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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:
•••@••.•••
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