Forum Post: What concept would you introduce to fix the problems in society, if the world was listening?
Posted 12 years ago on May 3, 2012, 12:55 a.m. EST by richardkentgates
(3269)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Concepts are so much better than concrete or structured plans because they are generally to general for an immediate dismissal or argument. They allow the imagination of individuals to help them create there own concept of what your concept means and can apply it more directly to their own lives. A lot of people get angry that Occupy doesn't specify goals but that lack of concrete goals has paved the way for groups like OccupySEC and many more, without having to ante up the resources to create those subgroups. Occupy succeeds because it's a concept, not a writ. The world is listening, use the opportunity. And post in on this thread :)
We have allowed materialism to supplant spirituality. We are spiritual beings and when we come to look away as life on earth is being systematically destroyed for the comfort of the moment, for the fleeting thrill of entitlement and luxury, then we have lost all connection to what is real.
I am not religious, but I believe that mankind is spiritual and that we have a unique place in existence. We can either choose love or negation; it is up to us.
The problem is the ego - the sense of separateness - the idea that all life expierence is about is the satisfation of our own desires for comfort and self-importance. Through this we come to kill our higher natures, and loose sight of the far greater joy of being genuine, of being in touch with "cosmos."
Thus, when we work for the betterment of humanity and of life on earth, we can feel a genuine pride and wellbeing far greater than the empty gratification of that seductive illusion.
If this movement comunicates anything, it should be that; that we have foolishly abdicated our genuine place in the more beautiful scheme of things, and in order to save ourseves and the world, we must reconnect with it.
In other words, we are going to get real, or we are going to die.
Money becomes an extension of ego, I deserve health care because I earned it, I deserve to educate my children because I earned it, and on and on, if we could honestly examine our own egos, it would help a lot. This follows other ways too; he deserves punishment, not help because he hurt me. I am better that’s why I am paid more.
Thanks for this post.
Yes, it's all about ego, and the ego is nothing, therefore it's all about nothing. When we realize this then we can begin to change.
Thanks for understanding.
Thank you for posting.
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The only thing that can save us now is Bushbama and the Democratic Party. Right, GypsyClown?
All people are equal. All people have value. Resources should be shared throughout the world in a sustainable way. The world economic system should be set up to serve all the people of the world and not just the few that are looking to profit off the masses.
Further, from Stephen King - the novelist :
ad iudicium ..
Communism
Fix the root of ALL the problems. Remove outside money from politics, public funding or public funding/government funding only.
Nothing real will be accomplished without ending the bribery system.
I agree remove money/lobbying from politics. (certainly corp wealth)
In addition, Compulsory voting. everyone should be made to vote. Civic duty, works in Ausralia, this scares the 1% like nothing else
early voting, verifiable electronic voting, expanded voting day/weekend, election day holiday.
shortened campaign season, mandatory frequent debates, free airtime (PUBLIC airways), criminalize inaccurate political ads.
Agreed. Everyone should be involved in the political process. If not we get the fringe and the corporations completely running the show.
Thats right. nothing wrong with gettin everyone to vote.
I would set up Democratically run worker owned co ops. Like they have done in Clevland Ohio and kind of like Mondragon in spain. I think credit unions should get involved with the financing.
The system will not represent the people as long as the people are not the owner/operators of the system.
Money is a scorecard not a decree by God. It should allow you to feel good about working hard, big house, fast car, but it should not be allowed to buy whatever it pleases, kidneys, children, government, education, health care, because there are things that matter more than money.
culture moving away from the tired old dominator war-state of corporate-greed based consumer/over-consumption to a new social order, based on human communities, in voluntary cooperation, utilizing participatory consensus democracy as the core of organisation. working to reverse the massive damage the corporate system has left us, by re-greening all we can, and using appropriate tech. energy, water, wast, etc. not just pushing the messes we make onto the future,. as we have been doing.
some key concepts include; Permaculture, Degrowth, Relocalize, SlowMoney,. .
The best actual plan of implementation to make this change I have seen (specifically the voting and banking sections) is here; http://www.globalsafe.org
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"Economies are supposed to serve human ends.. not the other way round. We forget at our peril that markets make a good servant, a bad master and a worse religion."~ Amory Lovins
Sustainability. A sustainable society would not have the types of ups and downs we see now, and certain important necessities should become guaranteed for all. Food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare.
We have section 8, housing authorities, foodstamps, wic, medicaid. The gov will give you a free phone too. Plenty of free clothing around.
What more do you want from your government?
I want everybody to have access to all of those things, you included.
Section 8 waiting lists are years long. Same with subsidized housing too many who qualify to get the coverage/support. There are so many people that qualify but can not get the aid because the aid is insufficient - another sign of a truly fucked-up economy as well as employment practices.
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How many times have you applied? Sec 8? There is no wait list for SSI.
I am disabled - I know what is current in my area.
BTW - Subsidized housing depends on participating properties and there is a current lack of available properties.
Its up to the property owner if they want to participate in Sec 8. Most don't want to because of all the drama that goes along with it.
Giving people money for having kids is about as generous as a gov can be for a society. And there are countless organizations that will pay security deposits and rent for people. Its really incredible the amount of different overlapping agencies that do this stuff.
Fairness to all, not just what is good for yourself.
There are three things that we need to correct for long-term sustainability. 1) Population. We must stop population growth, and begin a gradual decline in population to sustainable levels. We must remove all barriers to Universal sexual health and family planning. We must reform all legislation that rewards large families. 2) Plastics. They will end up coating the world, and make it uninhabitable. We must stop using most plastics and develop suitable alternatives. 3) Politics. We must reorganize our socio-political systems. We should reject all -ists and -isms, with the exception of capitalism (for the time being). We need to develop a new system that is truly democratic. Not top-down, slow and inefficient as most governments are today. We also should correct social inequality by legislating required retirement (or mandated donation) for 1% . This will allow others to improve their standing (move up).
No one has the right to initiate or threaten the use of force on anyone else. Apply this concept consistently & most of the world's problems are solved.
Stop the greed and corruption! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTQ1WOC9RgY
What concept?
The willingness to allow revision.
Logic.
Open-mindedness.
Acceptance and increased interest in science, and ensuring mysticism does not stifle it ever again.
Acceptance of other human beings.
I guess protesting does not change things. Years ago I was sitting down with Friends of the Earth before an airport entrance because the government was subsidising the airport.
Then I realised that it was pointless. It was the money behind the scenes that makes things happen. So I started to follow the money trail. This was nearly twenty years ago.
It turned out that interest on money is the root cause of many problems. Interest causes poverty, financial instability, the depletion of natural resources, debt slavery and higher prices.
Strohalm wrote an interesting book about it named Poor Because of Money. I have written an excerpt:
http://www.naturalmoney.org/poorbecauseofmoney.html
Wrong. Sorry you spent that much time and didn't get the big picture.
The incestuous relationship is between wall street and the military industrial complex (including the militarization of law enforcement). The protector of this relationship is our elected officials as Reagan decided without public approval that the economy was an issue of national security. This is why in the face of total collapse, they bailed out the banks knowing full well that it wouldn't actually fix the economy in the long term, but saving national security face had to be achieved at all times at all cost. Also why we will never see the reforms Occupy is pushing for. Nothing will change until someone brave stands up and enforces the notion that we are a republic and not a military dictatorship. Feel free to doubt this and do your own research. I would start here to see where wall street began receiving the protection of national security, then follow the trail to modern day. If you find a change of course, please let me know.
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/1982.html
Very good, thanks for the links.
The removal of Glass Steagall had a similar effect in that before it's repeal if wall street went belly up, it only effected wall street. Remove the Glass Steagall act and now when wall street collapses, everyone loses because bank deposits are sitting in investments. Holding the entire economy hostage to wall streets' well being. Like a parasite that kills the host when removed.
Protesting can achieve marginal results but you cannot change the system by it. If you did get the big picture then would know that interest on money is the root cause of most problems people are protesting against, including the power Wall Street and the Military Industrial Complex. Centralisation of power comes with interest (usury) because of the following:
The usury economic system favours large scale operations. The mechanic behind the usury economic system favouring large scale operations is:
If businesses make use of debt on which interest is paid, they need larger scale operations to achieve the same income level for the business owners because a part of the business income is going to the usurers. In good times businesses can borrow money to expand their operations. There is a reward for taking risk in the form of interest so there is a tendency to over invest.
When a recession sets in many businesses fail because demand falters and there is no credit available. If a larger scale operation fails then it is often not liquidated but taken over at a lower price which makes it more cost effective for the new owners than smaller operations that are more conservatively financed.
When the economy recovers a smaller number of larger scale businesses have survived. They start to increase their capacity again and become even larger than they were before.
This cycle is repeated again and again so with usury large scale operations have the advantage. The usury economic cycle caused the division of labour to go further than it otherwise would have done. The effect of the usury economic cycle favouring large scale operations is amplified by the free flow of capital and free trade as this created a competition of everybody against everybody on a world wide scale. As a consequence dependencies have escalated and people have become less self sufficient. In this way "the system" has been created. Before the middle of the twentieth century most people lived in villages that were largely self dependent. Henceforth more and more people live in cities and societies have become more complex than they would have been without usury. The story of the Tower of Babel reflects on the dangers of this development.
http://www.naturalmoney.org/full-theory.html#usec
national elections should be holidays
Come up with a plan to lower the human population on the Earth. (Respectfully) The root of most of our problems.
That's the one nobody wants to talk about. Sadly, it looks like it is going to be left to mother nature.
If we create a sustainable society, it could happen. Offer people food, water, shelter, clothing, healthcare, and a small allowance in exchange for only having one kid. Offer a bigger allowance in exchange for no kids. The government can give hysterectomies and vasectomies for those that want to enter this type of program. I would do it. On a global scale, in just several generations, the population would be less than 1 billion. Once the basic necessities of life are met, then stress levels decrease tremendously. People can then start to explore their true potential. I have friends that have never worked a day in their lives due to trust funds, and they are everything but couch potatoes. They have tons of hobbies and interests, etc. They are always active.
Your proposal sounds very reasonable to me, but politically it will be a hard sell.
I agree. I don't think it will come to be until there's no other option, if even then. One negative thing about any type of democratic society is that it leads to lots of divisions. It's basically impossible to get a society like ours to come together for anything.
I forgot to mention in my suggested society above, people will be able to work if they want to, and if they can find employment, even if they chose to have their necessities covered in exchange for limiting their reproduction.
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One word: Accountability
Accept the fact that everyone is flawed and not perfect-able, while resisting the temptation to pile more rules on the excess of them that we already have.
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