Green politics

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Part of the Politics series on
Green politics

Green issues
Worldwide green parties (list): Global Greens · Africa · Americas · Asia-Pacific · Europe
Ideas in the
Global Greens Charter:
ecological wisdom
social justice
participatory democracy
nonviolence
sustainability
respect diversity

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Green politics is a body of political ideas informed by environmentalism aimed at developing a sustainable society. It is considered by its advocates to be an alternative to both left and right views and parties, although adherents of both views tend to view Greens as "on the other side". Certainly it is true that Green parties advocate measures that appear to conventional politicians different from those grouped into labour and capital by economic interests.

Some of these views include:

a commitment to the methods of consensus decision making, participatory democracy and deliberative democracy wherever feasible
local and moral purchasing provisions for government especially, requiring the source of supply to follow similar environmental and labour standards as those prevailing in the consuming jurisdiction
measuring well-being as an alternative to consumer price index based means of measuring economic growth
full cost accounting and an end to dirty subsidy of pollution by government
a green tax shift that would increase consumption and sales taxes on all resource-intensive items, while reducing income tax and capital gains tax
a cessation of all taxes levied against strictly local production and trade
against nuclear power and the build up of persistent organic pollutants - based on a strict adherence to the precautionary principle where 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).
an end to biological forms of pollution and human health damage via the subsidy of dairy farming and the meat industry
treating waste as a resource - a commodification of something of negative value, previously dumped into the commons without full cost accounting
investing heavily in human capital
accounting reform that would probably disadvantage both labour and large investors in favor of smaller investors
are ambivalent about the War on Drugs in the United States and Europe. The USA GP's platform advocates something other than drug peace: a "firm approach" to waging war against the "trafficking in hard drugs".
an end to the War on Terrorism and the curtailment of civil rights - focusing instead on growing deliberative democracy in war-torn regions and the construction of a civil society with an increased role for women
urban secession by major cities to permit them to shake off control of the suburbs and renew their economies in ways that they cannot do if they require the permission of their surrounding regions, e.g. to tax, ban cars in downtowns, or put money in mass transit instead of highways
bioregional democracy reflecting ecological boundaries in politics directly

Because it lacks clear identification with powerful interest groups, and tends to appeal more to a world-view or mindset, Green politics tends to grow slowly but also not to easily lose ground to other views or parties over time. In developed nations Greens have typically stood at 3-12% of the vote for long periods of time without making breakthroughs, usually participating in government as a minority partner, or working at municipal or regional levels. Most Greens reject radical centrist politics though there is a strong overlap between that perspective and what is occasionally referred to as the "realist" wing of the Greens.

Basic statements of Green political values include the Four Pillars of the Green Party originally adopted by the European Greens, the Ten Key Values of the Global Greens adopted by most English-speaking Greens in the 1990s, and the six core Green principles accepted in 2001.

Greens often refer to productivism, consumerism and scientism as examples of "grey" views, which implies age, asphalt and obsolete ideas of human social organization, including globalization of economic relations. Many Greens are important players in the anti-globalization movement. This involvement includes the full spectrum from street protesters to those building local alternatives to global economic monoculture.

Greens on the Left are often identified as Eco-socialists, who merge ecology and environmentalism with socialism and Marxism to blame the capitalist system for environmental degradation, social injustice, inequality and conflict. While there are many overtly eco-socialist parties across the world, Eco-socialists are generally found in most Green Parties.

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.

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Green politics

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