As regards myself, my first bout of political activism was to campaign for a nuclear-free New Zealand in 1976-77. In 1978, I joined the first Green party in the world, the New Zealand Values Party, officially founded in 1972. Since that time, I've had the opportunity to watch the evolution and growth of the Green movement worldwide, and the social differentiation within that movement.
At various times in my life, I have also worked for the Greens (e.g. Resource Management, Greenpeace, Green Party) and I could observe their process personally. And, in Holland where I live now, there are per capita more supporters of environmental causes than anywhere else in the world (and consequently, proportionally more Green officials than anywhere else). I agree, there would be many Greens who would not consider other Greens "Green". But that is just to say that nowadays almost every man and his dog has an "environmentalist policy" and that the Green agenda has been absorbed into all kinds of different political agenda's. A "green and clean" image is good for the political profile, but in reality the despoilation of the physical environment and the destruction of ecosystems has accelerated. Per capita, rich people who make the most "noise" about pollution, are actually themselves responsible for the most pollution. Of course, with their money they can travel to, or buy unspoilt pieces of nature. Poor people simply lack the wherewithal and money to cause that much pollution, other than if they have to work under the authority of a rich polluter. Nor can they avoid the effects of pollutants so easily. As a sociological generalisation, what is called the "New Left" became part of the renewal of the elite, giving rise to new classes of bureaucrats funded by taxes, profits and philantrophy. I have been able to observe that process myself while working for local, provincial and central government across 20 years. Poor and oppressed people, or evidence of environmental problems, are primarily a tool for these knowledge bureaucrats to get funding and good jobs, and enrich themselves through career activity which they find personally satisfying. Naturally, there are also those who resist the co-optation process, but typically their job opportunities are limited for that very reason. J. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
