Instead of fixating on the United Nation’s Agenda 21 as a threat to American liberties, conservatives should articulate fiscally responsible, market-driven policies to address the very real challenges facing local governments in the United States.
by James A. Bacon
The anti-Agenda 21 movement, which views the United Nations as the prime mover behind local sustainability initiatives, is a growing force in many states and local governments across the United States. While anti-Agenda 21 theorists share some of the same language and principles as mainstream conservatives, they have little meaningful to contribute to the debate over environmental, transportation, land-use and property-rights issues. Their ill-documented conspiracy talk distracts from the kind of discussions that conservatives should be having. To govern effectively, conservative elected officials need to re-frame the debate over growth and development in a way that is forward-looking, grounded in hard facts and in line with conservative values.
The Anti-Agenda 21 Movement
Over the past few years, the anti-Agenda 21 cause has emerged from obscurity into a force capable of pushing resolutions through state legislatures. The movement is populist and decentralized — many adherents are ordinary citizens whose passions have been inflamed in local land-use disputes — although it does have the backing of the John Birch Society and talk show personality Glen Beck. In some states, Anti-Agenda 21 partisans have leveraged their influence by co-opting local Tea Parties and other groups sympathetic to property rights and limited government. Sometimes they find a sympathetic ear among conservative elected officials. But they also use aggressive means – packing public meetings, singling out politicians for vocal criticism – to intimidate local officials with more moderate views into going along.
Activists disseminate their views by means of speeches, books, websites, fliers, YouTube videos and social media. There is no definitive source for the anti-Agenda 21 movement. Most writing is impressionistic and scattershot. However, several themes do appear repeatedly in the literature.
(1) The Agenda 21 agreement adopted at the 1992 United Nations conference in Rio de Janeiro is the fountainhead of the global sustainability movement. The document provides a comprehensive plan for achieving “environmental sustainability” and “social justice” at the expense of property rights and individual liberties.
(2) Agenda 21 provides a blueprint for a radical restructuring of the American way of life. Social-engineering goals include returning much of North America back to a wild and natural state, herding Americans into dense urban centers, replacing single family dwellings with multifamily housing and phasing out the automobile in favor of bicycles and mass transit.
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