Occupy World Street

* Book: Occupy World Street. A Global Roadmap for Radical Economic and Political Reform. by Ross Jackson. Chelsea Green, 2012.

URL = http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/occupy_world_street/

Description

"Ordinary citizens the world over have long paid the price for the swashbuckling behavior of the corporate and political elite. We’ve seen the reigning establishment widen the gap between rich and poor, champion endless growth on a finite planet, wreak havoc on developing nations, and ravage ecosystems in a mad race for natural resources.

Now, as demonstrators worldwide demand change, Occupy World Street offers a sweeping vision of how to reform our global economic and political structures, break away from empire, and build a world of self-determining sovereign states that respect the need for ecological sustainability and uphold human rights.

In this refreshingly detailed plan, Ross Jackson shows how a handful of small nations could take on a leadership role; create new alliances, new governance, and new global institutions; and, in cooperation with grassroots activists, pave the way for other nations to follow suit." (http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/occupy_world_street/)

Ross Jackson:

"This ideal society would put a high priority on living in decentralized, diverse, human scale communities with a high degree of local democracy. Such a society would insist on the rights of the developing countries, who are considered part of the “global family”, to real development, including control over their economies and cultures. Protecting the environment is not sufficient without specifying the means to do so. Therefore respect for Nature, as reflected in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, and respect for the human rights of all world citizens—for example, as defined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights——are essential ingredients.

Thus the international structure in my ideal world would be a universe of small, independent sovereign states in which a limited degree of sovereignty is delegated to a global governance body, namely the right of this body to issue binding directives deemed necessary to ensure long-term sustainability of the planet and the observance of human rights in all member states. All other aspects of sovereignty would remain with the individual sovereign states. In this way, a flowering of diverse cultures respecting local preferences and priorities will be allowed to evolve within a structure that guarantees long-term survival and basic human rights. Such an overall structure is independent of ideology, and is rather dictated by the fundamental premises that we started with: sustainability, human rights, democracy and freedom. In principle, a sovereign country in such a society could be anything from a socialist state to a capitalist state to a religious-based state, anything from a high-tech industrialized state to a low-tech primarily agricultural state, provided only that the ground rules guaranteeing sustainability and human rights are respected." (http://www.occupyworldstreet.org/about-ross-jackson/read-ross-jacksons-blog/entry/imagining-an-ideal-world)

Excerpts

Introduction: We need a Gaian League

Ross Jackson:

"In Occupy World Street, I have put forward not only the outline of a new, sustainable and just world order, but, more importantly, have proposed a strategy to get it underway.

Actually, the design phase—including a new economic system and new international institutions, is the easiest part. The most difficult part is to plant the seed of what I call the Gaian World Order without the support of, and possibly with opposition from, the strongest industrial states. I call it the breakaway strategy, because it requires a few of the still independent smaller states to break away from the oppressive system that is holding them in bondage and preventing a change in course. In particular, they must break away from the WTO, which is a major barrier to a sustainable future, to real development and to the self-determination of the developing countries. But these breakaway states cannot do it alone. They need allies, and they are ready and willing to be called upon—namely the so-called “99%” across the world, including the USA, most of whom I expect will support such an initiative if it is launched properly.

In a nutshell, the breakaway strategy requires that these few small states form a scalable prototype—quite small initially—consisting of a new set of international institutions. I call it the Gaian League, which is specifically designed to satisfy the needs of all 7 billion world citizens. Such a design must, in my opinion, allow each member state to be master of its own fate, having full control over its own economy and cultural priorities, with only two exceptions. A degree of sovereignty must be surrendered to the Gaian League in the areas of sustainability and human rights. In other words, the overarching objective is to build a sustainable future for our species in a humane way. This approach is both radical and non-ideological. Sovereign states can determine their own preferences for rule, whether it be capitalist, socialist, religious or something else, as long as they respect the rights of others to do the same without interference.

Once formally established, and this will undoubtedly happen only after considerable negotiations and planning, other states will be invited to join as equal partners. It is here that the street demonstrators’ role becomes critical. They must pressure their political leaders to hold a national referendum on joining the Gaian League—a demand that is reasonable, democratic, concrete and most important—local! In this way, a collaboration between a few small states and reform-willing citizens across the world can hopefully accomplish what neither could do alone—create the framework for a new civilization that will not only survive, but work for everyone." (http://www.occupyworldstreet.org/about-ross-jackson/read-ross-jacksons-blog/entry/changing-course-part-2)

About the author

"Ross Jackson, an expert in international finance and operations research, has long been an innovative leader in both the business and NGO worlds. He is chairman of Gaia Trust, a Danish-based foundation that supports the Global Ecovillage Network and Gaia Education, as well as hundreds of sustainability projects in forty countries. He is also director and owner of Urtekram, Scandinavia's largest wholesale organic-food company, and former chairman of Gaiacorp, foreign-exchange consultants and hedge fund managers. Jackson is the coeditor of When No Means Yes: Danish Visions of a Different Europe and Gaian Economics: Living Well Within Planetary Limits." (http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/occupy_world_street/)