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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	835
Proposal	2016 Platform Amendment Proposal Ecological Economics
Presenter	Platform Committee Sponsored by North Carolina Green Party
Floor Manager	Jan Martell
Phase	Closed
Discussion	05/16/2016 - 06/05/2016
Voting	06/06/2016 - 06/12/2016
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	32 0.6666
Consens Quorum	66 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

This new platform plank removes the old wording entirely and addresses the economic inequalities, social inequalities, and productivism of both capitalism and state socialism and emphasizes grassroots democracyÑin the workplace. This workplace grassroots democracy has been largely absent from the Green platform, and many believe it is the way forward for a truly ecological economy and a new system.

This new platform plank does not promote expropriation of privately owned small businesses and should not be interpreted as such. Rather, the plank outlines the type of businesses and type of economy we would like to create.

Proposal

To amend Chapter IV. Economic Justice and Sustainability
1. Ecological Economics
Paragraph 4

Current language of plank that is being addressed:

ÒSustaining our quality of life, economic prosperity, environmental health, and long-term survival demands that we adopt new ways of doing business. We need to remake commerce to encourage diversity and variety, responding to the enormous complexity of global and local conditions. Big business is not about appropriateness and adaptability, but about power and market control. Greens support small business, responsible stakeholder capitalism, and broad and diverse forms of economic cooperation. We argue that economic diversity is more responsive than big business to the needs of diverse human populations.Ó

Proposed amendment of the current language:

The Green Party seeks to build an alternative economic system based on ecology and decentralization of power, an alternative that rejects both the capitalist system that maintains private ownership over almost all production as well as the state-socialist system that assumes control over industries without democratic, local decision making. We believe the old models of capitalism (private ownership of production) and state socialism (state ownership of production) are not ecologically sound, socially just, or democratic and that both contain built-in structures that advance injustices.

Instead we will build an economy based on large-scale green public works, municipalization, and workplace and community democracy. Some call this decentralized system Òecological socialism,Ó Òcommunalism,Ó or the Òcooperative commonwealth,Ó but whatever the terminology, we believe it will help end labor exploitation, environmental exploitation, and racial, gender, and wealth inequality and bring about economic and social justice due to the positive effects of democratic decision making.

Production is best for people and planet when democratically owned and operated by those who do the work and those most affected by production decisions. This model of worker and community empowerment will ensure that decisions that greatly affect our lives are made in the interests of our communities, not at the whim of centralized power structures of state administrators or of capitalist CEOs and distant boards of directors. Small, democratically run enterprises, when embedded in and accountable to our communities, will make more ecologically sound decisions in materials sourcing, waste disposal, recycling, reuse, and more. Democratic, diverse ownership of production would decentralize power in the workplace, which would in turn decentralize economic power more broadly.

Resources

Approval of this proposal will amend the 2016 Platform, which will be published on the GPUS website in or before September, 2016.

References

CO-SPONSORS:
Green Party of New York State, Latinx Caucus, Green Party of Colorado, Maine Green Independent Party, Youth Caucus, Green Women's Caucus, Lavender Green Caucus, Green Party of Florida, Ohio Green Party, Green Party of Minnesota, Maryland Green Party, Iowa Green Party, South Carolina Green Party

CONTACT:
Platform Committee
Bruce Hinkforth, co-chair, bhinkforth@milwpc.com, 262-569-1370
Budd Dickinson, co-chair, budd.dickinson@gmail.com , 650-773-0438
Michael Trudeau, author and state contact, mdtrudeau@gmail.com , 314-337-2154

REFERENCES:
In addition to having been edited and/or reviewed and endorsed by Gloria Mattera (GPNY), David Cobb (GPCA), Ben Manski (GPWI), and others, this platform amendment has also been reviewed and endorsed by these individuals:
Gar Alperovitz, Green Shadow Cabinet; the Next System Project
Richard D. Wolff, author of Democracy at Work and other books; lecturer; Green Shadow Cabinet; founder of Democracy at Work nonprofit organization
Margaret Flowers, 2016 Green Party candidate for US Senate (Maryland); co-editor of PopularResistance.org

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