Green Political Theory

Mathew Humphrey

What constitutes green political theory is contested; at a minimum, it is a form of normative theory that has, as a central and defining focus, a concern for the protection of the natural environment. On this minimal reading, many forms of political thought that seek explicit environmental ends would count as “green.” On a maximal account, green political thought has to be in pursuit of not merely environmental ends, but a fundamental restructuring of the institutional bases of economic and political life, along decentralized, deindustrialized, and participatory lines to bring about a truly ecological society. On this latter view, genuinely green political theory is ecological whereas the pursuit of more limited ends is merely environmental. This entry focuses on those streams of thought that have sought to present a radical challenge to the existing order. It examines the philosophical underpinnings of early radical green political thought, seeking what was Historically, ...

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