2022 Chapter IV. Economic Justice and Sustainability. Section A. Ecological Economics (4)

1. Mountain Party of West Virginia — Denise Binion, Chair (dbinion@gmail.com)
2. The proposed revision was written with input from Mountain Party and YES Caucus members before being passed along to the Mountain Partystate executive committee, who discussed the amendment extensively before approving it via consensus.
3. Author — Dylan Parsons (dylanjparsons121597@gmail.com)
   782 5th St, New Martinsville, WV 26155
4. Proposed Platform Change to Section IV. Economic Justice & Sustainability, A. Ecological Economics, 4.
5. Current language: “The Green Party seeks to build an alternative economic system based on ecology and decentralization of power, an alternative that rejects both the capitalist system that maintains private ownership over almost all production as well as the state-socialist system that assumes control over industries without democratic, local decision making. We believe the old models of capitalism (private ownership of production) and state socialism (state ownership of production) are not ecologically sound, socially just, or democratic and that both contain built-in structures that advance injustices.

“Instead we will build an economy based on large-scale green public works, municipalization, and workplace and community democracy. Some call this decentralized system ‘ecological socialism,’ ‘communalism,’ or the ‘cooperative commonwealth,’ but whatever the terminology, we believe it will help end labor exploitation, environmental exploitation, and racial, gender, and wealth inequality and bring about economic and social justice due to the positive effects of democratic decision making.

“Production is best for people and planet when democratically owned and operated by those who do the work and those most affected by production decisions. This model of worker and community empowerment will ensure that decisions that greatly affect our lives are made in the interests of our communities, not at the whim of centralized power structures of state administrators or of capitalist CEOs and distant boards of directors. Small, democratically run enterprises, when embedded in and accountable to our communities, will make more ecologically sound decisions in materials sourcing, waste disposal, recycling, reuse, and more. Democratic, diverse ownership of production would decentralize power in the workplace, which would in turn decentralize economic power more broadly.”

Proposed revision: “The Green Party opposes capitalism and seeks to build an alternative economic system based on social ecology, decentralization of power, and freedom from state control. We will build an eco-socialist economy based on large-scale green public works, municipalization, and workplace and community democracy. Worker and community empowerment will ensure that decisions that greatly affect our lives are made in the interests of our communities, not at the whim of capitalist CEOs and distant boards of directors. Democratically run enterprises embedded in and accountable to our communities will make more ecologically sound decisions and help end labor exploitation, environmental exploitation, and racial, gender, and wealth inequality and bring about economic and social justice.”

1. Rationale: As it stands, the current plank is redundant, unconvincing, confusing, overloaded, and lacks conviction. These changes would make the plank more succinct by eliminating redundancies, eliminating overloaded sentences, and clarifying the language.