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Introductory
Note
Global Justice
supporters tend to be people with links to other organisations,
including organisations abroad. In the USA, for example,
is the Center
for Economic and Social Justice in Washington, D.C.
which, with members in 31 countries, attracts support
from faiths all over the world – Catholics, Muslims,
Buddhists, Jews, you name it, they have it.
In
its continual output of new ideas and proposals CESJ
has put itself at the confluence of progressive thinkers
who realise that, since jobs are insecure, often poorly
paid, not always available and, in any case, not all
people can labour, the way forward for the bulk of the
population can only be through capital ownership. The
object of that ownership is to ensure a basic income
for all and a major Statement of Shared Vision (already
getting thousands of signatures) has been drawn up by
CESJ President Norm Kurland and Shann Turnbull. Shann
is the Australian fighter for justice and author of
Democratising the Wealth of Nations and other works
proposing the use of interest-free money for wide capital
ownership, and the reform of company structures including
stakeholder councils. |
Statement
of Shared Vision
Towards a More Free and Just Global Economy
With great pleasure we present for your serious
consideration and support a "Statement of Shared Vision"
that was jointly developed by Shann Turnbull, the Australian
author of "Democratizing the Wealth of Nations",
and Norman Kurland, an advocate of the late Louis Kelso's
ideas for reaching the same goal as expressed in Shann's title.
If you agree to become a signatory to this statement, we ask
you also to make a concerted effort to get at least 10 others
in your personal and professional networks around the world
to join as signatories and make a similar commitment. In this
"each one reach ten" approach we will achieve the
critical mass of positive people power needed to build a better
world for ourselves and future generations.
The
names of all the signatories will be posted weekly on the
web site of the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ)
at http://www.cesj.org. As soon as 10,000 signatories worldwide
sign our "Statement of Shared Vision" and join our
movement for raising the level of justice in the global economic
order, we will convene a global conference in Washington,
D.C. At the conference we will explore alternative ideas,
economic systems, global strategies and the most effective
ways and means to achieve our shared vision consistent with
universal principles of human rights. If you agree to join
this bottom-up grassroots initiative for creating a more prosperous
and just world for all, please add your name and contact data
to the bottom of the statement and return it by e-mail at
thirdway@cesj.org or by fax at 703-243-5935.
Thank
you for taking the time to read this.
Norm
Kurland
Center for Economic and Social Justice
thirdway@cesj.org - CESJ Web: http://www.cesj.org
Shann
Turnbull
sturnbull@mba1963.hbs.edu
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~sturnbull/index.html
The
Statement
Having
entered the third millennium, new ideas are emerging
on how to overcome:–
•
Widespread poverty, hunger and homelessness
• The growing wealth gap between the richest
1% and the remaining 99% of humanity
• The growing fear of technological change
and its impact on the global environment and the
quality of life at the family and community levels
• The rising sense of powerlessness and
alienation among the young toward traditional
leadership and basic institutions of human society
• The growing levels of corruption and crime
resulting from concentrated power
• The proliferating violence and deprivation
of human rights – at the family, community
and global levels. |
We
mutually acknowledge the reality of these concerns and
agree that none of the traditional approaches –
from the left to the right of the political spectrum
– can adequately address these social ills.
We
therefore join together seeking a new, more liberating
and just economic system that will promote human dignity
and bring about genuine economic empowerment, security
and self-determination for every member of the human
family. This is our shared vision.
Further,
we agree that the critical means to attain these goals
within the emerging global marketplace will require:–
•
The elevation of full participation in future
productive asset ownership as a universal and
fundamental human right
• The democratization of credit to spread
widely the ownership of self-financing productive
assets and other basic economic reforms as appropriate
means for closing the wealth gap between the rich
and the non-rich
• New policies and laws that lift the non-rich
without depriving the rich of fundamental human
rights. |
In
solidarity with our shared vision and goals, we hereby
acknowledge our support for universal access to productive
asset ownership as a fundamental human right. While
respecting possible differences, we will strive to work
together whenever possible and to promote dialogues,
debates and conferences in which all can participate.
Having
read the above Statement of Shared Vision, I hereby
acknowledge my support and give permission to publish
my name with other signatories. |
This
link takes you to the appropriate page on the website
of the Centre for Economic and Social Justice, Washington
DC, where you can directly
SIGN
THE STATEMENT - to reach the front of the CESJ website
(as mentioned above) CLICK
HERE |
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