Scott Nearing
Scott Nearing was a prominent American peace activist, social justice advocate, and conservationist, known for his significant contributions to various reform movements throughout the early to mid-20th century. Born into a family with strong educational values, he pursued a diverse academic path, earning degrees in oratory and science from the University of Pennsylvania. Nearing's career included teaching at prestigious institutions, where he became increasingly involved in social and political causes, notably joining the Socialist Party and promoting pacifism during World War I.
His influential works, including "The Great Madness" and "Living the Good Life," reflected his critiques of war, pollution, and social injustices, resonating particularly during the counterculture movements of the 1960s. After moving to Vermont in 1932, Nearing and his wife, Helen, embraced sustainable living, developing organic gardens and handcrafted structures, and sharing their philosophies with others. Their final home in Maine has since become the Good Life Center, dedicated to continuing Nearing's legacy of promoting sustainable living and social reform. Nearing's life and work remain a testament to the intertwining of environmentalism, social justice, and personal integrity.
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Subject Terms
Scott Nearing
Fiction and Nonfiction Writer
- Born: August 6, 1883
- Birthplace: Morris Run, Pennsylvania
- Died: August 24, 1983
- Place of death: Harborside, Maine
Biography
Peace activist, promoter of social justice, and conservationist Scott Nearing was the oldest of six children born to Louis Nearing, an engineer and often absent father, and Mine (Zabriskie) Nearing, an intelligent woman who educated her children at home until their high school years. Nearing’s paternal grandfather was a leading figure in the coal mining town of Morris Run, Pennsylvania, but this seemed to have little effect on Nearing. He began working in the lumberyards and sawmills during childhood, and after his family’s move to Philadelphia in 1896, he enrolled at Central Manual Training High School.
Nearing began attending the University of Pennsylvania in 1902 and found himself intrigued by the controversies between corrupt politicians and liberal reformers. Meeting economics professor Simon Patten greatly influenced the young man, who began examining his ways of critical thinking, or of not critical thinking. Nearing decided to pursue a teaching career and enrolled in public speaking courses at Temple University while pursuing his economics degree at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1905 he received bachelor’s degrees in both oratory and science. He joined reform movements such as the Pennsylvania Child Labor Committee and the Philadelphia Ethical Society and rented land in Harvey, Delaware, for a house and garden in a community called Arden, home to many socialists.
Nearing married Nellie Marguerite Seeds, a high school acquaintance and a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, in June 1908. Seeds was an intellectual reformer who fought against child labor and participated in feminist endeavors. Nearing earned his Ph.D. in economics in 1909 and joined the faculty of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, also teaching sociology at Temple University for supplementary income. At the same time, he began prolifically producing books and articles. His Ph.D. thesis, Social Adjustment, appeared in 1911. He and Nellie collaborated on Woman and Social Progress: A Discussion of the Biologic, Domestic, Industrial and Social Possibilities of American Women, published in 1912. Their son, John, was born in 1913.
Nearing was surprised when the Wharton School failed to renew his teaching contract in 1915; the trustees disliked Nearing’s political and social leanings, including his pacifism and vocal critiques of child labor. He then taught at the Rand School of Social Science in Baltimore and the University of Toledo, where he was dean of arts and sciences. In 1917, Nearing joined the Socialist Party, moved to New York City, and was elected chair of the People’s Council for Peace and Democracy. The next year, he and the American Socialist Society were indicted under the Espionage Act following publication of Nearing’s two books denouncing war, The Great Madness: A Victory for the American Plutocracy (1917) and The Menace of Militarism (1917). Nearing eventually was acquitted of the charges.
Nearing continued to actively participate in social reforms. He separated from Nellie in 1925 and began a lifelong romantic relationship with Helen Knothe, who would become his wife in 1947, after Nellie’s death. In 1932, Nearing and Helen moved from New York City to a Vermont farmhouse and spent twenty years there, developing organic gardens and handcrafted buildings and practicing their commitment to sustainable living, which they advocated and taught. In 1952, they built their final stone home in Maine. Nearing’s best-known work was written with Helen; Living the Good Life: How to Live Sanely and Simply in a Troubled World appeared in 1954 and became a bestseller in the 1960’s. Sharply critical of pollution and degradation of the earth and natural resources, Nearing’s books on these topics inspired readers, and thousands of visitors visited his and Helen’s farms. The couple’s last hand-built home in Harborside, Maine, is now the site of the Good Life Center, which aims to spread the social philosophies and ways of sustainable living promoted by the Nearings.