THE POSTANARCHIST APPROACH TO THE GREEN PARTY

September 29th, 2008 by Darin Robbins

The Green Party, either on the local, state, or national level, has perfected strong constructive stands on issues over the years in the United States. We have become the focal point for new ideas that break outside of the restrictive box created by the two-party system. As an alternative political party with strong roots in activism, we have been the third element that has disrupted the homogenization and monopoly on power held by the binary opposition of Democrats and Republicans.

The Greens have given voters a chance at a real choice that reflects their values, making people feel good about going to the polls. Voters get to vote their hopes rather than their fears with us. Internally we have tried to enact our 10 Key Values in our organization to coincide with the vision we have for the nation and the world that is based on peace, ecology, justice, and democracy. As a movement for inclusion we are a broad coalition of Old and New Left, permaculturalists, workers and the poor, good government reformers, marginalized groups, social libertarians, and participants in the counterculture among others.

I propose that each unofficial member of our coalition can be bolstered and supported by the introduction of concepts from postanarchism. Postanarchism is the uniting of poststructuralist theory with anarchist practice and a fairly concise definition can be found online. Each aspect seeks to elaborate on the other, allowing a formal approach that is “neither the normalization of anarchism nor the depoliticization of theory”, correcting the shortcomings that could occur by each aspect alone. As a movement without leaders, and an understanding of the deep structures of power and domination, postanarchism can be a useful complement to the Green Party that enriches the good work we have already done. At first voters will support us and join us based on our stance on issues, but postanarchsim can lend a strong theoretical background that opens up the potential base of supporters. For example, in a cynical sense, those who consider themselves anarchists now will probably not support representative democracy. But there will come a time where they will reconsider their position and be tempted to vote.

It is at that moment that the Green Party can appear as the best vehicle for their experience of representative democracy. The Greens can be a natural transition for those who engage primarily within the global justice movement, once known as the anti-globalization movement, and other activities if we establish a strong foundation of theory and practice. Postanarchism can be the best template and inspiration for that foundation. Specifically, postanarchism can stimulate some basic processes in the work of the Green Party and how we present ourselves to the public in the social, political, economic, and cultural arenas:

1. a structural critique of systems of power, meaning, and production, especially expressed in the form of nation-states, ideologies, and corporations

2. a recognition of the multiple techniques of discipline and control that increases usefulness while decreasing transgression

3. a realization that the freedom of individuals and collectives is always already within structures that try to contain, condition, or control it

4. an effort to reconcile theory and practice through the “building of the new world in the shell of the old” rather than a reliance on teleological determinisms within history

5. a promotion of self-realization, communication, and participation in order to resist coercion, seduction, and mediation within systems of power, meaning, and production

6. a synthesis of various Green themes of decentralization, grassroots democracy, and sustainability into a general idea of dynamic equilibrium that emphasizes conscious immanent social relationships as an alternative opposition to the hierarchies of power, meaning, and production

This could result in multiple actions that can enrich the ability of the Green Party to present itself as the true alternative to politics as usual. One example is the development of various forums and media that can begin the development of theory. Contributions can come from rank and file Greens, and expand the possibility of our own identity in such a way as to show that the Green Party is a fully formed movement that has a strong intellectual foundation coupled with a deep committment to activism and rejuvenation of American electoral politics. I contend that postanarchism, as a combination of theory and practice, is versatile enough to be a good starting point. It can also demonstrate that a long-lasting movement must be beyond individuals and instead be based on ideas. Ideas are inherently the stock and trade of the Green Party, and this could be a fruitful endeavor if we choose to incorporate postanarchism.