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The 10 Key Values of the Greens

(Values 1 through 4 — Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, and Nonviolence — are known as the "Four Pillars" and are shared by Green parties all over the world.  The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) and the various state Green parties in the U.S. have adopted an expanded list of ten Key Values, with exact definitions varying slightly from one state organization to another.  Following is the version of the Ten Key Values adopted by the Illinois Green Party.)

1) Ecological Wisdom. The Greens recognize that the Earth sustains all life processes. Green ecology moves beyond environmentalism by understanding the common roots of the abuse of people. Whatever we do to the web of life, we do to ourselves.

2) Social Justice. Greens want to replace the worldwide system of poverty and injustice with a world free of all oppression based on class, gender, race, citizenship, age, or sexual orientation. 

3) Grassroots Democracy. The powerless suffer the most from resource depletion and toxic pollution. Greens believe in direct participation by all people in the environmental, political, and economic decisions that affect their lives.

4) Nonviolence. Greens reject violence as a way of settling disputes -- it is shortsighted, morally wrong, and ultimately self-defeating. We are working to create a world where war is obsolete. 

5) Decentralization. Power and responsibility must be restored to local communities within an overall framework of ecologically sound and socially just values and lifestyles. 

6) Community-Based Economics. Greens seek a new economics based upon the natural limits of the Earth, which meets the basic needs of everyone on the planet, under democratic, localized community control. 

7) Feminism. The Green movement is profoundly inspired by feminist values. The ethics of cooperation and understanding must replace the values of domination and control over others. 

8) Respect for Diversity. Greens honor the biological diversity of the Earth and the cultural, sexual, and spiritual diversity of Earth's people. We aim to reclaim this country's finest ideals: popular democracy, the dignity of the individual, and liberty and justice for all. 

9) Personal and Global Responsibility. Greens demonstrate a commitment to global sustainability and international justice through political solidarity and in personal lifestyles based on self-sufficiency and living lightly. 

10) Future Focus. Greens seek a society where the interests of the seventh generation are considered equal to the interests of the present. We must reclaim the future for our children and ourselves.