Page 16
EPIB Trail
Volume 12, Issue 3
Art, Imagination, and the Green New Deal By Emily Cheng Since the Green New Deal entered the public conscience, it has reframed the discussion on policy options around the climate crisis, though not without controversy. It is criticized by conservatives for being socialist and radical, and it is criticized by liberals for being aspirational. Within their criticisms, a common word is often brought up: utopian. A press release from the Congressional Western Caucus strongly proclaimed, “Western Caucus Denounces the Utopian Green New Deal.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, too, had dismissive words for the policy in February of 2019: “The green dream or whatever they call it.” What exactly makes up the Green New Deal that prompts this kind of response? There are three core components of the Green New Deal: rapid decarbonization by 2030, guaranteed jobs, and a just transition for workers and frontline communities. While the resolution is most commonly associated with its sponsors, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Senator Ed Markey (MA), it also has 95 House cosponsors and 14 Senate co-sponsors, an indication of the policy’s legitimacy and viability. The Green New Deal targets all aspects of the economy, including infrastructure, buildings, transportation, agriculture, the food system, among others. The dictionary definition of a utopia is “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.” To me, this definition is overly simplistic, and limits utopias to an imaginary concept instead of a better future. In her book, “Imagined Utopias in the Built Environment”, author Anna Novakov offers a different definition of utopia with more nuance: “Utopia is defined not so much as a specific physical place, but an ongoing state-of-mind. Utopia is an emotional experience encompassing the desire for a world (in the future); an anxious need to understand the current moment (in the present); and the disappointing inability to complete the original intention (in the past)…utopia is considered an intentional desire.” At this point, we must acknowledge that the Green New Deal concept is not new. FDR’s New Deal was a sweeping program to bring “Relief, Recovery, and Reform” to the country during the Great Depression. The initiatives transformed the economy and the role of the government, expanded social programs, and created jobs for millions of Americans. The New Deal was not perfect—racial justice was swept under the rug—but it is this radical rethinking of current systems that we need. We needed it then for the Great Depression, and we need it now for the climate crisis. So, when Representative Morgan Griffith (VA-09) of the Congressional Western Caucus denounced the Green New Deal, calling it “a radical reshaping of American society in the name of utopian environmental policy”…well that is kind of the point. There is also a practical reason to embrace the utopian nature of the Green New Deal. By connecting climate policy with other policy issues— like healthcare, dignified jobs, transportation, infrastructure, and racial justice—it gives climate change an elevated platform that will reach far more people.
