- John MacDougall said...I think this essay is terrific! I wish I’d written it myself. It’s very comprehensive, coherent & creative (the 3 virtuous C’s?). Now some specific points: DISCUSSION OF “CONNECTION & DISCONNECTION” Relevant here is general systems theory, especially how it refers to different forms of living beings. A good introduction to this is in the Joanna Macy book I refer to below ON WORLDVIEWS & ENERGY Points about dominator cultures etc.—very helpful here are a) David Korten, THE GREAT TURNING, b) Joanna Macy, COMING BACK TO LIFE? The former is especially relevant here, & I like it a lot Specific points about propagation of violence. I like the public-health approach that you implicitly refer to. You might also look at a) Michael Nagler, THE SEARCH FOR A NONVIOLENT FUTURE (excellent essay), b) Peter Ackerman & Jack Duvall A FORCE MORE POWERFUL (lots of detailed case histories of non-v.). I think your discussion near the end of this para, on different scales of warmaking entities, is important. Points about fear & persecution. Sentence beginning “this may have…”—also relevant is people not having any children at all. Also in sentence beginning “this naturally creates” when you refer to choosing to condone, also mention choosing ALTERNATIVES, e.g. to resist? Points on dominator societies not being fitter. Refer also to Jared Diamond’s 2 superb books, COLLAPSE, and GUNS GERMS & STEEL. ON SOCIETY & ENERGY Points on uncontrolled pop. growth. I believe there is a consensus among experts, namely population growth in the long-run is effectively limited (reversed?) through a package of SOCIAL changes & policies, e.g. women’s empowerment/health & education (especially for girls). Such changes are in fact taking place a good deal in the global South. ON VALUE Points on 2 types of value. I think it’s the following are also important: 1) commodities are SOCIALLY CREATED, e.g. health clubs instead of walking as a way to get exercise. 2) speculation in commodities—including dramatically, financial ones—is another important factor (at least in my opinion). This point is relevant to the para below “capitalism sows…” ON SOCIETY, ECON. & DISCONNECTION Points on disconnection in the workplace. Relevant here is what I call the war system—see my Friends Journal article which is an appendix to these comments On “TOWARDS A TRUE ALTERNATIVE” Points on one vision of an alternative. Here you might look at the Korten & Macy books I refer to above. Also see 1) the Earth Charter—it’s somewhere on the web. 2) Paul Hawken, BLESSED UNREST—this is mainly about a huge & largely-unrecognized outpouring of activist groups worldwide, many of them small, concerned w/ human rights, the environment, etc….A different comment: here or somewhere I urge you to mention DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM (without “green” in front, as you discuss below; some folks prefer to call it social democracy) as in W.Europe; in my opinion it’s not perfect but has a lot of merit-- & lots of lessons to teach. It seems the Western Europen experience isn’t the same as green democratic socialism that you mention below
- MORE BY JOHN MACDOUGALL Points on socialist programs in a capitalist world—relevant here is the experience w/ Green parties, which are somewhat in tension w/ democratic socialism (as I mentioned above) but also have valuable experience we can build on. One issue that comes up here is, local vs. provincial or national level organizing, & how to “scale up” the former. Points on green democratic socialism. Relevant here are the following. 1) the proposal to require that all TV stations provide FREE coverage to campaign ads to all declared candidates, up to a certain maximum number of hours during a defined campaign period, plus after they’ve used up those hours candidates can’t have a second more of TV time. This would do a lot to reduce candidates’ DEMAND for campaign cash, & I believe TV ads account for about half of campaign spending. Maybe after the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, there will have to be an addition of something like limited free time to super-PAC’s that mention a particular party. ….2) a different topic is citizens’ & participatory budgeting of government bodies; it looks promising & important—I believe it’s been tried in Porto Alegre in Brazil. Points on evolution of money. An important factor that is in play in various areas is LOCAL rationality, i.e. what’s rational for me & my narrow peer or quasi-peer group for the short time horizons people often have, esp. in the corporate world. There’s the phrase “I be gone you be gone” (IBG-YBG), e.g. if I sell you a toxic asset, knowing it’s toxic, you’ll collude w/ me, because you’ll also sell it—soon-- to another person (a sucker?) & when the regulators or whoever come to get my brokerage firm we’ll both be gone from the company, & we both stay rich. When you discuss “going back”—are you referring to gathering & hunting societies? Also refer to: a) usury, b) the alternative of charging borrowers SIMPLE rather than compound interest—which can have major long-term impacts; c) the evolution of limited liability companies in the 19th century. My impression is, a) & c) were important developments, while b) is largely untried. When you talk about “ a new concept”—relevant here are Bill McKIBBEN’S 2 latest books (Deep Economy, and Eaarth)—in the second half of each he refers to schemes like time trade Points on values—One aspect of them you don’t mention that I found is important is, people are COMMITTED to practicing their values (at least in theory, otherwise we call them hypocrites). Also, where you discuss the things almost everyone wants, you might add: a) protection from rain/snow & cold; b) health (of course defining that isn’t easy); c) being treated w/ respect ON SPIRIT Points on spiritual entities. Also relevant is that religious institutions have had, over the millennia, to ACCOMMODATE to capitalist, state & other dominator systems. Points on ego & higher self—it seems to me the latter self is more oriented to BENEFITING other beings (Buddhism is relevant here) Points on cocounseling. Relevant here is Nonviolent Communication (Refer to Marshall Rosenberg’s book of the same name) Points on responding appropriately to fears—the others who are “different” are usually people we DON’T KNOW WELL, which I think is an important factor. Points on principles of green democratic socialism. In the discussion on peace—I urge you to add to the first bullet, NONVIOLENCE-based military defense. In the discussion on human rights—do you know the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? If not, I’m sure it’s on the web.
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