Why I left the Greens.

• Author: Herve, Arnaud
• Position: Thinking Politically - Personal account

This article is intended as a warning to those Greens in developed Anglophone countries who live in a bipartite regime and, consequently, look to the successes of European Greens and sigh: "If only we had proportional elections too ..." Yes, it is true; we had a lot of elected members. So what? Do you think it is a fairy tale now? On the contrary, please walk the children out; I am going to tell you the awful truth.

The presence of a high proportion of elected members in a relatively small party creates two social classes internally. I mean social classes, not just social groups. The differences in income, social contacts, job opportunities, access to information, travel expenses, paid assistants, and a host of other privileges, become incompatible with a really equalitarian mentality.

Elected members don't impose your ecologist agenda in assemblies. On the contrary, they get swallowed by the system and, through a lot of devious procedures and technocratic obstacles, they end up implementing, with the members of other parties, the dominant policy of the moment. In the 70s, the dominant policy was ecology, but now it is neoconservative globalization. This means that, if some Green gets elected, you might as well consider him/her lost to ecology.

When we say that Greens have electoral successes in continental Europe, we generally mean around 10%. Let's face it, 10% politicians never wield power, even in a left-wing alliance. They just enjoy the benefits of their seats and give a bad opinion of politicians as parasites. These 10% politicians are happy enough with a ghetto of a few interest groups. Ecology, however, is so important that it should be accepted by a strong majority of the population. It deserves better than a mere social group attitude. It deserves majority.

The electoral successes of the Greens in Europe have meant a higher income and social status for a few thousand lucky individuals, but if we take into account all environmental reforms implemented by local, national and European governments during the last 30 years, it is not certain that the Greens had anything to do with that. Those reforms have occurred regardless of the electoral results of Greens in different countries. The influence of grassroots organizations, the attitude of the general population, plus the general capacity to implement the law were the real factors.

Furthermore, I came to perceive the Greens as plagued by three trends which make their future...