Hello,
I have been invited to speak at the Canadian Green Party convention in a
week's time. Below is the press release we have put out. The media release
from the Green Party spoke of the Greens being "flush with recent electoral
successes in Europe, in Mexico, and in British Columbia municipalities, not
to mention the high profile presidential candidacy of Ralph Nader in the
U.S...." It also said how Canadian Greens were "eager to increase their
momentum at the national level." I felt I had to respond, so as not to be
absorbed by this green electoral machine!
Best,
David Orton
_____________________________________
Press Release
Invitation to Speak at Federal Green Party Convention
"The main driving force of the Deep Ecology movement,
as compared with the rest of the ecological movement,
is that of identification and solidarity with all life."
Arne Naess
Saltsprings, Nova Scotia, July 29, 2000 - David Orton,
coordinator of the environmental research group Green Web, has
been invited to address the Green Party of Canada Convention
being held at the University of Ottawa, August 3-7, 2000. Other
featured speakers are Joan Russow, Elizabeth May, Ralph Torrie,
Mike Kaulbars, Marguerite Ritchie, Richard Wolfson, Jean
Langlois, Duff Conacher, John Rensenbrink (Maine), Mike Hicks
(England), and Tony Affigne (Rhode Island).
Orton will speak on the topic "Is left biocentrism
relevant to green parties?" on Sunday August 6th, at 11am. He
will be presenting the philosophical importance of working to
outline an Earth-centered, spiritually based theory of social
change within a contracting economy, from an ecological and
social perspective. Orton has been working with others in the
deep ecology movement for a number of years, theoretically
exploring how to embrace social justice but within the
framework of the philosophy of deep ecology. He has published
many articles on this "left" deep ecology exploration in the
green and environmental movements and also on the application
of this theoretical tendency to environmental issues in the
Maritimes. On the Green Web website: http://fox.nstn.ca/~greenweb/
are listed a number of articles outlining the features of left
biocentrism. (See particularly the four "My Path to Left
Biocentrism" bulletins on the site.)
Orton has considered himself part of the green movement
since 1983 but has never joined any Green political party. He
has been critical of the formation of Green parties, which he
feels have accommodated themselves to the continuation of
industrial capitalist society. For example, this is part of
what he has written on the relationship between the green
movement and party in Green Web Bulletin #64:
In no place, where green parties have been established,
was (a) deep ecology accepted as the philosophical
basis of unity; and (b) a political plan of
implementation for deep ecology worked out along with
steps for the transformation of industrial society.
Instead of this, a series of 'green-sounding' principles
were adopted by green parties, like the so-called "four
pillars" of the German Green Party: ecology, social
concern, grass-roots democracy and non-violence. Such
principles could be endorsed by party members, because
of their ambiguity, and then disagreed with, when actual
issues came along which a green party had to take a
stand on. If there is no agreement on philosophical
fundamentals, then there will be no agreement on
important practical issues...
Essentially, green "party" politics everywhere
concentrated on electoral success. This was interpreted
to mean coming to an accommodation with industrial
society - and its political institutions, like the
parliamentary electoral system. Politically it meant
the politics of green dilution, that is, promoting
shallow ecology. In this process most "fundamentalists"
like Rudolf Bahro in Germany, who saw the primary task
of green party politics as spreading the consciousness
that industrial society was finished, were forced out.
Bahro, when he left 'Die Gruenen' said, "At last I have
understood that a party is a counterproductive tool..."
... For a green party not to be a paper organization and
to have substance, a green party must:
- Lead theoretically, which means party members sharing,
understanding, and expressing in their work a common deep
Green philosophy.
- Be practically involved in issues and sum up this
experience in policies/programs, around which the public
can be rallied.
- Develop new structures which are independent of the
market and the state and the parliamentary road, which
are radically democratic, give a sense of the embryo of
a Green society, and which are accountable to the
alternative movements.
Since the above was written, the German Green Party,
which has been a model for electoral Greens everywhere, in
coalition with the German social democrats, actively supported
the NATO bombing of Kosovo. A fundamental question is: How
does one participate in electoral politics without being
absorbed into the existing industrial paradigm of values?
The speaking invitation is an example of the open-
mindedness to different ideas of the party Greens organizing
the Convention. "I look forward to an exciting intellectual
exchange between Greens," said Orton. "Earth destruction is
intensifying overall, yet green and environmental thinking in
Canada is becoming more marginalized. Why has the �meaning' of
life become survival and denial for so many people in Canada?
As has been said by Saral Sarkar, a fundi German Green
originally from India, who has written a book on German Green
politics - the Greens are the first social movement in history
to �promise' a lower material standard of living if successful.
This is not the stuff, in the short term, that electoral
victories are made of. Greens should not see their role as
brushing the teeth of the industrial dragon. We, as Greens,
need to put forth alternative visions. The present Earth-eating
industrial capitalist society everywhere commodifies and
destroys Nature and undermines human communities. All of us,
from whatever diverse cultures, need to see that we share our
identity with the natural world and all its animals and plants,
as a necessary part of ourselves. This means to move away from
human self-centeredness and chauvinism. We are talking about a
spiritual transformation in consciousness. Could this Convention
in Ottawa signify the start of something new for Greens in this
country?"
-30-
For further information, contact David Orton at (902) 925-2514.
For information on the Convention, see http://www.Ottawa2000.flora.org
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