Village Life / New Economics
Table of Contents
Required Work & P=
ersonal
Income
How Will The Village =
Finance
Itself?
We are creating something =
new to
the business world: a Life Systems Cooperative. It is essentially a corporation ow=
ned
by, managed by, worked by and for the benefit of the residents only. Its sole purpose is to provide all=
life
support systems to maintain a decent, secure, worry free life for all resid=
ents
and their offspring for life.
The dividends: Happiness!
What would happen if you took the best of capitalism a= nd combined it with the best that socialism has to offer, and in the process dropped the negatives associated with each of them? This might produce a system that guarantees life necessities such as food, shelter, heath benefits, pension = etc. to insure a dignified living. It would also offer luxuries to those who are willing to work harder for them = if they so chose.
Currently, the
In the early 1980’s =
as
mainframe computers began to drop below $250,000 in cost, reverse engineeri=
ng
came into vogue. Knowing that=
the
current computer technology would be obsolete in just three years manufactu=
rers
decided not to patent the machines.
Schematic drawings were required in order to file a patent. A competitor only had to review the
drawing now made public, make a minor change, apply for his own patent and
compete in the marketplace.
Manufacturers realized that if they didn’t file a patent for
protection their competitor would be the first to purchase a new machine.
We are reverse engineering=
an
existing village economy system to work in our time and location.
If we assume that there is
intelligent life in space, and some of it is probably much more advanced th=
an
we are, then some of it must be at a higher level of evolution than we
are. If that is the case then=
we must
also have to believe that they would surly have worked past the inequalities
and sufferings our current culture visits upon millions of people in the fo=
rm
of famine and ill health, the result of poverty.
What we are trying to do is to imagine that system of
living that a far more advanced race would have in place and to reproduce i=
t to
fit us here and now. We inten=
d to
build such a system. By rever=
se
engineering we are free of all of our preconceived notions of how things sh=
ould
be, free of discriminations, biases and cultural demands. We are free to start anew to once a=
nd for
all eliminate poverty.
When I think of rats in a maze, I always visualize th=
em
seeking cheese (not unlike we do). Until recently I believed that
whenever such a rat traversed a dead end corridor in the maze he made a
“false” or “bad” decision. However now I
understand that in order for the rat to truly master the maze, he must jour=
ney
down all of the corridors. This is especially true if he was fortunate
enough to locate the cheese on an early foray -- how else will he know if t=
he
cheese is all there is?
Most books or arti=
cles
that purport to offer a new method or insight into an existing problem devo=
te
twenty to forty percent of their pages just to outlining the problem. =
In
trying to lay out in my mind a way to describe what a
In our legal syste=
m there
is a rule of evidence known as “res ipsa loquitur,” Latin for
“a thing speaks for itself.” It is applied when a thing i=
s so
obvious that it need not be debated but rather can be assumed to be a
fact. Under this rule the driver of an automobile is assumed to be in
control of the car’s movement, not someone else. Accordingly, an
injured party doesn’t have to prove that the driver ran over him, in =
lieu
of its back seat driver. To invoke this rule, the injured party simply
says “res ipsa loquitur,” and then the burden of proof shifts t=
o the
driver to prove that it was the back seat driver’s fault.
So what does this =
have to
do with the
What we are attempting to do here at The Co-op Village
Foundation is to offer humanity a new form of economics; an option out of t=
he
existing system. Maybe it will work – maybe it won’t, but=
at
least it is an alternative to continuing to bang our heads against that
infernal wall and pretend all is progressing quite well. (i.e. 3% more peop=
le
are hitting the wall over last year).
As a teenager, I remember reading sea stories of the =
great
square-rigged sailing ships and being enamored with them. What impres=
sed
me the most was the utter simplicity of the relationship between the seamen=
and
their ship. The crew served the ship and the ship served its crew.&nb=
sp;
If the relationship ever got badly out of balance, both ship and crew were
inevitably lost at sea. It was quite simple.
Using the terminology of the today’s business w=
orld,
what we are embarking on here at The Co-op Village Foundation is to take the
essence of a corporation to a new level. Traditionally corporations a=
re
crewed by three classes of people: the investors, management and line
workers. What we are attempting to do is make all three classes=
the
same persons. And then on top of that we need to make the corporation serve=
that
one class totally in all areas of life and forever!
I am not aware of this ever having been done. W=
e are
creating a business whose only purpose is to provide wealth, security and
leisure to all involved with it. Instead of how it pays cash dividend=
s,
it would be judged by the amount of happiness it pays out.
I recall reading two historical books that dealt with=
the
D-Day invasion: The Invasion Of Northern Europe and The Longest D=
ay.
They both chronicled the extraordinary amount of detailed planning that went
into the assault. The thought that kept occurring to me throughout the
reading was this: If this same
amount of planning went into living instead of killing, how much better off=
the
world would be! Why don’t we do this kind of “planning for
the living”?
The
The traditional view of a corporation dictates that it
squeeze the maximum production out of the line workers in order to reward t=
he
investors. When an employee can no longer produce at maximum level he=
is discarded
laid-off and left to fend for himself. Under our new vision of a
corporation the interest of all concerned would be the deciding factor. This is because the members are bo=
th the
employees and the investors. In this scenario that same employee would
still be laid-off, but the corporation would then have to find another suit=
able
position for him, otherwise it would be failing in its mission to provide
wealth (in the form of well-being, security and leisure) to all involved.
The traditional view of a corporation also dictates t=
hat it
grow X% each year. If it
doesn’t, it and its management are deemed failures. This pushes
corporations to a higher degree of risk each year -- and closer to
bankruptcy. For what? Forcing a corporation towards its
ultimate doom seems a reckless business plan. Under our new vision of=
a
corporation, growth is unnecessary.
Security and leisure would be the driving motivators, not growth.
The traditional view of a corporation dictates that it discard an employee who produces at a slower rate. To retain him is to reward him = 212; in effect to pay him more for underachieving. For example, if it takes him two hours to perform a one-hour job, he draws twice the pay per job of other employees who perform efficiently! Therefore he must go.<= o:p>
The Village is a cashless environment. The employee, as a member, does no=
t draw
pay, but instead receives dividends in the form of well-being, security and
leisure. This system recognizes that not everybody produces at the sa=
me
rate. It allows the employee =
to
take as long as he needs to complete the assigned job. He is not
penalizing the investors (including himself) if he takes longer. Here
everybody gets what they want and the job gets done.
The traditional view dictates that businesses run at =
around
80% capacity. When events cause production to increase closer to 100%
companies begin to get into trouble. Our new view allows the Village,=
as
a business, to run at around 30% – 40% capacity, leaving plenty of sa=
fe
fumble room.
To return to the sailing ship analogy, this
“new-vision” corporation will serve all collectively to the deg=
ree
that it is served. Simple as that. It’s in the best inter=
est
of both the Village and its members for everyone to serve this “servi=
ng
ship” to the best of their ability.
The new corporate economic=
system
created by the village will not be cash hungry like its outside cousin
corporations. Nor will it be
burdened by wages, taxes, worker’s compensation insurance and large o=
verhead. It will be a lean, mean non-cash h=
ungry
machine that can cherry pick the profitable business contracts and take them
away from the large established businesses. It will be like genetically creati=
ng a
new small, warm fuzzy animal similar to a rabbit to be released into the
jungle. It will not be very
hungry. It will just sit in t=
he
bushes. But when it does get =
hungry
it will be able to easily devour any lion it chooses.
Don’t get all tangle=
d up in
a knot thinking this is about building utopia. It is not. Residents will probably still
suffer in some manner or another.
Some might suffer from unreturned love, low self esteem, ageing in a
deteriorating body, physical handicap, chronic illness or loss of a partner=
. Yet others may suffer from boredom,
consequences of bad choices or unfulfilled desires. There may still be an occasional f=
ight
at the ballpark or the PMS Support Group meeting. All of these come with the
game of life itself.
But hopefully no one will =
suffer
needlessly from hunger, lack of medical attention, lack of housing or secur=
ity,
loss of income or fear of not being able to provide for oneself. All of these fears should only be
shadows of the past.
Because the village is a cashless society, 80% of the=
jobs
typically found in an economy will no longer be needed. Such unfilled
jobs might include cashiers, sales, marketing, truck drivers, advertising,
security, payroll clerks, bankers, bookkeepers, etc. The village must fill only those j=
obs that
directly benefit the village, such as constructing and maintaining building=
s,
raising and preparing food and providing health care. With fewer jobs (only 20% of the u=
sual
number) the need for the standard 40 hour workweek will be eliminated. Assu=
ming
most members want to have village jobs, a typical member might work 20 hours
per week or less. Job sharing=
would
be the rule rather than the exception.
Training for some jobs m=
ight be
provided through on the job training received from those already skilled. It
might also require some additional classroom time, in the village and/or at=
a
local vocational school, with the costs borne by the village. Because
members might not sell their trained services outside the Village, typical
certifications might not be required. With this in mind many requirem=
ents
could be ignored, such as a plumber having to take a general education clas=
s in
order to obtain certification.
Some members might choos=
e to
keep their outside jobs. The Village would support them in this endea=
vor
by maintaining those constants in their home life such as home repairs,
preparing meals, babysitting and maintaining the car and lawn. In
exchange the Village might receive an agreed-upon percentage of the
employee’s wages. All would be happier and less stressed.
Jobs in
This is doable! By going to an internal cashless soc=
iety,
80% of most jobs are eliminated. This would then create the above
situation in which job sharing is the rule. Because there would be no
competition for jobs, those with the skills would be most eager to share th=
eir
knowledge and skills with the untrained so that the 20 hour maximum is not
exceeded – the pay is the same
The Spanish word for gentleman is “caballero=
221;
from the root word “caballo” meaning horse. Thus a gentle=
man
is a man with a horse, a nobleman that can afford a horse and mobility, much
the opposite of a peasant.
Wouldn’t it be more honest if the English langu=
age
had such a word for a high classed single parent. Such a word would
differentiate him/her from a peasant single parent, that being one with no =
car
or an undependable car; no permanent dependable baby sitter; ready supply of
cash for commuting to work or gas – and therefore one without the
possibility of ever having a steady job. Maybe its time that we can be
honest about the hell our current economic system puts some people
through. Let’s call it what it is.
During the time of the great square sail ships, sailo=
rs of
the British Navy took joy in playing a game I dubbed “slap
around”. Their huge war=
ships
carried 500 men and a dozen or two young cabin boys. Invariably on each voyage there we=
re at
least half a dozen new boys around the age of nine venturing to sea their f=
irst
time. Once at sea the sailors=
would
get bored and initiate those first timers.
A short piece of rope was tied to each boy’s le=
ft
wrist with the other end being lashed to the mast placing the boys in a cir=
cle
facing each other’s back.
Their right hand held a board.
There were only two rules to the game. When you were tapped by the =
boy
behind you, you had to tap the one before you. You could hit as hard or soft as y=
ou
wanted; you were free to choose.
After several rounds of slightly tapping each other s=
omeone
would always feel that they had been tapped too hard and would accelerate h=
is
blows. Before long the sailors
would be roaring with laughter at the sight of the boys beating the hell ou=
t of
each other. What was so funny=
(or
sad) was that all that was needed was for one boy to choose to go back to
tapping, but they couldn’t comprehend that what they did was a delayed
version of what was coming back around to them. All they had to do was to simply s=
top!
We are playing in an economic game of slap around tha=
t is
also torturing us. All we hav=
e to
do is to simply choose to stop playing it.
In his book Looking Backward, written in 1863,
Edward Bellamy describes the current economic system as one in which everyo=
ne
is forced to lie in order to survive. To sell our product or services we mu=
st
hype them as superior to all others, not reveal weaknesses and defects, obs=
cure
competitors’ benefits and make recommendations which we know mi=
ght
not be in the buyer’s best interest. Bellamy goes on to say that
lying to survive is so rampant that if an angel came to earth and decided to
stay and raise a family here he
would have to join our economic system, a system that “would e=
ven
perverse an angel”.
Michael Lerner goes even further in his book The
Politics of Meaning in detailing the lies we must tell. He descri=
bes
a culture based on so many lies that we come to expect them from everybody =
all
of the time. We look each other straight in the face and no longer
question the fact that we have just been lied to -- as if it should not bot=
her
us in the slightest. We come to expect it. In fact it would be consid=
ered
rude to call someone on it. And thus our whole culture is based on lies and=
untruths.
What a terrifying way to base a life on.
Co-op village life should change this as there would =
be
nothing to lie about. No one is trying to sell anything. No one=
is
being forced to take advantage of another. There is nothing to concea=
l;
no money or power shifting. There is only the truth for all to share.
Surely creating a culture based on truth is a turn in the right
direction. No lie!
Many corporate histories r=
eveal
common practices of self serving back-room deals, discrimination and acts t=
hat
are beneficial only to the corporation and its people while not exactly good
for humanity. Although there =
may be
little actual board room discussion on these subjects, many corporate decis=
ions
are indeed flavored this way.
Several hundred years ago,=
when
corporations were first chartered, a reserved right of the chartering
government was to recall that charter if the corporation no longer served t=
he
common good. Somehow we have lost sight of that reservation. It is now accepted that a
chartered corporation lives forever no matter how it serves, or fails to se=
rve,
humanity. We seemed to have
willingly given up the right to recall them.
The village will require a=
nd own
several corporations to run itself.
Some will be charged with running the village itself while others wi=
ll
be created to provide outside jobs and income for those that choose it. To
insure that the Village corporations serve the good of all the residents, t=
he
corporations must be both transparent and ever watchful of losing their
chartered purpose – that being to serve the best interest of all
concerned. Transparency means=
all
decisions, transactions, activity and risks, both current and future, are <=
u>actively
disclosed to all residents. T=
his
implies that not only are the records readable and available, but that all
residents need to have been trained to review and understand those
records. To insure equality a=
nd
justice all residents would need to be trained as auditors and board member=
s.
Non-typical disclosure mig=
ht
include listing of the names, benefits received, rate of pay and time worke=
d of
each person associated with the corporation, as well as the overall benefit=
s to
the community at large. All
residents would then know who benefits from those activities.
These disclosure tools wou=
ld then
make it easy for the village to understand the benefits of the community
supporting that particular endeavor and to continually evaluate the risks
involved with it. This would =
also
be used to determine if the corporation has gotten out of hand and perhaps
needs to be reined in, personnel changed or the corporation be closed down =
as
it may no longer serve the greater good of all concerned.
This is how corporations w=
ere
originally intended to be run. The
only difference is that this was originally the power of kings but now will=
be
the power of all concerned.
We =
all
know that the first rule of the medical profession is “First: Do No
Harm”. We all know that=
the
only rule for corporate officers is to “Maximum Profits”. But we may not all know that this =
profit
rule is based upon common law.
Legally, a corporate officer cannot circumvent this rule. It is not his right to do so. No matter what his heart tells him=
, he
is liable to the stockholders if he willingly violates this rule.
Wou=
ldn’t
it be nice if the Maximize Profits rule was replaced by the First Do No Harm
rule? Why not? It’s easy to do. All you hav=
e to
do is amend the articles of incorporation or bylaws of each corporation
associated with the Village. =
This
could be accomplished by an article such as this:
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; “Article
??? Do No Harm
All directors and officers of the corpora=
tion
are hereby relieved of their common law duty, responsibility and resulting
liability, to maximize profits. Instead
these persons are charged with the duty to do all that is reasonable to
minimize harm to persons or the planet while still maintaining life for the
corporation.
The board of directors must dissolve this corporation if X% of the stockholders deems the corporation is creating an excessive amount of harm or no longer serves its intended purpose.” <= o:p>
The term reasonable is used because, like humans=
, a
corporation cannot please 100% of the people 100% of the time. Such as, a corporation purchases l=
and to
build a factory and discovers squatters living on the construction site for
four months. The corporation =
must
assert its right to the land no matter what. Or consider the factory is on fire=
and
in the course of saving it shrubbery is drowned and trampled by the fire
brigade.
Kee=
p in
mind however, that based on the Transparent Corporations article above, an
annual review will be made to determine whether or not the corporation is
serving both its purpose and the community, and if it is not then it should=
be
dissolved.
The village economy would =
provide
a lifetime shield from the financial impact of the dreaded
“D’s”, that being: downsized, divorced, death of a partne=
r,
disease, disability, dementia and delinquent utility bills.
So how might divorce be ha=
ndled
within the co-op village? Fir=
st of
all divorce might not be as traumatic in the village because the economic
stinger would be removed. The=
re
would not be any doubt about how the family would survive economically. For them the economics would remai=
n the
same. No one would be
homeless. No one would lose t=
heir
job, be in turmoil over child care, have to leave town or move in with fami=
ly. There would be no near bankruptcy
currently associated with divorce.
No one in the family would worry about their next meal. What would remain the same is the
emotional turmoil of “I’m not loved”. But that should be a lot easier to=
deal
with insulated from the economic upheaval of traditional divorce.
What would change is that =
one
party would move to another home on the other side of the village. If the spouses worked together, on=
e may
choose another work group. Bu=
t in
the meantime both parents would be there for the children. The spouses might only see each ot=
her at
the softball field, and that would be at their choosing.
The big twist might occur
regarding court ordered child support.&nbs=
p;
If both parents continue to work within the village, the village mig=
ht
decide to pay the child support on behalf of the paying spouse. This would be done with the expect=
ation
of the village receiving that support check back from the receiving spouse
monthly. Thus it would merely=
be a
sham to keep the paying spouse from having to work outside the village for
wages. These payments would
continue as long as both spouses continue to reside in the village. This might even force the spouses =
to be
more cooperative in the breakup so as to not drive the other party out of t=
he
village from loss of dignity.
Because the work output and well being of each resident is of import=
ance
to the entire village all residents close to the divorcing couple would
probably assist in the healing and recovery process and helping each retain
their dignity.
Young single persons and d=
ivorced
persons might wish to meet and date outsiders. This might be accomplished by prov=
iding
transportation for outside schooling or employment. That person also would have the be=
nefit
of seeing the outside world in more detail so that they could decide for
themselves which culture to live in. The village might even provide housing=
in
the nearest town for these people for a year or two.
Genealogy records would be
maintained on all residents so that eighty years down the road inbreeding c=
ould
be prevented.
Of great concern to reside=
nts are
the questions: “How much time would I have to work?”, “Wi=
ll
everyone have to work the same amount of time”, “Would I have to
share my pension” and “What happens if someone refuses to
work?”
These issues would be deci=
ded by
the entire community itself through three of its twelve Focus groups, being=
:
1. How will we share our abundance?
2. How will we enrich ourselves?
3. How will we coordinate what we enj=
oy
doing?
But in the meantime, simple
answers are offered here as to how the Focus groups might resolve th=
ese
issues in the early startup stage. <=
/span>
However, before these ques=
tions
can be answered residents would need to understand several factors about the
village economics, that being:
Factor
#1 Transition Periods:<=
/span> It wil=
l take
time to get residents to go from “each man for himself” mode of
thinking to “What’s in the best interest of all concerned?̶=
1;
mindset. It will take time to=
go
from the current cash culture to a self sustained cashless culture. It will also take perhaps ten year=
s for
startup, that being financing the construction and land acquisition and the=
n to
payoff that financing, before the village is truly running as envisioned.
Factor
#2 Cash Requirements: At st=
artup a
great amount of cash will be required to purchase land and building
materials. Success of the vil=
lage
will always be at risk as long as outside parties (banks) have a mortgage on
the property. Therefore it wo=
uld be
wise to raise as much cash as possible from the residents and at the same t=
ime
prioritize paying off any third party financing as soon as possible, insuri=
ng
that the community land trust will be free to manage the property for hundr=
eds
of years as envisioned. After
startup a small amount of cash will be required for some utilities and other
outside services the community simply cannot provide for itself.
Factor
#3 Limited Pensions: =
Some
residents will come into the community receiving pensions, annuities, Social
Security, or passive business income.
It is probable that in 30 years no resident would have these income
streams.
Factor
#4 Room & Board: Each r=
esident
would be expected to provide the cash or cash equivalent to pay for their s=
hare
of the land, infrastructure and house.&nbs=
p;
Each resident would also be expected to provide the cash or cash
equivalent (labor) for their living expenses.
Factor
#5 Timecards:
Initially an accounting office would track payments made and time wo=
rked
by residents. After all prope=
rty
has been paid for and the village has shifted its mindset successfully this
function might cease.
Factor
#6: The Focus group “=
;How
do we coordinate what we enjoy doing” would attempt to assign jobs in
accordance with our personal likes, thus we would enjoy the tasks assigned =
and
not feel like we were working. This
Focus group would also do all it could to coax residents to socialize and at
the same time perform additional efforts on behalf of the community that on=
ly
outsiders might consider work.
Possible Solution #1
Possible Solution #2
Please note that in a shor=
t period
of time the “purchase money” job would be eliminated. Also note that in time those with
outside cash incomes would die off so that eventually no one would be in a
position to cash themselves out of performing work.
Some residents may be exem=
pted
from work due to inability to perform any type of work. The village may allow an elderly f=
amily
member in that fits this description, as we all may be in time. However, even physically disabled
residents might be able to answer phones or snap peas. Again, all of these issues would be
decided by the community through its Focus groups.
Possible Solution #4
Possible Solution #5
Before this question can be
answered, the reader must first read the prior article “Required Work=
and
Personal Income”, paying close attention to the economic factors
discussed.
Working under the economic=
factors
mentioned above, village construction and maintenance financing might be
achieved utilizing a combination of the following methods:
A. Resident Entrance Fees<=
/b>: A nominal fee ($1,000) might=
be
required from each resident so that he will be considered seriously.
B. Resident Full Payment:<=
/b>
Residents with the means to pay their share of housing and village c=
osts
up front would be expected to do so.
C. Resident Investment: =
Those
residents with excess cash or investments could invest funds into Financing,
Inc. This corporation w=
ould
hold a mortgage on the land and buildings and would pay interest to the
investors at a rate more than CD rates at a typical bank but less than the
typical return on stock investments. =
The stockholders of this corporation would be only the invest=
or
residents. As soon as these f=
unds
are repaid, this corporation would be dissolved, leaving the land free and
clear.
D HUD Financing: Up to =
70% of
the finished market value of the land and buildings might be borrowed from =
the
Federal Government at a low rate for up to 40 years.
E. Outside Jobs Creation:<=
/b>
Outside village businesses and jobs as well as village industries co=
uld
be created so that those without the up front full payment could earn the c=
ash
needed for their share of buying into the village. After the mortgage is paid off som=
e of
these jobs could still be filled so that some cash continues to flow into t=
he
village for outside purchases.
F. Entitlement Revenue: =
Some
residents might qualify for HUD Section Eight rent assistance based on low
income, some might qualify for Medicare home nursing assistance, Family Hou=
sing
Assistance or some other government assistance that might go towards
“rent”.
G. Pensions and Passive Incomes: Those residents with pensions, Soc=
ial
Security or passive incomes might wish to share some of that income with the
village either as a gift or instead of performing labor.
H. Grants: =
Grants
will be applied for whenever possible.
I. Deferred Options:
Most of the above would be managed by the Focus Group
“How Do We Enrich Ourselves
The
following suggested ad might be run in the Sunday newspaper once a month in
order to spark younger membership when we are ready to build. The ad would be in the General
Employment section.
Now Hirin=
g -=
All Trades
No
experience necessary
=
Long-term
Employment, 300 positions
Health
Benefits / Retirement
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Family
Housing provided
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Free
Child Care
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Free
Job Training
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Single
Parent families welcomed
Personal
transportation not required or needed
No
relocation from this area; located in
Non-Profit
organization
=
&nb=
sp;
Contact: www.co-opvillagefoundation.=
org
The ad is
a tongue-in-cheek demonstration to the individual who recently posed the
reasonable question of “How are we ever going to find 500 people loca=
lly
who wish to live in the village?” It is not hard to imagine tha=
t we
would find ourselves flooded with applicants, far more than we could possib=
ly
accept. Please remember that one of the twelve Focus groups, How Do We
Expand Our Community, would be charged with the task of membership screenin=
g.
The 80/20
rule under organizational behavior states that 80% of the work in most
organizations is done by 20% of the group.=
This is why most intentional communities fail after startup. Either the 20% doers get fed up an=
d quit
leaving the group floundering or the 80% get tired of how things have being
done (for them) and leave in mass.
Small groups are most susceptible to this rule.
That is
one reason for the inflow of 500 persons within the first year. By going to consensus and with thi=
s many
residents the harmful side of the 80/20 rule is greatly weakened.
No, you=
will
probably not know all 500 of your neighbors. A resident will be extremely close=
to 30
members of his Cluster though, sharing breakfasts together and participatin=
g in
work parties. A resident will=
also
be somewhat close to the 100 members of his Neighborhood (3 Clusters) coming
into contact with them at nightly dinners.=
However, little contact would occur with the remaining 400 Village
residents unless you work with some of them or share a hobby. These 400 will
none the less be concerned with your well being, the same as you will be wi=
th
theirs. If later you de=
cide
to make a change in your life you are free to move to another Cluster at no
cost. This would afford you an
opportunity to begin life anew as you choose.
We realize that adjusting to the "Greatest Good for All"
Concept will take some readjustment in thinking for most folks as they join=
the
Village. So, all prospective residents will take free classes on
consensus thinking, personalities, and meditation, and be assigned a
The other concept that may be difficult to grasp is decis=
ion
making on a scale necessary to cover 500 residents in the
Village. But if the Village has its basic needs for economic and soci=
al
security met, the smaller Hubs should be able to handle the rest of the
internal decisions necessary to govern themselves by consensus.
One of the main criteria to= being a resident is that you cannot be a threat to another resident. But what happens if later on you d= o pose a threat? Let’s face it= - people are people; passions flare; spouses sometimes fight. In our current culture the police arrive, determine if a mark is visible on one party, then arrests the other party. The arrested party can= then pay either the court or a defense attorney $1,500. And we go about our lives feeling = that all is right in the world.
Within a Village the proble= m would most certainly be handled differently. The First Responders would not be fo= rced to make an arrest. They would= have an arsenal of options: They c= ould call your Mom or your buddy to take you off for a cup of coffee. Arrangement could be made for you = to get immediate counseling or mediation.&= nbsp; You could move to the guest lodge for a few weeks for free while thi= ngs simmer down. You might even m= ove into a new neighborhood to remove yourself from your agitation. If the problem is job related anot= her job could be made available the next day.
The Village might require m= ore counseling, require that you take your prescription medication or help you refrain from alcohol if that is the problem. But the bottom line is that the Vi= llage will try to assist a resident to no longer be a threat to another. This is unlike our current culture= where we seem to sidestep problems and let them fester. Here we will have to actively inte= rcede for the sake of the entire Village.
And of course, if the Villa= ge fails to resolve the problem and the threat remains it will have no recourse but = to refund that resident’s investment and evict them from the community temporarily or permanently. T= he Village must protect itself.
Recentl=
y I
attended a workshop regarding lack of affordable housing for persons with
disabilities and the homeless. As I
sat there I noticed that half of the participants were professionals employ=
ed
as social workers, attorneys specializing in discrimination litigation, etc.
and the rest were referred to as their “consumers”. I listened as they all agreed that=
there
just were not any affordable homes available, period. Just this week the ci=
ty
of
During =
the
workshop Albert Einstein’s statement “The enormous problems we =
face
today cannot be solved by the same frame of mind that created them” k=
ept
going through my head. Maybe =
we are
looking at the problem too closely.
I wondered how an alien, unfamiliar with our culture and economics,
would have assessed the workshop and address the housing problem? I think possibly the followi=
ng:
Possible Solut=
ion:
Perhap=
s it
is time that we establish villages to house both moneyless and the wealthy,
providing security for all. Only affordable housing costing around $30,000 =
each
would be constructed. The com=
munity
would not be dependant on transportation as most jobs would be provided to =
all
who wish to work there. This would be a place that would be internally
sustainable forever. This wou=
ld be
a place where the professionals who would work themselves out of a job would
rather be at anyway. From sta=
rt to
finish, no one would make a profit on the venture.
Fighting
over the few remaining affordable houses is not the long-term solution.&nbs=
p;
Building a surplus of affordable houses is.
To an
alien it would appear that practically all "civilized" cultures, =
as
defined by historians, had and have homeless and poverty level people.
All “civilized” cultures had and have second class citizens and
discrimination. It can be deduced that this is to balance out the
economic system and allow those in control to profit on the unfortunate low=
er
class. If it were not profitable it would not continue.
Because
this is too hard to admit, over generations humans have replaced the real
reason with bogus reasons that make no sense at all, but allow those in pow=
er
to live with themselves as they continue to profit.
Aliens
might conclude that the root basis for all of this is humanity’s fear
that “there is not enough to go around”. Oddly enough tho=
ugh,
“uncivilized” cultures on earth (indigenous tribes) do not have
second class citizens, homelessness, poverty or discrimination. =
Nor
do they share the belief that “there is not enough to go around”=
;.
One of
the founding principles of the village is that there is more than enough to=
go
around, therefore no one would be able to profit from discrimination -
social, racial, economic, religious or any other type - and that all of
the village would suffer if any one member was discriminated against.=
Just
because the village is small doesn’t mean that all created jobs would=
be
low-tech. The village might construct a factory or lease one off site,
employing both residents and non-residents with the resident employees being
bused.
The
factory might manufacture a non-steady demand product such as composting
toilets. Or it might be a seasonal business that capitalizes on its
ability to lay off its workforce without harming it and then to rehire it w=
hen
demand is up. Two or more villages might cooperate in establishing a small
clinic / hospital in the region, supplying some of the labor.
One of
the biggest problems facing Americans today is the continuing loss of pensi=
ons,
benefits and the probable shrinking of Social Security benefits. One’s entire security system=
could
be wiped out by the actions of one bankruptcy attorney or the vote of
congressmen. This scenario is=
not
hard to imagine as it is repeated over and over again.
But now
imagine an economic system in which you earn a 100% vested interest in your
entire pension benefits package the first year on the job. Now imagine that you control that
pension plan totally; not outside investors, not bankruptcy attorneys, but
you. You decide if the benefi=
ts
should increase or decrease.
This
would make current pensions that we sell our soul for obsolete, redundant!<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Imagine the impact that would have=
on
this nation. Now imagine the =
In order
for one person to profit from gaining power over another and taking wealth =
from
them, the taker must be able to store the wealth gained. Early in our history the storage m=
ethod
was most likely grain or precious metals whereas our current storage medium=
is
cash. However, in a cashless
society, such as the village, there is no storage medium. Because food and utilities are giv=
en
equally to all, even those cannot be used for wealth storage. Therefore, unless someone was will=
ing to
eat more than their share of beans for dinner that night it would not be
profitable to gain power over another.
The first few Co-Op villages
constructed may miss the mark in some areas of environmental
sustainability. Why?
Tremendous effort has to be focused on that first giant step: creating community. It entai=
ls
getting five hundred people to “check their guns at the door” a=
nd
take on 499 other persons as their main concern. This is a huge
undertaking for people. It could safely be said that building a carin=
g,
committed community represents 70% of what it takes to get a
Th=
erefore,
trying to do both at the outset may be too much. In the minds of many prospective n=
ew
members, we could be seen as “environmental nuts,” extremists w=
ho
eat rice cakes and live in homes made of Budweiser bottles. It might =
be
better, therefore, in the planning stages, to focus initially on the 70%
(community building) by shooting for less extreme environmental goals: a
smaller environmental footprint, less materialism, less waste and less
consumption. Then, with further education and by consensus, gradually
more comprehensive, responsive sustainability goals could be implemented.
Wh=
at we
are undertaking is similar to building a railroad spur. In our endeav=
or
to divert the train off the main line we will be offering the option to
turn. If the turn is too abrupt or steep the train will
derail. To be successful, the turn has to be a comfortable invi=
ting
one. Once the turn is made, our train can continue in any direction w=
e,
the members, choose, but over time.
Please
keep in mind that what we are attempting to do is build something similar to
the transformer toys of ten years ago. You know, the ones that looked like a
candy bar but then with a little manipulation transformed into a jet plane.=
We
are building a Village that utilizes technology of today. But we are a=
lso
mindful that some of this technology may become obsolete in a few years if
financially things should go bump in the dark. We intend to be both resilie=
nt
enough and in a position to quickly transform ourselves so that we can help
others. So now you see "A" but maybe in a few years you will see
"B".
How can the village build a=
house
for $30,000 when developers can’t build one for less than $200,000?
A tremendous advantage of t= he village is that by having a Community Land Trust own all of the land it will not need to be broken up into individual lots for each house. This allows the land to remain zon= ed as agriculture and avoids the costly fights to get the property rezoned as residential. It also avoids b= eing classified as a residential neighborhood development. This allows the village to escape = county requirements for road systems, sidewalks, expensive storm water holding pon= ds and drainage systems, twice the number of septic tanks, underground utiliti= es, street lights etc. The only m= ajor county jurisdiction over the village is the building code requirements. This is a developer’s dream = come true!
All of these advantages are= things that for profit developers can never do.&n= bsp; This assures us that where a village is being built it will never ha= ve to fear competition from developers moving into our price range. They can’t touch it.
After the first village is =
built
hundreds of others will pop up around the country as this will be the only
viable option that millions of people will have to live in dignity. This will transform the country.
This is probably the only c=
urrent
viable option for humanity to mitigate the disasters that lay ahead globally
both financially and environmentally.
Cowboys know that you can turn a bull’s body simply by turning=
its
head, so too can the world be turned if the
We have designed a village = for which there is a strong demand, is a sound business investment, blueprinted= so that it can be replicated anywhere and economically dovetails nicely with o= ur current capitalistic system. = All that remains to be done is to build them.
Prior to 1980 the main industry in the
But now the home industry appears to be failing to guarantee our ec=
onomic
growth and so we will be searching for the next industry, if one exists.
I predict that the next industry investors will go after is
Villages. These will give them the highest and safest returns on their
investments during the turmoil that lies ahead.
So what’s in it for the investors? For one thing they will be lending=
$10
Million dollars against an asset worth $50 Million. On top of that the loan will be pa=
id off
in five years and pay a higher than market interest rate. This is an investor’s dream =
come
true.
Ask the average person how they feel about poisoning their own drin=
king
water and they of course would say that they were against such a horrible
action. Yet the average perso=
n with
a stake in a pension, 401(k), or works for a major corporation, by their
actions, are endorsing poisoning their water. By insisting that our investments =
and
the health of our employers focus on maximizing profits we are doing just
that. Maximize the profits an=
y way
necessary, we don’t care, just give us a 14% return or a 3% pay
raise. Just don’t tell =
us how
you did it.
By investing in Villages investors will be drawing decent returns b=
ut
at the same time, investors will be doing the decent thing. We will be reversing the damage ca=
used
by ourselves because we didn’t want to see what we were really doing.=
This is the only way we as a race =
are
going to stop the madness.
As a result of globalizatio=
n, the
During the past fifty years=
our
democratic form of government has been hijacked by the lobbyists of that
military industrial complex and those multinational corporations. We have now arrived at the point t=
hat
the direction our country takes is dictated by those lobbyists. The voiced opinions of the common
citizens no longer matter contrary to the wishes of our founding fathers.
Many of us as children wond=
ered how
Hitler could have remained in power.
We pondered how the citizens of
In our political situation,= we too find ourselves frozen for that same reason. We wage war and arm other countries because it is profitable to our businesses. This is also why we export our job= s, quit manufacturing and instead import, escape our pension debts, etc.
So why do we do it to the p= eril of the common citizen? Why don&#= 8217;t we stop this madness before it goes further? Why don’t we simply change w= hat we are doing? I suggest it is be= cause we can’t. We are in checkmate; we are powerless to move from our current position. What is iron= ical however is that we willingly allowed ourselves to be placed in checkmate!
We allowed ourselves to be maneuvered into the corner by believing we all deserved to live as the wealthy. Madison Avenue convi= nced us of it. Advertisers proved = we couldn’t live without it. Our 401(k) p= lans dared us to demand maximum returns on investments in multinationals. The military industrial complex scattered itself over all 50 states to insure that we would fight for its growth. Our multinationals le= ave just enough jobs behind to secure our support. All in all we allowed ourselves to= be bought out. We have no alternatives; no other jobs; no place else to go. And yet our personal investments a= re tied up in the very machines that are destroying our way of life! We have the proverbial tiger by the tail.
The reason no one has stepp= ed forward until now to offer a comprehensive solution solving most of our problems is because we are in checkmate because of those investments and the fear of losing the few remaining jobs - we can’t see ourselves lettin= g go of the tiger. So we continue = moving closer to that catastrophic cliff.
Our option out is to reduce= support for the run away industries by moving displaced workers into co-op villages, returning to them more than they forfeited by letting go. In affect, this gives a citizen the option of unchecking himself. When enough citizens have unchecked themselves, those industries will have been deflated enough to where they c= an now be brought back under control, yet still remain in business. This is the only way out of the mess. We have to offer lifeboats to remove enough peopl= e so the overcrowded pleasure boat can stabilize itself before it capsizes.
What happens to the debt residents have before entering a Village? In a nutshell, it simply vanishes! If you keep your car it might be repossessed.= But who cares? Anytime= you need a car the Village will make one available to you for free. Without getting into a lot of deta= ils your “earnings” will be free of garnishment. The money paid towards your $40,000 share is personal; the share cannot be seized, assigned or taken from you.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> If it were to be seized, it would = be worthless to the bank and you would continue to live in the Village. So in effect, by entering a Villag= e you can simply walk away from your debt if you choose.
Suppose a traveler from a highly advanced planet came here collecting books or other evidence for the Intergalactic Library demonstrating how advanced we, the inhabitants of earth, are. Wh= at type of books would you suggest we give him to brag about the achievements of humanity?
History books? Probably not. They would only depict how for tho= usands of years we could not learn how to love one another and simply live in peac= e. History books would only show how civilizations continue to kill other civilizations today.
Medical books? Probably not. Although they might show our curre= nt but still incomplete understanding of health and medicine, they would still be viewed in light of the fact that the vast majority of humanity is unhealthy= and does not have access to medical attention.= We can’t impress anybody with that.
Science a= nd technology books? Nope, as th= ese would only demonstrate that most of our strides here came as a result of the military, warfare or the desire for people to control others, even if just economically.=
Religion?= If so which religion? We still continue to kill each oth= er over this one. Probably not l= aw books either. Its obvious tha= t the more laws we pass the worse things seem to get. How about books about government a= nd how it helps humanity? Doubt it.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Just look at where we are today.
Let’= ;s face it - after several thousand years we still can’t just love each other, appreciate our differences and simply live in peace together. This is proba= bly the only thing that would impress an advanced culture and we haven’t = done it yet. Is building a Village= a drastic step? You betcha, but= maybe it’s time we focus on that and stop embarrassing ourselves.
What is t= he largest living entity on the planet today? The elephant? The whale? Redwood trees? Not even close. As it turns out it is a three inch high mushroom plant near the northern border of the state of Washington. What appears on the surface to be individual plants is actually a fifteen hundred acre common root system! It's all one giant fungus.
Our econo= mic system is our common root system. We have been trained by Mother Cultu= re to believe that we are separate from each other and that the harm we visit = on others does not affect us. This is wrong. We are all connected to= one another and the life support system we create together affects us in the sa= me manner that it does the lowest member. If this is too hard to comprehe= nd then I invite you to just look around yourself. Does what you see really ap= pear to be working? Do you feel safe and secure in such a system? Are you afraid= to grow old or slow down in such a system?
We have perpetuated an economic system that truly does not work for all. We bo= ught into it by default as that was all we knew. But now we are waking up to the fact that it is wrong. So we have two choices: continue to perpetuate it and continue to make ourselves ill in the process, or abandon= it and create a new system that will work for all of us together. How healthy do we intend to be?
Now that = we know we are free to choose.
Do you re= member the warm feeling you got every time you watched the 1951 movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still"? You remember the movie; the one where a spaceman comes to earth and says that any aggressor will be punished for attacking their neighbor. It was your gut telling you that "this is ri= ght; this is the way it should be". The problem is if we all feel that= it is so right then why don't we do it today? What's stopping us?
The thing= that felt so right was that we knew that humans should not continue to use their might to lord over others; that might does not make right. Yet why can= 't we make ourselves enforce this universally? I believe that there are t= wo core beliefs holding us back. One is the belief that we are separate f= rom each other and the harm we do to others in no way effects us. The othe= r is the belief that there is a shortage of everything. If we stop all aggr= ession then we may not be able to get "our share" some time in the future. We don't want to close that door.
Within the Village there should be no shortage of anything so that fear should disappear. Since we will be cooperating and sharing alike we will be connected the opposite of being separate. In this environment we can indeed install the principle of that classic science fiction movie that mak= es us feel good when we watch it. Except now we will feel good about ourselves all of the time!
I had trouble replacing a
pressure relief valve (pop valve) on a hot water tank recently. That is the brass valve near the t=
op of
all water heaters with an overflow pipe going to the outside of the home.
The new valve drained the= tank also. I got mad and figured I= had purchased a defective valve. I really got angry when the same thing happened after installing two more valves. This was not only ill= ogical but was impossible to happen! I lost my mind for two days until a plumber was able to look at it. He discovered all of the pop valve= s had been working perfectly and were not my problem. A copper pipe, which was hidden fr= om my view, sprung a leak where it came in contact with the overflow pipe and was spraying water on the outside of the overflow pipe. What I had seen was an optical ill= usion – the water flowing down the overflow pipe was actually on the outsid= e of the pipe, not coming from inside it. = I was reminded of the line from The Sixth Sense “[We] only see what we want to see”. I= saw what I expected to see when I looked at the pipe and my mind could not comprehend any other possible interpretation.
The pop valve incident re= minds me of the Village. First, I real= ize that we all believe that our present socio-economic system is the best huma= nity has ever created; just look at all of the technology it has produced. This is what we were born with and= lived under all of our lives. How c= ould we possibly imagine a completely different socio-economic system? This is so mind boggling that we j= ust can’t comprehend it. An= d why would we want to think about it anyway?&nb= sp; The system is so huge it could never be changed so what’s the point? But maybe this too is = an illusion.
Secondly, the purpose of = a pop valve is to relieve pressure just before it blows. In our case, if anything sho= uld disrupt our transportation system to the point that goods are, for the most= part, undeliverable and most of us cannot commute to our jobs, then Villages coul= d be our pop valve. Current suburb= ia neighborhoods could retrofit themselves in parcels of 100 homes each to mim= ic Villages, producing their own utilities, food, jobs, etc. This could save our country from an absolute meltdown.
How do we get people to wan= t to live a more sustainable way of life without prodding them with guilt, as th= at doesn’t seem to be working? We have designed such a way of living in the form of Villages, but h= ow do you get people to rapidly change from one living system to another in or= der to make a timely positive impact on the planet? It’s difficult to get = people to change anything.
In his book The Naked Ape, anthropologist Desmond Morris states that if wom= en would only sleep with men that walked on their hands, the entire male population would be hand walkers within one generation. Suppose we were to couple this tho= ught with Robert Kiyosaki’s definition of wealth in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, that being the number of days you can live the lifestyle you want without having to hold a job. What you would end up wi= th is exactly what we have done – a sustainable living system that makes you wealthy immediately when you begin living it; a way that does not need to be forced on people. If we make = it a gold rush, within one generation this planet could be transformed!
You are the teacher of th= e next teachers. What do you choose = to teach them? Do you want to teach them the same system that continues to all= ow humans to suffer or a better system?
We have an option to crea= te what will work for us. But it can only work for us if it works for everyone else at the same time. We can continue to create the same old system that causes us all to suffer or we can recreate ourselves in a manner that works for all of us. All we have to do is to stop the madness and focus on what we want instead of what we don’t want It’s really simple; just stop the madness! We are free to choose.
“I had an experience I can= 217;t prove. I can’t even explain it, but everything that I know as a human being, everything that I am tells that it was real. I was part of something wonderful, something that changed me forever, a vision of the universe that tells us undeniably how tiny, and insignificant, and how rare= and precious we all are. A vision that tells us we belong to something th= at is greater than ourselves. That we are not, that none of us, are alone. I wish that I could share that, I wish that everyone, even for= one moment, could feel that awe, the humility and the hope . . .”
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; -- Ellie Arroway in Dr. Carl Sagan’s novel Contact.
=
&nb=
sp; =
www.co-opvillagefoundation.org