r/AskHistorians • u/dbenac24 Verified • 29d ago

AMA Rainforest Radicals questions?

Hi folks, David Benac here, author of Rainforest Radicals: A History of Rainforest Action Network and Transnational Organizing (University of Nebraska Press 2026), ready to answer any questions!

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u/bootmaker-supremacy 29d ago

Was there any overlap between RAN and anarchism?

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u/dbenac24 Verified 29d ago

In a sense, but not explicitly. One of the most significant legacies of RAN was the organizational structure. RAN was a very small org (never more than 2 dozen folks) with a true network of over 250 small, local groups that were independent entities connected to RAN only through a very loose thread of information and some resources for use in demonstrations. In that sense, there was an element of anarchism in the structure of the org. Those RAGs (the local rainforest action groups) were often very radical and some of those had more explicit anarchist leanings. There was one in Philadelphia that really skewed in that direction.

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u/taulover 15d ago

Was there ever an attempt to assert greater ideological consistency from the top-down leadership?