Global Transformation: Strategy for Action
Dedication Epigraph Preface Acknowledgments One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Epilogue Comments
| Chapter One: Vision |
Introduction
The Good Life
Economic Security
Workplace Democracy
Compassionate Government
Criminal Justice
Racial Justice
Liberty
Life-long Learning
Personal Growth
Spirituality
Families
Community
Health Care
Environment
Media, Computers, and the Internet
Science and Technology
Arts and Culture
Sports and Recreation
Funding
Controlling Inflation
Property Rights
Controlling Corporations
Electoral Reform
Global Peace
Changing the System
Notes
| Introduction |
Entering the year 2030, the United States of America has the look and feel of a new society. We’re a moral community grounded in a global community committed to the equal value of all people, promoting the general welfare, and taking care of the environment. We're not perfect, but we’re making major, steady progress, while cooperating closely with people in other countries who are moving in the same general direction.
The turning point was Barack Obama’s landslide election for President in 2008. With his ability to speak from the heart and provide a new moral vision, he inspired the American people to overcome selfishness and come together to solve our collective problems. With this mandate and strong Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, the grassroots movement sparked by Obama concentrated on improvements supported by a majority of the American people and began winning one victory after another in a positive upward spiral.
This momentum expanded the horizon of the possible and eventually led to fundamental changes throughout society. His election and the movement that emerged from it also encouraged the rest of the world that progressive forces in all countries can work together proactively, rather than being compelled to fight against efforts by the United States and its allies to dominate other countries.
With strong leadership from other elected officials and a broad array of activist organizations, the American people have asserted their power, set the country on a righteous path, strengthened the voice of ordinary folks in their daily lives, and insisted that the government respect the will of the people while honoring the rights of individuals.
One key method for mobilizing popular power is the convening of Community Dialogues with Elected Officials throughout the United States (as well as other countries). Mandated by national legislation, broadcast on local television stations and other outlets, and moderated by a neutral facilitator, on the second Saturday of each month, Congresspersons, Senators, and the President convene two-hour events to report on their activities, listen to concerns from their constituents, and respond to questions. Speakers from the audience are randomly selected from among those who indicate a desire to speak. They can use their allotted time to comment on any subject or ask a question and receive an answer.
Activist organizations use these events as organizing tools to mobilize their members. Concerned citizens unaffiliated with any organization learn about public affairs and voice their opinions. Many local and state elected officials convene similar events. The attention given by the mainstream media to these unpredictable Community Dialogues has boosted interest in political affairs among the general public. This structural change in our political institutions has made our country more democratic.
Another method for strengthening our democracy is the Monthly Mobilization. During the second week of each month, a broad coalition of progressive activist organizations, including the Democratic Party, mobilizes a million or more people to pressure the United States Congress to support a particular timely demand that is consistent with the platform of the Democratic Party. Mobilizing more than a million people at the same time in support of the same demand has an enormous impact. More often than not, Congress adopts the demand that is advanced.
The Community Dialogues and the Monthly Mobilization help people persuade their elected representatives to adopt progressive positions that are supported by a majority of their constituents. Progressive forces in other countries are adopting similar methods to strengthen democracy in their own countries.
Once a year, progressive-minded people throughout the world implement the Annual Global Boycott to persuade a specific corporation to make a specific change in how it operates. The success of these boycotts contributes to a growing sense of a global community dedicated to all humanity and the environment and helps to persuade other corporations to reform their policies so they too won’t be hit with a boycott.
In the United States, as a nation, we are now committed to insuring that all people have the means to live healthy, happy, and creative lives within a sustainable environment. Our federal, state, and local governments play important roles in this effort. In particular, the federal government:
- Regulates the economy wisely
- Provides local governments with funds for essential services
- Guarantees that all working-age adults have the opportunity to earn a living wage
- Makes certain that disabled and retired persons are able to live decently
- Requires national corporations to serve the public interest
| *** |
But we ask not only what the government can do for us. We also ask what we can do for each other.
The government assures the opportunity to flourish, but it can’t force everyone to take advantage of those opportunities. For various reasons, including self-destructive habits, some people fall through the cracks. When these misfortunes occur, friends, family, co-workers, government programs, private charities, and others respond with caring attention and helpful support.
Most individuals belong to healthy families that foster self-determination, mutual support, community involvement, and ongoing self-improvement. Volunteering to assist people in need, participating in houses of worship, and partaking in grassroots political organizations is commonplace. We accept our responsibility to take care of one another. We pay attention to each other, offer support as best we can, and cultivate authentic, honest relationships.
We also face our responsibility to ourselves. For most of us, these efforts involve spiritual growth. But regardless of the language we use, most of us focus regularly on becoming better human beings.
As President Kennedy launched a Physical Fitness program that caught the imagination of the American people, President Obama initiated a Moral Fitness program that persists to this day. Led by a national Council, this program encourages people to notice ethical issues in their daily lives and strive to live morally upright lives based on universal values agreed on by most people, such as self-reliance, self-improvement, risk-taking, thrift, personal responsibility, equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, honesty, fairness, humility, kindness, courtesy, compassion, and communal solidarity. The Council also suggests a list of structured activities that people can use to help them focus in a disciplined way on their own moral growth, without being moralistic or judgmental toward others.
We do much of this self-improvement on our own, recognizing that each individual needs to follow his or her own conscience. We reflect, pray, or meditate on our strengths and weaknesses and resolve to develop new habits so we can face reality more honestly and serve others more effectively.
We also rely on assistance from relatives, friends, colleagues, and fellow members of our houses of worship. We talk informally with others about these issues and some of us take part in support groups designed to nurture personal growth, joy, fellowship, community service, and political action.
Given these efforts, most of us are generally at peace with each other and ourselves.
| *** |
As a country, we are at peace with other nations, with whom we work cooperatively to deal with conflicts nonviolently – while at times joining multi-national forces to protect the vulnerable. Having revived President Franklin Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy, the United States now works with the United Nations and other international organizations to control external threats such as global warming and trans-national terrorism, assure that all people benefit from global economic growth, and promote basic human rights (including economic rights, cultural rights, and individual liberty).
President Obama’s multi-ethnic roots helped people in other countries develop confidence in the United States as an ally. But more importantly, during the Obama Administration, the U.S. government stopped trying to be the world’s policeman and stopped trying to dominate other nations with threats and bribes. Instead, the United States, at times providing leadership and at times following the lead of others, began treating other nations with genuine respect. Our government now treats all nations consistently, according to the same standards. We practice what we preach and set a good example by respecting human rights and individual liberty at home. And we support international treaties and agreements that protect the common good of all humanity.
The people of the United States provide key assistance to people of less-developed nations who want and need our support. We have clearly committed ourselves to maximizing the independence and self-sufficiency of other countries so they too can assure their people the means to live healthy, happy, and creative lives within a sustainable environment. We recognize that our own prosperity depends on the prosperity of others, but primarily we lend a helping hand because it’s the right thing to do.
Since most of the world’s highly developed countries have adopted a similar attitude, less developed nations are confident that the wealthiest and most powerful nations are dedicated to the long-term interests of the entire human family, rather than trying to impose their will for the short-term self-interest of the wealthy elites in those countries. All nations are making steady progress toward providing all of their citizens with the means to live decently. And a vibrant new labor movement has been developing strong global unions that are able to act in unison for common interests.
These changes have resulted in a major decline in anti-American sentiment throughout the world, which has reduced the terrorist violence that had been fomented by economic deprivation and hostility toward the United States government. The prospect of even greater global peace is on the horizon.
As a result of these successful efforts, the year 2030 brings with it a strong sense of worldwide unity. Most countries are on a similar people-centered path, learning from each other, while each country adopts its own policies that serve the common good. The people of the world feel part of the same human family.
| The Good Life |
Since people are secure about their financial situation and can find jobs that please them, they are generally relaxed, with lots of free time to pursue their heart's delight.
They play with children, relatives, lovers, and friends.
They cook, paint, learn photography, write poetry, play music, beautify their homes, cultivate gardens, and pursue a wide variety of other creative activities.
They participate in the religious community of their choice, exchange email with people throughout the world, join book clubs, volunteer with non-profit organizations to provide services to disadvantaged people, work with political organizations, perform in church plays, and take part in civic life in any number of other ways.
They read books, surf the Web, and go to lifelong learning centers.
They join support groups with people who share similar histories, take self-improvement classes of all sorts, meditate, pray, learn better how to relax, appreciate solitude, and practice doing nothing.
They exercise and play sports.
They dance, go to movies and concerts, and invite friends over to share their home- entertainment centers.
They hike in the woods, enjoy waterfalls, camp, travel, watch birds, listen to the ocean, sail, surf, watch falling stars, listen to crickets, and learn to love nature in all sorts of ways.
In short, they enjoy life.
| Economic Security |
This relaxed life style is due in large part to the fact that people feel secure financially.
Workers who can't find a job in private business or prefer public-service work go to the local employment office and get referred to a meaningful public-service job, after receiving training if needed.
All workers earn a living wage and receive at least one month's paid vacation each year, as well as paid family leave in the event of a medical emergency or the birth of a child.
The minimum wage provides single workers with enough income to make ends meet. The Earned Income Tax Credit secures an adequate income for families by providing cash rebates to lower-wage parents.
This wide availability of living-wage jobs has contributed to an overall increase in wages, for employers now must pay more to attract workers.
Universal health insurance protects everyone from being thrown into poverty by a sudden illness or accident.
A federal grant program encourages people to save money for their retirement. Lower-income families receive two dollars in cash for every dollar that they set aside in safe, long-term investments, and middle-income families receive one dollar for each dollar. In addition, lower-income families receive an annual tax credit that is placed into a long-term savings account. Upon retirement, Social Security supplements these savings to assure retired persons enough income to live decently.
Due to increased non-profit housing and effective rent control, affordable housing is plentiful.
A new federal farm program has led to rapid growth in sustainable, diversified, organic family farms. This rebirth in local agriculture has revitalized small towns throughout the country.
In these and other ways, a basic floor of economic security is guaranteed (though most people still work hard to improve their lot).
This underlying foundation of financial confidence enables people to better appreciate each moment without worrying about the future.
| Workplace Democracy |
Workers now get more satisfaction from their paid employment, partly because employers treat them with more respect. Employers know their employees no longer feel threatened by being thrown into poverty and can easily look for work elsewhere, including a public-service job like childcare or recreation. This shift in power has greatly improved working conditions.
Encouraged by public tax credits and other measures, more and more businesses are employee-owned. And many businesses are also employee-controlled, with workers electing their governing board on the basis of one worker, one vote. As the percentage of employee-owned and -controlled businesses grows each year, morale and productivity increase.
Moreover, this pattern boosts job security, because worker-owned businesses are less likely to move to other countries than are corporations controlled by outside investors.
In addition, the number of workers belonging to unions is growing steadily for several reasons. Businesses can no longer fire union organizers and hire replacement workers without being severely penalized. Unions are recognized when a majority of workers sign union cards. Secondary boycotts enable unions to support one another's strikes. And unions are more democratic than they used to be. Most unions, for example, now elect their national leadership directly, which was not the case decades ago.
These reforms have made unions more attractive to all workers. More than one-third of all workers now belong to unions and the percentage is steadily increasing. This strengthening of unions has enhanced job security, led to higher wages, encouraged truly democratic work teams, and given workers a greater voice in the running of their business, including the selection of supervisors.
These examples have carried over to non-unionized workplaces as well, resulting overall in a much more democratic, less authoritarian working environment, with managers who empower their workers.
| Compassionate Government |
As stated in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, government's main focus now is to "promote the general welfare" – that is, the welfare of everyone. If one person is left behind, no one is secure. If anyone is considered "disposable," everyone faces the threat of neglect. If the liberty of one person is denied unfairly, others are less free from fear. So as a society, we now affirm that all people are entitled to fundamental human rights, including the means to live a fruitful life as each person chooses (so long as she or he does not harm others).
We assure that all children grow up in families that have sufficient resources to meet their children's basic needs. High-quality childcare is available for all children, partly because a substantial increase in salaries and training for childcare workers has resulted in improved childcare centers.
Parents in need can receive an in-home caregiver's grant during the first three years of a child's life so they can care for children full-time when they choose to do so. Similar in-home support is available to family members who wish to care for frail relatives, including grandparents.
An increase in the number of recreational programs has eliminated the old problem of children being left home alone after school.
Throughout the country, small crisis centers assist victims of physical and sexual abuse. Public funding is adequate to establish enough centers so that people can receive immediate help when they need it.
The United States also provides high-quality mental-health services to people who are afflicted with disabling personal problems, such as substance abuse or being seriously troubled emotionally or mentally. Public funding is sufficient to assure that these services are available on demand to those who need and want them.
These centers emphasize peer counseling, self-learning, support groups, many varieties of counseling and therapy, and holistic alternatives such as diet, exercise, meditation, breathing exercises, and natural remedies. Because the availability of meaningful living-wage employment provides these clients with more incentive to deal with their problems, users of mental-health services are now better able to become independent than was the case when economic insecurity and dead-end jobs awaited people leaving similar programs.
Support services, workplace accommodations, and wage subsidies enable people with disabilities to make ends meet while working to the degree that they are able.
Throughout society, decision-making is decentralized and democratized as much as possible. In schools, for example, students, parents, teachers, and principals work together as partners, each with a real voice in how the school operates. Nursing homes involve residents and staff in vigorous, productive discussions and joint decisions that shape the operation of these facilities. Health services fund consumer-operated mental-health services, including user-run drop-in centers, as well as small residential crisis centers operated on the self-help model. These community-support efforts have increased the formation of lasting friendships and cooperative problem solving.
Substantial federal funds for social-service programs are distributed to state and local governments that administer these programs within broad federal guidelines. This decentralization maximizes local community participation in funding decisions and oversight. As a result, programs are more responsive to local needs than would be the case with a federal bureaucracy.
In all of these ways, our governmental institutions have helped the United States to become a more caring and democratic society, which has led to less urgency about climbing the social ladder. Workers are learning how to be more cooperative. Cutthroat competition is fading. People no longer need to be “top dog” all the time. Rather than dominating people they consider inferior, people respect each other as human beings of equal worth and develop self-respect by simply being human and doing their best. Domination and submission are diminishing. Self-determination and mutual support are blossoming.
| Criminal Justice |
Establishing economic justice has resulted in a steady decrease in crime and a more peaceful social environment. However, some people still break the law. These people are handled by a criminal justice system that differs dramatically from the system that was in place at the beginning of this century.
Vengeance and cruelty against inmates are less common, because incarceration is considered sufficient punishment in and of itself. Since living conditions for lower-income people have improved dramatically, the simple denial of liberty is more of a punishment than it used to be. We’ve eliminated the inhuman conditions that used to drive prisoners crazy, created deep resentments, and fostered more crime. We employ imprisonment without possibility of parole rather than the death penalty.
Whenever possible, people who commit crimes are required to engage in restitution or some form of repayment to the victims of their crimes. Education about the consequences of crime and other social rehabilitation services – including classes in conflict resolution, nonviolent communication, stress reduction, and meditation – are offered to prisoners as a way to reduce future crime. If prisoners prefer to be left alone and simply do their time, however, they can. Once prisoners are released, they are again eligible for all public services and entitled to vote.
With assistance from strong civilian review boards, police departments have rooted out brutality and corruption. All police officers now see themselves as servants of the people, peacemakers, and mediators. The extensive use of foot patrols in urban areas contributes to higher quality, more personal police work.
Vigorous prosecution of white-collar crime has led to a greater sense of fairness. The criminal justice system now takes seriously crimes such as embezzlement, fraud, price-fixing, insider trading, malfeasance, and tax evasion, whether committed by corporations or individuals.
| Racial Justice |
Believing that everyone benefits from the empowerment of others, our society has resolved to steadily reduce racial injustice. The number of professionals investigating charges of discrimination, especially in employment and housing, has been greatly increased, as have the penalties. We’ve resolved to eliminate all forms of institutional racism.
Colleges, universities, businesses, and public agencies fully incorporate individuals from groups who have been historically disadvantaged, including lower-income people, people of color, and women. As a result, these institutions now serve their communities more effectively.
Speaking on behalf of the people of the United States, the federal government has officially apologized to African Americans for the institution of slavery and begun paying reparations for slavery and the official discrimination that followed it. These payments are made to non-profit organizations that provide assistance to African Americans based on need.
The sovereignty of Native American nations has been reaffirmed and strengthened. Employment programs and social services are fully available on tribal lands.
We treat undocumented immigrants with dignity and respect their human rights. All undocumented immigrants can receive public health care and their children can attend public school. People awaiting deportation are held under humane conditions with access to legal services.
In addition to controlling our borders, we discourage illegal immigration by assisting economic development in less developed countries, so that prosperity in those countries will enable their citizens to remain in their homeland, as they generally prefer. Because some illegal immigration is inevitable and undocumented immigrants are vulnerable to exploitation, occasional amnesties allow undocumented immigrants to remain in this country legally and receive the full rights and benefits accorded all legal immigrants.
| Liberty |
The United States fully affirms liberty and self-determination throughout society. Governments deny liberty only when an individual has violated the rights of others. Otherwise, people are free to do as they choose. The right of privacy is consistently respected.
While discouraging unwanted pregnancies by maximizing funding for sex education and family-planning services, a woman's right to choose whether to give birth is protected, with some restrictions. At the same time, society has greatly increased support services for women who wish to have their children adopted.
The gap in pay between women and men working in the same occupation is being steadily reduced. Victims of wage discrimination can now effectively sue employers. In combination with an educational campaign directed at employers, this threat of legal action has encouraged equal pay for equal work.
Discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation has virtually disappeared. Gay and lesbian people have the same rights that heterosexual people have.
Because health and social-service centers are attractive, comfortable, available on demand, truly supportive, and voluntary, people in need utilize them more than was the case decades ago, when large numbers of troubled people wandered the streets in a daze, afraid to go to unfriendly, coercive, paternalistic, and over-crowded institutions.
Because meaningful living-wage job opportunities are guaranteed and high-quality health and human services are available on demand, oppressive conditions no longer drive people into self-destructive forms of behavior.
These improvements facilitated the decriminalization of behaviors that don’t involve violating the rights of others, such as the use of mind-altering drugs, prostitution, and drinking alcohol in public. Mind-altering drugs are distributed at health clinics along with educational materials about their dangers. Rehabilitation programs for people who want to change their habits are also available at these clinics. Decriminalization has taken the profit out of the black-market drug business and eliminated the violence and crime previously associated with drug dealing.
Thus, our society supports both individual liberty and community support. By encouraging each person to discover his or her own path, people are better able to develop satisfying relationships. By preventing governmental intrusion into private matters, we're better able to focus the government on public issues.
| Life-long Learning |
Self-determination is also affirmed in the classroom, where students are encouraged to pursue their curiosity at their own pace and help each other solve problems. From the moment of birth to the moment of death, human beings are constantly learning, naturally driven toward becoming ever more effective, productive, and creative.
Though guided repetition is an essential element of learning, self-directed exploration is also important and is supported as a way to nurture self-determination. The joy of learning, which comes naturally to young children, is constantly reinforced, rather than being stamped out with rigid authoritarianism. The willingness to question authority is cherished, not resented. Teachers encourage students to think for themselves. Since children learn to be self-directed, they can protect their integrity as they mature.
Our educational centers remember that both people learn at least as much from their peers and from their own self-inquiry as they do from their teachers.
Teachers and teachers' aides are much better paid than was the case decades ago when respect for the importance of schooling had diminished. To help attract better teachers, substantial bonuses are paid to teachers in lower-income neighborhoods to help those students overcome the disadvantages associated with living in a lower-income environment.
Appropriate learning tools are available to students in a joyous, self-directed, collaborative approach to learning and discovery. Field trips and other methods give students hands-on experience with the physical world, which enriches learning and nurtures love for nature. Classrooms are much smaller than they were at the turn of the century. Though computers and the Internet are readily available, books are plentiful, as educators have learned that students remember more and gain a different kind insight from reading books than they do from reading computer screens.
Our schools also teach students the importance of social responsibility. Teaching the philosophy and methods of non-violence and conflict-resolution permeates all school systems. Schools facilitate participation in extra-curricular community service. In these ways, students learn social skills, respect for others, cooperation, and acceptance of legitimate authority.
Publicly funded, multi-purpose community centers serve as places where adults learn, connect, celebrate life, and form friendships. Some of these centers are neighborhood-based. Others are rooted in specific common interests. Many utilize space at public schools at night and on weekends. These community centers offer a variety of educational, recreational, self-help, cultural, and creative activities. In order to assure that all people have the opportunity to participate in a rich community life, our society dedicates sufficient funds to support as many of these life-long learning centers as are needed.
| Personal Growth |
When Franklin Roosevelt said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” he addressed how the personal and the political are inter-related. If we aren’t careful, base instincts like fear and anger gain the upper hand and throw us off balance. Social, cultural, and political progress requires learning to overcome and transcend our emotions, or at least control and channel them. So we nurture steady personal growth within ourselves and assist others to do the same – in a national community composed of many small communities (including extended families).
Because strong individuals build strong communities, we aren’t frightened by personal liberation. We encourage people to constantly explore what makes them happy – without stopping at superficial pleasures that only provide temporary comfort. By going below the surface, we tap deeper emotions and find our ever-changing true self. And when we do that, we discover our bond with all members of the human family and life itself.
Without sacrificing our own needs or suppressing feelings, we have learned to move beyond fear and anger and discover profound trust and love. When negative gut reactions get the upper hand, we let go of those negative feelings, get down to what is really real, and awaken deep positive emotions that sustain us over the long haul.
By fully incorporating love into our daily lives and really paying attention to each other, we are making nonviolence a way of life. We are passionate, spontaneous, and immersed in the here and now. We don’t negate the ego, but rather are grounded in a deeper self-awareness. We don’t discount the analytical mind, but embrace all forms of intelligence. Because we are open, honest, freewheeling, and responsive, we connect with others more deeply. We are neither self-sacrificing nor selfish. We love ourselves as we love others. In this way, we counteract egoism, which had been spreading like a plague.
From time to time, all of us still get stuck in a downward spiral of navel-gazing and selfishness, which leaves us feeling empty. By sharing methods for breaking these bad habits, our nation is contributing to overall social progress.
Far too often, people become power junkies. We crave power for our own personal needs. We get hung up in the head and the world of ideas. We lacerate one another with personal attacks rather than engaging in constructive criticism and honest self-criticism. We act like robots and use people until we use them up. We strive to dominate. We fall victim to various forms of egoism, including arrogance, elitism, racism, sexism, and dog-eat-dog competition. These egocentric tendencies undermine our projects.
In the second half of the 20th century, the Black Power, women’s, and gay and lesbian movements grew in large part because they directly confronted internalized oppression, or negative habits learned from the larger society. In a similar way, we have resolved to overcome egoism. We are learning to rise above greed and the egocentric lust for personal power. To help in this regard, many of us participate with close friends in regular support groups during which we report on our recent efforts to become a better human being.
| Spirituality |
Most people consider spiritual development to be a key part of their personal growth. Even most “secular” people appreciate inner experiences that religious people call “spiritual,” including:
- Feeling amazed and humbled by the vastness of the universe
- Feeling at one with nature and all humanity
- Sensing that everyone shares a common source
- Sensing that all life shares a common structure or order
- Being awe-struck by beauty and joy
- Feeling the “life force” coursing through one’s body
- Feeling that life is fundamentally good
- Being a participant, or co-creator, in the process of evolution
- Being aware of how one’s mind cannot be measured or touched because it is more than one’s body
- Fully appreciating non-material realities that give life meaning
When one is entranced by these experiences, all explanations fall short. Poets, songwriters, artists, and religious traditions do their best. But no words can describe these profound pre-verbal experiences. By recognizing that all of these verbal efforts are inadequate, most of us no longer claim that the particular words that make most sense to us is the best language for others.
By acknowledging this common ground, we are respectful of our differences. Even those of us who call ourselves secular respect those who call themselves spiritual – so long as believers don’t try to impose their beliefs on others. And those of us who are spiritual respect secular humanists who act in their daily lives according to a moral code that is largely the same as ours.
Regardless of the phraseology that we use to make sense of these mysterious experiences, we cherish and cultivate inner experience – the world of emotions, thoughts, hopes, intuition, creativity, and inspiration.
Given these developments, fundamentalism has declined. Fundamentalists, with their literal interpretation of historical documents, insist that embracing certain words is essential in order to be fully human. (Dogmatic secularists make a similar mistake when they rail against the use of certain words.) But one’s language is relatively unimportant. What really matters is how one lives – how one treats other people and the environment.
So we have made it clear that we respect all spiritual paths, as well as secular humanism. We find unity in universal truths that transcend particular traditions. And we support one another’s striving to reach higher levels of awareness, whether or not people call it “spiritual.”
| Families |
In the last ten years, the United States has undertaken a widespread educational campaign to increase awareness about what it takes to be a healthy family. The importance of strong families to the health of the nation is clearly affirmed throughout society. Our government provides resources and services to families in need and supports broad public-education programs concerning good parenting. Extensive research funded by the federal government has led to greater clarity on these issues. Parenting classes in schools and community centers are common, and the mainstream media frequently present programs and articles that address this issue.
Most families are now stable and tight-knit. Family members are frequently affectionate and express their delight in one another. They love and accept each other unconditionally, even when mistakes are made. They communicate clearly and honestly and enjoy spending lots of their free time with one another. When needed, they cope with new difficulties by changing how they relate to each other. Being flexible, they absorb stress by modifying their roles, responsibilities, and rules, which are clear and fair.
Our society has left behind the old notions that the father should be the supreme authority, children should simply obey, and severe punishment is the best way to teach self-discipline. Rather, in two-parent families, both parents are co-equal partners while dividing responsibilities as needed. Families now rely primarily on positive reinforcement to teach good habits, use reasonable punishment only when necessary, involve children in decision-making as much as possible, encourage the curiosity and self-determination of their children, and involve children in community service and political action.
Mutual support, recognition, respect, warmth, and humor are commonplace. Family members help each other deal with daily hassles and develop a sense of belonging to a team that nurtures personal growth without confining or oppressing them. Consequently, when needed, individual members sacrifice for the sake of the family.
As a national community, we rely on strong families to help pass on our values by teaching habits such as hard work, prudent risk-taking, responsible childbearing, and community involvement. Being more cohesive and having deeper bonds than used to be the case decades ago, adults are now more likely to help care for their parents when they age.
Family members share a basic moral code and a profound purpose in life, as does the nation as a whole. Most families see this worldview as spiritual, even if they don’t participate in religious services regularly. Many families are active in houses of worship where they find total communities that provide an array of services, activities, and peer-group supports to member families. In this way, individuals transcend a sense of self and link with a larger tradition that provides meaning to their lives.
In families whose members are people of color, a strong sense of racial pride is a frequent characteristic. These families hold strong positive feelings toward their heritage and talk openly about racism and teach their children how to protect themselves against it. Non-minority families also understand and appreciate their family history and cultural heritage and transmit these traditions to their children.
Most families are not isolated nuclear units. Rather, each family is the center of a large extended family of relatives, friends, and neighbors that is a vibrant, rich, diverse community. These interactions expose everyone to a variety of information and perspectives. Being closely connected to the wider society, these relationships produce resources that help families deal with problems that emerge.
Compared to decades ago, our society is now more committed to developing strong extended families, so we place less emphasis on the importance of work and career. Hectic lives with chronically high levels of stress are less common, partly because of the greater sense of overall economic security. Families now take the time to forge a strong sense of unity by providing lots of warm, fun-filled interactions.
Having been raised in successful families, children learn from their own experience how to be good parents themselves when they have children. Society as a whole therefore benefits from a more productive workforce. And our commitment to the growth of healthy families has resulted in less drug abuse, violence, domestic abuse, teen suicide, runaways, and other social problems.
| Community |
To be strong and healthy, families need strong and healthy communities. So the United States has nurtured an overlapping network of caring communities that cultivate both mutual support and personal freedom. Clarifying the ethical principles and national purpose that we share in common has strengthened these efforts.
We care about the quality of our social environment because we care about the quality of our inner life. We want society to provide all people with the opportunity to fulfill themselves, be productive, love one another, have fun, and enjoy life. So we build social institutions – including families, neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, community centers, workplaces, schools, and places of worship – that help us achieve those goals.
The assurance of steady, adequately paid employment has greatly improved the ability of lower-income families to maintain a positive home environment. Families that are raising young children while both parents work at full-time jobs now have flexible and supportive jobs. Affordable, quality childcare and enriched after-school programs have greatly increased the quality of family life. These increased community supports have led to more harmonious family functioning.
In general, we maximize self-determination and democracy by empowering the greatest number of people to the maximum degree feasible. Given universal economic security, adults now feel free to engage in work and social relationships of their own choosing. Rather than being directed by others, they generally manage themselves. Rather than always being either a follower or a leader, people sometimes lead and sometimes follow. They lead each other, so everyone is both a follower and a leader. By working together in this way and learning from each other, groups achieve more than they could with a mechanistic, top-down approach.
In recent years, non-profit organizations have applied these principles by clearly distinguishing the separate roles of board and staff. Boards of directors no longer try to micromanage their organizations, and staffs no longer try to manipulate their boards into rubber-stamping their actions. Rather, boards provide clear leadership by adopting written policies that define the organization’s goals, delegate responsibility for achieving those goals to the staff, and hold the staff accountable by determining whether or not they meet these goals. On the staff level, similar principles apply by utilizing work teams to determine objectives and delegate responsibility.
In these ways, supportive, democratic communities provide people with opportunities to overcome isolation and engage in meaningful social activities. Our schools, religious institutions, neighborhood centers, recreation centers, parks, community centers, labor union halls, civic associations, and libraries are devoted to facilitating the development of participatory communities that foster the formation of mutually supportive friendships and social engagement. Throughout society, we’re constantly inventing new forms of community that encourage cooperative problem solving, self-help, mutual support, and authentic relationships that are open, honest, and vital.
Of particular importance are self-help support groups of all sorts composed of people with similar interests and experiences. Many political activists, for example, gather regularly with others who belong to the same organization to share a meal, enjoy time together, and then report to one another on their efforts to become a better human being. Setting aside time to reflect on these issues enables activists to become more effective in their efforts. And by paying attention to the whole person, these activists slowly grow a deeper sense of community.
| Health Care |
In recent years, the United States has made a strong commitment to strengthening our public-health system. Whereas traditional health care emphasizes treatment to help sick people get better, public-health programs prevent disease and encourage healthy behaviors. Building on the success of governmental anti-smoking campaigns, our health care is now firmly rooted in this public-health tradition.
We’ve also adopted a holistic understanding of health that appreciates the many factors that interact and influence one another in complicated ways. Illness is not always simple cause-and-effect. Stress, for example, can contribute to sickness and difficult working conditions can cause stress. Holistic medicine aims to understand these inter-relationships and encourage effective corrections. Traditional Western medicine, with its emphasis on drugs that attack germs or otherwise alter the body mechanically, still plays a valuable role in health care, but alternative and naturopathic approaches to good health are now integral to holistic health care.
A holistic approach requires individual empowerment. The notion that one should always simply follow doctors’ orders is losing credence. Instead, society is affirming the patient’s right to be adequately informed and make his or her own health-care decisions. This personal responsibility involves the necessity of adopting healthy life-style habits, including careful attention to nutrition and exercise.
With regard to our senior citizens, we ensure that they have the continuing opportunity to age with dignity and enjoy the maximum number of years in active health. We empower elders to be socially engaged, mentor younger generations, and enrich our communities with their accumulated knowledge.
No individual can thrive for long in complete isolation. All people need support, assistance, attention, and compassion, in different ways at different times. Strong support from others can enable individuals to reduce stress and strengthen their immune system. So our nation cultivates the formation of mutual-support groups for people with a wide variety of illness, including groups rooted in a spiritual tradition. Even if they don’t help cure disease, support and faith can help people deal with the consequences of their illness.
| Environment |
A stronger economy has added to the need to concentrate on minimizing the negative impacts on the environment that can result from economic growth. But now that we have established a foundation of economic security and our focus is on the quality of life, society is better able to secure Earth's bounty for future generations because there is less anxiety about supposedly having to choose between "jobs" and "the environment."
The melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels, dramatic changes in weather patterns, and the looming threat of greater catastrophes induced by global warmng has prompted greatly increased interest in environmental issues. In this nation (and throughout the world), we’ve reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared to 2010. Our society now uses renewable resources – such as water, soil, forest products, and marine life – without exceeding the rates of regeneration for those resources. We minimize depletion of non-renewable resources – such as fossil fuels – by maximizing conservation, greatly expanding public transit systems, encouraging workers to live close to their workplace, using delivery vehicles rather than individual cars for shopping, eliminating gas-guzzling automobiles, and relying increasingly on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Gradual tax increases on energy sources that emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere were key to encouraging the conservation of fossil fuels. Due to its inherent danger and expense, we’re eliminating nuclear energy as a source of electricity.
We require that all development avoid damaging the ability of future generations to meet their needs. We're steadily recovering endangered species and damaged ecosystems. We've stopped the introduction of harmful or potentially dangerous genetically modified organisms. We no longer allow the build-up of radioactive, toxic, or other hazardous substances. We recycle most materials, ensure that the environment can assimilate waste naturally, and prohibit the production of materials that can't be recycled or assimilated.
| Media, Computers, and the Internet |
A democracy requires a free marketplace of ideas that provides a diversity of opinion, analysis, and interpretation. The rough-and-tumble of exposure to conflicting opinions fosters learning and results in more informed action.
The Internet and other new technologies have enabled people to get information from a much broader range of sources. And public funding for community-based, non-profit, democratic media outlets has expanded the diversity and improved the quality of news and information.
In exchange for the privilege of using the public airwaves to make money, radio and television stations are required to broadcast debates between candidates for national office, as well as the monthly Community Dialogues with Congresspersons, Senators, and the President discussed in the Introduction to this chapter. This exposure to lively discussion of pressing public issues has increased interest in political issues and raised pressure on media outlets to provide better news coverage.
Now that telephone, audio, video, email, and Web sites are delivered over the same high-speed Internet connection (whether through cable, telephone, or wireless), the federal government, while maximizing local authority, regulates all of these services to protect the public interest, universal service, and open competition.
Rather than giving the federal government the power to enforce specific standards, these new regulations ensure that local governments decide what technology best serves their citizens. If consumers have a problem with price-gouging or poor quality of service, they go to a local agency to correct the problem.
Advances in broadband technology have enabled local communities to greatly increase the number of public access TV channels that broadcast local voices, cover local issues, and show how local government works.
Franchise agreements make sure that Internet providers give everyone access to communications networks on a reasonable schedule. These requirements prevent powerful cable and telecom giants from skipping over parts of the community. Some of these agreements include institutional networks that connect schools, hospitals, libraries and other public buildings.
After repeated battles, the nation’s largest telephone and cable companies can no longer give preference to their own services while slowing down or blocking their competitors’ services. They understand that they cannot interfere with content based on its ownership or source. Their responsibility is to move data, without giving higher quality service to those who pay more. This neutrality ensures that all users can use the Internet as they see fit.
Since high-speed Internet access is a basic public necessity like water, gas or electricity, the federal government has also invested the funds necessary for a free wireless Internet network across the country.
In these ways, computerized devices and the Internet provide a democratic counter-weight to centralized media. These new decentralized networks enable ordinary citizens to engage in self-directed research and communicate their findings and analysis. They also facilitate grassroots political action by engaging people in focused debate and decision-making. Collaborative software makes possible the pooling of collective intelligence in the joint authorship of documents. The growing use of open-source software is based on trusting co-creation.
But much of what we learn still comes from large national television and radio outlets, as well as newspapers and magazines. So in recent decades, we have reversed the consolidation of media ownership in the hands of fewer global corporations that had increased in the late 20th century. By forcing corporate media conglomerates to divest themselves of some of their outlets, one or two corporations can no longer control the major newsrooms in a given area. This reform has enabled more locally owned and minority-owned outlets to prosper, which has promoted content geared to local communities. Increased competition has boosted the reliability and richness of information provided by media outlets. Rather than managing news to herd people down pre-determined paths to serve the interests of elites, creativity flourishes.
Freedom of the press and individuals’ right to privacy is now carefully protected. We have successfully resisted previous efforts to violate privacy rights, monitor non-criminal activity, and control the content of communications in the name of vaguely defined notions of “national security” and “morality.”
The United States is now firmly dedicated to keeping this exciting creative process open, decentralized, and affordable, rather than controlled by giant corporations operating as profit centers. On all levels, we are engaged in shaping the evolution of computer and Internet technology towards progress, human liberty, and social justice.
| Science and Technology |
With increased funding, moral support, and public recognition, including economic prizes for beneficial discoveries, scientific research is now primarily devoted to the long-term public interest rather than boosting profits for corporations or advancing the political agenda of the Administration in power.
As is the case with other agencies like the General Accounting Office and the Federal Reserve, highly respected experts with long-term appointments make key policy decisions on scientific matters. This pattern helps protect these officials from undue partisan political influence and enables scientists to work freely and report their results honestly and promptly. Citizens advisory groups and advocacy organizations monitor scientific research closely to prevent political and corporate control of science and scientific information.
Compassion concerning the impact of new discoveries on future generations guides both the conduct of scientific research and the translation of those discoveries into new technologies.
In particular, great effort has been devoted to developing new technologies to minimize the negative impact of the climate crisis. In addition, valuable research has produced sustainable, clean energy systems that have slowed down the climate crisis with practical, efficient, and cost-effective tools.
Fundamentally, science is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, benefiting from rich cross-fertilization among sciences. Investigations into the mind based on methods employed by Buddhists and Hindus for centuries played a key role in this evolution, resulting in a more sophisticated, holistic understanding of the relationships between mind and body, as well as the interaction between the unconscious mind and free will. Acknowledgement of mystery is widespread, as we accept the limits of our understanding and our ability to control nature.
These advances have resulted in a greater sense of humility among scientists, less worship of scientists among the general public, and a reversal of the prior technocratic tendency to treat human beings like objects.
| Arts and Culture |
Artistic and cultural enrichment is essential to building a more just and democratic society. The highest purpose of art and culture is to inspire – to induce experiences that enrich the inner life, provide new insights, enhance appreciation of beauty, increase awareness, and prompt people to take action to improve the world. Partly due to media diversification, monolithic programming no longer dominates the airwaves.
Throughout society, from early schooling to senior centers, the United States provides strong support to artistic and cultural development with public funding, private philanthropy, and community involvement. Theatre productions in churches, synagogues, and mosques, for example, are thriving. Through these experiences people gain a greater sense of self-worth, a deeper trust that life is good, and a stronger resolve to serve humanity.
Special emphasis is given to inter-disciplinary, participatory collaborations that build supportive communities as a by-product of the creative process. With efforts such as these, the arts enable individuals and communities to communicate their sense of identity, concerns, and hopes for the future, and to broaden understanding of those issues. Fostering a rich, diverse array of cultural expression enables all significant segments of the population to have a voice and be heard, and encourages the development of attractive alternatives to passive entertainment.
A vibrant community-arts network dedicated to art-as-action involves ordinary people in artistic expression. These cultural centers work with community-based organizations to give voice to the disenfranchised, make art through the perspective of diverse cultures, and create new tools that integrate and articulate knowledge – toward the goal of promoting social justice and personal empowerment.
In these ways, our artistic and cultural institutions reinforce our society’s new primary purpose: to provide all people with the opportunity to live healthy, happy, and creative lives within a sustainable environment. By balancing realism and idealism, tragedy and comedy, and criticism and affirmation, our culture speaks to all people, sharpens our appreciation of beauty, injects soul into lives that are threatened by bureaucratic lifelessness, and inspires us to persist in the task of becoming all that we can be.
| Sports and Recreation |
The transformation of our society has included the development of a new approach to sports and recreation. As with arts and culture, we now emphasize active participation over passive consumption.
Children learn valuable life lessons from sports rather than the myth that winning is everything. We’ve restored the maxim, “It’s not whether you win or lose but how you play the game that counts.” We affirm honesty and the notion that one’s personal best is good enough.
After-school programs, parks, and recreation centers have been greatly expanded and improved so that people of all ages can participate in a wide variety of rewarding activities. We encourage cooperative sports that involve teams competing against their own previous records.
People often get outdoors and experience the re-creation that can come from communing with Mother Nature. Vacations are commonly more than just an escape or a time to vegetate, but rather are educational and enriching experiences.
Parks and recreation centers are almost always filled with people of all ages playing games of one sort or another. Our nation’s physical fitness is steadily improving. During the evening, schools and community centers host all kinds of dance classes and recreational activities.
Living rooms frequently resound with laughter as families and friends experiment with new fun-filled games. Even workplaces occasionally set aside time for workers to play together. Political and social service organizations include parties as a regular part of their activities for members and volunteers.
Having deep, participatory, creative, community-building fun has become central to our society, for the community that plays together, more likely stays together.
| Funding |
The federal government has raised the funds required for these programs by reducing military spending, restoring progressive taxation, taxing unproductive financial speculation, and boosting federal tax revenues by managing steady economic growth wisely.
Adopting a more cooperative foreign policy and reducing global conflict has led to a major reduction in military spending. Military spending is now $200 billion less each year than would have been the case if the percentage were the same as in 2008. Nevertheless, the military is still strong enough to protect our country against attack and participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Graduated tax rates enable the wealthy to give back part of what they owe for all that they have received from society, which includes infrastructure, property rights, cultural inheritance, stability, and other forms of support. In the early part of this century, wealthy families paid roughly the same percentage of their income in taxes that middle-income families paid (when considering all taxes combined). Now, by assuring that the richest one percent pay 45% of their income in federal taxes and the rest of the top ten percent pay 33%, we generate about $200 billion more per year than would have been the case at the earlier rates.
Some fifteen years ago, higher taxes on the wealthy financed major investments in public-service jobs, which reduced unemployment and placed purchasing power in the hands of lower-income people who spend more of their income than do the wealthy. This transfer of income boosted economic growth, which increased federal revenues. This increase in federal revenue, in turn, enabled the federal government to share more revenue with state and local governments for more public-service jobs, which further stimulated economic growth. This “multiplier effect” generated a positive upward spiral that eventually led to true full employment (everyone who wants to work can find a job quickly).
A Wall Street Fairness Tax raises more than $100 billion a year by taxing Wall Street gambling (as we tax casinos) at the rate of 0.25 percent of the value of a trade. Investors who make careful, long-term investments hardly notice this tax, and speculators who move money in and out of investments quickly without investing in productive activity can afford it.
The enormous cost of the Iraq War demonstrated that when the United States government wants to do something, it can find the funds to do it. In recent years, this country has made a similar commitment to meeting the needs of its own people, without increasing the federal deficit.
As a result, the gap between the rich and the poor has been substantially reduced, which has lessened resentments, hostility, and self-destructive behavior that previously were more severe among lower-income people. These improvements have contributed to a more peaceful social environment, which benefits everyone, including higher-income people.
Since lower-income people now have enough income to make ends meet, they are healthier, happier, and better educated. Consequently, they are more productive at work, which benefits higher-income people and businesses. In addition, lower-income people now hold more purchasing power, which also benefits higher-income people, because more consumers are able to buy more products.
In these ways, the payment of more taxes by higher-income people fosters positive growth throughout society, which constantly boosts the incomes of everyone, including the wealthy. Awareness of these ripple effects has led to "enlightened self-interest" among many higher-income people, who have supported fair taxation in order to contribute to the positive transformation of our society.
| Controlling Inflation |
Although increased economic growth has contributed to inflationary pressures, the United States no longer allows a bank-dominated Federal Reserve to deal with the threat of excessive inflation by keeping interest rates unduly high. In the past, these measures protected the wealthy at the expense of the general welfare by dampening the economy, lowering wages, and creating poverty and unemployment. Now the Federal Reserve includes representatives from all sectors of society and serves the public interest. The United States controls inflation with strategies that are beneficial to all people.
Representatives from labor, business, and government meet regularly in a wage-price council. This council determines a fair rate of profitability for each industry, the overall rate of inflation, and the productivity growth in each industry. Based on these three factors – profitability, inflation, and productivity – the council sets standards for wage and price increases that do not risk runaway inflation or damage competitiveness, while allowing a fair return to investors. These considerations are based on the fact that when productivity increases (the same number of workers produces more than they did before), workers can earn higher wages without lowering profits.
These standards guide labor-business negotiations concerning wages and benefits. When particular businesses ignore these standards and raise prices excessively, government officials (including the President) and advocacy organizations lead consumer boycotts against those businesses until they change their mind. A few highly successful boycotts years ago made the point. Most businesses now respect the standards set by the wage-price council and limit their price increases to a reasonable level.
In addition, government agencies regulate prices in inherently highly centralized areas not subject to competitive pressures. These areas include water, electricity, and airlines. The tendency to deregulate these industries that was prominent in the early years of this century has been reversed. In the case of electricity, government bodies on all levels have assumed increasing responsibility for the production of electric power.
Social Security and other income assistance increases automatically based on the rate of inflation.
Local governments limit rent increases on residential and commercial properties at levels that allow property owners to earn a fair return on their investment.
The government's new farm policy stabilizes food prices.
In combination, all of these methods control inflation and have resulted in acceptable, predictable, modest price increases throughout the economy, without imposing hardship on anyone.
| Property Rights |
The necessity to safeguard Mother Earth has led to a clear recognition that property rights are limited. Since society defines the rights associated with ownership of property, society has the right to set conditions on those rights. These conditions include restraining property owners from damaging the public interest. Although courts and legislatures had long recognized the legitimacy of such restraints, political rhetoric about the alleged absolute rights of property owners confused the issue for decades. Now, however, the duty of property owners to protect the common good is widely accepted as valid.
In order to establish without a doubt that society can legitimately restrain property rights, we adopted an amendment to the United States Constitution that:
1.Clarifies that corporations are not automatically entitled to any of the rights afforded persons under the Constitution. Corporations are entitled only those specific rights granted by legislation. 2.Authorizes governments to protect the general welfare when needed by limiting profits to a fair return on investment. (This amendment thus settled the previous controversy surrounding measures such as local rent control laws and zoning codes that limit development.) 3.Authorizes governments to limit spending on political campaigns in order to ensure all citizens a more equal opportunity to participate in the political process, prevent the corruption of our republican form of government, and improve public confidence in government.
| Controlling Corporations |
As originally proposed by the Tellus Institute in 2006 with its "Principles of Corporate Redesign," federal and state laws now stipulate that:
1.The purpose of the corporation is to harness private interests to serve the public interest. 2.Corporations shall accrue fair returns for shareholders, but not at the expense of the legitimate interests of other stakeholders. 3.Corporations shall operate sustainably, meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. 4.Corporations shall distribute their wealth equitably among those who contribute to its creation. 5.Corporations shall be governed in a manner that is participatory, transparent, ethical, and accountable. 6.Corporations shall not infringe on the right of natural persons to govern themselves, nor infringe on other universal human rights.
Many other reforms have also strengthened the democratic control of the economy.
By issuing a limited supply of import certificates, the federal government restricts the amount of goods brought into the country as needed to help prevent a trade imbalance. In addition, corporate income taxes penalize firms that move high-wage jobs offshore and reward those that invest at home. These two measures assure that the United States imports no more than it exports, which has strengthened our manufacturing base and made our economy more secure.
Members of boards of directors are now personally liable for malfeasance perpetrated by management. Moreover, board members and executives who knowingly market products that cause death or serious injury are subject to criminal penalties.
Public auditors, funded with fees paid by the finance industry, now monitor money-market firms, as they had supervised commercial banks for decades.
New and re-issued corporate charters now include requirements that each corporation include on its board of directors representatives from its employees as well as stakeholders from each community where the corporation is headquartered. These local representatives are appointed by locally elected governmental bodies. Charters also stipulate that for-profit corporations must protect the environment, the public safety, and the human rights of their employees, including economic rights.
Every thirty years the federal government reviews the charters of corporations that operate inter-state. Corporations that have had top-level executives convicted of multiple crimes, or otherwise violated their public trust, cannot have their charter renewed and must go out of business. Whenever a sufficient number of complaints are filed against a particular corporation, the government must hold public hearings on charter renewals.
The federal government vigorously enforces antitrust laws to prevent large corporations from using unfair business practices to monopolize economic power. Federal, state, and local governments encourage the development of local enterprises, especially worker-owned businesses. Zoning laws are used to preserve the unique character of existing communities, protect the viability of independent businesses, and control the spread of homogenous chain stores.
In general, free-market competition sets prices and investment decisions are made privately. Public regulation, however, is well established in certain essential areas such as rent control and agriculture, as well in businesses such as airlines and electrical utilities that are inherently concentrated. And public ownership is accepted when needed, as with parks, highways, airports, and the printing of money.
| Electoral Reform |
A number of steps have been taken to strengthen popular power by making elections more democratic. In particular, public financing of campaigns has leveled the playing field, strengthened the relative voice of ordinary people, enhanced competitiveness in elections, produced more choices, increased interest in politics, and reduced the unfair power of incumbents, wealthy individuals, and large corporations.
All federal elections are held on a weekend to increase voter turnout. Voters can register at any time, including on voting day, and can vote by mail. Former prisoners are entitled to vote. Television networks provide extensive, free airtime for candidates to present their views and engage in debate with one another.
Most jurisdictions now use instant-runoff voting. Unless people vote for only one candidate, they rank candidates in order of preference (first, second, third choice, etc.). If no candidate receives a majority of first choices, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated and the votes of the eliminated candidate are given to voters’ second choices, when so indicated. This process is repeated until one candidate has a majority, thereby avoiding runoff elections that are costly and attract lower, less representative turnouts.
With instant-runoff voting, voters don't have to vote for the "lesser of two evils." Rather, they vote for those candidates they like most without worrying that their vote will help candidates they like least. Consequently, the electoral arena includes more diversity, so more voters have choices that appeal to them. Since winners may need the second choices from opponents' supporters, the tone of campaigns is now more positive. And candidates form coalitions to boost their campaigns.
All of these changes have increased the number of people who vote, which has resulted in a more vibrant democracy.
| Global Peace |
Internationally, the United States treats other nations with great respect. As we fully affirm the right of self-determination for individuals in our own country, we support the right of other nations to shape their own destinies.
The right of all nations to establish tariffs on imports in order to shelter developing and/or essential industries or otherwise strengthen their economy is unquestioned. In particular, the United States recognizes and supports the need for each country to maximize food security through diversified, local agriculture.
The United States has greatly increased assistance to developing countries in support of local self-sufficiency and sustainable economic growth. Fifteen years ago, the developed nations completely forgave the foreign debt of developing countries. The United States no longer interferes with efforts of other countries to meet their capital needs by restraining capital flight and/or imposing taxes based on the ability to pay. The World Trade Organization, which had taken away the right of governments to establish their own trade policies in order to protect the environment and their economies, has been disbanded. As a result, global economic growth has boosted demand for U.S. products and services, which has strengthened our economy.
The United States has fully paid its United Nations dues and pledged to never again fall behind. We supported the democratization of the United Nations by adding countries to the Security Council and increasing the power of the General Assembly.
We ratified the International Criminal Court and agreed that member states shall have the power to arrest persons charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including United States citizens.
Though we reserve the right to defend ourselves if and when attacked, we normally use our military force only in conjunction with the United Nations. We’ve eliminated most of our foreign military forces. Compared to the early part of this century, we’ve reduced spending on our military by one-fourth, while keeping our military strong enough to protect our country from any potential foreign threat, and we're moving toward further reductions. In addition, along with all other nuclear nations, we’re reducing our stockpile of nuclear weapons by ten percent each year, toward the goal of complete nuclear disarmament within another decade.
Through the United Nations, we've invested major funds in the peaceful resolution of potentially violent conflicts, including civil wars. These efforts include mediation teams, observers, peacekeepers, and the infusion of major financial aid to induce antagonists to see beyond their immediate conflict and agree to long-term solutions.
The United States government has signed and actively supports a number of valuable international treaties that it previously opposed or resisted, including agreements to limit the sale and transfer of military weapons and land mines, eliminate all nuclear and biological weapons, steadily reduce greenhouse emissions, and safeguard the oceans of the world. Moreover, our government has established a consistent record of support for international human rights, including economic rights. And it has clearly acknowledged that our own government and military must be held accountable to the highest standards, including the prohibition of torture.
The new foreign policy of the United States, including its international economic policies, has resulted in a steady reduction in anti-American feelings throughout the world. Consequently, acts of terrorism against this country have diminished. If terrorists strike again, we will cooperate actively with other countries to apprehend, try, and confine them.
In coordination with the peoples of other nations who have adopted similar policies, the United States is now working globally in a cooperative manner to safeguard the planet and the rights of its inhabitants, aware that we can learn as much from other countries as they can learn from us.
| Changing the System |
In combination, all of these changes have resulted in the transformation of the social system that holds the global community together. By redefining our primary purpose and reforming our institutions, our culture, and ourselves to serve that purpose, the people of the world have created a new society that is fundamentally different and greatly improved.
Our global society is no longer primarily shaped to enable those people who are already most wealthy and powerful to protect and increase their wealth and power. We still allow some people to accumulate more wealth than others and we recognize that some people in top-level managerial and political positions hold more power than others. But we now have mechanisms in place to hold those people accountable to their responsibility to serve the public interest as well as their self-interest. We no longer treat issues like health care and wage policy in an isolated, compartmentalized way, but rather have brought everyday corporate policies into harmony with the goals of society as a whole.
In every arena, we insist that what comes first is the common good. Our primary task is to assure that all people have available the means to live healthy, happy, and creative lives within a sustainable environment.
| *** |
NOTE: This vision statement is an example of the kind of statement that might help build a broad coalition to advance progressive, systemic change. I don’t assume that anyone will agree with every word. But I could envision many people endorsing the general thrust of a statement like this, thereby providing a basis of unity for ongoing action.
This statement is not intended as definitive. Like any vision on the horizon, it will change as we approach it. Its main purpose is to stimulate.
I'd love for someone else to write a more eloquent and more compelling statement of a similar sort that is written in the present tense, offers a comprehensive description of what the world could look like in a generation or so, and proposes achievable goals that are mostly already supported by a majority of people – rather than relying on vague rhetoric or abstract ideology.
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