January 8, 2020 - At this point in human history, the limits of capitalism and the limits of our species’ life on Earth have converged. We have never been here before, and we cannot go back.
But if a Green New Deal can be won, it would recast the past 10 years as something other than a lost decade
Perhaps the most unsettling fact about the effort to get the world on track to addressing climate change this decade is this: there was no point where we came even close.
Editor: This article is about how to get building trade unions in California and Texas to back a resolution supporting a Green New Deal or similar policy package. Be sure to check out other articles linked within to read about what other strategies union organizers have pursued to this end. This will be of interest for how such tactics or strategies could be adapted in Canada.
The climate crisis has long been escalating. With temperatures, sea levels and climate refugees all on the rise, it’s difficult to imagine a more terrifying trajectory.
But we’ve reached a new level of existential threat. Because now, some elements of the right wing are using the crisis to advance eco-fascism—an ideology that sees climate change migrants as a threat to “our America.”
The outcome of the early primaries may erase Joe Biden’s “electability” luster and plunge the Lords of Capital into a panic in which all bets are off on what’s left of democratic liberties.
The catastrophic defeat of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party in last week’s elections does, indeed, foreshadow what’s in store for Bernie Sanders if the U.S. ruling class believes the self-styled socialist has a real chance of winning the Democratic presidential nomination.
To build the power to take on climate change, we can’t simply validate individual movements or assume single-issue struggles will add up to something greater than the sum of their parts. We need class politics to connect the dots of our many struggles — and to save the planet.
A reduction of economic activity is necessary and just – and can lead to human flourishing.
To sustain the natural basis of our life, we must slow down. We have to reduce the amount of extraction, pollution, and waste throughout our economy. This implies less production, less consumption, and probably also less work.
Today we are celebrating yet another victory for our movement. One of the Green New Deal champions we helped elect in October, MP Peter Julian, just announced he's submitted a motion for a Green New Deal. This motion, M-1, is the first motion filed by any MP elected into the 43rd parliament. This is all thanks to the incredible organizing efforts of young people, who made sure the climate crisis and Green New Deal were top issues in the election.
This election is about the crisis of living standards and the climate and environmental emergency. Whether we are ready or not, we stand on the brink of unstoppable change.
