Recovering the early economic programmes of Die Grünen

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

The UK’s Sustainable Development Commission (disbanded by the present Conservative Government) produced a report called Prosperity without Growth in 2009.  I do not know, if they used any of the material from the earlier Die Grünen economic programmes (link below) from the eighties?  But it is a pity that the German Green Party, that recognised that continued growth, could not continue, broke up.  And that we just seem to be recycling old ideas, without them materialising into actions.

Back in 2011, at the UK’s Green Party conference in Cardiff.  At a fringe meeting, Equality without Growth, the author of the Prosperity without Growth, Tim Jackson.  Spoke about the need for the Green Party to show real leadership, by pushing forward an agenda for Degrowth.  Something that was needed as the Global North was suffering from the financial melt-down.  Unfortunately, the UK’s Green Party promotes the continued pursuit of economic growth!

Source: Recovering the early economic programmes of Die Grünen

Creative Self-Destruction and the Climate

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

One of the reason, I have no time for the Green Party, The Guardian, Jonathon Porritt, George Monbiot, Natalie Bennett and the like. Is that, they continue to believe we can continue consuming the World’s resources, but somehow in a different way!  Whilst we only have the one planet, with its finite resources?

jpratt27

In his 2006 landmark report on how we should respond to the climate crisis, Nicholas Stern characterised global warming as an ‘externality’, a damage to others due to market activity whose cost is not met by those who cause it.
Indeed, Stern characterised climate change as ‘the largest ever market failure’. In other words, the problem of global warming arises because the market system is not working well enough, and if we could find a way to correct the fault then the problem would be solved.
It was a geophysicist, Brad Werner, who in 2012 argued precisely the opposite case – that we are in this mess not because the market system is not working well enough but because it is working too well. Werner’s startling presentation to the annual conference of the American Geophysical Union was titled ‘Is the Earth F**ked?’ and he posed in public the question climate…

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Labour Party – the biggest bedroom tax incompetents – IT COSTS MORE you idiots!!

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

Both main political parties, Labour and Conservative have only one mandate, to enrich the already rich. Both parties have shown their incompetence in office, their failures to address climate change, tax avoidance and evasion, and of course the continuing failure of our banks. It is time, those who do not vote, got out their and vote for any other (preferably the Green Party), to rid us of these fools. Your vote (which people died for) is totally useless, if you do not use it. This coming General Election, get out there, encourage family, friends and neighbours to vote, anything but Labour and Conservative. Labour = Conservative = A continual cycle of failure.

Global tax evasion, equality and quantitative easing…

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

I would disagree with comment that UKIP has grown considerably. The media and especially the BBC, have given Farage and UKIP, disproportionately more publicity than they deserve. Whilst the Green Party, with an MP since 2010, a number of MEPs, control of Brighton and considerable influence in some other councils. Does not get the media response it deserves, even being denied again, a place at a leaders debate on BBC TV. It is not just Murdoch’s media empire that is an obstacle to true democracy.

MelMac Politics - Shining a light on politics

The Group of twenty (G20) committed to finding a global solution for tax evasion after the financial crisis, and in 2009 it agreed to make arrangements for the exchanging of tax information between tax administrations around the world. In October this year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20 officially endorsed the automatic exchange of tax information between all OECD and G20 countries as well as major financial centres that participate in the annual meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in Berlin. A status report on committed and not committed countries or jurisdictions and whether they will start reporting information in 2017 or 2018, is to be presented to G20 leaders during the annual summit held in Brisbane in less than two weeks. Australia along with thirty-eight other countries that include China, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong have…

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There is an ‘Ecology’, the Fascist Turn and on Privilege

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

To me, Joanne, describes what I found during my short time as a member of the Green Party, especially here in Manchester. I have found, those who class themselves as Marxists and other far-left doctrines, to be an elitist bunch. They shout down anyone who dares say anything they disagree with. The situation in Brighton, where one member of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas’s ex-PA, has been working against the good work her fellow colleagues are doing, under trying conditions.  Tim Jackson, (Prosperity without Growth) addressed a Green Party conference, and urged the Green Party to be bold and state, we cannot have more growth. He stated, ‘Labour – Social Democracy demands more, will only happen with growth. Capital Growth is a shark, Labour supports this inequality and unsustainable growth’. Some of them even dismiss the idea of Green Economics, what they want is a consumer society but with the riches more fairly distributed. That is, of course for those of us in the Global North. They do not consider the implications for those in the Global South. In fact Peter Cranie at a hustings for leadership of the Green Party. Claimed, it was only right that the thousands who are affected by floods in Bangladesh, should emigrate to the UK. It does not seem to understand, it is are excessive consumption of natural resources that are the cause of the floods. Therefore, moving people, will not solve the problem but will help exasperate the situation. Unfortunately, the left, of which, Caroline Lucas is one, decided to ignore Tim Jackson’s advice. And have continued with calls for more spending and consumption of natural resources. I do not know why they are in the Green Party, which was originally the Ecology Party.

EcoLabs

When Mckenzie Wark appeared on Novara, Resonance FM on May 28th 2013 he argued that a critical theory that does not confront environmental problems as one of its central problems was not worth discussing (I am paraphrasing – what he actually said was is more complicated and is transcribed below). Oddly, in this interview Wark managed to simultaneously acknowledge the validity of the environmental crisis as a theoretical problem – while also denying its implications in practice. For me this was a significant moment for Novara since it was certainly the best attempt they have yet made (that I am aware of) to engage with the ecological problem. Unfortunately, while Wark has many good ideas, his convoluted take on ecological theory is a classic example of extravagant lengths intellectuals (and especially the environmentally disengaged radical left) devise to continue to dismiss the most fundamental challenges posed by the ecological…

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Why the EU must dare to debate ‘degrowth’ « Feeding the habitesult of crisis in fuel, food and fina

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

At the UK’s Green Party Spring Conference 2011 in Cardiff, Tim Jackson, ‘Prosperity without Growth’, spoke at a fringe meeting.  He spoke about how the Green Party should take this moment of financial turmoil, t o push the message for change, away from the failed economic models.  He said it would be tough, but telling the public the truth, that there would not be jobs for all, would ultimately bear fruit, for those brave enough to say it, how it is.  The Green Party, under Caroline Lucas, MP., failed to deliver the message for a different economic model.

Why the EU must dare to debate ‘degrowth’ « Feeding the habit.

Tim Jackson stated there are three aims:

  • Establishing the limits;
  • Fixing the economic model;
  • Changing the social logic.

Changing the social logic is something Annie Leonard and her ‘Story of Stuff Project’, tried to do.

In a commentary by Pavan Sukhdev in ‘Prosperity without Growth’, states:

GDP growth does not capture many vital aspects of natural wealth and well-being such as changes in the quality of health, the extent of education and changes in the quality and quantity of our natural resources.

The ongoing economic crisis, itself a result of crisis in our fuel, food and finance, and at a parallel crisis in our ecological and climate commons, suggesting that both share a common cause: our failed economic model.

Tim Jackson does state there is a need for investing in jobs, assets and infrastructure:

  • retrofitting buildings with energy- and carbon-saving measures;
  • renewable energy technologies in particular the electricity grid;
  • public transport infrastructure.

If politicians do not start to send out the message for change, it will come about but it will be forced on people by events beyond human control.  Without change now, catastrophic climate change will force change.

 

 

Some of the reason we need a Robin Hood Tax

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

Our elected leaders, Conservative, Liberal-Democrats and Labour vilify those on benefits, whilst the Green Party campaigns for a ‘people’s wage’ and a ‘Robin Hood Tax’.  The three main parties refuse to tackle the real problem, tax-havens and tax avoidance by the rich.  Below are some links to more information on the subject of tax-havens and avoidance and the massive loss of revenue to the UK which pales into insignificance ‘benefit fraud’:

World Development Movement

Treasure Islands

Ripped-off Britons Blog