Ecology

Alexander Langer was a political Green pioneer, both in Italy, where he founded the national list of the Greens, as well as at the European level, where he became president of the Greens-EFA group in the European Parliament. In his thinking he radically challenged not only the myth of unlimited economic growth – but also to the notions of ​​progress and thinking in terms of left and right politics.

The European Union can find a democratic revival by supporting social innovation and by extension contribute significantly to the ecological transition. That is the primary conclusion of the framing paper that was just published by Professor Olivier De Schutter in preparation for the Francqui International Conference that will take place on May 8-9th, 2014 in Brussels.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s investment plan to kickstart the European economy proposes solutions based on the outdated assumption that growth in terms of construction of large infrastructure projects is the way forward. A more imaginative approach would be to look beyond this, and to put welfare and sustainability at the core of an ambitious long-term plan, which could make Europe’s economic future seem much more bright.

Today, we witness an anachronistic pattern of foreign policy: incoherent, homocentric, far removed from the reality of people, and dominated by economic and political interests (the neoliberal system).

The Green European Foundation aims to provide a platform for Green foundations to interact and collaborate at a European level.

Given the current political climate, it behoves ecologists to thrust imagination, innovation and experimentation to the forefront of political action and thought. This requires a “benevolent distance” between the Green foundations and the Green parties.

The coming upheaval in our ways of living and working will require us to live an ecological lifestyle based on new forms of democratic participation that enable us to collectively and comprehensively reshape our social and physical environment.

Before investing excessive hope in radical participatory solutions we need to re-examine established beliefs about democracy and sustainability and their mutual relationship.

Modern representative democracy is not conducive to handling environmental challenges. Ecology requires new political institutions capable of tackling long-term concerns.

The specificity of ‘democratic radicality’ is by no means a bulwark for the Greens against developments or rationales that run counter to this ‘democratic requirement.’