were primarily concerned with defending their vision of science from what they perceived as the threat embodied in Carson's ecological perspective. By the early twenty-first century, her main detractors were now neoliberal advocates of unfettered markets, who perceived in Carson a major reason for what they saw as related evils: environmentalism and an expanded state. These two sets of adversaries used distinct rhetorical strategies, corresponding to their different interests as well as to changing historical context. Across both eras, however, the perceived utility of Carson as an anti-heroine persisted.