New Paradigm Digest » Community

The Emergent Field of Social Healing

Jeff — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:40:19 +0000

There may be no more important human activity than healing social rifts between individuals, families, communities and nations. The new field of Social Healing promises to make this an ongoing activity in multiple forms with major impacts. This exciting development in the human journey promises profound change in resolving human conflict and, in fact, has already done so in many countries. We are witnessing the birth of a powerful conflict resolution tool that may well spell an end to war and the arguments leading up to it or, at the very least, may make this world a far more peaceful place through myriad forms of compassion in action.

Judith Thompson and James O’Dey are pioneers in this emergent field and Judith has written a brilliant overview that beautifully articulates the story and framework of Social Healing. I invite you to enjoy her article and if you want to know more to download the free The Social Healing Project Report available at http://www.charityfocus.org/docs/books/socialhealing.pdf

We Are Between Stories
by Judith Thompson

We live in an exciting time. As cultural historian, Thomas Berry put it: “We are between stories.” The old story — bracketed on the one side by reductionist scientific materialism, and on the other by institutional religious dogmas — is no longer able to guide us toward human or planetary flourishing. Instead, the chasms created by both science and religion, and the various social philosophies they spawned, are implicated in pushing us toward the precipitous edge upon which we now stand. At this edge we see both breakdowns and breakthroughs.

While the story of scientific materialism has been part of our evolutionary journey, it has created a map of reality — a worldview — that de-legitimized a vast portion of wisdom and experience. It placed reason over intuition, intellect over emotion, material over spiritual, objectivity over subjectivity, exteriority over interiority, and condensed this into a story that we live in a mechanistic, material world that can only be known through objective and measurable observation in which human reason reigns supreme.

Institutionalized religion upheld a story that gave male authority figures the power to interpret and mediate purported divine
laws and construct theological justifications for power over women, children, the natural world, and non-believers. While scientific and
religious stories were at odds with each other, both saw it in their interests to label metaphysical or spiritual worldviews outside their boundaries as heresy, superstition or witchcraft.

Yet ironically, science itself has now begun to step into the realm of the mystics. The “new sciences” story finds biologists and neuroscientists astounded by the hitherto unstudied capacities of the human brain and heart, indicating our ability to intentionally amplify love and compassion. It finds psychologists exploring the territory of contemplatives and revealing a map of human consciousness far beyond the individual ego-self. It finds physicists discovering that the presumed separation of observed and observer doesn’t exist.

Much like the African worldview of Ubuntu — “I am because you are” – all things exists as a communion of subjects, not an assortment of objects. The new story frames the human journey, not within the context of tribes or nations, but embedded in a constantly evolving planet and cosmos, interconnected and interdependent at every level. The implications of this framing could signal dramatic changes in
every field of human endeavor. The trends we are seeing within restorative justice, reconciliation, transitional justice, dialogue and other forms of peace practice, are evidence of new ways of addressing human conflict that are moving beyond the old dichotomies. We have chosen to name this trend social healing partly because we see an evolving paradigm that is not fundamentally hinged around the dualities of good vs. bad and right vs. wrong, but is rather inclined toward viewing human conflict through the lens of wounding and healing. Social healing, then, is not guided by revenge, retribution or punishment, but rather by the compassionate response of relating to all people — victims, transgressors and bystanders alike – as inextricably connected.

–JudithThompson, in _Social Healing Project [1]_report
Links:
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[1] http://charityfocus.org/docs/books/socialhealing.pdf

A Spiritual Conspiracy

Jeff — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:15:27 +0000

by Author Unknown

[Listen to Audio!]

On the surface of the Earth exactly now there is war and violence and everything looks horrible. But, simultaneously, something quiet, calm and hidden is happening and certain people are being called by a higher light. A quiet revolution is settling from the inside out. From bottom to top. It is a global operation. A spiritual conspiracy. There are cells from this operation in every nation on the planet.

You will not watch us on TV. Or read about us in newspapers. Or hear our words on radios. We do not seek glory. We do not use uniforms. We arrive in several different shapes and sizes. We have costumes and different colors. Most work anonymously. Silently we work out of the scene. In every culture in the world. In large and small cities, in the mountains and valleys. In the farms, villages, tribes and remote islands.

We might cross paths on the streets. And not realize … We follow in disguise. We are behind the scenes. And we do not care about who wins the gold of the result, and Yes, that the work gets performed. And once in a while we will cross paths on the streets. We exchange looks of recognition and continue following our path. During the day many are disguised in their normal jobs. But at night behind the scenes, the real work begins.

Some call us army of consciousness. Slowly we are building a new world. With the power of our hearts and minds. We follow with joy and passion. Our orders reach us from the Central Spiritual Intelligence. We’re throwing soft bombs of love without anyone noticing; poems, Hugs, songs, photos, movies, fond words, meditations and prayers, dances, social activism, websites, blogs, acts of kindness …

We express ourselves in a unique and personal way. With our talents and gifts. Being the change we want to see in the world. This is the force that moves our hearts. We know that this is the only way to accomplish the transformation. We know that with the silence and humbleness we have the power of all oceans together. Our work is slow and meticulous. As in the formation of mountains.

Love will be the religion of the 21 century. Without educational prerequisites. Without ordering an exceptional knowledge for your understanding. Because it is born of the intelligence of the heart. Hidden for eternity in the evolutionary pulse of every human being.<

Be the change you want to see happen in the world. Nobody else can make this work for you.

We’re recruiting. Perhaps you will join us. Or maybe you have already joined. All are welcome. The door is open.

Having More by Owning Less

Jeff — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:01:39 +0000

–by Maria Popova , Original Story

Inconspicuous consumption, or what lunching ladies have to do with social web karma.

Stuff. We all accumulate it and eventually form all kinds of emotional attachments to it. (Arguably, because the marketing machine of the 20th century has conditioned us to do so.) But digital platforms and cloud-based tools are making it increasingly easy to have all the things we want without actually owning them. Because, as Wired founder and notable futurist Kevin Kelly once put it, “access is better than ownership.” Here are seven services that help shrink your carbon footprint, lighten your economic load and generally liberate you from the shackles of stuff through the power of sharing.

NEIGHBORGOODS

The age of keeping up with the Jonses is over. The time of linking up with them has begin. NeighborGoods is a new platform that allows you to do just that, allowing you to borrow and lend from and to your neighbors rather than buying new stuff. (Remind us please, what happened to that fancy blender you bought and used only twice?) From lawnmowers to bikes to DVD’s, the LA-based startup dubs itself “the Craigslist for borrowing,” allowing you to both save and earn money.

Transparent user ratings, transaction histories and privacy controls make the sharing process simple and safe, while automated calendars and reminders ensure the safe return of loaned items.

Give NeighborGoods a shot by creating a sharing group for your apartment building, campus, office, or reading group — both your wallet and your social life will thank you.

UPDATE: Per the co-founder’s kind comment below, we should clarify that NeighborGoods also allows you to import your Twitter and Facebook friends from the get-go, so you have an instant group to share with.

SNAPGOODS

Similarly to Neighborgoods, SnapGoods allows you to rent, borrow and lend within your community. SnapGoods takes things step further by expanding the notion of “community” not only to your local group — neighborhood, office or apartment building — but to your social graph across the web’s trusted corners. The site features full Facebook and Meetup integration, extending your social circle to the cloud.

You can browse the goods people in your area are lending or take a look at what they need and lend a hand (or a sewing machine, as may be the case) if you’ve got the goods.

LANDSHARE

Growing one’s own produce is every hipster-urbanite’s pipe dream. But the trouble with it is that you have to actually have a place to grow it. And while a pot of cherry tomatoes on in your fire escape is better than nothing, it’s hardly anything. Enter Landshare, a simple yet brilliant platform for connecting aspiring growers with landowners who have the space but don’t use it.

Though currently only available in the U.K., we do hope to see Landshare itself, or at least the concept behind it, spread worldwide soon.

SWAPTREE

swaptree is a simple yet brilliant platform for swapping your media possessions — from books to DVD’s to vinyl — once they’ve run its course in your life as you hunt for the next great thing. Since we first covered swaptree nearly three years ago, the site has facilitated some 1.6 million swaps, saving its users an estimated $10.3 million while reducing their collective carbon footprint by 9.3 million tons.

Inspired by the founders’ moms, whose lunch dates with girlfriends turned into book-swap clubs, swaptree makes sure that the only thing between you and the latest season of 24 is the price of postage.

GIFTFLOW

Most of us are familiar with the concept of regifting. (No disrespect, but the disconnect between good friends and good taste is sometimes astounding.) Luckily, GiftFlow allows you to swap gifts you don’t want for ones other people don’t want but you do. The platform is based on a system of karmic reputation, where your profile shows all you’ve given and taken, building an implicit system of trust through transparency.

So go ahead, grandma. Hit us with your latest sweet but misguided gift. Chances are, there’s someone out there who’d kill for that kitschy music box.

ZIPCAR

We’re big proponents of bikesharing but, to this point, the concept has failed to transcend local implementations. While some cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Denver are fortunate enough to have thriving bikesharing programs, we’re yet to see a single service available across different locations. Until then, we’d have to settle for the next best sharing-based transportation solution: Zipcar, a 24/7, on-demand carsharing service that gives its members flexible access to thousands of cars across the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Zipcar has been around for quite some time years and most people are already familiar with it, so we won’t overelaborate, but suffice it to say the service is the most promising solution to reducing both traffic congestion and pollution in cities without reducing the actual number of drivers.

SHARE SOME SUGAR

Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor. More than an Outkast lyric line, this is the inspiration behind share some sugar — a celebration of neighborliness through the sharing of goods and resources. Much like SnapGoods and NeighborGoods, the service lets you borrow, rent and share stuff within your neighborhood or group of friends

* * *

For more on the culture of shared resources, do watch Rachel Botsman’s excellent TEDxSyndney talk. Her forthcoming book, What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, hits bookstores in two weeks and is an absolute must-read.

UPDATE: Botsman’s book, What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, is now out and landed promptly on our best books in business, life and mind shortlist for 2010.

This article is reprinted with permission of Maria Popova. She is a cultural curator and curious mind at large, who also writes for Wired UK, The Atlantic and Design Observer, and is the founder and editor in chief of Brain Pickings.

Greening the Inner City

Jeff — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:45:50 +0000

Why would a few white guys who call themselves The Urban Farming Guys want to leave their comfortable homes and neighborhoods to relocate to Kansas City’s inner city? Watch this exciting video and find out. Then support or even better, join them and bring this inspiring idea to your inner city. This is a powerful, positive and hopeful new paradigm trend.

How many other projects like this could be happening in neighborhoods around the world? This is true people power and in a time of dwindling incomes, continuing high rates of unemployment and cuts to city support programs, the answers will come from ordinary citizens making extraordinary differences like The Urban Farming Guys. Bravo!

Click here to go to Karma Tube, the source for this story.

The Susan Lange Story

Jeff — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:45:32 +0000

Sometimes in life you hear about injustices of various kinds and think, “that’s really bad, sad, or worse, criminally fraudulent, but you go on with your life.” For those that go through these injustices, life is never the same.

I had an up close and personal experience recently in which my two delightful landlords and amazing healers, Julian and Susan Lange (http://meridianholistic.com), who have become dear friends, their loving feline family, were evicted from their home at 276 Running Ridge Trail in Ojai, CA thanks to an illegal foreclosure. Also forced find a new home was a second renter, Darina, an artist and world traveler. And to add insult to injury, the new illegal owners sued me as a renter, which is ridiculous, and caused me great upset and stress, all in an effort to try and drive a wedge between us which they were unsuccessful in doing and, in fact, simply multiplied our bond.

Today, Julian and Susan are living in a one room rental and the new owners will no doubt put the house on the market and make a quarter of a million dollars or more on the deal built on the emotional and financial suffering of two extraordinary and compassionate human beings in service to their patients, clients, workshop participants and the world.

And this is hardly an exceptional situation. The same “investor criminals” who stole the Lange’s beautiful home which I had the privilege of living in for three plus years, have done exactly the same thing to many other people locally and other criminals have done the same to hundreds of thousands of individuals in what has to be the greatest criminal fraud in U.S. real estate history.

When you view the extraordinary eye opening video below on youtube.com/ForeclosureFree and the rest of the series shot by filmmakers Andrew Cameron Bailey and Connie Baxter Marlow, you will begin to understand how the banks, investors with inside information, and the courts have colluded to develop a sophisticated process for separating people from their homes and make obscene profits at the same time.

You may also want to visit chasechase.org to get the latest on what’s being done as more and more people join the battle for justice for the people. And, if you know anyone who is in the process of losing their home, please let them know about Susan’s videos and the chasechase.org site. It is critical that those most deeply affected have a support community around them that can make the journey bearable and know they are not alone.

Perhaps you will be as outraged as Julian, Susan, I and countless others have become as they have lost their homes representing their principal financial asset. And let’s be clear here. We are not talking about those who could not afford the mortgages they took out hoping to flip them in the game of musical chairs that ended so abruptly. We are talking about those individuals who were defrauded by their mortgage brokers, made their payments on time and were again defrauded by the banks and finally the courts who are not interested in hearing the truth and in 99% of cases rule in favor of investors and the banks.

It is a very sad and bitter state of affairs and is simply an extension of the greed and deception that represents this time in history on so many levels including Washington where more and more is given to the wealthiest at the expense of the rest of us. We pay when criminals rig the mortgage game and get rewarded with bonuses for doing so. The inmates are truly running the asylum.

May the new paradigm of compassion and connection replace an economy of greed. May love rule the planet rather than fear and may each of us play our parts in bringing this about. You will soon read a review of Sacred Economics and a wonderful interview with David Korten which both point the way to a new paradigm economics. It would seem the worst in us is catalyzing the best in us and building new communities of awake and aware consciousness. Stay tuned, join and act.

Finally here is Andrew and Connie’s latest video shot on the last night in Julian and Susan’s home. What is striking is that the anger and rage that one might feel and express when your personal assets are being destroyed is transcended by the grace, intelligence and articulation of the deepest truth of who we are beyond the courts and rulings that go against everything this country was founded on and a sense of fair play which has become a relic.

p.s. Here is a note from Susan received a few moments ago:

To our very dear friends and family,

We were evicted on Friday morning by the Sheriff and 3 heavies….Got it all on video – and they couldn’t look us directly in the eyes. I know they say they’re just doing their job but there are other sheriffs who won’t “just do their job” any more. I hope they got to see us as human beings – even if only briefly – and that somewhere in their hearts we might have touched a chord or planted a seed that later may start to
sprout. (If not, then perhaps our two little panicked cats left in the back yard might have got through to them.)

All last week black crows were circling our property. And the morning the sheriff came huge vultures were actually flying in circles over our driveway.

Then I went to work in LA. Exhausted … we had worked til 3 am moving stuff out before they came to take our home. What a system. We’re exhausted and we’re proud. Proud to have done our best in standing up along with many other wonderful people against injustice and fraud….

As I drove across the bridge out of Ojai I noticed two white birds flying across my path. As I got closer to them I saw that they were white egrets, symbolizing the resurrection of the Christ Consciousness. And when I arrived at my office in Santa Monica a white dove flew in front of me….

Right now we seem to be in a kind of free fall. And we have to TRUST that we will land on firm ground – much firmer than
ever before.

“They may try to steal our homes but they can’t steal our souls” is my latest quote.

Here’s to Justice,Truth and Freedom!!!

Thank you Connie for reminding us of the Trust Frequency!.
Thank you Karol for reminding us to be grateful!
Thank you to our wonderful attorneys, Roger Senders and Douglas Gillies who have gone to bat for us and hung in with us through thick and thin.

And a HUGE thank you to all of you for your constant support, hard physical labor, check ins, emails and love that have kept us going all the way through on this journey.

Our love to you,

Susan and Julian

PS We’re taking time out for a few days to re-group, re-orient and re-invent!

Sustainable Seattle

Jeff — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:09:55 +0000

Seattle has taken the lead in creating a sustainable building footprint reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2030. If other cities quickly follow, there is a chance we could turn around global warming. Wouldn’t that be great. Kudos to Seattle.

Editor’s Note: You may have noted that you have not received an NPD update in the past few days. I have moved from Ojai to Santa Barbara and am enjoying its cooler weather. It’s taken me a few days to reorganize as my new space is about 25% smaller but its worth it. So you will be seeing more regular postings now that I am settling in.

A Remarkable School for Homeless Children

Jeff — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 16:36:31 +0000

There are almost 1 million homeless children in this country, up 18% from the start of the economic downturn. One woman, a school principal in Las Vegas, has successfully taken on this problem and, with the help of community members, solved it. This is all the more remarkable in a city with the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the US. What problem can you and your fellow residents help to solve in your local community?

New VillageTowns Site Launches

Jeff — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:18:11 +0000

My friend and social visionary Claude Lewenz has updated his great VillageTown site and will soon publish VillageTowns: The Next Step, the latest book in his brilliant series that includes How to Build a Village and Life Liberty and Happiness. Over the past few years, Claude has developed a beautiful vision of a diverse new paradigm community and lots of people around the world are exploring building a local VillageTown. I have little doubt that once the first one is constructed, they may well become the way all new towns are built. Click here to visit his Village Forum site, read and watch videos, order his books and get into the conversation. Here is a brief overview of his vision taken from the first page of his site: A VillageTown is:

a town made of villages
each different, created by the people who will live there
a natural process of human growth and development

a complete community:

affordable, beautiful, durable, resilient
supportive of many different lifestyles
culturally & socially enriched
safe & empowered

with strong, diverse, wealthy local economy that enables people to enjoy a good life understood as the social pursuits of:

conviviality
citizenship
artistic, intellectual & spiritual growth.

Whitney Museum’s Bucky Fuller Exhibit

Jeff — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:00:50 +0000

Bucky is a visionary hero of mine and inspired many friends. His work is more timely today than ever. In case you missed him, his books and work are extraordinary and definitely worth a Google search. A brilliant mind and heart in service to life.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
~ R Buckminster Fuller

Australia’s Your Healthy Planet.com is doing just that based on many of ‘Bucky’s’ philosophies and prediction of having everyone on-board planet Earth living at a very high standard of living and enjoying fully our beautiful planet.

All That We Share

Jeff — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:42:22 +0000

Published in YES! Magazine

Welcome to a new kind of movement—one that reshapes how we think about ownership and cooperation.

by Jay Walljasper

Welcome to the commons. The term may be unfamiliar, but the idea has been around for centuries. The commons is a new use of an old word, meaning “what we share”-and it offers fresh hope for a saner, safer, more enjoyable future. The commons refers to a wealth of valuable assets that belong to everyone. These range from clean air to wildlife preserves; from the judicial system to the Internet. Some are bestowed to us by nature; others are the product of cooperative human creativity. Certain elements of the commons are entirely new [1]-think of Wikipedia. Others are centuries old-like colorful words and phrases from all the world’s languages. Anyone can use the commons, so long as there is enough left for everyone else. This is why finite commons, such as natural resources, must be sustainably and equitably managed. But many other forms of the commons can be freely tapped. Today’s hip-hop and rock stars, for instance, “appropriate” (quote) the work of soul singers, jazz swingers, blues wailers, gospel shouters, hillbilly pickers, and balladeers going back a long time-and we are all richer for it. That’s the greatest strength of the commons. It’s an inheritance shared by all humans, which increases in value as people draw upon its riches. [2]

At least that’s how the commons has worked throughout history [3], fostering democratic, cultural, technological, medical, economic, and humanitarian advances. But this natural cycle of sharing is now under assault. As the market economy becomes the yardstick for measuring the worth of everything, more people are grabbing portions of the commons as their private property. Many essential elements of society-from ecosystems to scientific knowledge to public services-are slipping through our hands and into the pockets of the rich and powerful.

The Wealth We Lost

One example of what we’re losing comes right out of today’s headlines about spiraling health care costs. The creation of many widely prescribed drugs, which millions of people depend upon, was funded in large part by government grants. But the exclusive right to sell pharmaceuticals developed with public money was handed over to drug companies with almost nothing asked in return. That means we pay exorbitant prices for medicine developed with our tax dollars, and many poor people are denied access to treatments that might save their lives.

Another even more absurd example concerns a subject that you would think stirs no controversy-yoga. Through centuries of evolution as a spiritual practice, any new yoga poses or techniques were automatically incorporated into the tradition for everyone to use. But beginning in 1978 an Indian named Bikram Choudhury, now based in Beverly Hills, copyrighted certain long-used hatha yoga poses and sequences as his own invention, Bikram Yoga, and he now threatens other yoga studios teaching these techniques with lawsuits.

The good news is that people all around us are beginning to take back the commons.

Neighbors rising up to keep their library open, improve their park, or find new funding for public schools. Greens fighting the draining of wetlands [4] and the dumping of toxic waste in inner-city neighborhoods. Digital activists providing access to the Internet in poor communities and challenging corporate plans to limit access to information. Indigenous people instilling their children with a sense of tradition and hope. Young social entrepreneurs and software engineers seeking new mechanisms for people to share ideas.

Not all of these people think of themselves as commons activists. Some may not even be familiar with the term. Vel Wiley, the longtime director of Milwaukee’s public access TV channels, stood up at a commons event and declared, “When I was asked to be a part of this conference, I thought the commons was for people like Greenpeace, an environmental cause. But I understand now that I have been advocating for the commons over the last twenty years. I realize we’re not just a small group advocating that the people have a voice in the broadcasting media. We’re all a part of something so much bigger, and that helps us to keep going.”

It’s not necessary that everyone adopt the word commons. What matters is that people understand that what we share together (and how we share it) is as important as what we possess individually.

Parallels to the Origins of Environmentalism

Growing interest in the commons today resembles the origins of the environmental movement in the 1960s. At that time, there was little talk about ecology or the greening of anything. There was, however, a lot of concern about air pollution, pesticides, litter, the loss of wilderness, declining wildlife populations, the death of Lake Erie, toxic substances oozing into rivers [5], oil spills fouling the oceans, lead paint poisoning inner-city kids, suburbia swallowing up the countryside, mountains of trash piling up in landfills, and unsustainable farming practices ravaging the land. Yet the word environment did not become a household word until the first Earth Day-April 22, 1970. Bringing an assortment of issues together under the banner of environmentalism highlighted the connections between what until then had been seen as separate causes and fueled the unexpected growth of the environmental movement over the next few years.

The commons offers the same promise of uniting people concerned about the common good in many forms into a new kind of movement that reshapes how people think about the nature of ownership and the importance of collaboration in modern society.

A New Way of Thinking and Living

More than just a philosophical and political framework for understanding what’s gone wrong, the commons furnishes us a toolkit for fixing problems. Local activists eager to revitalize their community and protect open space are setting up land trusts-a form of community ownership distinct from both private property and government management. Savvy Web users use the cooperative properties of the Internet [6] to challenge corporations who want to undermine this shared resource by fencing it off for private gain. Villagers and city dwellers around the world assert that water is a commons [7], which cannot be sold, depleted, or controlled by anyone.

These kinds of efforts extend the meaning of the commons beyond something you own to a bigger idea: how we live together. Peter Linebaugh, a preeminent historian of the commons, has coined the word “commoning” to describe the growing efforts he sees to protect and strengthen the things we share. “I want to stress the point that the commons is an activity rather than just a material resource,” he says. “That brings in the essential social element of the commons.”

David Bollier, one of the leading theorists of the commons on the international stage, has defined the term as a social dynamic. “A commons arises whenever a given community decides it wishes to manage a resource in a collective manner, with special regard for equitable access, use and sustainability. It is a social form that has long lived in the shadows of our market culture, and now is on the rise, ” he wrote in the British political journal Renewal.

Julie Ristau and Alexa Bradley, community organizers with extensive experience, find that many people have internalized the competitive ethos of the market mentality so fully that they believe any cooperative action is doomed to fail. They’re losing the ability to even think of working together. Yet at the same time, Ristau and Bradley detect in others “a broad yearning for hope, connection, and restoration. We see a remarkable array of efforts to reconstitute community, to relocalize food [8], to move toward cooperative economics [9], to better harmonize our lives with the health of our planet. These efforts spring from a deep human need and desire for different ways of interacting and organizing resources that will help us reconstitute our capacity for shared ownership, collaboration, and stewardship.”

Growing numbers of people are taking steps that move us, gradually, in the direction of a commons-based society-a world in which the fundamental focus on competition that characterizes life today would be balanced with new attitudes and social structures that foster cooperation. This vision is emerging at precisely the point we need it most. Deeply held myths of the last thirty years about the magic of the market have been shattered by the implosion of the global financial bubble, creating both an opening and an acute need for different ways of living [10].

To deliver us from current economic and ecological calamities will require more than administering a few tweaks to the operating system that runs our society. A complete retooling is needed-a paradigm shift that revises the core principles that guide our culture top to bottom. At this historical moment, the commons vision of a society where “we” matters as much as “me” shines as a beacon of hope for a better world.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License

This article was excerpted for YES! Magazine [11] from All That We Share: A Field Guide to the Commons [2] by Jay Walljasper and On the Commons. Jay Walljasper, editor of OnTheCommons.org [12] and author of The Great Neighborhood Book [13], writes widely about cities, community, sustainability and travel. On The Commons [12] is a commons movement strategy center.

Article printed from www.CommonDreams.org

URL to article: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/12/25-2