Psigedelies en groen: Die invloed van Stephen Gaskin en sy hippiebeweging op omgewingsdenke in die VSA

Abstract

This article argues that the hippy movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, both in terms of its underlying philosophy and its practical lifestyle, made significant contributions to the environmental movement. The focus is on one specific hippy community, the followers of Stephen Gaskin, first in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco and later on The Farm at Summertown in Tennessee. Their views concerning the natural environment and how they put these views to practice in their day-to-day lifestyle are investigated. Of particular relevance is their use of drugs as a holistic sacrament and their lifestyle close to nature as a self-sustaining community in the countryside. It is concluded that traces of the impact of their outlook and their lifestyle on environmental thinking can still be observed in contemporary society.