LEADERSHIP (CONT)

To speak of market (read: economic growth) solutions to a problem caused by markets (economic growth) may not be as contradictory as it seems. It all comes down to how one defines growth. It is possible to envision a growth economy that is not based on material growth but rather on cultural and spiritual growth. Services are as much a part of the economy as goods, and a cleaner environment is the most valuable service of all.

Al Gore's recipe for leadership recognizes that the initial step toward redefining the economy will take moral leadership and action. In this way, his current campaign draws on the ideas he first presented in his book, Earth in the Balance. There, he said that the preservation of the environment should become the new organizing principle for society. In other words, the new morality.

Unfortunately, Al Gore was denied the chance to exercise moral leadership as President of the United States. As he attempts, nonetheless, to pilot a new moral direction for this country, he deserves our help and support.

Kelpie Wilson is the t r u t h o u t environment editor. A veteran forest protection activist and mechanical engineer, she writes from her solar-powered cabin in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwest Oregon.

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