I don’t see what Green politics has to do
with economics. Shouldn’t you leave all
that to the experts?
Economics affects our everyday lives –
what we buy, where it comes from, how
we travel. We cannot protect the environ-
ment or have a fairer society without
changing the economy. As for the
‘experts’ – conventional economists
support current practices which pollute
the planet, waste resources, and which
have allowed 400 billionaires to acquire
assets equal to the wealth of 45% of the
world’s population!
But aren’t we all much better off than we
used to be?
Not all of us. Technology has brought
benefits for humanity, but these have not
been shared fairly. Many of the poorest
countries are getting even poorer.
But isn’t that the fault of their own
governments?
Much of the wealth in countries such as
ours has come from exploiting cheap
labour and resources elsewhere. Many
countries owe massive debts to Western
banks which they will never be able to
repay. Meanwhile, the international
system of ‘free trade’, which some claim
will help the poorer countries to ‘catch
up’ with us, simply leaves them to the
mercy of companies which are richer and
more powerful than entire nations.
Haven’t we got enough problems of our
own to deal with?
Yes, and they also stem from our
economic system. Our society is one of
the world’s richest, yet we still have
poverty and homelessness. Even those
who have well-paid
jobs
suffer
increasing levels of stress and ill-health.
And then there’s pollution.
So what can be done?
We should start by ensuring everyone’s
basic needs are met unconditionally
through a Citizen’s Income (see our
separate policy leaflet). Then we should
encourage local production for local
needs.
This would
reduce
our
dependence on goods travelling long
distances, or on large companies which
drain money away from local communi-
ties and into the pockets of rich directors
and
distant
shareholders.
The
Government should also be protecting
the environment by using taxation
measures.
But surely nobody wants more taxat