Stavrakakis, Yannis. "Green ideology: A discursive reading". Journal of Political Ideologies, Vol.2, No.3 (1997): 259-279.

Stavrakakis, Yannis. "Green ideology: A discursive reading". Journal of Political Ideologies, Vol.2, No.3 (1997): 259-279.

• The author differentiates between conservationalism and environmentalism, which are a part of a number of ideologies, and Green politics, which are holistic ideologies arguing for a radical change in the way that humans interact with nature and reject many base assumptions of contemporary industrial society (260).
• "Whereas conservationism can only lead to particular interventions [...] the aim of Green ideology is to refound and recreate the political, social and economic foundations of western societies on the basis of a political project that is constructed around a certain conception of nature" (260).
• The ideology of Green politics is a relatively recent development, but the ideologies was ancient roots in Taoist, Buddhist, Zen, and Sufi cultural traditions as well as early Socialism, Romanticism, and radical strands of the Anabaptist movement (261).
• The author argues that Green ideology is a new form of politics because, although it contains a number of conceptual elements found in other ideologies, it synthesized these elements in a new way under different priorities (262, 266).
• The party platform of the German Green Party in 1980 provides the basic layout of Green politics. The party document identifies four key principles of Green ideology: ecological, social, grassroots-democratic and non-violence (267).
• The Green Party supports policies which seek to demolish the industrial economy which is harmful to the environment and natural cycles, instead seeking the thoughtful use of natural resources (267).
• The second pillar of their policy is a stable social system, which should run according to human nature rather than capitalism and arbitrary state demands. It focuses on quality of life and humane working conditions (267).
• A grassroots democracy insists on the decentralization of power and administrative authority to devolved autonomous local and region units. Grassroots democracy will always take priority over central directives, and election of higher officials is mediated (267-268).
• Non-violence implies both global disarmament, especially of nuclear weapons, and the creation of a non-violence society existing without repression (268).
• Other scholars have proposed different lists of concepts defining Green politics, for example Dr.  Carolyn Merchant delineated 10 principles defining Green ideology: "ecology; grassroots democracy; social justice; non-violence; decentralization; community-based economics; post-patriarchal principles; respect for diversity; global responsibility; and future focus" (268).
• Another alternative, and expansive, vision of Green politics is provided by Dr. Jonathon Porrit's manifesto, Seeing Green, which provides a description of a Green world and a list of principles essential to Green ideology:
• "A society metaphysically and religiously reconstructed, a society where equality between the sexes will be fully achieved; a society characterized by 'Green Peace', where people will have a 'healthy mind, healthy body'. It will be a society without racial inequalities and characterized by a new internationalism—a sense of solidarity with the third world. The supranational treaty governing the future of this new world order would emphasize 'the principles of non-violence, direct democracy, the interest of decentralization and regionalism, the rejection of militarism, the need for self-reliance and sustainability and the right kind of agriculture!" (268).
• "A reverence for the Earth and for all its creatures; a willingness to share the world's wealth among all its peoples; prosperity to be achieved through sustainable alternatives to the rat race of economic growth;  lasting security to be achieved through non-nuclear defence strategies and considerably reduced arms spending; a rejection of materialism and the destructive values of industrialism; a recognition of the rights of future generations in our use of all resources; an emphasis on socially useful, personally rewarding work, enhanced by human-scale technology; protection of the environment as a precondition of a healthy society; an emphasis on personal growth and spiritual development; respect for the gentler side of human nature; open, participatory democracy at every level of society; recognition of the crucial importance of significant reductions in population levels; harmony between people of every race, colour and creed; a non-nuclear, low-energy strategy, based on conservation, greater efficiency and renewable sources; an emphasis on self-reliance and decentralised communities" (268-269).
• Conceptions of decentralization and a rebirth of communal life within Green ideology also exist within socialist, anarchist, and fascist thought. The difference of Green politics is then the context and ideological connotations given to these concepts by the broader and holistic Green ideology (270).
• The concept of nature or ecology constitutes the center of Green politics, whereas in other ideologies those concerns tend towards the periphery. All moral notions within Green ideology stem from the centrality of the environment and natural laws (272-273).
• One of the substantial differences between Green politics and ideologies which contain Green elements or environmentalist concerns is ecocentrism versus anthrocentrism. While traditional conservationalism views nature as a exploitable resource that should be preserved for the well-being of humans, Green politics is ecocentric and ascribes intrinsic value to the existence of nature (272).
• The Green movement remains divided ideologically due to the lack of a common enemy. Although some Green ideologues have proposed a conflict with industrialism or capitalism, other believe that harmony can exist between these concepts and Green politics (274).