Green Liberty

Where Green Goals and Libertarian Principles intersect.

Green Goal #1: Grassroots Democracy

Green Goal #1: Grassroots Democracy: Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives; no one should be subject to the will of another. Therefore we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations that expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.

by Thomas L. Knapp, Managing Editor, Free-Market.net

Who or what should the people rule?

Democracy, broadly interpreted, is "the rule of the people." This settles who should wield authority, but says nothing as to how far that that authority should extend, or over whom it should be exerted.

When the Greens speak of "grassroots democracy," the concept takes on new connotations. They attempt to extend "democracy" into the nooks and crannies of people's lives, both on issues of economics and personal conviction. This militates directly against the rights of the individual, and democracy goes from noble impulse to resented intrusion.

True decentralization

Coupled with the value of decentralization, "the rule of the people" becomes, at its best, the rule of individuals over themselves rather than over each other. Nothing is more decentralized or grassroots than an individual making decisions for him or herself, yielding, so far as is possible, to no one; exercising ultimate control, and accepting ultimate responsibility, for his or her own actions.

The First Step

The first step toward real grassroots democracy is the removal of government from as many areas of life as possible, and returning the authority presently vested in it to the individual.

We are, however, social animals. We congregate, we act collectively, and at points the will of the individual may run contrary to the rights of the collective -- and vice versa. It is important that the rules of collective action are in accord with the non-aggression principle; that is the line dividing legitimate governance from mob rule.

Politics endangers grassroots democracy

In the past, the Greens have placed great value on consensus as a necessity for moral group action. That position has been greatly strained by the Green movement's plunge into electoral politics. Some Green organizations have replaced a genuine commitment to consensus with lip service and thinly disguised majority rule, both as an internal measure and a political proposal. That is wrong, and it is a trend which must be corrected if the value of grassroots democracy is to be realized.

Libertarians have addressed the proper framework for collective action in varied ways, all of which are fully in accord with the goal of grassroots democracy. The most familiar principle, as explained in the first paragraph above, is limited government. The rule of the people is best exercised by people themselves, as individuals and through voluntary cooperation.

Libertarian answers to the question of when coercive (i.e. government) power may be exercised vary. The least stringent requirement with which libertarians tend to agree is that of a supermajority acting within constitutional limits. The most radical position is "never," i.e. anarchism.

Consensus and the Ultimate Grassroots

The mainstream libertarian answer, as it happens, is fully in accord with the Green consensus formulation: unanimous or near-unanimous consent is a feature of most libertarian social theories.

As libertarians, we see a radically restricted role for government in the first place, preferring to leave decisions at the ultimate "grassroots" -- the individual. Where government is necessary, we advocate full representation and strict limits regarding civil liberties and equal protection.

Green and Libertarian resources