A New Politics For BC
We are facing what Thomas Homer-Dixon refers to as a “polycrisis”; i.e. the simultaneous occurrence of several catastrophic events. Examples of such events include global warming, COVID, the energy crisis, and the war in Ukraine; and the existential threat to humanity created by pushing the planet's ecological systems to their limit. These global events are piled on top of, and inextricably linked to BC’s challenges with increasing levels of poverty; housing and food insecurity; the opioid/mental health and addictions crisis; and, increasing violent and hate related crime.
But, our divisive and confrontational political system is anchored to a flawed economic paradigm and stuck in a cycle of policies that are not only ill-equipped to address these multiple challenges, but are actually exacerbating the situation.
We need a new way of doing politics in BC, one that tells a different story about our future and how we are going to get there. A “New Politics for BC” is a series of conversations focusing on our story and how we will share it with British Columbians.
The Conversations
The conversations were inspired by George Monbiot’s book “Out of the Wreckage – A New Politics for an Age of Crisis”, in which he calls for a new and hopeful “hero story” to replace our current economic model and declining quality of life. We recognize the importance of storytelling in bringing about cultural change, and used these sessions to discuss the elements of a New Politics story.
Over 300 people took part in our dialogue, and listened to the thoughts of party leaders, experts, and each other, through a combination of presentations, panel discussions, breakout groups, and a very lively open chat window.
We would like to thank all of the presenters and participants for their contributions to a very stimulating discussion about the future of politics in BC.
The articles on this page provide an overview of the key points addressed in New Politics so far, as well as resources and links that will provide more information. Videos of the conversations are also posted.
The conversation is not over, and future events will be posted here.
Overview of the first 6 sessions
With the help of experts, party leaders, and all those who took part in the sessions, we explored the landscape of politics and economics in BC today to determine why we need a “New Politics.” We looked at how the neoliberal paradigm has shaped our economy and institutions, and how it has resulted in so many of the challenges we face today.
We want to articulate a New Politics, a made-in-BC story that will frame our future policy, and shape the future platforms of the BC Greens.
- Session 1: Finding Hope
- Session 2: Neoliberalism and Beyond
- Session 3: The (De)Growth Debate
- Session 4: Breaking the Mould
- Session 5: The Monbiot Model
- Session 6: A New Politics for BC?
Reference:
- George Monbiot, Out of the Wreckage – A New Politics for an Age of Crisis 2017