Liberalism and Green Politics

In the individualism of Liberalism there is not a natural affinity to absorb green ideas, as there is in Socialism(Socialism rejects Capitalism just as the 'Green Orthodoxy' does) or Conservatism(though both Liberalism and Conservatism both favour capitalism, Liberalism does so as a philosophical belief rather than the pragmatism of Conservatism. Conservatism also traditionally has an affinity to the rural and conservation issues, even if they are counter-intuitive to the 'Green Orthodoxy' such as support for Hunting). The economic aspects of Neo-Liberalism is blamed by many Greens for the present ecological crisis and Liberal economic ideas are at the core of this ideology. The ideas at the root of liberalism: the Social Contract and Utilitarianism are anthropocentric to the core, and as such create an ideological gap with Green Politics. Liberalism is a product of the enlightenment, and as such it inherits a intellectual legacy, one of Cartesian dichotomies, of man and nature as separate entities(Marcel Wissenburg, Liberalism from “Poltical Theory and the Ecological Challenge, edited by Andrew Dobson and Robyn Eckersley” page 20). This creates an ‘otherness’ to nature which predisposes man to it’s exploitation. Yet despite these ideological distances from Green Politics, Liberalism has plurality and mass participation at its core; these are values that are key to Green Politics and often part of it. Plurality both creates a space for Green Politics and facilitates its ongoing legitimacy while mass participation validates Green Politics through the widespread civil organisations, such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. The openness of Liberal politics is a key facilitator of Green politics, and given the widespread penetration of Liberal values in the Western and developing world is important in its ongoing spread.

Michael Foot R.I.P.

Michael Foot, former Labour Leader, has died. This is a sad day.