Animal Studies Journal

Abstract

Paola Cavalieri asks whether the animal rights/liberation (AR/L) movement should be ‘selfsufficient and self-reliant’,2 and develop ‘an autonomous presence both in the political arena and in the electoral process’3 rather than focusing on alliance building with the broader Left. Cavalieri’s hesitation about alliance-building is motivated by worries about diffusion and loss of focus, but also by the thought that ‘humanism leads the worse-off to cling to their humanity to the detriment of animals’. Thus, acting ‘as a full member of the family of social justice struggles’ will lead either to wasting energy on alliances that never materialize, or to watering down animal liberation’s radical aims in order to forge those alliances.

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