Cardinal Human Values
What are some of the Universal Principles possible for a lastingly healthy society, in every realm of life?
At some point, on the evolutionary scale, single-celled organisms came forth in cooperation and unity to arrive at greater gestalts together, developing more complex organisms, more evolved than themselves individually with greater capacities, which came to ensconce into a new organism with intents and capacities unique to itself, and often replicating into similar organisms sauntering forth in cooperation to arrive at new gestalts in cooperative intelligence at greater thresholds of evolutionary excellence, including us, you and me.
At some point, on the evolutionary scale, single-celled organisms came forth in cooperation and unity to arrive at greater gestalts together, developing more complex organisms, more evolved than themselves individually with greater capacities, which came to ensconce into a new organism with intents and capacities unique to itself, and often replicating into similar organisms sauntering forth in cooperation to arrive at new gestalts in cooperative intelligence at greater thresholds of evolutionary excellence, including us, you and me.
Such thresholds of evolutionary progress arrived at their excellencies through the tried and true exercise of proven universal practical principles which have carried us to where we are today, as a species, right along with all the other organisms alive today. So, what's next?
We've
come up with some relatively universal principles and concerns for
making a more progressively evolving human society for the wellbeing of
all and welcome your insights for furthering success for a healthier
society. Please explore these, ponder them and witness how they may, and perhaps already have, prove practical for a more progressively
evolving society.
* Lasting and adaptable principles must be comprehensive, covering all core facets of a political philosophy, including: values base, theory of history, political system, economic system, ecological philosophy, social and cultural concepts, future vision, and methodology of change.
* It is optimal, indeed necessary to synthesize into one theoretical framework a wide array of progressive concerns, such as: cooperatives, economic democracy, bioregionalism, economic decentralization, social justice, environmental protection, guaranteed basic necessities, social equity, world government, fair trade, rights of species, spiritual values, global peace, cultural autonomy, and sustainable development.
* It is optimal, indeed necessary to synthesize into one theoretical framework a wide array of progressive concerns, such as: cooperatives, economic democracy, bioregionalism, economic decentralization, social justice, environmental protection, guaranteed basic necessities, social equity, world government, fair trade, rights of species, spiritual values, global peace, cultural autonomy, and sustainable development.
* To positively affect the wellbeing of all in a progressively responsive and upgrading manner, offering viable alternatives to materialist-based political philosophies -- such as anarchism, communism, and capitalism -- is necessary. Any worthwhile and relevant social, economic or political philosophy, starting from a new, post-materialist worldview, must give rise to a profoundly different wholistic political vision from that of existing political paradigms.
* Viable social, political and economic alternatives must have a values base grounded in the holistic cosmology found in such diverse places as the perennial philosophy of the wisdom traditions, indigenous peoples' spirituality, deep ecology, and the philosophical implications of quantum physics and modern cosmology.
* Alternative paradigms should be compatible with an emerging shift in planetary consciousness synthesizing the strengths of Western, Eastern, indigenous, and holistic scientific contributions to human knowledge.
* Progressive alternatives must be designed to serve the totality of human nature: physical, mental and spiritual. It should not neglect or suppress the development of any facet of human nature, rather promote their balanced and integrated expression.
* Viable paradigms should not privilege material development above spiritual development, nor spiritual development above material development, but recognizes their interdependent contributions to nurturing a healthy, balanced, and fulfilled human society.
* Doctrines and policies must arise from, and get validated by, practice; policies of the present must be proactively changed in response to changing social and economic conditions.
* We must expand the concept of humanism beyond a concern for human welfare and attainment to a new humanism concerned for the welfare of all living beings. A new humanism must assert that the welfare of individuals, groups, and species cannot be separated from the welfare of the whole.
* Ideas of progress must be conceptualized based beyond material and technological change to one based on improvement in the all around welfare of human beings, society and all life at large. Progress is best indicated at a material level by an increase in people's quality of life; at the mental level by expansion of neohumanist consciousness; and at the spiritual level by growth of love, inner peace, and cosmic disposition.
* Core social ideals -- such as economic democracy, social equity, world peace, and ecological protection -- in a progressive paradigm must provide a practical framework for their attainment.
* Progressive solutions must not be or operate as a reaction to social problems, rather as a positive effort to envision and build a wholesome, viable and sustainable human society. It should not stem from a critique of current global realities, but rather start from the seeds of life and the needs of human beings to find holistic fulfillment.
* We should not place collective interests above individual interests, nor individual interests above collective interests, rather perceive individual and collective interests as being inherently interrelated. The well-being of individuals lies in the development of the collective, and collective well-being lies in the development of individuals.
* The liberation of society can only arise from the liberated consciousness of individuals. We therefore do not give primacy to political change, rather stress cultural change, proper education of the human intellect, moral development, and spiritual growth. Change in political power should be driven by a change of collective consciousness, not imposed by new wave vested parties.
* Fundamental shifts in the locus of power are necessary, such that the locus of economic, social and cultural power must devolve from transnational corporations and nation-states to local and regional levels, and the locus of political and military power be taken from nation-states and invested in a world confederation.
* Profit as the core motive for economic activity must be rejected, replaced. While profit is an important practical consideration in operating enterprises, it must not supersede in importance such concerns as consumer needs, community well-being, resource sustainability, environmental health, social equity, and worker fulfillment.
* Remedial solutions cannot be characterized as either conservative or liberal; neither can they be called libertarian, socialist, or anarchist. Lasting solutions must arise from their own values base, transcend the left-right political spectrum, and acknowledge the strengths of many social philosophies.
* Progressive solutions must conceive of a deep sustainability based in maintaining balance at all levels of material, mental, and spiritual development in society.
* Lasting solutions model the way nature works. Those with knowledge of ecological science, complexity theory, systems theory, or the philosophical implications of quantum physics will experience a familiarity with the necessary values, principles, and operational structure that will provide lasting solutions through the myriad changes life presents.
* We call for neither a free market nor a command economy, but a regulated and planned market economy that does not support control of enterprises by large corporations or by the state, but by cooperative, small private entrepreneurs, and -- in the case of key industries -- by public boards.
* We affirm the relativism of post-modernism with respect to the phenomenological world, though reject the notion that there is no basis for universal values; we assert that a sound and durable value base lies in the transcendental ground of material existence.
What about some additional basic design principles? What are your insights and wisdom?
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