Rene Dumont

Biography

Rene Dumont was born with Cambrai (19, allée Saint-Roch), on March 13rd 1904. His/her father was professor in Agriculture and his/her grandfather Agriculteur, his mother was director of the college of young girls of Arras during the 1st world war. He died on June 18th, 2001.

He is graduate agricultural engineer of the agronomic National institute (INA). Beginning its career with the Vietnam (1929), he revolts against the Colonialisme and returns to Paris to occupy the pulpit of professor of Agriculture compared (1933 - 1974) with the INA then with the agronomic National institute Paris-Oil cake (INA P-G).

Rene Dumont began his career by supporting the agricultural model of the time, based on the use of the fertilizing chemical and on the agricultural Machinisme. During the Second world war, he even wrote articles in the French Earth , controlled weekly magazine, like all the French press, by the government Collaboration nist of the Marshal Pétain and preaching the agricultural Corporatisme.

However, it was one of the first to denounce the damage resulting from the Green revolution and to fight against agriculture productivist. He was an expert with the the United Nations and FAO and is the author of about thirty works. Large traveller, he was specialist in the problems of the agricultural world in the underdeveloped Pays.

He supported in particular:

demographic control;
the saving energy;
international cooperation towards the Country in the process of development;
the protection and the remediation of the grounds.

Rene Dumont considered that the development was not a money problem, manure or seeds, but rather the resultant of a balance between the three. He supported that the relations between men and their fields primarily rested on the existing relations between the men themselves, the social relations constituting the bases on which an agriculture and an industrial development of quality rest. Lastly, he considered that the pillars supporting of social good relationships between the men rested on good relationships between the men and the women. He thus affirmed his belief in the importance of the emancipation of the woman within the framework of demographic control.

Dumont was one of the first to explain the consequences of what yet was not called the Mondialisation: demographic explosion , Productivisme, Pollution, Shantytown S, ditch growing between country of the South and country of North.

It was also the first to use the words Sustainable development.

In 1974 on the initiative of various groups and personalities (Friendly of the Earth, Pollution Not, Jean Carlier and the Journalist-writers for nature and ecology) Rene Dumont was selected to present itself to the consecutive presidential election to died of President Pompidou, as a first candidate ecologist. It did not matter the weak result of 1,32% of the votes, because it was only a question of using the media and particularly television to make known the thought ecologist in policy. Its sober service, relaxed, intelligent and original was a success because it opened the way with the ecology policy for a whole generation of young people who became aware of the limits of the planetary natural resources and of the nonsense of an exponential economic growth. Brice Lalonde was his campaign director electoral.

In advance over its time, most famous of the French, well-known agronomists for his red eternal pullover, surprised the French have while showing themselves with the Télévision with a Pomme and glass of Eau, to explain to them with very simple words how much these resources were invaluable and in danger. He predicted the impossible to circumvent rise in the price of the fuels.

The ecological Politique French founded by Dumont is against the Guerre, the Capitalisme, for solidarity between the people and fascinating of account the underdeveloped world. Some, however, consider that these roots are not sufficiently anchored in the major ecology.

Following its countryside, in June 1974, at the time of Bases of Montargis (Loiret), where meet the militants who had engaged in this one, will be founded the first organization of the Ecology policy of national scale: the Ecomovement.

Some see as a Rene Dumont the spiritual father of the party of the Verts, the Greens of which it supported the candidates with presidential regularly and who after his death founded a foundation bearing its name it always regarded as one as of theirs. It was surely a Humaniste of left, but especially a Mondialiste, and certainly a Altermondialiste; he was founding member of Attac.

Quotations

An indefinite growth is impossible, we have only one Ground, but a civilization of happiness is possible. The solutions exist, but the opinion is unaware of them because the current structures and the holders of the capacities economic and political there opposent.

Our living and working conditions continue to worsen and the social inequalities are accentuated. Multiple conflicts reflect this crisis situation. It can only worsen. It is a single system which organizes the exploitation of the workers and the degradation of life which puts in danger the whole ground. The blind growth takes account neither of the wellbeing, nor of the environnement.

One should not put all the environmental problems and of development on the same foot. There are priorities. The problems which touch the life of million, if not billion, individuals in the world must have the priorité.

Works

Voyages in France of an Agronomist (1951)
the Black Africa badly left (1962)
the Utopia or Death (1973)
the Agronomist of the hunger (1974)
strangled Africa (1980)
For Africa, I show in collaboration with Charlotte Paquet (1986)
an intolerable world: liberalism in question (1988)
Démocratie for Africa (1991)
This war dishonors us in collaboration with Charlotte Paquet (1992)

See too

Personalities of the Greens in France
Claude Bourguignon

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