Economic philosophy and green electoralism.

• Author: Orton, David
• Position: Economics Reconsidered

How far can radical green politics be achieved through the parliamentary context if its "structural imperatives" demand the progressive abandonment of such politics? --Andrew Dobson, Green Political Thought, p. 129 "Economy" for Deeper Greens does not just include the long term welfare of humans and their habitats, but also includes preserving and not significantly altering the long term welfare of all the other species of life inhabiting the planet and their habitats. Any economic initiatives by humans who call themselves green should be guided by this overall perspective. There is, ultimately, only a fixed amount of physical habitat, whether land or marine, and humans must share it with other species on an equality basis. Therefore, a population reduction strategy must be an open part of any green economic policy, given existing consumption patterns and resulting ecological footprints by humankind.

Deeper Greens not only see Nature as having value in itself but also see Nature as the principal source of human wealth--not labor power as in Marxism.

The present industrial capitalist system is totally ecologically dysfunctional. It is also socially inequitable to hundreds of millions of the world's citizens, who are permanently shut out of what some consider the consumer "good life," or, more importantly, an "adequate life." Capitalism's prime motivation is the accumulation of capital. This economic system requires structural social inequalities to motivate the labor force. Discontent is required for consumer-capitalism, so that an individual's sense of vital needs' continually expands.

Deeper Greens understand that the "Natural Capitalism" thesis of Paul Hawken, that Nature can be ascribed value, is an illusion. Nature itself is priceless and beyond any human-centered economic rationality. The fundamental question for Greens to face, in any economic philosophical overview, is whether this system can be reformed. Can this system be nudged in a different direction while life goes on as normal, or does industrial capitalism have to be replaced by a totally new ecological, economic, cultural, and political alternative?

Left Bios believe, following the shallow/deep distinction made by Arne Naess in the early 70s, that the existing industrial capitalist economic model is inherently destructive and must be replaced if the Earth's life support systems are to continue. Our economic path, as Left Bios, is to have a discussion on how to get to this ultimate goal. For Electoral...