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| Green
Party of the United States
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Table of contents:
1. Outline
2. The Green Party of the US ‘s background
3. The Green Party of the US’s political development
4. The Green Party of the US’s political contribution
5. The US Green Party of the US’s political achievements
6. Conclusion
7. References
Outline
• The development of the Green Party of the US as the
result of the emergence of environmental concerns in the 1970s-1980s
(Bookchin, 1987)
• The Green Party of the US was created on the basis
of state green parties. The formation of the Green Party of
the US included several stages: 1989- the creation of the
National Green Committees of Correspondence, which were associated
with Committees of Correspondence of the epoch of the Revolutionary
War; 1992 – Green Politics Network; 1996 the Association
of the State Green Parties; 2001 – the Green Party of
the United States (Nader. 2006)
• The key values of the Green Party of the United States
– Four Pillars: ecological wisdom, social justice, grass
roots democracy, and non-violence (Field, 2008).
• Discussions within the party: the choice between socialism
and capitalism, revolution or evolution (
• The development of the Green Party of the US was influenced
by the development of environmental movements in the US as
well as worldwide. Hence, the Green Party of the US is influenced
by two major forces: internal and external. External influences:
basic environmental values, concern on environmental protection,
humanistic values (Feinstein, 1992). Internal influences:
liberalism, the development of a party as an alternative to
major political forces, i.e. the Democratic and Republican
Parties of the US, a huge significance of local and state
political organizations within the party, especially state
parties (Field, 2008).
• The key political contribution of the party and its
political program:
Environmental policies: focus on ecology and environmental
protection; elimination or limitation of dangerous productions
and emissions, introduction of the long-run environmental
strategy, organic food, water conservation, use of solar power
(Broder, 1998)
Socio-economic policies: community renewal, racial and social
justice, and democracy, finance reform to implement the concept
of social justice, fair trade instead of free trade ideology
of globalization, the protection of the rights of women and
children worldwide, the elimination and prevention of racial
polarization and discrimination, a living wage, the development
of small business, a single-player health insurance system
Political issues: an anti-imperial, multilateral foreign policy,
free access to media, reform of the electoral system, the
global peace policy and defense of civil liberties worldwide,
the opposition to the war on terrorism (Broder, 1998)
• Political achievements of the Green Party of the US:
The participation of the party’s candidates in Presidential
campaigns in: 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, though without considerable
success because of the domination of the Democratic Party
and the Republican Party (Field, 2008)
At the moment, the Green Party has few successes on the national
level
Instead, successful development on the state level
The gradual increase in the number of candidates for political
office and in the number of victories gained. In 1990, 20
Green candidates stood for office with 8 victories (Broder,
1998), while the party’s officeholder count, as of January
1, 2003, stands at 171 (Field, 2008).
• Conclusion
The Green Party of the US progresses, but faces numerous challenges,
especially from the part of the dominant political forces
and low attention from the part of the media. The major pitfalls,
possibilities and prospects of the party are:
The leadership of Ralph Nader who managed to lead the Party
from an unknown political force to a national party
The lack of media attention and insufficient promotion
The problem of the US electoral system winner-take-all and
the money crucible
The internal problem: decentralization vs. centralization;
slide towards bureaucracy; need of diversity
The global connection of the party
The need of support of the electorate nationwide
The Green Party of the US’s background
The creation of the Green Party of the US was, to a significant
extent, determined by socio-political trends and growing environmental
concerns of Americans (Naess, 1973). In this respect, the
roots of the Green movement in the US can be traced in the
1960s – 1970s when the pollution of environment and
irrevocable environmental changes made many Americans aware
of the negative impact of human activities on nature (Carson,
1972). As a result, by the 1980s the Green movement grew in
power and gradually became a significant public movement which
attempted to establish the public control over the functioning
of corporations and other organizations which could pollute
air, water and produce a negative impact on the environment
at large.
At the same time, Green movements abroad had started to evolve
into political parties and the US Greens followed their example.
Initially, they organized political parties on the local,
state level. By 1989, over 400 local groups has sprung up
in most parts of the country and they established communication
between them that eventually resulted in the formation of
the movement known as the National Committees of Correspondence
(Nader, 2006). This was the first attempt of the unification
of Greens nationwide. Gradually, the movement evolved and
it was reorganized in the Green Politics Organizing Committee,
which existed from 1989 to 1991 (Broder, 1998). In fact, it
was the political organization which protected fundamental
values of the Green movement in the US. In 1992, the organization
was changed to the Green Politics Network in 1992, which,
in its turn, “led to the creation of the Association
of State Green Parties in 1996” (Field, 2008). In 2001,
the Association of State Green parties changed its name to
the Green Party of the United States.
The Green Party of the US’s development
In the course of its development, the Green Party had to cope
with numerous challenges and was influenced by external and
internal forces. What is meant here is the fact that the Green
Party of the US was created on the basis of the national Green
movement. On the other hand, the ideology and some fundamental
concepts of the Green Party of the US as well as the idea
of the creation of such a political force were similar or
borrowed from Green movements functioning in other countries
of the world, such as New Zealand, for instance (Bookchin,
1987). In this respect, the external influence laid the foundation
of the Green Party of the US’s environmental ideology
and concept, such as the protection of the environment and
universal humanistic values. In fact, the focus of the Green
Party of the US on the environmental protection was similar
to Green parties worldwide. In addition, the Green Party of
the US shared common humanistic values of other Green parties
worldwide, such as anti-war ideology, social equality, elimination
of discrimination, etc (Feinstein, 1992).
As for internal influences on the development of the Green
Party of the US, they were determined by the local specificities
and peculiarities of the American political, socio-economic
and cultural life. To put it more precisely, the ideology
of the Green Party of the US was consistently more liberal
than ideology in more conservative countries, such as European
countries, for instance (Broder, 1998). As a result, the American
Greens stand on the ground of the introduction of considerable
changes in the existing social and political order. In fact,
discussions within the party were often antagonistic. In the
process of the development of the party, the views on its
ideology and further development often opposed to each other.
For instance, the party chose between socialism and capitalism
as the economic system the party would like to support (Patterson,
2008). Moreover, some representatives of the party insisted
on the revolutionary way of the introduction of Green principles
and values (Broder, 1998). However, radicalism was not supported
by the majority of the Green Party of the US, though the party
tended to support ideas of social equality, which made it
rather close to left movements.
Nevertheless, today, it is possible to speak about four fundamental
principles of the Green Party of the US, or Four Pillars as
they call it: ecological wisdom, social justice, grass roots
democracy, and non-violence (Field, 2008).
The Green Party of the US’s political contribution
In spite of a relatively short history of the existence of
the Green Party of the US, it has already managed to make
a considerable contribution in the development of American
socio-political thought. In fact, the party is one of the
major political inspirers of the formation of a totally new
attitude to the development of the country, society and its
impact on the environment. The Green Party of the US attempts
to preserve fundamental American values and introduce environmentally
friendly policy as the backbone of both domestic and foreign
policy of the US.
On analyzing environmental concerns and policies of the party,
it should be said that it is primarily concerned with a more
effective environmental protection and minimization of a negative
impact of humans on the environment not only in the US but
also worldwide (Reeves, 2000). Furthermore, the party aims
at the minimization of the emission of dangerous gases and
elements, such as CO2, which contribute to the green-house
effect and other negative environmental effects (Nader, 2006).
Along with such strategic goals, the party supports concrete
environmental policies, which can lead to the achievement
of strategic goals defined above, including the wide use of
solar power, the production of organic food, with minimal
use of chemical and other artificial elements in farming,
and water conservation (Broder, 1998).
On the political level, the party insists on the development
of anti-imperial, multilateral foreign policy, which means
that the US should not play the role of the only world power
controlling other countries and defining their national politics.
Instead, the party offers the development of democratic world
where all countries are equal. Also the party opposes to the
war on terror, which the Greens believe is unjust and they
insist on the protection of civil rights worldwide (Broder,
1998).
In the socioeconomic field, the Green Party of the US stands
on the ground of racial equality and social justice. The party
insists on the community renewal and increasing role of local
communities in the national politics. Also the party opposes
to any form of discrimination and insists on the protection
of rights of women and children. On the economic level, the
party opposes to the free trade and globalization because
it is unfair. Instead, the party offers the development of
fair trade, which allows all countries to benefit from international
trade (Nader, 2006). In addition, the party offers the financial
reform to redistribute the national wealth more rationally
and fairly and establishment of living wages.
The Green Party of the US’s political achievements
In fact, the party has failed to make a revolutionary breakthrough
in the American politics and it failed to become the third
political party along with the Democratic Party and the Republican
Party. Nevertheless, since the foundation of the party, its
representatives, including the leader of the party Ralph Nader,
participated in the Presidential campaigns, though, the party’s
candidates have failed to succeed, in 1996, 2000, 2004 and
2008 (Field, 2008). The same trend can be traced on the national
legislative level, where the party still remains underrepresented.
On the other hand, the party was quite successful on the local
and state levels. In fact, in 1990, the Green Party of the
US had only8 victories while only 20 Green candidates stood
for office. Within a little bit more than a decade the party’s
officeholder count was 171 in 2003 (Nader, 2006). In such
a way, the company made a considerable progress on the state
level.
Conclusion
Thus, it is possible to conclude that the Green Party of the
US emerged under the impact of the growing environmental concerns
in the American society. Its ideology aims at the environmental
protection, development of democracy and social justice. However,
the dominance of the winner-takes-all principles in the US
electoral system deprives the party of the opportunity to
take a leading position on the national level or, at least,
enter national political elite. In addition, media do not
pay much attention to the Green Party of the US, focusing
on principal players – Democrats and Republicans. In
such a situation, to draw the public attention, the party
needs to capture the attention of media. The latter means
that the party needs to raise funds and this is another problem
the party is currently facing because there are really few
supporters who are ready to spend their money on the party,
which cannot bring considerable financial feedback since it
is oriented on environmental and social issues, instead of
economic ones. Finally, the party has certain internal problems,
such as the struggle between decentralization of the party
because the company was created by state green parties and
its efforts to centralize the party to make its organization
more solid that can bring positive results to the Greens as
a united political force. On the other hand, the centralization
can lead to the bureaucratization of the party. In addition,
the party lacks diversity, because ethnic minorities are underrepresented
in the party (Nader, 2006). Nevertheless, the party has a
prospective ideology, because willing or not Americans will
have to pay more attention to their environment and its protection.
Moreover, the party has international support of Greens worldwide
(Feinstein, 1992).
References:
Bookchin, M. The Modern Crisis. Philadelphia: New Society
Publishers, 1986.
Broder, D. (April 5, 1998). “A National Debate Requires
Personal Leadership at the Top”, Maine Sunday Telegram.
Carson, R. (1972). Silent Spring, Cambridge. MA: Riverside
Press.
Feinstein, M. (1992). Sixteen Weeks with the European Greens.
San Pedro, CA: R & E Miles.
Field, M. (2008). California Government and Politics Today
(12th ed.). New York: Longman Publishing Group.
Nader, R. (2006). Crashing the Party:, How to Tell the Truth
and Still Run for President. New York: Random House.
Naess, A. (1973). “The Shallow and the Deep, Long Range
Ecology Movements,” Inquiry 16, 95-100.
Patterson, T. E. (2008). We the People: A Concise Introduction
to American Politics (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Reeves, T.C. (2000). Twentieth-Century America: A Brief History.
New York: Oxford University Press.
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