Green liberalism
Encyclopedia
Green liberalism is a term used to refer to liberals
who have incorporated green
concerns into their ideology
.
very highly, and this philosophy
highly values the planet being passed down to the next generation unharmed. Green liberalism accepts that the natural world
is a system in a state of flux
, and does not seek to conserve the natural world as it is. However, it does seek to minimize the damage done by the human
species on the natural world, and to aid the regeneration of damaged areas.
In economic issues, green liberals take a position somewhere between classical liberalism
and social liberalism
: they may favor slightly less government involvement than do social liberals, but far more than do classical liberals. Some within the circle of green liberals practice free-market environmentalism
and thus, sharing similarity with classical liberalism or libertarianism
. This is one of a few reasons why a blue-green alliance
is possible in politics.
The historian Conrad Russell, a British
Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords
, dedicated a chapter of his book The Intelligent Person's Guide to Liberalism to the subject of green liberalism. The term "green liberalism" was coined, however, by political philosopher Marcel Wissenburg in - among others - his 1998 book Green Liberalism: The free and the green society.
The Liberal Party of Canada
under Stéphane Dion
placed the environment at the front of its political agenda, proposing an ecotax
and tax shift
it called the Green Shift. Similarly, the Liberal Democrats (UK) have proposed a "Green Tax Switch" based around the same ideas.
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
who have incorporated green
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...
concerns into their ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
.
Philosophy
Green liberalism values the EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
very highly, and this philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy 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...
highly values the planet being passed down to the next generation unharmed. Green liberalism accepts that the natural world
Natural environment
The 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....
is a system in a state of flux
Flux
In the various subfields of physics, there exist two common usages of the term flux, both with rigorous mathematical frameworks.* In the study of transport phenomena , flux is defined as flow per unit area, where flow is the movement of some quantity per time...
, and does not seek to conserve the natural world as it is. However, it does seek to minimize the damage done by the human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
species on the natural world, and to aid the regeneration of damaged areas.
In economic issues, green liberals take a position somewhere between classical liberalism
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
and social liberalism
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
: they may favor slightly less government involvement than do social liberals, but far more than do classical liberals. Some within the circle of green liberals practice free-market environmentalism
Free-market environmentalism
Free-market environmentalism is a position that argues that the free market, property rights, and tort law provide the best tools to preserve the health and sustainability of the environment...
and thus, sharing similarity with classical liberalism or libertarianism
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
. This is one of a few reasons why a blue-green alliance
Blue-Green Alliance
A Blue-green alliance describes an alliance between political parties and other organizations. It has several different meanings that may be evidence that green politics is "neither left nor right", and can ally with either in a given context.-Canada:...
is possible in politics.
The historian Conrad Russell, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, dedicated a chapter of his book The Intelligent Person's Guide to Liberalism to the subject of green liberalism. The term "green liberalism" was coined, however, by political philosopher Marcel Wissenburg in - among others - his 1998 book Green Liberalism: The free and the green society.
The Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
under Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
placed the environment at the front of its political agenda, proposing an ecotax
Ecotax
Ecotax refers to taxes intended to promote ecologically sustainable activities via economic incentives. Such a policy can complement or avert the need for regulatory approaches. Often, an ecotax policy proposal may attempt to maintain overall tax revenue by proportionately reducing other taxes...
and tax shift
Tax shift
Tax shift or Tax swap is a change in taxation that eliminates or reduces one or several taxes and establishes or increases others while keeping the overall revenue the same...
it called the Green Shift. Similarly, the Liberal Democrats (UK) have proposed a "Green Tax Switch" based around the same ideas.
See also
- Conservation movementConservation movementThe conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
- ProgressivismProgressivismProgressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
- Green Party of CanadaGreen Party of CanadaThe 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...
- Politics Can Be Different (Hungary)Politics Can Be DifferentPolitics Can Be Different , abbreviated to LMP, is a Hungarian green liberal political party. Founded in 2009, it was one of four parties to win seats in the National Assembly in the 2010 parliamentary election.-History:...
- Green Liberal Party of SwitzerlandGreen Liberal Party of SwitzerlandThe Green Liberal Party of Switzerland , abbreviated to glp, is a centrist Green liberal political party in Switzerland. Founded in 2007, the party holds five seats in the Federal Assembly....
- Dennis KucinichDennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
- Centre Party (Sweden)Centre Party (Sweden)The Centre Party is a centrist political party in Sweden. The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden and describes itself as "a green social liberal party". The ideology is sometimes called agrarian, but in a European context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterized as social...
External links
- Green Liberal Democrats - United Kingdom.
- Green Parties World Wide