Inspirational politics: Apply within
So I just finished reading Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus's The Death of Environmentalism, finally. Amazing treatise arguing that environmentalism has fallen into a rut of being an issue-focused special interest, which thus explains the overall failures to achieve any substantial policies changes in government and society. They argue that the movement needs to recognize that it isn't just "environmental" issues that are concerned and that the tent needs to be widened to consider economies and the concerns of others. To achieve this, they suggest efforts akin to the conservative moments development of a values-based platform that appeals to a wide swath of the population. Once broad support has been achieved and diverse interests are bound together with a common bond (they use the example of the call for smaller government as a common bond that ties together anti-welfare and rampant capitalist interests, etc), then policy can be implemented.
It's a political document more than it's an environmental one and anyone concerned about the strength of conservative or neocon cadres or interested in advancing liberal politics in the USA need to read it. I've often wondered why the Democratic platform (or any other, for that matter) doesn't build a core set of values that they stand on. They really do seem to exist as the anti-Republican or anti-conservative group, which only succeeds entrenching those who don't agree with you. The liberal market doesn't offer any compelling reasons for conservatives to shop there.
What would a liberal values platform look like? Consider first the appeal of the conservative platform, framed thus:
• No wasteful government• Strong defense of the nation
• Respect for religion (especially for God)
• Strong healthy families and communities
• Strong economic performance, with jobs for everyone
Of course those opposed to the conservative agenda read into this list, but just consider it at face value for a minute. Can you really argue against any of those? Do you prefer a wasteful government? Do you oppose strong defense of the nation? Do you think that we ought not to respect religion? Are strong families and communities against the best interests of the nation? Do you think that people shouldn't have jobs that they are proud of and that provide enough to live the American Dream on? This is the core value message of the conservative movement that they then build on to construct their pro-business, pro-(wasteful?) defense spending, hawkish foreign policy, integration of church/state interests, war on poverty the poor, and so on.
What could a liberal/ green platform look like? I don't have the answers, but I think that it might possibly be achievable with a single 2-part point from which the rest of everything builds on:
• Freedom and responsibility
• Respect for others (I know I said one point, but as I was writing, I decided to add this too as a fundamental plank).
Americans love freedom, but with freedom comes responsibility. You can't have irresponsible freedom; we call that anarchy.
From this seed, a whole host of values and policies immediately emerge:
• Legislation that increases or protects freedom is preferred over legislation that restricts freedom.
• Fiscally responsible government (ie no wasteful government spending). This isn't the same as the conservative small-government, but it is an improvement on it. It permits responsible public spending on works and services but is opposed to pork and bloat. The nanny-state is avoided by a reliance on notions of personal responsibility.
• Promotion of personal responsibility and accountability, in personal, local, and national matters. It is a person's responsibility to be and do good and to make something of themself, not the government's. This ethical platform is not only common sense, but appeals to the ethical interests of the conservatives. Part of the need for a liberal platform like this is to bring the liberal camp together but perhaps even more importantly, to bring people from the other side over here. Personal responsibility overlaps with the strong families, strong communities platform.
• Sustainable resource management. It is irresponsible to leave the the country, nation, world in a worse position than we found it.
• Energy independence. This is a double whammy point, in that it taps the independent streak of Americans and leads to sustainable energy as a policy outcome. Government subsidies should be switched from unsustainable and dependent energy sources to renewable and sustainable energy in order to reveal the former's true market cost (and don't forget to to do a total cost analysis!) and to help speed the adoption of viable but nascent economies that would be truly competitive once they are able to take advantage of economies of scale.
• Security via Peace and Prosperity. America can be made safer by engaging in a cooperative foreign policy that maximizes the strength of relationships to reduce global threats. Americans are generous and America does have a role to play as an international supporter of nations and people in need of help and desiring to better themselves. On a global level, most if not all threats to the US are also threats to the rest of the world and it is kind of dumb to squander the strength in numbers. Much more would be accomplished if America focused its international policy on "making the world a better place for everyone" instead of "making sure that the people who don't the USA can't really do anything about it."
• Economic security. This grows out of the last platform. Liberals need to recognize that the current econo-political structure isn't the only one that provides jobs. Just because capitalism has been proven more effective than communism, there are many flavors of capitalism.
• Education. Essential for success in business and life.• An end to hypocrisy. Goose and Gander guidelines for decision making.
• Total cost accounting. A wholistic economics of cost, that include cradle-to-grave production, consumption, disposal costs, as well as human costs. Take the dismantling of computer hardware or single hull oil tankers as an example of failures to do total cost accounting incorporating human costs. The viability of nuclear energy also fails when total costs are considered.
America is a leader in innovation and R&D. A sustainable energy policy would require massive restructuring of the world economy, and that means lots and lots and lots of jobs. Arguments have been made that switching to alternative energy sources would cost more. Even if true in the short term, this argument needs to be tackled head on with the observation that the cheaper prices we pay are devastating on a local and global level, borrowing on the future (ie its irresponsible and immoral). But more than this, sustainable energy is virtually limitless and most everyone knows that in a market economy, limitless supply makes costs very very low. It will be far cheaper to live on sustainable energy than to continue the current carbon economy, even if the carbon economy wasn't about to literally run out of gas or didn't have the negative environmental impacts that it does.
I dare someone to argue against any of the values in this list. Argue against the proposition that we should promote the idea of individuals/ companies/ nations being responsible for the predictable outcomes of their actions, I dare you. The policies I've proposed that grow out of the values are debatable (and should be debated!). But the values are sound and I believe are more compelling than the conservative alternatives (which are fairly good). The debate also needs to be redefined in terms of progressive vs conservative, as liberal is a confusing term (ask someone in the UK what a liberal is and they point to Ronald Reagan) and has been effectively spoiled by the conservative propaganda machine. But progressive is a positive word that looks forward to progress and is proactive. It's energetic and embodies a can-do ethic, whereas conservative is stable, but a bit stodgy and staid. Progressive taps the youth in all of us, whereas conservative is a refuge for the fearful.
This can be done. It needs to be done. I'm doing my part here and hopefully others will add their ideas and spread the word. We should see this message in the next presidential election, from the Green party if from nowhere else. And if this platform was launched today, in the current climate of widespread dissatisfaction with Republican leadership and the lack of compelling alternatives from the Democrats, a Green platform such as this would have huge grassroots and ultimately nationwide support. It is entirely conceivable that a Green president could be sitting in the Oval office just over two years from now.