Green politics
Green politics on the whole is opposed to nuclear power and the buildup of persistent organic pollutants, supporting adherence to the precautionary principle, by which technologies are rejected unless they can be proven to not cause significant harm to the health of living things or the biosphere. In Germany and Sweden programs have been initiated to shut down all nuclear plants (known as nuclear power phase-out).
In the spirit of nonviolence, Green politics opposes the War on Terrorism and the curtailment of civil rights, focusing instead on nurturing deliberative democracy in war-torn regions and the construction of a civil society with an increased role for women.
Although Greens in the United States "call for an end to the 'War on Drugs'" and "for decriminalization of victimless crimes", they also call for developing "a firm approach to law enforcement that directly addresses violent crime, including trafficking in hard drugs" [15] .
Green platforms generally favor tariffs on fossil fuels, restricting genetically modified organisms, and protections for ecoregions or communities. In keeping with their commitment to the preservation of diversity, greens are often committed to the maintenance and protection of indigenous communities, languages, and traditions. An example of this is the Irish Green Party's commitment to the preservation of the Irish Language.[16]
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Currents
Green politics is usually said to include the green anarchism, eco-anarchism, anti-nuclear and peace movements - although these often claim not to be aligned with any party. Some claim it also includes feminism, pacifism and the animal rights movements. Most Greens support special policy measures to empower women, especially mothers; to oppose war and de-escalate conflicts and stop proliferating technologies useful in conflict or likely to lead to conflict, and such radical measures as Great Ape personhood.
Greens on the Left adhere to Eco-socialism, an ideology that combines ecology, environmentalism, socialism and Marxism to criticise the capitalist system as the cause of ecological crises, social exclusion, inequality and conflict. Many Green Parties are not avowedly eco-socialist but most Green Parties around the world have or have had a large Eco-socialist membership. This has led some on the right to refer to Greens as "watermelons" — green on the outside, red in the middle.[17]
Despite this stereotype, some centrist Greens follow more geo-libertarian views which emphasize natural capitalism — and shifting taxes away from value created by labor or service and charging instead for human consumption of the wealth created by the natural world. Greens may view the processes by which living beings compete for mates, homes, and food, ecology, and the cognitive and political sciences very differently. These differences tend to drive debate on ethics, formation of policy, and the public resolution of these differences in leadership races. There is no single Green Ethic.
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Critique of green policy
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Critics sometimes claim that the universal and immersive nature of ecology, and the necessity of converting some of it to serve humanity, predisposes the movement towards authoritarian and intrusive policies, particularly with regard to the means of production, as these sustain human life.[citation needed]
Skeptics point out that industrial nations are in the best position to adopt state-of-the-art clean energy and corresponding high pollution standards — and that Green Parties advocate going against economic progress. However, Greens respond that industrial nations are still those which use the most resources, and contribute most to climate change, and that as the poor world develops, we must help it develop with renewable rather than finite/carbon-based energy sources.
A further criticism is that Green parties are strongest among the well educated in the developed world, while many policies could be seen as operating against the interests of the poor both in rich countries and globally. For example, some Greens support increases in the indirect taxation of goods ("ecotax") which they perceive to be polluting. This can result in the less well off paying a higher share of the tax burden because more of their income goes to purchasing essentials. Green defenders of the shift towards ecotaxes respond that the poor are often the first and greatest victims of environmental degradation and do not have the resources to adapt or move away. Protecting ecosystems therefore protects the poor even more than the rich who can better adapt or move. Furthermore, equity positive tax or refund adjustments can be made to the progressive income tax system to compensate for any socially regressive consequences of the green tax shift.
Globally, Green opposition to heavy industry is seen by critics as acting against the interests of rapidly industrialising poor countries such as China or Thailand. A counter view is that emerging nations from the South would benefit environmentally and economically given the rising cost of fossil fuels by leap-frogging the fossil-driven industrial stage and moving directly to the post-fossil powered stage of production.
Green participation in the anti-globalisation movement, and the leading role taken by Green parties in countries such as the United States in opposing free trade agreements, also leads critics to argue that Greens are against opening up rich country markets to goods from the developing world, although many Greens would argue that they are in favour of trade justice - Fair trade over Free Trade. Contrary to the above view, Greens in Europe advocate the lowering of trade barriers and argue for the elimination of export subsidies for agricultural products in the industralised nations.
Critics argue that Greens have a Luddite view of technology, opposing technologies such as genetic modification which their critics see as positive. Greens have often taken the lead in raising concerns about public health issues such as obesity which critics see as a modern form of moral panic. Whereas a technophobic point of view can be found in the early Green movement and parties, Greens today reject the accusation of Luddism, countering that their policies of sustainable growth encourage 'clean' technological innovation like renewable energy and anti-pollution technology.
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References
- ^ Keys, David. "How Rome polluted the world," Geographical, December 2003. http://www.geographical.co.uk/Home/index.html
- ^ Staudenmaier, Peter. "Fascist Ecology: The 'Green Wing' of the Nazi Party and its Historical Antecedents.". Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ^ Biehl, Janet. "'Ecology' and the Modernization of Fascism in the German Ultra-right." http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/germany/sp001630/janet.html
- ^ Brief note about the Small Party on Green Party of Canada website
- ^ Greens in Time and Space: The History of The Green Party
- ^ Global Greens - A Brief History of the Global Green Network
- ^ [1]
- ^ hpG - O mundo é de quem faz - O maior conteúdo da internet
- ^ [2]
- ^ 04.10.02: Global Greens on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- ^ [3]PDF (523 KiB)
- ^ Devuelve a Ingrid Viva
- ^ [4]
- ^ Devuelve a Ingrid Viva
- ^ U.S. Green Party platform:Criminal Justice www.gp.org
- ^ http://www.greenparty.ie/library/discussion_documents/gaeilge_staidph_ip_ar
- ^ "watermelon" definition from Double-Tongued Dictionary
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See also
- Activism
- Deep ecology
- Eco-capitalism
- Eco-feminism
- Eco-socialism
- Ecotax
- Ecological humanities
- Environmental organizations
- Environmentalism
- Gaian Greens
- Green economics
- Green liberalism
- Green conservatism
- Green syndicalism
- Social ecology
- Viridian Greens
- Wild Greens youth movement of New Zealand Green Party
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External links
- Global Greens Charter, Canberra 2001
- California Green Archives
- Ecology and Society - book on politics and sociology of environmentalism
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