Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement

Rating:
Summary: Take another look at this book.
Review: -- IT'S 2001. The "modern animal rights movement" is a quarter-century old. How far have the advocates for more humane policies come?

We are killing well over 9 billion animals for food each year in the U.S. alone (a significant increase from 1996, when this book was published). Leaders in the animal advocacy community are praising the virtues of fast-food burger joints, displaying Playboy magazines to Congressmembers to get their points across -- whatever those points might be -- and even condoning sex with the family pet as the antidotes to speciesism. The current malaise in which the community finds itself was predicted with striking foresight and accuracy five years ago, in this book.

Anyone who is interested in how to effectively strive for social justice and non-human rights might want to take another look at Rain Without Thunder. Upon a second reading, I'm finding it important on a level I could not have appreciated five years ago, simply due to the dynamics (or antics) of the current advocacy movement.

Moreover, the books deals with the incrementalist approach to liberation in a way that is historically sound. The more one reads about abolitionist history, the more one appreciates the integrity of this book.

Now more than ever, this is an essential book for serious advocates of non-human rights and social justice.

Rating:
Summary: Take another look at this book.
Review: -- IT'S 2001. The "modern animal rights movement" is a quarter-century old. How far have the advocates for more humane policies come?

We are killing well over 9 billion animals for food each year in the U.S. alone (a significant increase from 1996, when this book was published). Leaders in the animal advocacy community are praising the virtues of fast-food burger joints, displaying Playboy magazines to Congressmembers to get their points across -- whatever those points might be -- and even condoning sex with the family pet as the antidotes to speciesism. The current malaise in which the community finds itself was predicted with striking foresight and accuracy five years ago, in this book.

Anyone who is interested in how to effectively strive for social justice and non-human rights might want to take another look at Rain Without Thunder. Upon a second reading, I'm finding it important on a level I could not have appreciated five years ago, simply due to the dynamics (or antics) of the current advocacy movement.

Moreover, the books deals with the incrementalist approach to liberation in a way that is historically sound. The more one reads about abolitionist history, the more one appreciates the integrity of this book.

Now more than ever, this is an essential book for serious advocates of non-human rights and social justice.

Rating:
Summary: Only if you have trouble sleeping.
Review: First, this is a book for the anointed. Those who don't already think cows deserve personhood need not bother; there's absolutely nothing here that will convince you. For anyone left: Written in wandering, equivocal academic speak and crushingly redundant, this is a book that took 230 pages to say what could have been said in ten, and still failed to say much at all. Synopsis: "Animals are persons, too. 'Mainstream' animal rights groups aid animal 'exploiters' because they still behave as if animals are, well, animals. 'Mainstream' animal rights groups are also sexist because they only throw red paint on women. We must demand an immediate end to institutionalized animal use. We'd be silly to expect an immediate end to institutionalized animal use. We must demand incremental changes within the 'all animal use must end' paradigm. I don't know how, but let's talk." Unless you'd like to give this book to someone too comfortable with the state of higher education - Mr. Francione is a law professor at Rutgers - I'd strongly suggest you save your money. If you must read it, take mine. Please.

Rating:
Summary: Crucial for Animal Rights Advocates
Review: If you have embraced the idea that all sentient beings have fundamental rights--particularly the right not to be used exclusively as a resource--and have made the step to advocating on their behalf, this is the most important book you will ever read on the subject. Gary L. Francione's _Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement_ literally woke me up and gave me the resources I needed to avoid the seriously harmful strategy of animal welfare and new welfare. Before reading it, I took part in "bigger cages" campaigns, thought that such advocacy was helpful in the short term and had a very strong desire to continue to do so. After reading Francione's extremely compelling theoretical arguments, empirical evidence and well evidenced practical implications of different advocacy methods, I had no choice but to reject welfarism and new-welfarism in favor of a clearly defined concept of animal rights. In a nutshell, Francione's central thesis in _Rain Without Thunder_ is as follows:

In everyday language with respect to human animals, the word "welfare" has very good connotations. However, in the areas of _law_ and _institutional policy_ with respect to non-human animals, words like "welfare," "humane," "care," "unnecessary suffering," and so on only mean _one_ thing. Namely, they mean that the interests of non-human animals will be protected only to the extent necessary to exploit them in an economically efficient manner. For example, in law and policy, the welfare of a pig not to starve is protected because it is necessary to feed the pig in order to get her or his meat. The same is necessarily true of every animal welfare law and regulation. Therefore, any advocacy that attempts to achieve animal rights and the abolition of animal exploitation in the long-term by using the supposedly short-term strategy of trying to pass welfare regulations achieves only _one_ thing. Namely, if those measures are implemented, it will be further ensured that the only interests of non-human animals that will ever be protected are those that are required to exploit them efficiently. In other words, the supposed "success" of implementing a welfare measure only further ensures that the interests of other animals that are not required to exploit them efficiently will *always* be violated in the most abhorrent ways imaginable. In short, welfare measures *only* harm non-human animals and never help them.

Again, before I read Francione's arguments and evidence, I found his claim to be counter-intuitive. If this describes your views on the subject, for the sake of non-human animals who are exploited everywhere, I urge you to read and seriously consider _Rain Without Thunder_. Francione offers an excellent practical alternative to welfarist advocacy that, if followed, will further the rights of other animals on a workable *incremental* basis. As an animal rights advocate, I am extremely grateful that this book exists.

Rating:
Summary: Important book for the modern animal rights activist.
Review: In "Rain Without Thunder," Francione discusses the emergence of "new welfarists" who are doing the animals more harm than good. He meticulously lays out why animal welfare cannot lead to animal liberation. And argues a need for change. This book is a must read for all animal rights activists. Unfortunately you won't see it carried by mainstream "animal rights" (which GF calles the "new welfarists")organizations, because it is much too controversial!

Rating:
Summary: An important and controversial book for animal activists
Review: Rain Without Thunder is a penetrating look at howanimal rights activism without a clear understandingof important philosophical differences between animal rights and animal welfare has led to ineffective strategies which, Francione argues, serve only to more deeply entrench the speciesist paradigms that lead to animal oppression. Francione's insights are important not only for animal rights activists, but for everyone working for social justice. The first truly original animal rights book I have seen in a long time. Read it!

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: This book is a must read for anyone who considers themselves a supporter of animal rights. Francione powerfully argues that the animal rights movement has spiraled down into a animal welfare movement--a movement that has failed horribly in the past. Please read this!