Democracy
Democracy, Social Justice
Public debates on rights: necessary and positive
Green Agenda co-editor, Simon Copland, responds to Hayley Conway and Mary Tomsic In Voting on the Rights of Others Hayley Conway argued against public votes on the rights of others as “a vote affirming the rights of a minority doesn’t lead to systemic change.” She continued: “Systemic change is needed to end discrimination. Winning the ‘yes’ vote in the postal... Read More
Democracy
Voting On The Rights Of Others: A Debate
The postal survey on marriage equality in Australia has opened deep questions about the intersection between human rights and democracy. In this discussion community campaigner Hayley Conway and researcher Mary Tomsic debate what role citizens should play in voting for the rights of others. [...]
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Democracy, Peace, Social Justice
How Should We Respond To The Rise Of The Far-Right?
The rise of the far right in countries around the world is opening up important questions about how the left should respond. While anti-fascist groups have become active, their tactics have been criticised and debated. Following our interview with Jason Wilson on the threat of the far-right, Green Agenda presents two differing perspectives on how the left should respond to the rise... Read More
Democracy, Peace, Social Justice
The Threat Of The Far Right: Why Take It Seriously?
The recent white supremicist rally and murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia have brought attention to the rise of far right groups in the United States. The Australian journalist Jason Wilson, who now lives in Portland, has been reporting on the rise of these groups since the election of Donald Trump. Prior to attending a far-right rally hosted by... Read More
Democracy
The Trouble With Consensus Is … We Don’t Do It Enough
Co-founder of the Victorian Greens Facilitators Network, Jim Buckell, responds to Sarah Maddison In her interview with Clare Ozich in Green Agenda, Sarah Maddison puts consensus decision making under the spotlight. In doing so, she perpetuates some common myths: it’s too slow; makes for bad decisions; marginalises dissent. Then she advances a new one (to me anyway): it can apparently... Read More
Democracy, Environment
International climate agreements: useful or useless?
Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has put the status of the international processes on climate change in doubt. In this discussion Green Agenda editor Simon Copland and researcher Felicity Gray debate whether Trump’s withdrawal should mean the end of the international climate process. [...]
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Democracy, Environment
Is Social Democracy Ever Coming Back?
As labour parties and their political projects appear to recede deeper into irrelevance in every election around Europe, we might wonder whether the death knell ring has rung for social democracy. But what remains to be seen is whether this trajectory will continue, whether the political landscape is in the process of shifting irreversibly – and if so how Greens can... Read More
Democracy
“A vibrant clash of passions”: exploring agonistic democracy
The nature of democracy is an age old question. We are currently witnessing a crisis in representative democracy. Times of crisis present opportunities for questioning assumptions and asking fundamental questions including about our conceptions and practice of democracy. Green Agenda spoke with Associate Professor Sarah Maddison about the concept of agonistic democracy and what it offers for the practice of... Read More
Democracy, Peace, Social Justice
Fairness To Fascism: Trump’s Bait And Switch
“Forgotten men and women”. “Struggling families”. “Mothers and children trapped in poverty”, not “sharing the wealth” of “the establishment”. On one reading, Donald Trump’s inauguration speech is full of left wing imagery and ideas. So much so that I have seen it explicitly suggested that it was the kind of speech that Bernie Sanders might have given. Following his rejection... Read More
Democracy, Social Justice
Building Momentum for Change
Does strategic community organising create and lead sweeping social change? Or does social change momentum arrive from disruptive actions and sweep individuals and organisations along with it? This is the question tackled by US labour, civil rights and immigration rights activist brothers Paul and Mark Engler in This is an Uprising; the answer, of course, is ‘both’. [...]
