Green narratives

The purpose of this study is to examine why, despite environmental organizations’ efforts to diversify their interests to better address issues important to the lower and working classes, perceptions of environmentalists as elitist and highly effective at achieving their goals persist in modern politics. Given the persistence of negative perceptions of environmentalists, it is crucial for historians to examine who benefits from such mischaracterizations. Most scholars agree that allegations of elitism among environmental activists continue to be “a major influence on the credibility and viability of environmentalism.”