Forum Post: Occupy World Street: The Book

I think forum members may get some inspiration from my forthcoming book Occupy World Street: A Global Roadmap for Radical Economic and Political Reform, to be published by Chelsea Green Publishing, USA, in early 2012. This book has been underway for eight years, but the title is obviously very recent. The synchronicity is remarkable, because I take a global approach to the same issues raised by Occupy Wall Street, as well as many more global issues. I include a very concrete proposal—the breakaway strategy—to unite the street demonstrators behind a simple and doable demand together with a small group of visionary nations that are prepared to define a new world order based on human rather than corporate needs.

The following is a short description of the book.

Ordinary citizens the world over have long paid the price for the self-serving behavior of the corporate and political elite. They have seen the reigning corporatocracy widen the gap between rich and poor enormously, exploit the developing nations, ravage ecosystems in a mad race for natural resources and phantom wealth, and champion endless growth on a finite planet. Indeed, there is evidence that our civilization is in the middle of a global collapse.

It is with this backdrop that Ross Jackson puts forward a sweeping vision of necessary reforms of our global economic and political structures. More precisely, he outlines in some detail an ingenious plan to create from the bottom up a new, more human-scale civilization based on the principles of ecological sustainability and human rights in a world of self-determining sovereign states. Rather than force a confrontation with the crumbling Empire, Ross Jackson’s innovative “breakaway strategy” is to propose creation of a scalable prototype of a new international economic and political order—including eight new international institutions—by a handful of small nations that are prepared to break away from the contemporary global order and take on a leadership role at this critical time. In cooperation with grass roots activists from across the world, who demand a referendum in each country on whether or not to join the embryonic Gaian League, other states will subsequently be invited to join the founders in an exciting adventure birthing a new civilization that will work for everyone.

I would welcome feedback from the forum.

Further information and background material can be found on the Chelsea Green website and on my website www.ross-jackson.com

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Ross Jackson

rossjackson@gaia.org