Avoiding Earth-xit: Part 3 – The Momentum for Change

Nothing New Under The Sun?

Avoiding Earth-xit: Part 3 – The Momentum for Change

“What has been is what will be… what has been done will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun.” This was not the uttering of someone depressed and disillusioned with life, but someone who had every material, educational and personal advantage. Someone who had explored all life had to offer and ruled over the longest peaceful period of his nation’s history, famed internationally for his wisdom and someone who made a point of fully examining wealth, relationships, family, madness and folly. Of course, even with historical evidence, his statement comes down to a matter of belief. Nothing was new to him in the context of his era. But something impending will be new to all human experience, maybe even once and for all time that might leave no historical evidence of our existence. Something the most powerful people with every similar advantage feel powerless to alter.

But every day our bodies replace their cells; a child is born, adding a new individual personality that can and does make a difference to those in contact with it; and someone’s perspective is altered by circumstance or information. We seek improvements in almost everything, updates, refinements. The potential for change, far from being negative, is vast. We are hard-wired for change. And new things arrive for us, on a daily basis, in technological and scientific advancements. Despite great advancements in cancer research and new methods of detection and treatment, percentages of likelihood have increased from 33 to 50. Climate change is generating panic strategies to make it the hottest political topic, pardon the pun. Why now? Because even for sceptics seeing is believing. With the seeming intransience of political and corporate motive, the quote above could sound somewhat demoralising. Yet, if it is true, it also it presupposes the solution must already exist – it could be right under our noses. So, what and who are we to believe?

Most of the global monetary economic system is built on trust and belief – that transactions will be honoured by both parties and fulfilled through automated sequences no one need worry about. And if that does not work, that some legal system will enforce those agreements to be honoured. That people will be forced to respect the law of possession. Of course, all of these necessary parties and methods and laws, law-makers and enforcers, can be replaced overnight. But this, again, relies on belief and motivation. Our 21^st century has seen more than its fair share of this, already. So, everyone is aware how much belief and motivation out there has diminished, resulting in siege mentality for many. It could be said that there has never been such a mass momentum for change since WWII and why authors of The Green New Deal want climate change placed on a war footing. Nobel prize laureate, Joseph Stiglitz recently published in The Guardian, “climate change is our third world war,” since combatting climate deterioration must apparently depend upon large hand-outs of money from philanthropic corporate moguls. He bypasses the last decade’s greatest civil world war that has already eclipsed all of WWII’s atrocities in both scope and depravity – that of neoliberal capitalist’s (not capitalism’s) dispossession and marginalisation of the 99%.

But people in general are not stupid. They rightly disbelieve there is the political and commercial will. New Economic Model (NEM) and scientific conservation networks conference and webinar every connotation and the smallest initiatives that can and do make inroads to address capitalism’s negativity, yet hardly scratch its surface. Every economic case is being made to appeal to the greatest contributors to global warming to alter their course. A course they are currently expanding. All calls for economic and political reform are regularly dismissed or co-opted for marketing purposes. In a short article, it is impossible to present the whole range and scope of momentum, or present statistics simply for the reader to choose whether they believe them or not. But after five years of research and discussion regarding positive changes people are making in virtually every country in the world – everyday people are still unaware of those that have even altered their local and national political structures, or achieved nation-wide justice for themselves and other countries, should they also fall foul of economic, legal and political injustices. So, what does this movement consist of?

Necessity has long been the mother of re-invention. Anti-capitalist, pro-humanities activist networks and self-governing political movements have formed revolutionary communities. NGOs, anti-poverty, aid agencies and refugee crisis organisations have never been busier – everyday people plugging the gap of diminishing or overwhelmed statutory services; charitable and non-profit initiatives and cooperatives are expanding; the commons and other sharing networks; alternative, complementary and crypto-currencies; circular and localised non-monetary economies have become national in scope and successful in both affluent and poverty-stricken communities; green energy producers are increasing; climate change, environment and conservation campaign organisations abound, self-sustaining communities, eco-village networks and volunteer groups, and individuals who, from the kindness of their hearts, simply repopulate endangered species, or plant edible food in public places for their communities. Authors and academic institutions research and share these topics and projections regarding current economic policies with urgency – publishers are inundated with submissions regarding the negative projections for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and vitriolic finger-wagging at capitalism.

This appetite for change is not an insignificant force. But to motivate everyday people, these movements simply lack exposure and a concerted effort to utilise their influence and power in a common easy to apply and more embracing system. They are dotted across the globe but no one has yet joined the dots. Until now. All this article can do is skim the surface of that scope, or signpost it, as seeing is more likely to engender belief and counter the demoralising momentum that consumes media and people’s time and efforts to survive. Respected television scientists and naturalists, musicians and actors now sense a potential change in the political climate of their platform, or defy it, and have started a momentum in media that should be seized upon. But as media sometimes reflects reality, this is only the tip of the looming iceberg. The sheer mass of social movement remains below the surface and unseen unless you dive into the Internet to shed light on what’s really going on. The most recent and visible incarnation of this discomfort is Extinction Rebellion, pushing beyond petitioning and protesting to civil disobedience and disruption, to press the topic that is the most politically inconvenient. Our survival.

All of the existing forces for change are well informed and generally know about each other, but if efforts are diverted for personal kudos, or absorbed by determination to progress their individual agendas, they will remain isolated near impotent forces. This mass market is what the captains of the Titanic protectionist neoliberal monetary market fear will make them look like a dinghy adrift in the North Atlantic and many are of the “…let’s face the music and dance” persuasion.

With political and corporate wilful ignorance on climate change – why get caught up in something protracted and energy wasting, when it’s possible to bypass it, or supersede it?

First, ask yourself, who could get things done quicker and better than politicians and commercial magnates? The answer is obvious. The people who already do it. Now ask, who does it with less and again nothing new there. All the above. When politicians complain about disrupting a day’s work in full knowledge of a protest warning of the threat to that employment infrastructure, they show themselves as more juvenile than the children protesting about ignoring their future. If all the initiatives by motivated people trying to redress the adverse effects of capitalism are doing it with relatively small budgets – is it not logical they are the first port of call to form a mutually supportive global network that can then invent or adopt its own non-monetary economy, or expand existing ones? Joining up the dots. Here’s just a few examples:

Anti-capitalist, populism and political activist movements:

Populism gets a bad press when consisting of far Left or Right political representation, even Corbyn is to some far Left, in comparison with what some considered Centre-Right New Labour. Opponents cringe at the suggestion of more public-engaged decision-making. Brexit a brazen exposure of this resistance. Yet not all populism is so negative, “The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848… in response to a 27-day civil war … the Sonderbundskrieg. The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United States Constitution and the ideas of the French Revolution, was modified several times during the following decades and wholly replaced in 1999. Switzerland features a system of government not seen in any other nation: direct representation, sometimes called half-direct democracy (this may be arguable, because theoretically, the Sovereign of Switzerland is actually its entire electorate). Referenda on the most important laws have been used since the 1848 constitution. Amendments to the Federal Constitution of Switzerland, the joining of international organizations, or changes to federal laws that have no foundation in the constitution, but will remain in force for more than one year, must be approved by the majority of both the people and the cantons, a double majority. Any citizen may challenge a law that has been passed by parliament. If that person is able to gather 50,000 signatures against the law within 100 days, a national vote has to be scheduled where voters decide by a simple majority of the voters whether to accept or reject the law.” (Wikipedia). Iceland attempted a similar set up following its Pots-n-Pans revolution.

Zapatistas movement in Mexico is one of the longest standing anti-capitalist societies in existence, tarred as terrorists when trying to combat the excessive officially-endorsed violence to wipe them out, from one of the most overtly corrupt governments. Yet they have long been non-violent. “Gaining attention on a global level through their convention called the Intercontinental Encounter for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism… the Zapatistas were able to help initiate a united platform for other anti-neoliberal groups… and created 32 ‘autonomous municipalities…’ partially implementing their demands without government support… Zapatista communities continue to practice horizontal autonomy and mutual aid by building and maintaining their own anti-systemic health, education, and sustainable [agro-ecology], promoting equitable gender relations via Women’s Revolutionary Law.” (Wikipedia). “Spray-painted road signs read (in translation): ‘You are now entering Zapatista territory. Here the people order and the government obeys.’” Laura Gottesdiener – ‘A Glimpse Into The Zapatista Movement, Two Decades Later;’ (thenation.com January 2014).

Ada Colau, who later became mayor of Barcelona, rose to prominence as an activist who protested against forced evictions. “Since the financial crisis, 400,000 homes had been foreclosed and a further 3.4m properties lay empty. In response, Colau helped set up… the Platform for Mortgage Victims (PAH).” “The government have been paid by us to provide basic human needs. We have paid them and bailed out the banks, who take our homes, with extra taxes. They have taken everything and left us with nothing. They are not doing their jobs, so we are doing it for them.” When the movement took off and eventually formed pert of a growing populist movement incorporating ‘Youths Without A Future,’ ‘Indignados’ and ‘Democracy Real,’ she delivered this speech. “Never trust in our virtue or our ability to represent you completely. Throw us out if we don’t do what we said we’d do. They will ask us: Who are you? Let’s not be so arrogant as to say we’re ‘everyone’. But we are the people on the street. We’re normal people. We’re simple people, who talk to our neighbours each day, who, unlike professional politicians, use public transport every day, work in precarious jobs every day, and who see how things are every day.’” When she became Mayor of Barcelona, Colau wanted to reduce her provided income to what she felt she could live on, but was prevented by law. “Podemos…” (the political party that emerged from this movement) “…once led the polls and very nearly snatched leadership…” La PAH became national in scope and even now, solicitors, economists and volunteer support workers prevent thousands of people from being evicted, including those from rental accommodation. Human Rights Watch published “(APPLICATION NUMBER 62688/13). Through the specific case of the eviction from the building Bloc Salt, the Spanish PAH (Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca)… elaborated on February 2014 a practical document based on a recent resolution of the European Tribunal of Human Rights… that protects citizens from future evictions.” The document is available on line and can be used for all evictions in any democratically constituted European country. LA PAH now campaign and network with movements across the Mediterranean and African continent. Yet ask everyday Spanish people in major cities if they have heard of La PAH and they shrug.

Protests and movements like these, that happened in many affluent European countries, attended by millions of concerned citizens, can be added to the revolts and coups that happened across the middle East, turning into suppressions and all-out civil war, as in Syria. The most recent eruptions in capitalist-communist China’s Hong Kong. Some places remain off the media radar, such as across Africa, but how many examples do we need like Myanmar, Darfur, Yemen, Kuwait? Displacement by force is the quickest way to disempower as well as turn other nations against powerless refugees. Revolts are segregated and dismissed as minority isolated events, for fear of unsettling further the conforming economic and political climate. Cordon, cauterise and disempower. Anything but stitch them together. In addition to the above, it would be unwise to dismiss the potency and usefulness of online campaigns such as 38degrees, Change.org and DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts) that are changing international political and commercial injustices – you can make your own campaign and have a voice joined by others; and the widest used social media tools – Facebook, Twitter, Meetup, Instagram, Youtube, Linkedin and others – have also formed formidable movements and unsuppressed information-sharing that is far from being only critical talk but is positive and pro-active.

NGOs, Aid agencies and refugee crisis organisations:

UNESCO website lists 399 NGOs across the globe. Some of them international in scale – just two of these – Amnesty, has over 7 million supporters and members making up 52 sections operating in 74 countries; International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies help people indiscriminately of race, belief, status, circumstance, from war-zones to Monaco. They have selfless volunteers, in turn helping overwhelming numbers of people, in 195 out of the 223 countries that make up the global population. Add to these governmental initiatives; the US Peace Corps has sent volunteers to 135 countries and numerous UN organisations work at peace-keeping, human rights, poverty relief, international justice etc. Lesser known are thousands of smaller initiatives – “The Findhorn Foundation is an NGO associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information, holder of UN Habitat Best Practice designation and is co-founder of the Global Ecovillage Network and Holistic Centres Network.  We work in co-creation with the intelligence of nature and take inspired action towards our vision of a better world. We share our learning and way of life in experiential workshops, conferences and events that take place within a thriving community and ecovillage.” Many consider these organisations almost inert – but it’s hard to say that if you live in the areas where they operate. Also, some dismiss agencies like the UN as co-opted tools for capitalist corporations and politicians, but in realistic terms they would not function without compromising on what is the predominant economic status quo restricted and controlled by them. Imagine how all these agencies’ activities could expand if they became non-dependent on money, if there was a non-confrontational way to link all this effort and common interest, even for purely economic reasons.

Environmental, conservation, climate change, green economy campaigners.

Global Ecovillage Network “GEN builds bridges between policy-makers, governments, NGOs, academics, entrepreneurs, activists, community networks and ecologically-minded individuals across the globe in order to develop strategies for a global transition to resilient communities and cultures.” Their 2017 annual report shows 35 national networks covering 114 countries and 32 partnership organisations. They are not simply hippie retreats, off-grid, but encompass new technology and educational enterprise. One of the most advanced in approach is The Venus Project, which regularly collaborates with advanced scientists, humanitarians and research academics. From its 25-04-19 newsletter: “Jacque Fresco – ‘Economics vs Sociocyberneering’ – discusses the difference between traditional economics and his concept of Sociocyberneering. This lecture includes discussion of inflation… the limitations of traditional economics, the need for a systems approach for social management and… for computer technology to account for economic variables. Fresco presents ideas about how the transition might occur in the event of economic collapse.” The Choice is Ours (2016) is a documentary that “illustrates how our social structures impose our values and behaviors, demonstrating that our global monetary system is obsolete…” and concludes with “…a ‘redesign of the culture’ where all enjoy a high standard of living, free of servitude and debt, while also protecting the environment.”

“Rising Tide is an international, all-volunteer, grassroots network of groups… who… promote community-based solutions to the climate crisis and take direct action to confront the root causes of climate change. Rising Tide was born out of the conviction that corporate-friendly ‘solutions’ to climate change will not save us. We… support one another with shared resources, ideas, fundraising, training and collaborations… committed to stopping the extraction of fossil fuels and preventing the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure… transition to sustainable livelihoods that foster local autonomy and self-sufficiency. Rising Tide’s tactics are diverse and creative, taking a bottom-up approach to connecting the dots between colonialism, corporate power, climate disruption, social justice, and biocentrism. The systems that are destroying the planet are systems rooted in oppression; combating climate change is therefore not just a matter of carbon emissions, but of confronting the institutions that destroy communities, cultures and the Earth. The… network now spans four continents. We know that whatever we achieve in our local struggles is amplified by the energy of the growing global movement for climate justice.” (risingtidenorthamerica.org). And it must be acknowledged there are more rapidly expanding networks to add to this. Extinction Rebellion could now become one of those movements, sharing inspiring and informative specific information to empower everyday people of all ages, unless they become demoralised and subdued as the Occupy movement was (it remains an inspiring and useful counter-culture).

This will not go un-noticed by capitalists, so we need a way to combine self-interests. One of those being profitability. Speech about profit and economic growth being filthy words, is simply well-intended but unimaginative and somewhat moralistic fly-swatting. If plans to save the planet mean reforming monetary economic processes that predominantly employ immoral methods of reward, then we are looking to the wrong people. When will they ever change? Who will decide, then police and enforce this economic morality? A more constructive question would be ‘what would they change for?’ Actually we need rapid growth industries in eco-technology, carbon neutrality and what we term ‘ethical’ engineering and product development. And in many other sectors. So, it has to come from another source and why should not all of that effort constitute a profitable market? One that not only eclipses monetary capitalism, but engages and offers capitalists greater profitability than money can ever offer them, for the right products and services?

Just one network, out of the 649 networking organisations mentioned in ‘A Chance For Everyone: The Parallel Non-Monetary Economy,’ illustrates the scope available to form a collective market. Green Economy Coalition “the world’s largest multi-stakeholder network working on green economy, is committed to accelerating the transition to a green and fair economy.” Their network includes the following partners – “Consumers International (CI) – International Institute for Environment and Development – World Wildlife Fund International – Biomimicry Institute; International Trade Union Confederation – International Institute for Sustainable Development – Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) – International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – Ecologic Institute – Aldersgate Group (AG) – Green Economy Initiative (GEI) – Development Alternatives Group – International Labour Organisation (ILO) – SEED Initiative – World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) – Global Footprint Network – Ethical Markets Media – Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) – The Natural Step Eco-union – Ecodes – Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – Environmental Management for Livelihood Improvement (EMLI) – STEPS Centre – Global Sustainability Institute (GSI) – Natural Capital Coalition – Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) – Hivos – Center for Sustainability Studies (GVces) – Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) – Smart Prosperity Institute (formerly Sustainable Prosperity) – Catholic Aid Agency for England and Wales (CAFOD) – Tearfund – Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) – African Centre for a Green Economy (AFRICEGE) – Innovation, Environnement et Développement en Afrique (IED Afrique) – Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) – EPCRC – Finance Watch – Plan International UK – Oxfam GB – Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP) – Libélula Institute for Global Change – Forp Nacional Internacional (FNI) – The Equality Trust – tv/e – Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) – Christian Aid.”

Charities and non-profit organisations:

UK Charities Commission, regulating charities in England and Wales, by September 2018 had registered 168,186 organisations. Imagine how many members, supporters, contributors, benefactors and beneficiaries these alone amount to, from supporting stray cats to cancer-research. One small new non-profit initiative is inspiring – “Scrap Car Network is an easy way for drivers to get a great price for scrapping their car and support charities at the same time… We ensure that all the cars we collect are disposed of ethically and in an environmentally friendly way. If we can resell your car or its parts, we will, but if the car’s not in a saleable condition, we’ll make sure it’s fully recycled and won’t cause any damage to the environment. In addition to getting a competitive price for your old car… Scrap Car Network helps to sustain the Recycling Lives social welfare charity. The social welfare charity is helping to end homelessness by providing homeless men aged 25 and over with safe accommodation, work placements and training opportunities. As well as supporting the social welfare charity financially, Scrap Car Network helps ‘Residents’ directly by providing them with work placements and work experience opportunities. This helps ‘Residents’ increase their skills and enhances their employability.” TerraCycle is another recent profitable circular economy that empowers those in need through a regenerative beneficial process. “Tom Szaky, the 37-year-old CEO… founded the company in 2001 in New Jersey after dropping out of an economics degree at Princeton University. It… has since expanded into 22 other countries.” They take waste that would not ordinarily be recycled by local authorities, as it is too expensive. “The UK operation – run from an office in Perivale, London – opened in 2009 and reports to have recycled some 60 million individual pieces of garbage, while paying out £774,000 to charitable causes.” Colin Drury – (Independent, May 2019).

On 25 April 2019 BBC news reported that soup-kitchens in the UK had increased three-fold even in affluent areas like Chelsea, in London.

Alternative, complementary, crypto currencies; circular and free-sharing economies.

There are an estimated 4000 alternatives to money forming working economies parallel to and sometimes integrating with monetary markets, some of them national and international in scope. In India, students are paying for their tuition with waste single-use plastic. Most alternative or complementary currencies still depend on money either initially or on-going. Some are successful non-monetary economies. ‘A Chance for Everyone: The Parallel Non-Monetary Economy’ examines 70 of these varied and imaginative exchange methods and networks. Additional ones are covered in David Boyle’s ‘Funny Money: a search for alternative cash.’ Time Dollars is the most widespread and successful non-monetary sharing network. Its founder, lawyer, economist and academic tutor Edgar S Cahn, lays out its principles, advantages and achievements, even for capitalist organisations, in ‘No More Throwaway People.’ It has serious effects on profitable businesses, in health and law services, even altering their ethics in a way money did not, previously. In some African countries people trade exchanging mobile phone credit, where no cash outlets exist. Other economies print their own notes such as Sods, Bricks, Groats and Olivers, or use air miles, potatoes, corn. In fact if you wished to you could make a non-monetary economy from waste products. All it takes is a consensus and outlets that see a mutual benefit, to take monetary dependency out of some transactions.

WIR Bank is one circular non-monetary economy worth considering in our context, as it embodies some of the principles that make a global non-monetary economy possible. “WIR is a complementary currency system in Switzerland that serves SME [small or medium sized enterprises] mainly in hospitality, construction, manufacturing, retail and professional services… businesses can buy from one another without using Swiss Francs. However, WIR is often used in combination with Swiss Franc in dual-currency transactions. WIR now has over 60.000 users: [17% of total Swiss businesses together responsible for an annual turnover of 1.5 billion Euro. Trade in WIR has a share of 1-2% of Swiss GDP]; 45,000 SMEs and 15,000 employers or owners. Together they generate a 10-figure annual turnover. WIR units enter circulation when being lent by the bank to an account holder. They are [taken] out of circulation when that loan is repaid. The primary way, accounting for the bulk of WIR, is through loans granted through the WIR Bank. A secondary option is through an overdraft facility with predetermined terms… one WIR-franc always equals the value of one Swiss-franc. But… WIR-Credit cannot be redeemed for Swiss Francs. This design criterion guarantees that money remains within the cooperative circle. WIR-credit is purely electronic. Since 1995, it is possible to make payments using a single plastic charge card rather than using cheques. In 2008 internet-banking became available. Notwithstanding its major achievements, WIR suffers from some significant limitations. In the first place it is not convertible to other units. This is a usual problem with Mutual Credit based currencies. Until recently, the technology was not available… …many people… do not even consider it a problem. They will claim that non-convertibility is actually a strength, as it forces participants to shop within the network. However… non-convertibility damages liquidity… As a result, many businesses accept only a certain percentage in WIR. Another problem is that consumers are not serviced… businesses cannot pay their employers in WIR, for instance. Just think of what is possible leaving these limitations behind.” Anthony Migchels – (‘The Swiss WIR: or How to Defeat the Money Power’ 19 April 2012). According to a report by neweconomy.net (21-06-19) “across the world there are already 693 public banks which own assets worth US$37.72 trillion.

This is a mere smattering of what’s available already, “nothing new under the sun” but all these movements show it is possible to leave the limitations and precious time wasters behind. Taking qualities from all these currencies, utilizing existing and developing technology and appropriating even capitalist ingenuity and greed means a global purely electronic parallel non-monetary economy – (‘currency’ suggests something tangible or of value) – or accounting exchange, is possible. Even if it is formed unilaterally and remains distinct in each locality, the possibility remains to stitch these methods together into a global force re-incentivizing monetary economic policies without having to touch them, decided upon by the empowered mobilized trading power of the 99% majority. This can be achieved within a few short years.

Paul Mason contextualized the impermanence of capitalism in ‘Post-Capitalism: a guide to our future;’ Jeremy Rifkin wrote about ‘The Marginal Zero-cost Society’ and ‘The Rise of Anti-Capitalism;’ Noam Chomsky – ‘Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and the Global Order;’ Harry Cleaver examined ‘Rupturing the Dialectic: the struggle against work, money and financialisation;’ and Bernard Steigler’s ‘The Neganthropocene;’ all address these stark warnings of crises to come, but not with hopelessness and intransigence. ‘A Chance For Everyone: The Parallel Non-Monetary Economy’ examines these options and path-finds how to go about removing the obstacles these authors, movements and the current neoliberal monetary economy present.

Making it happen.

Firstly – all these movements mentioned above, including the vast network of New Economic Model organizations already conferencing issues surrounding capitalism, with all extended networks, supporters and memberships numbering into millions, should combine and conference what can be achieved with a parallel non-monetary economy. They should unpack how it works practically, what its projected impact will be and invite the UN and governmental representatives, but mainly provide opportunity for everyday people to sign up for it. To simply choose it as a majority bargaining power, then go about setting it up without corporate and political backing. They will either follow or be forced to recognize its superiority when they see its achievements. Then the excellent guidelines and methods suggested by Farid A Khavari concluding ‘Towards a Zero-cost Economy;’ and Kate Rowarth’s ‘Doughnut Economics;’ (both incidentally dealing with the monetary economy, not non-monetary) and advancements covered in the French film ‘Demain’ (‘Tomorrow’); can be used by any party wanting to collectively take back control.

And, finally, imagine a non-party parliament, or congress, with individuals voted in for their track-record and skills, not political shenanigans. And if politicians want those jobs, imagine they have no party to please, or battle, but for once truly represent the majority decision and act at the country’s behest. The non-monetary economy, rewarding all currently unpaid ‘abstract labour’ and voluntary work, makes a logistical way to accommodate this possible, both locally and nationally, using the whole range of everyday people for consultation. In fact far more is accomplishable, including compensation to individuals and businesses for past losses due to tax-misuse and waste, or governmental mis-information and politically induced prejudice. The only way to address post-truth.

Paul Mason concluded “the 99% are coming to save us,” but I suggest not by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, still inhibited by monetary motives and employment conflicts, but by a Fifth Eco-Industrial Revolution radicalizing global employment, economy and politics, powered by everyday people everywhere, no longer repressed by monetary dependency and its global out of control system. This is not rose-tinted glasses half-full, it is the parallel realty neoliberalism has caused and is now outnumbered by. Oh, and one more thing: not only is all this possible, but there is a single institution that already does some of this to a small degree. With a simple twist of its existing practices, “nothing new under the sun,” it could facilitate the whole global non-monetary economy far more rapidly, whilst keeping it separate from the monetary market.

These potentials give every individual scope for not only redressing injustices, but participating in a rewarding way, putting behind them concerns over how to survive and earn, actively contributing something invaluable now, not only to their community, but society’s progress as a whole and avoidance of ‘Earth-xit.’ All we need is ‘remain’ voters.

Previous articles:

SANCTUARY SANCTUARY

AvoidingEarth-xit Part 1 – Diversion

http://internationaltimes.it/sanctimoney-sanctimoney/

The Fifth Eco-Industrial Revolution

AvoidingEarth-xit Part 2 – The Parallel Non-Monetary Economy

http://internationaltimes.it/the-fifth-industrial-eco-revolution-radicalising-incentives/

Kendal Eaton (copyright 25 April 2019)

(Concepts from ‘A Chance For Everyone: The Parallel Non-Monetary Economy’ – currently seeking publisher, but should be released before 2020)