At this time of grave danger to freedom and democracy from within and from without, we need new ideas. We need new paradigmatic ideas. What follows is such an idea. We copy it verbatim from www.catholicprwire.com where it was posted on 23 August 2007 (note: sub-headings were added by us). The idea is paradigmatic in the same way as the discovery of the heliocentric universe (moving away from the geocentric universe) was paradigmatic. The proposed solution stems from a completely different mode of thought. We ask your special attention for this article. Here are answers, not just problems.
“The interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice (“CESJ”), www.cesj.org, has developed a just solution for the situation in Iraq. Based on sound principles of natural law that underpin most of the world’s religions, the program, “A New Model of Nation Building for the Iraqi People,” applies papal teachings on social and economic justice in a “win-win” proposal that has the potential to satisfy the legitimate claims of everyone.
Ingenious and simple
The essence of the program is ingenious in its straightforward simplicity: the Iraqi people (in common with people everywhere) have a natural right to the ownership of the country in which they live, and a natural right to enjoy the benefits of that ownership to the optimal degree possible.
A strategic element of the proposal is a rejection of both capitalism and socialism in favor of a system based on widespread direct ownership of the means of production by all people, not just a ruling or financial elite, and without respect to sex, race, creed, or current economic status. This breaks the concentration of power and addresses the growing gap between rich and poor, decreasing the opportunities for and degree of political and financial corruption.
The proposal directly addresses the problem of terrorism by attacking its root causes and eroding its base of support among ordinary people by giving them something to lose. It answers the demands of all Iraqi citizens for justice and an end to systemic poverty and oppression. It systematically creates a true nation of owners.
Capital ownership is a fundamental human right
The proposal promotes the growing economic sovereignty and empowerment of each citizen — as a worker, as a consumer, and as a capital owner. Economic governance and accountability are structurally diffused from the bottom-up by protecting existing private property rights and by spreading throughout society equal opportunity to acquire new and transferred productive capital assets. Universal access to capital ownership would enhance the economic wellbeing and self-determination of the people, and reduce the tendency toward corruption and abuses of power associated with any form of monopoly power”.
There is a great deal more, but for more information, visit www.cesj.org or www.globaljusticemovement.org, or e-mail [email protected]. An expanded version of the proposal, “Extending the Abraham Federation Model: A Just Third Way for Bringing Democracy to the Iraqi People” is available. A free download of the book CAPITAL HOMESTEADING FOR EVERY CITIZEN is also available.
Contact: Norman G. Kurland (E-mail: [email protected], Telephone: 703-243-5155) Center for Economic and Social Justice, P. O. Box 40711, Washington, DC 20016, www.cesj.org.
Today’s video is an interview with Dennis Kucinich dating from around January 2007. What he said at the time is still valid now. The video does not exactly fit the contents of this article, but in a more general sense it is relevant to it.