Work in progress,,, there will be a longer essay here.
The ideal of paradigm shift, briefly sketched above, [and below] contains enormous implications for all strata of society, including labor. This would be a very interesting interview conversation - how might a purposeful societal move towards sustainability, civic uplift and an honest economic system affect working people.
The crux of the issue in very few words in this pitch to you is, business has created the "consumer culture" and has been extremely effective seducing just about everyone into believing there are no economic and social alternatives to extreme over consumption of resources and energy. The consumer culture, is ruining the planet and it ruins positive human potential. The consumer culture conflicts with many ideals of social solidarity and accountability.
The ideals of labor - fairness, safety, solidarity are vital aspirations and create skills that can help its proponents create healthy and cooperative alternatives to the consumer culture and hegemony of big business. Paradigm shift lifestyles would be very different from what we have now and would be a far better fit for labor and society than the distractions and vanity promoted by the consumer culture. This would be a very interesting conversation.
Labor
Labor has been a part of many progressive changes in society. Unions have a core purpose to make life better for workers and their communities.
Historically, organized labor has campaigned for safer working conditions, the end to child labor, limiting hours and days in the work week, striking for worker rights and justice. Workers acting in their best interests predate the American Revolution. Labor history includes the period of apprenticeships and artisans while the Industrial Revolution created the conditions for labor to organize at greater scale and complexity. Railroads and mining were early sectors to organize. Not to suggest a pristine record over the past 200 years, labor's ideals and struggles on behalf of working people have played a powerful role in this nation's history. After all, organized labor came into being for a reason.
And now, labor has a unique and historical new opportunity.
Labor could transform itself from a participant in an economic and political system fraught with mal practice, to become a pioneer of paradigm shift. Pushing back on capitalism and its patrons in politics on behalf of sustainability and social uplift, is an enormous opportunity for labor. The ideals of worker solidarity, civic responsibility a history of social vision and experience dealing with big business provides labor with a unique capacity, one might even suggest a responsibility, to take on this immense, timely and challenging new purpose and identity.
The change in focus for labor would not be easy. Instead of its traditional struggle with business for a larger part of the oversized economic pie, labor would be confronted by the same challenges as the rest of society, to downsize its eco footprint, redefine what is the goal of life and to gain the wisdom to say there is more to life than lots of stuff. Moving past capitalism and towards sustainability and uplift will mean a cut in pay for everyone, labor included, simply because high pay plus cheap prices, made possible by externalized costs, facilitates damaging levels of over consumption that we clearly see are damaging to people and planet.
The need to reduce eco footprints will have a profound effect on our lifestyles. The cost of everything will go up. Many non essential products and services will no longer be affordable, plus many people in this emerging society will simply lose interest in many of the past times and products of the consumer culture. Labor can help its members and communities adjust to a future based more on social well being than material over consumption.
Labor can ask itself, does our movement primarily exist to gain a larger share of a not sustainable and corrupt economic pie or do we exist to help our members and communities move towards health and well being in a changing world?
Labor could move towards this new advocacy either top down or even better, bottom up. Both leadership and rank and file, will all need to make a leap in consciousness like the rest of society but labor's ideals and vision give it an added incentive and capacity to embrace paradigm shift. With broad social and political reach already in hand, labor can encourage and influence millions of its members and the wider world, as well, for downsizing their eco footprints and upsize their civic engagement. Many businesses can benefit from paradigm shift too. Best case scenario would be business and labor working together on behalf of sustainability and uplift for everyone.
Imagine, as labor explains to its members the why and how to downsize and build community culture, a similar message is going out from hundreds of other public interest organizations to millions of their own members. A widespread similar message for downsizing means there is a broad social movement with common goals and that translates into solidarity and common cause. People can feel energized meeting others who are also engaged in paradigm shift.
Sustainability will certainly offer new opportunities for labor. A sustainable society will call for new products and services to repair urban areas and restore the natural world. At the same time, many products and services that will not make the cut to sustainability, depend on both white and blue collar experience that can transition to fit the needs of sustainability. With a high level of social cohesion, diverse organizations and entities can use their skills and experience to help each other adjust to the needs of reducing eco footprints. Sustainability and uplift can be a great opportunity for worker owned business, cooperatives and democratic work places that are accountable to workers, communities and the environment.
The Primer series describes many examples of social and economic initiatives that point the way towards a preferred present and future. Youth are being empowered to benefit their communities, run down apartment complexes are turned into thriving eco villages, small scale local agencies like Our 42 Av in Portland are already facilitating local economic development that serves healthy interests. Labor ideals, experience and skills can fit in everywhere.
Labor has the reach, history, core values, skills and experience that few other organizations have, to help move our society in an honest and sustainable direction.
Faith Organizations
Faith organizations have an enormous “tool box.” First, almost all faith groups share a set of social ideals and goals that can easily translate to sustainability and social uplift. Recall the wisdom of the world's great spiritual traditions. This wisdom is ready made for paradigm shift and it comes from virtually all faith traditions regardless of place in geography, time in history, culture or language. This wisdom is simple but comprehensive - care for the natural world, modesty of lifestyle, uplift of the spirit, service to the community and accountability. A society and economic system could be based on the wisdom of the world's great spiritual traditions.
Faith organizations should be helping to lead the charge to sustainability and uplift.
Most faith groups have built infrastructure, such as fellowship halls and meeting rooms, that can host progressive educational community events [many already do]. A faith group can invite speakers to address important issues to an existing audience and invited public. Faith groups have an outreach capacity and are usually part of larger networks and associations. One activist member of the network might catalyze others to do likewise. If the faith group has out door physical space, they can host a community garden and orchard. Faith groups usually have standing in the community that lends a stature for having access to places of influence in the community that other groups might not.
Many faith groups already engage in positive community affairs. One particular church in Eugene has been the go to location for progressive events for many years. The facility, with large social hall and classrooms, is perfect for medium sized public events. The cost to use those facilities has always been modest and the church has been welcoming for many events and organizations. The writer of this article has helped organize a host gatherings related to paradigm shift at that location.
Many faith groups have declining and aging memberships. A motivated clergy or member of the congregation could perhaps catalyze a big shift in the agenda of the church, mosque or temple by taking a more activist initiative. Many seniors would love to volunteer for a positive cause. A re energized agenda just might lead to new members and public engagement.
The more or less pyramid structure of faith groups gives its leaders the position to help elevate and motivate the membership to take on progressive initiatives. The current pope is well known for his comparatively progressive statements and positions in regard to the environment, climate change, lifestyle and economics. That more progressive content has an effect on millions of church members and the wider world. A local minister, rabbi or imam could do the same at smaller scale.
Many faith organizations have study groups. These would be great places for individuals to take initiative to propose paradigm shift ideas within the context of the Koran, Bible, Torah. Many faith organizations even have social concerns committees that already discuss issues related to sustainability. They can share those discussions with the rest of the congregation
Perhaps one of the most important potentials for this wisdom is for diverse cultures and belief systems to recognize their fundamental kinship and common cause so they can work with each other at both the organizational and personal level on behalf of sustainability and a healthy present and future.
The take home message, almost any faith organization has existing assets and ideals that can be used for more ambitious discussion, action and leadership on behalf of sustainability and social uplift. Sharing a common cause for a healthy and uplifted society could bring faith groups together in common cause like never before.
MAGA
Could MAGA - Make America Great Again, find an interest in Paradigm Shift as described in the Primer? Absolutely. MAGA contains a diverse set of ideal and opinions about issues that share common ground with the Primer. Both are anti Establishment. Both are not on board with the elite and intellectuals fawned upon by Bernays and Lippmann. Both MAGA and the Primer are pro regular people to elevate and express their potentials.
MAGA and the Primer are skeptical of the globalized economy as we know it and call for economic behavior that operates more in the public interest than corporate interests. Both MAGA and the Primer value aspects of traditional values such as thrift and self production of important needs.
There is no question important differences exist but its important to know, there are many shared interests and deeper discussions would likely find more.
The ideal of paradigm shift, briefly sketched above, [and below] contains enormous implications for all strata of society, including labor. This would be a very interesting interview conversation - how might a purposeful societal move towards sustainability, civic uplift and an honest economic system affect working people.
The crux of the issue in very few words in this pitch to you is, business has created the "consumer culture" and has been extremely effective seducing just about everyone into believing there are no economic and social alternatives to extreme over consumption of resources and energy. The consumer culture, is ruining the planet and it ruins positive human potential. The consumer culture conflicts with many ideals of social solidarity and accountability.
The ideals of labor - fairness, safety, solidarity are vital aspirations and create skills that can help its proponents create healthy and cooperative alternatives to the consumer culture and hegemony of big business. Paradigm shift lifestyles would be very different from what we have now and would be a far better fit for labor and society than the distractions and vanity promoted by the consumer culture. This would be a very interesting conversation.
Labor
Labor has been a part of many progressive changes in society. Unions have a core purpose to make life better for workers and their communities.
Historically, organized labor has campaigned for safer working conditions, the end to child labor, limiting hours and days in the work week, striking for worker rights and justice. Workers acting in their best interests predate the American Revolution. Labor history includes the period of apprenticeships and artisans while the Industrial Revolution created the conditions for labor to organize at greater scale and complexity. Railroads and mining were early sectors to organize. Not to suggest a pristine record over the past 200 years, labor's ideals and struggles on behalf of working people have played a powerful role in this nation's history. After all, organized labor came into being for a reason.
And now, labor has a unique and historical new opportunity.
Labor could transform itself from a participant in an economic and political system fraught with mal practice, to become a pioneer of paradigm shift. Pushing back on capitalism and its patrons in politics on behalf of sustainability and social uplift, is an enormous opportunity for labor. The ideals of worker solidarity, civic responsibility a history of social vision and experience dealing with big business provides labor with a unique capacity, one might even suggest a responsibility, to take on this immense, timely and challenging new purpose and identity.
The change in focus for labor would not be easy. Instead of its traditional struggle with business for a larger part of the oversized economic pie, labor would be confronted by the same challenges as the rest of society, to downsize its eco footprint, redefine what is the goal of life and to gain the wisdom to say there is more to life than lots of stuff. Moving past capitalism and towards sustainability and uplift will mean a cut in pay for everyone, labor included, simply because high pay plus cheap prices, made possible by externalized costs, facilitates damaging levels of over consumption that we clearly see are damaging to people and planet.
The need to reduce eco footprints will have a profound effect on our lifestyles. The cost of everything will go up. Many non essential products and services will no longer be affordable, plus many people in this emerging society will simply lose interest in many of the past times and products of the consumer culture. Labor can help its members and communities adjust to a future based more on social well being than material over consumption.
Labor can ask itself, does our movement primarily exist to gain a larger share of a not sustainable and corrupt economic pie or do we exist to help our members and communities move towards health and well being in a changing world?
Labor could move towards this new advocacy either top down or even better, bottom up. Both leadership and rank and file, will all need to make a leap in consciousness like the rest of society but labor's ideals and vision give it an added incentive and capacity to embrace paradigm shift. With broad social and political reach already in hand, labor can encourage and influence millions of its members and the wider world, as well, for downsizing their eco footprints and upsize their civic engagement. Many businesses can benefit from paradigm shift too. Best case scenario would be business and labor working together on behalf of sustainability and uplift for everyone.
Imagine, as labor explains to its members the why and how to downsize and build community culture, a similar message is going out from hundreds of other public interest organizations to millions of their own members. A widespread similar message for downsizing means there is a broad social movement with common goals and that translates into solidarity and common cause. People can feel energized meeting others who are also engaged in paradigm shift.
Sustainability will certainly offer new opportunities for labor. A sustainable society will call for new products and services to repair urban areas and restore the natural world. At the same time, many products and services that will not make the cut to sustainability, depend on both white and blue collar experience that can transition to fit the needs of sustainability. With a high level of social cohesion, diverse organizations and entities can use their skills and experience to help each other adjust to the needs of reducing eco footprints. Sustainability and uplift can be a great opportunity for worker owned business, cooperatives and democratic work places that are accountable to workers, communities and the environment.
The Primer series describes many examples of social and economic initiatives that point the way towards a preferred present and future. Youth are being empowered to benefit their communities, run down apartment complexes are turned into thriving eco villages, small scale local agencies like Our 42 Av in Portland are already facilitating local economic development that serves healthy interests. Labor ideals, experience and skills can fit in everywhere.
Labor has the reach, history, core values, skills and experience that few other organizations have, to help move our society in an honest and sustainable direction.
Faith Organizations
Faith organizations have an enormous “tool box.” First, almost all faith groups share a set of social ideals and goals that can easily translate to sustainability and social uplift. Recall the wisdom of the world's great spiritual traditions. This wisdom is ready made for paradigm shift and it comes from virtually all faith traditions regardless of place in geography, time in history, culture or language. This wisdom is simple but comprehensive - care for the natural world, modesty of lifestyle, uplift of the spirit, service to the community and accountability. A society and economic system could be based on the wisdom of the world's great spiritual traditions.
Faith organizations should be helping to lead the charge to sustainability and uplift.
Most faith groups have built infrastructure, such as fellowship halls and meeting rooms, that can host progressive educational community events [many already do]. A faith group can invite speakers to address important issues to an existing audience and invited public. Faith groups have an outreach capacity and are usually part of larger networks and associations. One activist member of the network might catalyze others to do likewise. If the faith group has out door physical space, they can host a community garden and orchard. Faith groups usually have standing in the community that lends a stature for having access to places of influence in the community that other groups might not.
Many faith groups already engage in positive community affairs. One particular church in Eugene has been the go to location for progressive events for many years. The facility, with large social hall and classrooms, is perfect for medium sized public events. The cost to use those facilities has always been modest and the church has been welcoming for many events and organizations. The writer of this article has helped organize a host gatherings related to paradigm shift at that location.
Many faith groups have declining and aging memberships. A motivated clergy or member of the congregation could perhaps catalyze a big shift in the agenda of the church, mosque or temple by taking a more activist initiative. Many seniors would love to volunteer for a positive cause. A re energized agenda just might lead to new members and public engagement.
The more or less pyramid structure of faith groups gives its leaders the position to help elevate and motivate the membership to take on progressive initiatives. The current pope is well known for his comparatively progressive statements and positions in regard to the environment, climate change, lifestyle and economics. That more progressive content has an effect on millions of church members and the wider world. A local minister, rabbi or imam could do the same at smaller scale.
Many faith organizations have study groups. These would be great places for individuals to take initiative to propose paradigm shift ideas within the context of the Koran, Bible, Torah. Many faith organizations even have social concerns committees that already discuss issues related to sustainability. They can share those discussions with the rest of the congregation
Perhaps one of the most important potentials for this wisdom is for diverse cultures and belief systems to recognize their fundamental kinship and common cause so they can work with each other at both the organizational and personal level on behalf of sustainability and a healthy present and future.
The take home message, almost any faith organization has existing assets and ideals that can be used for more ambitious discussion, action and leadership on behalf of sustainability and social uplift. Sharing a common cause for a healthy and uplifted society could bring faith groups together in common cause like never before.
MAGA
Could MAGA - Make America Great Again, find an interest in Paradigm Shift as described in the Primer? Absolutely. MAGA contains a diverse set of ideal and opinions about issues that share common ground with the Primer. Both are anti Establishment. Both are not on board with the elite and intellectuals fawned upon by Bernays and Lippmann. Both MAGA and the Primer are pro regular people to elevate and express their potentials.
MAGA and the Primer are skeptical of the globalized economy as we know it and call for economic behavior that operates more in the public interest than corporate interests. Both MAGA and the Primer value aspects of traditional values such as thrift and self production of important needs.
There is no question important differences exist but its important to know, there are many shared interests and deeper discussions would likely find more.