green velvet revolution..?

Sun Nov 25 11:41:15 GMT 2007

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From: "Mark Barrett" <marknbarrett at googlemail.com>

 A New Social Covenant

Policy Demands

Demands and policies for a new social covenant should include:

(1) The reordering of society from the ground up so that executive power
vests with the people on the street and in each locality, in accordance
with the right to self-determination and the ideals of democracy and
subsidiarity.
(2) Affordable, low impact housing.
(3) People's (Community Land Trust) buildings, with garden on every
street: each to be run by the people who live around it as they see fit
(and each locality to be recognised in law as a new covenant Community
Council).
(4) New communities enclosures: the ring fencing of parcels of land for
the facilitation of low-impact, intentional, human-scale communities
(kibbutz/commune style Community Land Trusts) each standing independently
as a Community Council, with security of tenure and the same
constitutional status as enjoyed by each locality outlined in (3).
(5) Community Councils to enjoy full executive powers, to be
constitutionally recognised and include delegate-system voting rights in
Parliament, local taxation powers, the right to petition and challenge
new legislation and the question of constitutionality on all matters.
(6) Widespread expansion of CLT, Self Build, 4th Option and SPAN Housing
projects.
(7) A new regime of Currency Transaction and other Corporate Tax on bank
speculation, monies to be ring fenced for grassroots development
projects, to help pay for basic sanitation, emergency relief, education
and housing in the poorest sections of the world.
(8) CAP funds to be diverted for new CLT purchases outlined in (3) (4)
and (6).
(9) A written constitution to incorporate and help guarantee policy
demands.

Methods of Organisation

Let us organise according to the principles we stand for and in ways
which reflect the kind of society we want to build. These are DIY,
self-organising, decentralized and democratic: non-hierarchical and from
below.

Strategy

Convene Regular Local Meetings

We should all be convening regular local, public meetings. These should
be advertised for widely and refer directly to the need for a joined up
local / national / wider response to the questions of eco-crisis, land,
housing, banks, freedom to protest, the protection of civil liberties and
the need for a new, democratic constitution.

Encourage New Sovereignty, from Below

At these meetings encouragement and debate should take place around these
issues. Links can easily be made to the environmental crisis and the call
to steward each locality, to establish mutually supportive human
relations, rebuild community, develop our own self determination and,
ultimately, transform the state.

Collectively Adhere to Aims

If we really want revolution we need to recognise these as essential
policies to adhere to and fight for, as the coalition of people who once
fought against the King. Are the above policies appropriate, radical,
universally democratic and accessible?

This abstract was originally prepared as a contribution for the TLIO Land
is Ours meeting on Sunday 25th November. My thanks to  Mark Brown for
suggesting the idea. Please note that as things stand, the initial demand
(which was for the separation of corporate world and state) has been
removed because, although an obvious campaign aim it is presently seen to
be too vague and potentially alienating. Your thoughts on this or any
other aspect of the proposal would be very welcome. It is envisaged that
this manifesto will be advertised and develeped through public meetings
in conjunction with the Transition Towns initiative, see 
http://www.transitiontowns.org

To comment/further develop this ideas for a shared campaign agenda please
visit www.newsov.org
and/or join the list at https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/peopleincommon

Best wishes
Mark

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