Talk:Pentti Linkola

The entry for Pentti Linkola is prejudicial and judgemental. The reference to "Bob Phelps" is unhelpful and appears designed to categorize Linkola in a way that may suit the author of this article, but which is not necessarily how Linkola would see himself. I examined the linked article on "hard greens". This too is unnecessarily judgemental and is written in a way that discourages discussion or improvement. I did attempt to alter the entry on Linkola based on my careful reading of his book "Can Life Prevail?", but my edits were promptly reversed. I find this odd, as the existing entry does not indicate a first-hand familiarity with Linkola's thought and writings. Can we please have an openness to a more rational, fuller discussion of Pentti Linkola's views? &mdash; Unsigned, by: Myrmecia / talk / contribs
 * Quit complaining about how the article offends your sensibilities and start talking about exactly how it is inaccurate; you might get more of an audience that way. (You will also note that I put most of your edit back in the article.) 06:06, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

I personally think the bad guy in Ghost Protocol must have an avatar in the real world. This sounds exactly like him. Wehpudicabok (talk) 00:02, 20 July 2012 (UTC)

This article does not represent fairly Linkolas ideology, writings or character. It quote-mines, misrepresents and has ad hominem characterizations. In general, while controversial, he represents a choice of cutting back either consumerism OR population, the rationale being that current population can not sustain current rate of consumption of natural resources. He does not advocate "complete de-industrialization", this is a clear factual error. Also "even most other hard greens want nothing to do with him" is false statement, as he is higly regarded, if not controversial character in many green movements. He was one of the main figures at the start of the Finnish green movement in the early '80s. Later he is the founder of Luonnonperintösäätiö / The Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Nature_Heritage_Foundation, http://luonnonperintosaatio.fi/english/index). While Linkola considers himself an atheist, he is a favored speaker within the evangelic lutherian church of Finland (in Finnish: http://evl.fi/EVLUutiset.nsf/0/B628F16DEEF92E5FC2257D38003EAA92?opendocument&lang=FI) when matters of environmental protection are discussed (the church owns large amounts of forest). Quote "If there were a button I could press, I would sacrifice myself without hesitating, if it meant millions of people would die." is taken out of context. He was asked in an interview that if population is a problem, should he not kill himself? Linkola answered with the quote, meaning that killing himself would be pointless without a notable effect. He then eloborated that he did not believe people killing themselves would resolve the problems of overpopulation. Linkola is also a notable pacifist (see for example: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16059849-is-nmaan-ja-ihmisen-puolesta---mutta-ei-ket-n-vastaan). All in all this article is a parody of sensational journalism.


 * I must add that while Linkola really is generally quite respected albeit controversial thinker in Finland and he is "allowed" to go over the top while discussing environmental issues, the current green movement has little to do with his philosophy or views. The Green Party especially is sometimes called The Parks and Recreation Dept. of National Coalition Party (which is a market liberal party) because most of their supporters are wealthy, young city-dwellers who, while seemingly concerned about environment, are quite detached from it. They live in the capital, near the city centre and value exciting nightlife, fine-dining restaurants, trendy gyms and services and shops selling American clothing and goods.


 * They differ from National Coalition voters in that they are a bit younger, more concerned about various minorities and the disadvantaged and they especially support Big Business projects which seem "green", like skycrapers, shopping malls and public transport systems to draw more people to the capital from the countryside. They generally support the privatization of public services, as they believe that various IT industry innovations (smart phone apps etc.) provided by the "responsible" private sector will make them better. Linkola has been a harsh critic of the Green Party in Finland almost from the start, viewing it as too city-centered, occupied by young technocrats and market liberals and meddling too much with the human rights issues. JJohannes (talk) 14:31, 30 August 2016 (UTC)