Culture
Culture, Democracy, Green Agenda 2023:2 - On Living Democracy, Social Justice, Theory
The multitudes at the margins
When I read Living Democracy and the uplifting and hopeful possibilities contained in Barcelona en Comú and the general assemblies in Rojava, I’m reminded that we are currently so far away from this it’s hard to see the path there. [...]
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Living democracy: not a blueprint, but a pathway
I am 72 years old, so I have seen the highs and lows of many progressive mass movements. Tim Hollo's optimistic but realistic outlook in Living Democracy fits closely with my own beliefs. We are clearly living through a period of massive industry and workplace transition in response to the climate catastrophe. This is the reality that campaigners and activists... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One, Social Justice, Theory
Transforming towards living
Are we changing politics more than politics is changing us? It’s a question we rarely ask ourselves in any kind of formal way. But it’s one that more and more members and supporters are asking, when confronted by the vast gulf between politics-as-usual and the ecological, economic, social and political crises we face. [...]
Culture, Environment, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One
Truth is essential
If a tree falls in the forest, and some people choose to not hear it, does it mean the whole forest should be OK to sell as toilet paper? [...]
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Quietly quitting capitalism
For many of us coming of age around the last global financial crisis, doing political work was not part of the formula to success handed down by our parents and teachers. [...]
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The very democratic and grassroots process of getting bums on seats
My growth both within and without the confines of the Greens has taken me on a somewhat meandering journey. I remember previous iterations of myself believing things that now seem anathema to who I have become, and other things which have vindicated some of my long-held beliefs. Some experiences influenced my opinions at the time, and proved to me the... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Economy, Environment, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One
On mutual bicycle aid
Community bike workshops in Australia While the original formulation of ‘mutual aid’ by Kropotkin was radical and linked to changing political conditions, mutual aid in the voluntary sector of contemporary Australian society cuts across political positions, gender, race, and wealth. In this short article we will recount engagement with a growing movement of bike activists and volunteers who challenge consumerism... Read More
Culture, Economy, Environment, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2023: Volume One
Utopia: farming, feeding & fighting here at home
I send Ben a screenshot from Kohei Saito’s latest book Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the idea of degrowth communism: The primary goal of capitalist production is the valorization of capital above anything else. Capitalism is driven by the insatiable desire for profit-making and constantly increases the productive capacity. In contrast, in pre-capitalist societies production was conducted for the sake of... Read More
Culture, Democracy, Featured, Social Justice
The radical potential of Brisbane City Council
It’s no accident that so many Brisbanites think local government is mostly just about fixing potholes and building playgrounds. Power-holders find it convenient to perpetuate the narrative that councils are merely local service providers with limited political relevance, because it helps justify anti-democratic moves to take more power away from local communities, while reducing public scrutiny of the many big,... Read More
Culture, Economy, Environment, Featured, Green Agenda Journal 2022: Volume Three, Social Justice, Theory
The ends of work
Country, place, grassroots organising, anti-work, First Law, biodiversity, degrowth, post-capitalism, nature, community, art, basic income and Indigenous sovereignty. Taken together these terms point to the shifting ecology of work as we rethink the ways in which work may sustain life in flourishing ways – as we situate work within the web of life. For this issue of Green Agenda we... Read More