WATCH: Animal Welfare v. Animal Rights Under Modern Capitalism

Uploaded July 16, 2014

“The sense of urgency is rising in proportion to the severity of the crisis. Increasingly, calls for legislative change, moderation, compromise, and taking the slow march through the institutions can be seen as grotesquely inadequate, as growing numbers of people gravitate toward more radical tactics of change. ‘Reasonableness’ and ‘moderation’ in the current situation seem to be entirely unreasonable and immoderate, as ‘extreme’ and ‘radical’ actions appear simply as necessary and appropriate.”- Dr. Steven Best

This is a video recording of the talk given by Dr. Steven Best in the opening plenary panel at the US National Animal Rights Conference, on July 10, 2014. Dr. Best was asked to speak on the meaning of animal rights, and he contrasted it to animal welfare, contextualized both in the setting of modern capitalism, and underscored the subversive and revolutionary nature of animal rights. We hope you enjoy it.