Tuesday, January 24, 2006

It's Not Easy Being Green

The Green Party lists its “10 key values” on its web site at

http://www.gp.org/tenkey.shtml

I was surprised at how much I found to agree with, and I reckon that the principal area of disagreement between me and a Green would be in the choice of methods. The Green might prefer to use the state to achieve his aims, whereas I would advocate non-coercive solutions. Take a look at the values (I have edited them somewhat):

1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another.
2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.
3. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
4. NON-VIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments.
5. DECENTRALIZATION
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens.
6. COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We recognize it is essential to create a vibrant and sustainable economic system, one that can create jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance. A successful economic system will offer meaningful work with dignity, while paying a “living wage” which reflects the real value of a person’s work.
Local communities must look to economic development that assures protection of the environment and workers’ rights; broad citizen participation in planning; and enhancement of our “quality of life.” We support independently owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute resources and control to more people through democratic participation.
7. FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender.
8. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines.
9. PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet.
10. FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or “unmaking” all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.

I share these values and would like to live in a world informed by them. I also believe that these values can be realized through peaceful, non-coercive means. Indeed, they cannot be realized any other way. Is there a libertarian caucus in the Green Party? The Green values seem so much more appealing than anything the Libertarian Party is selling.

4 comments:

B.W. Richardson said...

"I was surprised at how much I found to agree with, and I reckon that the principal area of disagreement between me and a Green would be in the choice of methods."

Yes, but this choice of methods is everything. Nobody, for example, would dispute the right of someone to make a "living wage," but who defines how much that "living wage" is? Even the poorest homeless person is making enough money to live - or else she'd be dead. What the Greens advocate, I suspect, is the government defines the level of lifestyle comfort that is "appropriate" and, by force of taxation, adjusts everyone's income up or down accordingly. This is Soviet "economic justice," and no thank you.

Vache Folle said...

BWR-

I agree. The values are still desirable, but the catch is how you realize them. There must be non-coercive ways of doing so, and libertarians and anarchists can contribute to the discussion rather than resigning ourselves to the notion that these values are unattainable without force.

B.W. Richardson said...

My suspicion is that to be consistent within this philosophy, the answer is simply peer pressure: Talk up people who are willing to share their "excess wealth" with charities and the like. Sort of like the idea of tithing, except instead of an institution trying to force 10 percent down your throat, leave it up to the individual to decide how much to share with the less fortunate.

Anonymous said...

Right there with you, Vache. I used to be a card-carrying member of the Liberarian party, and nature and envurinment have always been very important to me, so perhaps the time has come for the Green Libertarians. They'd probably grow their own, eh?

BTW, I quoted you -- well, pretty much plagiarized you -- hopefully you;ll be down with it once you read it. Take it as flattery!

We should email soon; our views and blogs are similar. You are very modest in referring to yourself as a corporate tool.

[Here I attempted to end with my avatar of Alfred E. Neuman, but alas, it was not allowed!
Take care,
Stephen]