Why Animal Rights is the Next Frontier for the Left

Emily Atkin

...But if recent trends on the liberal-left are any indication, the stars may be re-aligning for the forces of reform to track a different historical course. Crucial elements of the contemporary progressive agenda—protecting the environment; protecting marginalized communities; rolling back the unfettered capitalist exploitation of the planet and its inhabitants; and expanding our understanding of what constitutes a victim—all overlap with the issue of animal rights. As those particular priorities claim center stage in ambitious proposals such as the Green New Deal, the question of what to do about animals will become central. More than that—it will be unavoidable...Thirty years later, a growing and increasingly vocal group of people beyond the movement proper don’t consider the idea so radical anymore. It’s still a minority viewpoint, but 32 percent of Americans believe animals should have similar protections as humans, according to a 2015 Gallup poll. That number is significantly higher than a 2008 survey finding that 25 percent of people held that belief. Thanks to an expansive nexus of interrelated moral and political concerns, the numbers seem poised to continue spiking, particularly among liberals. At the heart of that nexus is a tentative accord to bring animal rights and animal welfare into alignment with one another—together of course, with human rights and human welfare...

And a left-leaning publication, The New Republic, tells us why it will be the next frontier.