Ideas for a Radical Green Manifesto
Green politics is in practice about much more than politics – we need changes in economics, technology, attitudes, and cultures. That is why it is the most radical form of politics there is.
Many in the wider Green movement were disappointed during 2017’s General Election by the marginalisation of green issues, and also perhaps by the slightly scant attention paid to them on occasion even by one or two national Green Party speakers. The agenda was largely dominated by Europe and austerity, and little attempt was made to shift that. Some of us in Green House have been giving some thought as to how a stronger green element could be injected into political manifestos, and this pamphlet offers some practical suggestions. This is not, we emphasize, a complete manifesto or anything like it, but a suggestion for some ingredients to alter the balance between ecological and social justice concerns. We are not for one second saying that issues of inequality and social justice should be ignored, but we do see a need for a substantial change of emphasis. This is simply right in its own terms because of the enormity of the ecological crisis, but also as a matter of simple political strategy for the Green movement, now that Corbyn’s Labour is firmly occupying much of the social justice ground, and looks likely to do so for some time. Thus leaving g/Greens free to concentrate on what remains their USP.
