The importance of criticism

Recently, some members raised questions about the role of criticism in vegan activism. I believe continual critical reflection is necessary to build a strong foundation for our beliefs and to improve the effectiveness of our actions.

Critically examining our ideas

If we don’t critically examine our ideas, we will not be responsive to new experiences that contradict our old ideas. We can choose to cling desperately to our ideas even as evidence to the contrary mounts, or we can choose to accept the uncertainty of not knowing and learn from our new experiences.

As I have written about previously, it was precisely the constant challenge of a skeptical public that forced me to understand the insufficiency of suffering as a basis for veganism. Accepting the reality of the repeated failure of my arguments allowed me to ask, “Why aren’t people convinced by the argument? Why can’t I refute their logic? Is there a problem with my logic?” This inquiry helped deepen my understanding of veganism and helped me become a more effective, confident advocate in the process.

My experience showed me that even if we don’t question our beliefs, the public certainly will and they will focus on the weaknesses in our ideas. We may as well proactively address them ourselves before the public forces us to.

Critically examining our actions

If we don’t critically examine our actions, we won’t have any basis for evaluating whether or not our efforts are effective in helping us reach our goals. If we instead rely on guesswork and wishful thinking, it’s easy for us to fool ourselves into believing we are effective when, in fact, we are not. Rather than mistake hard work for progress, we can choose to think honestly about what we do and become more effective advocates by learning from this process.

As an example, the animal welfare corporation I used to work for promotes leafleting as the single most effective action we can take as individuals to inspire people to switch to plant-based diets. They claim that 2.5% of people who receive their booklets will switch to a vegetarian diet. However, critical thinking allows us to look at the actual results of leafleting with their literature (e.g., out of 6,000 people who received booklets at one concert, only one wrote in requesting a vegetarian starter guide) and ask the questions, “Is leafleting really as effective as I was told? Could we do a better job in tracking our total impact? How might leafleting be made more effective? What are the weaknesses to leafleting? When is leafleting effective? When is it not? Are there other forms of activism that may be more effective? Why would this corporation offer an obviously incorrect claim on their web site?”

Facing our fears

My experience of being challenged on anti-suffering veganism was unpleasant. Not only was the atmosphere contentious, but there was the added fear that maybe I was wrong all this time and that all the work I had been doing and sacrifices I had made would not yield the progress I had thought they would.

Having experienced this fear, I understand why the leadership of the animal welfare movement is so scared of challenges. The fear is so strong that they instinctively reject any criticism and often react by personally attacking those bringing up concerns as a way to avoid addressing the criticism. While understandable, this is unfortunate, as it results in an insular community that values the false comfort of self-deception over the continued critical analysis necessary for effective advocacy.

Criticism is valuable because it offers us the choice to face the fears that we might not choose to face on our own. If we opt to consider the criticism, we have the opportunity to test and refine our understanding and thereby develop a stronger, more confident, deeper understanding of the issues. It helps us pierce the bubble of complacency that forms when we listen only to opinions that match our own. And it helps us move from a reactive doing that may be satisfying but not necessarily effective to a thoughtful, considered action more likely to advance our goals.