cj#829> INVITATION to Help Achieve a Livable World

1998-09-07

Richard Moore

------------------------------------------------------------------------

           INVITATION to Help Achieve a Livable World
                         21 August 1998

          Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance  (CDR)

    mailto: •••@••.•••  -  http://cyberjournal.org

                              - - -

    We are an informal group of activists who have been
    considering the question: "How Can We Achieve a Livable
    World?"  We recognize that humanity, indeed the entire
    Earth, faces a dire crisis.  The reckless pursuit of ever
    greater profits and never ending "growth" is poisoning our
    environment and ourselves, and is corrupting our political
    systems.  It is depleting forests, fisheries, and topsoils,
    while communities and economies are being destabilized,
    social structures are breaking down, and more and more
    people worldwide are falling into poverty and hopelessness.

    Corporate globalization represents a transfer of decision-
    making power from nations, which have some semblance of
    popular representation, to corporate-dominated global
    institutions which are concerned only with increasing
    "growth" still further.  Globalization institutionalizes the
    worst excesses of the over-development paradigm, and it robs
    nations of their sovereign right to reverse the process.
    The policies of globalization are a threat to the Earth, and
    the political power of its non-representative bureaucracies
    (such as the IMF and the WTO) are a threat to democracy.
    This then is the crisis: corporate globalization is
    threatening all of us -- our quality of life and even our
    very survival -- and it is threatening our power as free
    peoples to do anything about it.

    In every crisis there is both danger and opportunity.  The
    danger of globalization is causing people to resist
    worldwide -- from grass-roots environmental activists, to
    the indigenous people of Chiapas, to the dockworkers in
    Australia and Liverpool, to the peasant movements in Brazil
    and India, to the anti-MAI campaigners in Canada, to those
    fighting corporate power in Eastern Europe, and so many
    more.

    The opportunity offered by this crisis is for these various
    resistance efforts to coalesce into a single grass-roots
    global movement -- a movement aimed at bringing sanity to
    economic arrangements and to international affairs, a
    movement to lay claim to our democratic institutions and to
    reassert sovereignty over giant corporations.

    Imagine a sustainable, democratic world... a just and non-
    violent world based on local self-determination, a world
    where cultures and the Earth are respected, as well as the
    individual.  In this world, technologies and economic
    arrangements would be regarded as tools to be used and
    shared wisely, not powers beyond human control.

    If you can imagine this kind of world, then you can envision
    a "Democratic Renaissance", a new historic era, a time of
    re-connecting to the Earth and to what is best in ourselves
    and our societies.  Democratic self-governance begins with
    the very effort to bring it about -- as we recognize the
    interconnectedness of our diverse struggles, and seek ways
    to work together in solidarity and with compassion for a
    better world.

    We of CDR want to do our small part to help build this
    spirit of solidarity, to help create the global movement.
    As individuals we are active in local and global
    organizations, we publish articles on and off the net, and
    are working on a book on globalization and democracy.  As
    "CDR", we believe that hope and empowerment can come from
    learning of the many efforts of others.  Perhaps you are
    also struggling to bring justice and sustainability to a
    world in crisis.  Let us know about your work and we will
    try to help you connect to others who are working for the
    same goal -- a democratic renaissance, a better world.

    You can write to us directly at "•••@••.•••", or
    visit our website at "http://cyberjournal.org".  Or you
    write to us at:
             CDR, c/o Jan Slakov
             PO Box 35, Weymouth, NS
             Canada B0W 3T0

    We also invite you to join either or both of our moderated
    email lists...

    "Renaissance Network", hosted by Jan Slakov and Richard
    Moore, is a "chat room" for activists, a "community forum"
    for the movement.  You can give it a try by sending a blank
    message to:
            •••@••.•••

    "Cyberjournal", hosted by Richard Moore, offers news,
    analysis, and discussion related to globalization, corporate
    power, and movement strategy.  You can join by sending a
    blank message to:
            •••@••.•••

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please forward to appropriate lists.


Share: