Oldal 16 [16]
14 | Tue Puitosopuy or Eco-Pouirics
issues. [his is exactly what the ideologues of free or open society,
appealing to the equality of freedoms tried to avoid with good reason
and at all cost.
However, on no account do ecological considerations lead to the
rejection of the achievements of enlightened modernity. The greens do
not wish to either destroy from its foundations or bring back the past;
they share neither the utopias of left-wing radicalism or the nostalgias
of right-wing populism. They have vowed to remove the obstacles forced
onto society by the anti-life logic of the technological-economic world
order, making it impossible for people to decide freely about their own
fate. Therefore, in politics the greens aim to create the conditions for
decision-making based on responsible participation and joint
deliberation. ‘They know full well that this has a realistic chance only
if the human scale of things can be restored. It is primarily this that
separates them from the neoliberal adherents of economic globalism
on the one hand and the technocrats, fundamentalists, socialists or
national socialists hoping for provision by the state and centralisation
on the other.
‘The first task of an ecological party, on coming to power, would
probably be to examine how it can free itself from the aspects of power
which do not belong to the state — and even less to supranational
organisations — and return it to those concerned. For the protection of
biological diversity, the moderation of air pollution emissions, the
transition to matter- and energy-saving benign technologies or conscious
family planning mostly require measures which can be accomplished at
a local level. The neglect of these considerations in our times is due
mostly to decision-making processes and mechanisms separated from
local interests. For imagine if the countries, regions and cities, having
had enough of their dependence on world-economics, were to decide,
one after the other, that they wish to consistently apply the sanctions
protecting their health, environment and social security. The chief global
polluters, the industries, companies and technologies that pose a deadly
threat to humanity would then lose their right to exist and would soon
disappear of their own accord.
All this naturally leads quite far from the daily practice of the
protection of nature and the environment. Not for nothing did the
booted and check-shirted environmental activists protest for so long
against being drawn into politics. It has become evident, however, that
the environment qua environment is by definition indefensible. The
opposition between man and nature already presupposes the absolute