Forum Post: Liberate Our Economic Imagination: Occupy Wall Street Manifesto

We have reached peak capital. We can no longer grow the US economy – it is breaking our spirits and destroying the fabric of life. Our own greed and heedlessness, amplified by opportunistic corporations and left unchecked by absentee governance, has brought us to the edge.

This is the moment to turn towards each other, towards everything most precious, towards the generations to come. This is the moment to commit to a transition to a just, restorative, and non-violent world. This is the moment to remove our assent from the old social contract and draw up a new one.

What is more fundamental: endless growth or simple happiness? GDP or a world where we all thrive? We can unwind the web of debts shackling us in fear. We can find new ways to measure our sense of happiness, health, and community. We can restore our ecosystems, green our cities, and teach our children they are connected to the universe. We can honor each other’s stories and souls, faiths and cultures, dreams and destinies.

We want a resurgence of the commons, of sharing, and of gift. We want to slow down and nourish local living economies. To transform dead capital breaking apart nature and community into living capital patient for what emerges next.

We want jobs – but not the same jobs as before. We want jobs with meaning and dignity that restore the world rather than tearing it apart. We want the abundance of sufficiency, not endless consumption.

We want to define a new American Dream for ourselves. Less stuff, and more joy. A smaller footprint, and more room for the rest of life.

There is a world beyond growth, and we can call it back home. Let us join our imagination together, and create the next move.