The typical grass-roots Greens member today is someone who only recently got interested in politics. No surprise they don't have the same background as the typical ALP Left member.
Both this comment, and that of ruth_lawrence does re-emphasise what I've been banging on about the class-based affiliations of the Greens and the ALP respectively. The Greens do represent a growing demographic - middle-class, professional, tertiary educated, and they do have an ideology of social liberalism. This may mean they can be sympathetic to working-class concerns they're not really going to 'get it' in the same visceral manner that many Labor people do. But rather than letting this became a complete blocker to any sort of activity of the two parties in their common interests, it can be an advantage if they embrace this sort of specialisation with a view of using these core competencies as a resource for united action.
Personally (and I guess I can be personal about this in my own journal), it does put me in a ticklish position. From a contemporary perspective I'm very much in the Green camp in terms of demographics, but my background is so firmly working-class (indeed welfare class) that it quite an unshakeable part of my being.
Perhaps it unsurprising that my politics have ended up anarchist; a liberal critique of socialism, and a socialist critique of liberalism.
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Date: 2012-08-02 03:33 am (UTC)Both this comment, and that of
Personally (and I guess I can be personal about this in my own journal), it does put me in a ticklish position. From a contemporary perspective I'm very much in the Green camp in terms of demographics, but my background is so firmly working-class (indeed welfare class) that it quite an unshakeable part of my being.
Perhaps it unsurprising that my politics have ended up anarchist; a liberal critique of socialism, and a socialist critique of liberalism.