>>1769514basically in the early 20th there were 3 camps;
1, the capitalists/industrialists that wanted zero gov protections and unlimited ability to extract resources
2, the preservationists who wanted zero industrializing in any wilderness areas, and even protection from recreation, with the goal of keeping all non developed areas as free from human activity as possible
and 3, the conservationists, with john muir, who argued for a middle position, but with an emphasis on encouraging recreation to inspire a culture of love of wilderness. they end up winning because the preservationists were too strict and because muir won the public campaign against the capitalists with his writings and friendship with teddy
its hard and stupid to try to imagine how muir would feel nowadays, but at least back then he wanted to get people out to special places to get them to want to protect them,
