(This is an archived page, from the Patterns of Power Edition 3 book. Current versions are at book contents).
'Green' movements have sprung up all over the world. They advocate respect for the environment in which we all live, and they promote sustainability. This is a collectivist philosophy, prioritising the common good over individual interest, and is therefore conventionally regarded as 'left-wing'. The British Green Party’s 2017 ‘Green Guarantee’ included the following commitments, for example:
“We will fight for equality, and for a society where nobody is left behind. We will always act strongly on climate change and to protect the natural world we love.”
The political power of Green parties is steadily increasing in the West, but their representation in Parliament depends upon the voting system – as discussed later (6.3.2.4). They have participated in government in Germany, in coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), but a less responsive voting system allocated only one seat in Parliament from 2010 onwards to the British Green Party.
In the absence of parliamentary representation, they can act as a political pressure groups – as described later (6.4.4) – to mobilise public opinion and put pressure on governments.