DECLARATION OF INTER-DEPENDENCE
We hold it to be self-evident, that ...
• All men are social beings who, by inclination and necessity, are designated to live in communities and to collaborate to fulfil their material and immaterial needs, safeguard their health, liberty and survival and to improve the conditions for their pursuit of happiness.
• All society members are mutually inter-dependent, because nobody by himself alone can succeed in fulfilling his needs to any satisfactory degree.
The counterpart of inter-dependence : solidarity is the most precious social value of a society.
A. Solidarity between “productive” community members. Since everybody’s contribution is needed, each person’s contribution merits fair appreciation in relation to the contribution of others. A fair ratio can be agreed upon democratically, as demonstrated by the 83.000 employees of the Mondragon group, with the 7th largest turnover in Spain. Their voting results in a maximum/minimum income ratio of 9 : 1, and an average ratio of 5 : 1.
Till fair income ratios are realised, tax rates on income from labour should be made much more progressive for over-average incomes, and all other sorts of income must be taxed at least at these raised labour income tax rates.
B. Solidarity between “productive” and “non-productive” community members. Each person has the obligation to give his best effort to the common cause, in return for the right on support when not (more) being able to work. For solidarity incomes to be acceptable by “productive” community members, everybody receiving one and able to do something back for it to the community, must have the right and the obligation to do so.
The task of democratically elected Governments is to make and uphold laws concerning interactions between society members, legal entities and government itself, including those of material and economical nature, to prevent despotism, and discrimination and exploitation of people.
“Since governments have become destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish them, and to institute new governments, based on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
Obviously, governments (remember, that is: We, ourselves) failed in preventing despotism of Capitalism and Corporatism which causes discrimination and exploitation of people.
In countries with a capitalistic economical system, the solidarity principles are neglected and/or abused to the extent that that their populations form in fact “non-societies”.
So it is our right and indeed our duty to repair what is wrong and to supplement what till now is missing in legislation to further fairer distribution of wealth and fairer minimum/maximum income ratio’s. A “ fair deal for all”, is the sole viable base for a homogenous society.
