Eco-Wars: Political Campaigns and Social Movements (review)

108 Rhetoric & Public Affairs is such a gifted political scientist, legal scholar and theorist, historian, and writer that the reader gets a superb sense of why any one discipline cannot fuUy teU the story of Nazis marching in Skokie. Ronald Kahn Oberlin College Eco- Wars: Political Campaigns and Social Movements. By Ronald T. Libby. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998; pp. xiv + 254. $45.00 cloth; $21.50 paper. The primary question Ronald T. Libby seeks to answer in this interesting and wen-researched book is stated on the back cover: "Can grassroots interest groups ever win the wars they wage against big business in America?" Libby, a professor of poUtical science at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, situates his argument clearly in opposition to much of the "conventional wisdom" concerning interest group politics, and does a fine job of convincing his readers that grassroots interest groups can wield considerable influence on government poUcy and pubüc debate. The book itself is organized around five soUd case studies. An introductory chapter lays out a brief literature review regarding interest group poUtics and social movements and defines the various terms used in his case studies. The stated purpose of the book is to "examine the strategies and political influences of the most recent generation of interest groups in American pontics" (1). Libby labels this most recent generation of interest groups "expressive groups," a term borrowed from T. Alexander Smith. Expressive groups are interest groups that tend to focus on non-economic, post-materiaUst, or quality-of-life concerns such as the environment, animal rights, and other moral issues. Rather than rely on such conventional behind-the-scenes interest group strategies as lobbying, bargaining, and compromise, expressive groups most often employ "emotive symbolization" to appeal pubUcly to the pohticians and the people. Much of the introduction seems to focus on estabUshing these expressive groups as underdogs. Libby explains how such groups have been dismissed by poUtical and economic theorists as marginal, while their power has been generaUy underestimated by industry groups. The author sets up a conflict between the critics of expressive interest groups—who argue that they paralyze the poUtical process through their unwillingness to compromise and wiUingness to sensationalize—whereas the advocates of such groups believe that they represent a "vital historical link in the democratic process by converting the wishes of ordinary citizens into government poücies" (3). Though outwardly objective, the work does seem to reveal a slight bias toward the latter perspective. The clear strength of the work is the individual case studies. Five relatively recent conflicts are examined, and each case study is based on primary research by the author, including interviews with many of the principals on every side of the issue. Book Reviews 109 Chapter two examines the campaign against biotechnology firms and genetic engineering , particularly the use of bovine somatotropin (BST) to increase the average milk output of dairy cows. Chapter three examines the conflict between animal rights groups and agribusiness interests concerning the humane treatment of farm animals, and focuses on a particular unsuccessful campaign waged in Massachusetts in 1988 by the Coalition to End Animal Suffering and Exploitation (CEASE). Chapter four turns to the debates concerning a 1990 CaUfornia initiative (Proposition 128) that was known as Big Green, the "most ambitious environmental legislation ever proposed in the United States" (94). Despite heavy support from Hollywood celebrities, the expressive group known as Campaign California was unable to secure passage of the legislation. Chapter five explores the successful campaign by the Coalition for Healthy Californians against a coalition of tobacco companies concerning secondhand smoke in 1994. Lastly, chapter six analyzes the conflict between property rights advocates and environmental groups concerning the Endangered Species Act. Rather than detail the exploits of an environmental interest group, this last case study primarily examines the tactics of the grassroots property rights movement group led by Chuck Cushman in the 1990s. Each case study begins with an introduction of the broader issue that clearly situates it within the literature. The author then introduces the various expressive groups, social movement organizations, industry groups, political actors, and nonmovement aUies on each side of the particular debates, and presents a...