The Venus Project and the Green Party

So I have endeavored to get to know the Green Party, and it's platform as I realized recently that the Green party is also very compatible with our ideas. I figured I would start with first with a comparative analysis of the Green party's platform and the ideals of the Venus Project.

What follows is quotes from the Green party platform, and my comparisons afterward.

"1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect his or her life and should not 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 which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process."

The Venus Project obviously agrees entirely with the notion of human beings deserving a say in the decisions that affect his or her life and that they should not be subject to the will of another. We feel that eventually this should also extend to getting rid of the need for employment to survive.

We do feel however that as long as there is a monetary system, there is very little any honest politician could ever accomplish. That doesn't mean that we don't advocate being activists as it is the best way to spread awareness.

"2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law."

This statement could of just as easily been taken from the Venus Project website. It is absolutely compatible.

"3. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems."

This statement also could easily of been taken directly from the Venus Project website. It is entirely compatible with our ideals.

"4. NON-VIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society's current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments.
We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace."

Well we certainly agree on that. I would comment that our answers to solving the "patterns of violence" is about changing the environment in ways that eliminate the root causes of violent behavior. Scarcity causes violent behavior in almost every case.

"5. DECENTRALIZATION
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens."

We agree with virtually all of this. However we do not oppose a larger infrastructure to help ensure that every community has the resources that it needs. But we feel that most of that infrastructure can be automated and taken out of the hands of politicians who tend to only administrate resources in the interests of whatever companies can pay them the highest political campaign contributions. An elimination of the monetary system of exchange would fix this.

"6. COMMUNITY BASED ECONOMICS
Redesign our work structures to encourage employee ownership and workplace democracy. Develop new economic activities and institutions that will allow us to use our new technologies in ways that are humane, freeing, ecological and accountable, and responsive to communities. Establish some form of basic economic security, open to all. Move beyond the narrow "job ethic" to new definitions of "work," jobs" and "income" that reflect the changing economy. Restructure our patterns of income distribution to reflect the wealth created by those outside the formal monetary economy: those who take responsibility for parenting, housekeeping, home gardens, community volunteer work, etc. Restrict the size and concentrated power of corporations without discouraging superior efficiency or technological innovation."

This basically falls in line with the Venus Project as well. Though we feel that all "corporate" problems can go away by removing the monetary system and holding the resources of the world in common heritage to be cultivated for all the world's people in a way that is sustainable. We certainly want to redesign "work", "jobs" and "income". We offer the solution that if we used technology to it's fullest extent we could create enough abundance of everything people need to eliminate poverty altogether. But the corporations oppose anything that prevents us from being dependent on them.

"7. FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as equity between the sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We should remember that the process that determines our decisions and actions is just as important as achieving the outcome we want."

No issue with that statement at all.

"8. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines. We believe that the many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We acknowledge and encourage respect for other life forms than our own and the preservation of biodiversity."

While we also respect this diversity of different cultures we also want to emphasize on the unifying principles and the things that all of mankind has in common. As long as cultural differences can allow us to contribute to a richer whole rather then being dividing factors that keep mankind from working together I don't see any problem with that. As for the last sentence, we absolutely agree with that 100%.

"9. PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet."

We certainly agree with all of this. But we also feel that people should keep in mind that it benefits the individual to also do what is best for the group. Not saying that this statement is against this of course, but our past encounters with some groups emphasized so much on the individual even when individual actions endanger not only the individual but everyone else.

"10. FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or "unmaking" all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions. Make the quality of life, rather than open-ended economic growth, the focus of future thinking."

Yes, this statement is also completely in line with our beliefs.

In conclusion, I would say that it would certainly benefit the Venus Project and the Zeitgeist Movement to extend a hand to the Green party. It is clear we are on the same page on the issues, maybe if we exposed them to our solutions we could join forces?