Four Pillars of the Green Party
Encyclopedia
The Four Pillars of the Green Party are a foundational statement of Green politics
and form the basis of many worldwide Green parties
. The Four Pillars are:
Different Green Parties that list the Four Pillars phrase them somewhat differently. In general, the four pillars define a Green Party as a political movement that interrelates its philosophy from four different social movements, the peace movement
, the civil rights movement
, the environmental movement
, and the labour movement
.
in the United States expanded these into the Ten Key Values.http://www.gp.org/tenkey.shtml
For the Australian Greens, they are known as "Ecological sustainability", "Social and economic justice", "Peace and nonviolence", and "Grassroots democracy".
For the German Greens (Die Grünen/Bündnis '90), they are known as "Ökologisch", "Sozial", "Basisdemokratisch" and "Gewaltfrei".
For the Swedish Greens (Miljöpartiet de Gröna), in the 1980s they were called the Four Solidarities: "Solidarity with the ecological systems", "Solidarity with the people throughout the world", "Solidarity with future generations", and "Solidarity with the underprivileged people in our own country". Today they omit the pillar of Solidarity with the underprivileged, leaving them with the Three Solidarities: "Solidarity with animals, nature and the ecological system", "Solidarity with future generations", and "Solidarity with all the world’s people."
On the global level, the Six Principles of the Global Greens Charter
- which at the Global Greens conference of 2001 were arrived upon as a compromise of the North American and European traditions - added Respect for diversity and Sustainability
. The Green Party of Canada
, in 2002 adopted the Six Principles of the Global Greens as its official doctrine.http://www.greenparty.ca/en/about_us/green_values
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
and form the basis of many worldwide Green parties
Worldwide green parties
A Green party or ecologist party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of Green politics. These principles usually include social justice, reliance on grassroots democracy, nonviolence, and an emphasis on environmentalism...
. The Four Pillars are:
- Ecological wisdom
- Social justiceSocial justiceSocial justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
- Grassroots democracyGrassroots democracyGrassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization: principle of subsidiarity....
- NonviolenceNonviolenceNonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
Different Green Parties that list the Four Pillars phrase them somewhat differently. In general, the four pillars define a Green Party as a political movement that interrelates its philosophy from four different social movements, the peace movement
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
, the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, the environmental movement
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
, and the labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
.
History of the Four Pillars
The practice of describing Green philosophy via Four Pillars began with the German Green Party in 1979-1980. At its founding meeting in 1984, the Green Committees of CorrespondenceGreen Committees of Correspondence
The Green Committees of Correspondence were founded in the summer of 1984 with the goal of organizing local Green groups, providing a clearinghouse and newsletter, and working toward the founding of a Green political organization in the United States...
in the United States expanded these into the Ten Key Values.http://www.gp.org/tenkey.shtml
For the Australian Greens, they are known as "Ecological sustainability", "Social and economic justice", "Peace and nonviolence", and "Grassroots democracy".
For the German Greens (Die Grünen/Bündnis '90), they are known as "Ökologisch", "Sozial", "Basisdemokratisch" and "Gewaltfrei".
For the Swedish Greens (Miljöpartiet de Gröna), in the 1980s they were called the Four Solidarities: "Solidarity with the ecological systems", "Solidarity with the people throughout the world", "Solidarity with future generations", and "Solidarity with the underprivileged people in our own country". Today they omit the pillar of Solidarity with the underprivileged, leaving them with the Three Solidarities: "Solidarity with animals, nature and the ecological system", "Solidarity with future generations", and "Solidarity with all the world’s people."
On the global level, the Six Principles of the Global Greens Charter
Global Greens Charter
The Global Greens Charter is a document that 800 delegates from the Green parties of 72 countries decided upon a first gathering of the Global Greens in Canberra, Australia in April 2001 ....
- which at the Global Greens conference of 2001 were arrived upon as a compromise of the North American and European traditions - added Respect for diversity and Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
. The Green Party of Canada
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
, in 2002 adopted the Six Principles of the Global Greens as its official doctrine.http://www.greenparty.ca/en/about_us/green_values
Explaining the Pillars
- Ecological wisdom encapsulates the diverse teachings and philosophiesPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
represented in numerous environmental movements. Central tenets include a recognized need to reduce the negative impact of human civilizationCivilizationCivilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
on the natural environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, the biosphereBiosphereThe biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be called the zone of life on Earth, a closed and self-regulating system...
, and the planetPlanetA planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
, and to find new, alternate ways to cohabitate harmoniouslyHarmonyIn music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
with Earth's other life formOrganismIn biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
s. The principles endorsed go deeper than a mere superficial change in policy, suggesting a qualitative shift in ethical norms and prevalent paradigmParadigmThe word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
s, but the precise character of views advocated range considerably over a spectrum of beliefs that include ecological utilitarianismUtilitarianismUtilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall "happiness", by whatever means necessary. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, and that one can...
on one side and Deep EcologyDeep ecologyDeep ecology is a contemporary ecological philosophy that recognizes an inherent worth of all living beings, regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs. The philosophy emphasizes the interdependence of organisms within ecosystems and that of ecosystems with each other within the...
on the other, reflecting different degrees of innate value ascribed to humanity and other parts and levels of the larger biosphere. Notable proponents of less anthropocentric views include E. O. WilsonE. O. WilsonEdward Osborne Wilson is an American biologist, researcher , theorist , naturalist and author. His biological specialty is myrmecology, the study of ants....
, Daniel Quinn, Donella Meadows, E.F. Schumacher, etc. - Social justiceSocial justiceSocial justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
(sometimes "Social equalitySocial equalitySocial equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
and economic justice") reflects the general rejection of discrimination based on distinctions between class, gender, ethnicity, or culture. Green Parties are almost universally egalitarian in their outlook, seeing that great disparities in wealth or influence are caused by the perversion of or total lack of social institutions that prevent the strong from plundering the weak. - Grassroots democracyGrassroots democracyGrassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization: principle of subsidiarity....
or participatory democracyParticipatory democracyParticipatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
is embraced by Greens as the only reliable governance model for achieving social change. Many Green parties have rejected or constrained the traditional role of leaders as "party boss", in favor of having figurehead leaders or spokespeople. Many Green party constitutions are configured to prevent the party bureaucracyBureaucracyA bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
from accumulating too much power in the organization, in favor of more decentralized or member driven processes. - NonviolenceNonviolenceNonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
reflects the Green movement's policy of rejecting violence as a means to overcoming its opponents. Green Philosophy draws heavily on both Gandhi and the QuakerReligious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
traditions, which advocate measures by which the escalation of violence can be avoided, while not cooperating with those who commit violence.