DWARS has a new Political Programme: Sustainable Dare to Share

Around every parliamentary election every four years, DWARS votes in a new Political Programme that serves as a guide to the DWARSe positions. Similarly, last weekend, the GroenLinkse youth at a congress a new programme adopted with the title 'Sustainable Dare to Share'. Full of many refreshing, but sometimes highly idealistic, positions. Below, we discuss some of the most high-profile positions adopted.

Ambitious climate course
DWARS wants to solve the climate crisis as soon as possible. The Netherlands must be climate neutral by 2035 at the latest, to make it possible to stay below a global warming of 1.5 degrees. A warming of more than 1.5 degrees would be catastrophic for life and the world as we know it today. To this end, DWARS believes that a climate emergency should be declared immediately, to find and implement faster solutions against the threats posed to us by the changing climate.

Redistribution of wealth
Besides the ideal of giving life to others, DWARSers also chose the ideal of solidarity last Congress. Not the interests of the very richest, but the interests of everyone, and especially those of the very weakest, should come first. Thus, the new programme calls for a basic income; a certain amount of money that every citizen will receive unconditionally from the government. It is seen as a measure to combat poverty and inequality, to provide equal opportunities for all and more scope for self-enrichment. After all, work is not the purpose of our lives.

In addition to a basic income, the GroenLinkse youth advocate raising the highest tax bracket to 70%, so that the strongest shoulders will also bear most of the burden. Finally, the young people take a clear stand against big business with a cap on assets of €2.5 million.

Fundamental animal rights
The new political programme firmly enshrines animal rights. At the congress, an amendment was passed stating that all livestock farming and fishing should be abolished. An ideal we are now far from, but makes it clear that members consider the freedoms of other animals more important than the freedom of humans to consume them. It is a radical position and in practice there are indeed many snags. However, this does not take away from the fact that the freedom to live outweighs the freedom for our taste buds.

Feminism
The feminist nature of DWARS is also strongly reflected in its new programme. In addition to extending birth leave to 24 weeks for all parents, they will get leave for the first four weeks after birth and will also be paid in full. In this way, the partner(s) of the birth mother can also stay at home and take care of the child, clearly easing the birth mother's burden. In addition, contraception will now be reimbursed from the basic package for everyone, as will menstrual products. That way, the cost of contraception or menstruation will not fall on one group. Finally, it calls for a maximum quota in large organisations and on political party electoral lists: a maximum of 60% of them should be male.

Operation curbed
DWARS does not want companies to exploit their workers and the planet with impunity. That is why the new programme proposes to make ecocide (= natural murder, large-scale damage to nature and/or the environment) a criminal offence. (Large) companies that are persistently guilty of this can even be dissolved if necessary. DWARS also believes there should be more employee participation and that shareholders should not have sole control of a company. If necessary, companies that do not do so can be transformed into cooperatives.

The new family
Clearly, DWARS has an innovative view on the possible composition of the family. For instance, the programme states that the ban on polygamy will be abolished, allowing people to enter into a marriage or cohabitation contract with multiple partners. It also allows children to have multiple parents. In this way, there will be room for new (rainbow) families in the society that DWARS envisions.