Introduction

In response to the environmental and political crisis that the people currently face, new ways of thinking and acting that provide alternatives to the current operation of liberal democracy and capitalism are required. The green and civic republican traditions have important historical and conceptual connections. Both emphasise social interdependence, and the importance of the common good as distinct from individual and sectional interests. Fear of technocratic rule by experts has been a factor in resistance to certain policies that have been suggested in response to the environmental crisis. In highlighting the common concerns of republicanism and green politics, John Barry’s article focuses on components of the contemporary drive for growth, including debt-based consumerism, non-democratic workplaces, the externalisation of ecological and social costs, and dependence on the availability of cheap fossil resources.