9) SECULAR POLITICS

SECULAR POLITICS for ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY

INDIGENOUS DEMOCRACY

An 'indigenous' (Latin = 'self-generating') model for all political parties to join complementary strengths, work together directly with communities, achieve political and economic power collaboratively, catalogue human resources, meet livelihood needs, heal the environment and make peace on earth in our time.  When we turn to the indigenous model of 'democracy' from the Greek = 'power of the people', we find the supremacy of 'Economic' (Greek 'oikos' = 'home' + 'namein' = 'manage' from 'manus' = 'hand' = 'care or nurture') Democracy in the specialized Production Societies (Guilds).  Each person as a progressive owner of their own specialty's 'means-of-production' particularly knowledge from youth apprentice to elder master is able to make their contribution and decisions for society's benefit.  Political Democracy is practiced in the 'Longhouse' or 'Pueblo' 'extended multi-homes', again in 'village' (Iroquois = 'kanata') councils and all subsequent levels national, confederate & continental mostly bringing together diverse Production Societies into communication for collective decisions at various levels.  Domestic and community labours such as what is called 'woman's labour' is accounted-for with specialized Production Societies and creates the foundation of true 'economy'.  The main point being that; by grouping together individuals, males, females and families according to their main strengths of knowledge and talent empowered in the extended home and specialities, then the rest of this 'fractal' ('division & multiplier') governance system works in human interests.

COMPLEMENTARY POLITICAL PARTIES

After having been involved in the political process over forty-three years, I’ve wondered many times if political parties could collaborate in generating community essential services and thus make an election period into a statement of civil society achievements. Such a hands-on participatory approach gives citizens real knowledge upon which to decide. This proposal is for a complete rewrite of our political system based on indigenous Economic Democracy and Human Resource Time-based Accounting traditions.

Political parties can work directly with membership and affiliate lists in order to support and build green essential service economies in our multihome buildings, businesses, industries, commerces and communities. Asset Based Community Development Economy ABCDE is built upon cataloging strengths of all individuals and the natural patterns in which they are already engaged. We don't need extraordinary 'giving'. In full-cycle systems of both giving and receiving, we help mobilize existing strengths and capacities. These natural flows of existing earning and spending are 'fractals' of human cultural existence. When we plan our livelihood together, we are then empowered to Welcome and include others economically. Some examples:

MULTIHOME ECONOMY

Organize members who want to buy MULTIHOME apartment or townhouse complexes together for intentional participatory cohousing. Multihome residential buildings are the missing link in sustainable development. Alone we don't have the resources to buy or convert often expensive green infrastructure, but grouped together in buildings where we own our own condominium style apartment with desired privacy and choice of involvement, then we can put together resources such as in creating a community kitchen, green roof, polyculture orchards, energy efficiencies, community investment and exchange systems. Common areas can be managed with green practices for great savings and efficiencies. The greatest building ecological efficiencies to begin with are found in multihome common roofs, foundations, walls, floor/ceilings and other systems far beyond what can be achieved in the detached nuclear family house. Some members have existing home equity, some have their rents, all have skills and resources which can fill a Human Resource Catalogue. The Computer technician, Chef, Seamstress, Bicycle Repair, Carpenter, Secretary, Child-care, Plumber and other experts can all make significant incomes without having to travel. Small business is given a strong platform from which to launch for service to the wider community. Equipment, food, goods and services can be bought in bulk. When a 35 dwelling multihome complex speaks as a collected economy of 2,200,000$ earning and spending per year, then government, institutions, industry and commerce listen with open ears.

RELATIONAL ECONOMY

Organize district members into RELATIONAL ECONOMY with local Supermarkets, Grocery, Department and other stores. With stores in mind members are canvassed for their signature of interest. One hundred families or 300 people represent 900,000$ of food buying per year. With a canvas list in hand go to the Supermarket and ask to form a Buyer's Club mediated by Bar Coded membership cards where patronage buying is rewarded with percentage returns to each individual or family. Consumers may buy shares in the Buyer's Club and receive credits according to their purchases, thus progressive investing in their food system. The supermarket with these secure invested members can then service their quality food desires such as organic, natural etc. The store with buying records of invested members can then purchase directly from organic farms using its existing equipment and refrigeration facilities. At Potlucks and other events, store customers, workers and suppliers get to know each other, share recipes for healthy lifestyle, learn about healthy eating and develop a Human Resource Catalogue for investment and exchange between themselves.

Organize Founders, Workers, Suppliers & Consumers in MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION in local commerces and Industries investing each according to their frequent interactions. Business which organizes Board structures to accommodate Stakeholder invest-ment and representation, build a feedback system into operations in which experience and expertise of invested stakeholders makes for healthy decision-making, desire for common profit and collective intelligence in the shares represented each pulling their weight for common gain.

COMMUNITY SERVICE REGISTERS

Organize local cities and 'municipalities' (Latin 'munus' = 'gift or service') with COMMUNITY SERVICE REGISTERS CSR. Developing a community Human Resource Catalogue and web-based Community Investment & Exchange Systems, allows citizens to interact with mutual-aid mediated by accreditation. Those who provide goods and services to another receive credits, those receiving are debited. Those who provide essential municipal and provincial services are accredited in a municipal account upon which they may draw in exchange for municipal services such as swimming, garden privileges or tax accreditation to the maximum of that which their household would normally pay per year. Certification of work performed is accomplished through contracting service organisations. The city gets expert work done by specialists across a much broader range of services than could be afforded in any monetary budget. The accounting cost is diminished in web-based on-line registration and accounting but particularly through enhanced citizen participation rates. A city contracting to families, friends and service circles is able to achieve continuity of care for youth, handicapped and elderly recipients who as well may be providing services into the CSR. All humans have the strength and need to both give and receive to the best of their ability. Institutional services which largely segregate and treat individuals for their weaknesses rather than their strengths can be transformed and the quality of care and relationship vastly improved using local resources.

"BECOMING THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD", Mohandas Gandhi

Political parties and service organizations don't have to wait until they are in 'power' in order to accomplish great things for community. To much of our present society and economy has what a doctor of society will call 'Frozen Funding Syndrome'. As individuals, families and communities in deficit based institutional models we spend years and decades jockeying, lobbying for meager funds which don't accomplish the tasks and needs we have before us. My vote will go to any political party which can mobilize citizen resources from the 'treeroots' in deeply organized and productive concerted relationships such as the above four examples of ABCDE represent. Accomplishing any one of the above Relational Economies will enable community 'corporations' (Latin = 'body') permanent economic revenues augmented when any of the above choices work in concert. None of these four programs require deep-pockets. We only need to animate, recognize and account for the average resources we all have at hand.

CANADIAN ELECTION 2nd May 2011,

Canada elected a 54% House of Common seats Conservative-republican majority government with 39.6% of the popular vote. Political controls for sustainable development aren’t part of a Conservative platform and so will be undone systematically. In free market money-only economy, destruction of the earth’s biosphere builds up to a ferocious pace. As ‘exogenous’ (Latin = ‘other-generated’) peoples, Europeans destroyed Europe and fled here to live in peace and harmony. The following options for indigenous Economic Democracy are based on the question, “If Europeans came to the North American continent as respectful immigrants and honored the political and economic systems in place here, how would such ‘indigenous’ (L. = ‘self-generating’) systems enable us to make-a-living as well as respond to biosphere-collapse, Climate-change and sustainable-development, presently?” 

COLONIAL ROOTS 

In the tension and denial of a perpetual colonial money-fed rat-race, very few take the time to inquire about the economic and governance systems in place before we came as forceful immigrants. Sadly we continue to reject the open welcome by indigenous communities to join and learn how to live here and thus never inquire nor learn of Turtle Island’s kind governance systems and abundant economics. In our allegiance to feudal hierarchy, violence and domestic animal subjugation, we brought foreign disease sickness or contagion and caused massive refugee displacement through violent land appropriation and ecological destruction. 

DEMOCRACY (Greek ‘demos’ = ‘people’ + ‘kratos’ = ‘power of’)? 

Is ‘people-power’ marking an ‘X’ once every four years for a representative concerning a mash-up of very complicated issues? Worldwide indigenous peoples systematically distinguished citizen expertise cultivated in foundations of Economic Democracy through several mechanisms:

1. Living in connected housing such as Longhouses(apartment-like) or Pueblo(townhouse-like) brought multiple generations into proximity and interaction.

2. Human-resource time-based accounting recognised the contributions of all community members, male-female, young-old and able-bodied/special-focused in complementation of strengths and skills.

3. Specialised Production Societies PS grouped these strengths and each person-member developed ownership and decision-making acumen progressively over the course of lifetimes. Community and nation turn to each PS for specific expertise in each essential service. 

ALIENATION & MEMORY 

 We are all originally indigenous peoples but in the recent age of empires are alienated from our long human heritage. Modern humans look forward in hope but are troubled to look back. We carry painful memories stemming from empire destruction of our indigenous roots (eg. Celtic Europe). In today’s political democracy, individuals and families are separate from each other, and not knowing who to vote for we turn to media. Media is owned by centralized corporations who as well secretly finance their choices in the political process. Media and their hidden masters feed us information on the choices they want us to make and the memory they want us to have. Economic life is controlled by centralized corporations so we enjoy little mastery nor ownership over the means of our livelihood and self-knowledge. 

INDIGENOUS CIRCLE OF LIFE 

Indigenous people cultivated a constellation of empowering economic and political democratic mechanisms for the individual and his or her affinity (caucuses) to be systematically heard. https://sites.google.com/site/indigenecommunity/home/indigenous-circle-of-lifeThis original question is posed in the context of discussions among members of the NDP, Liberal, Bloc-Quebecois, Green, other parties and the Conservative government to collaborate. Each party cultivates knowledge essential to the whole. An indigenous model of Secular (common life issues) politics through traditions of Economic Democracy will help these fragmented truths find a greater common cause. 

NATURAL SCIENCE 

Indigenous peoples cultivated knowledge continually referenced to the nature of life and the Biosphere. Science as a systematic questioning and refining of tools benefits from referring to the integrated planetary life system humans are an integral part of. No part stands alone. All parts are responsable to the whole. Unfortunately as humans in isolation from each other we are beholding to hierarchies. As we lose connection to ourselves and each other, we as well lose knowledge of life and planet. Artificial science develops upon fragmented dollar-driven institutional assumptions, resulting in artificial foods, pesticides, regulations protecting only corporate interests, unnatural birthing of children, unfair siphoning of local and third-world indigenous resources, sick-building syndrome, resource hungry buildings and disassociation from the strengths nature has to offer freely. As we account only for monetary transactions, so we lose appreciation and devalue the human and natural strengths which we have taken for granted. 

SECULAR POLITICS ‘Every political faith complements the other’ 

Politics = ‘workings of the many’ ‘Party’ derived from old French = ‘to divide’ or ‘to share’ 

secular  late 13c., "living in the world, not belonging to a religious order," also "belonging to the state," from O.Fr. seculer, from L.L. saecularis "worldly, secular," from L. saecularis "of an age, occurring once in an age," from saeculum "age, span of time, generation," probably originally cognate with words for "seed," from PIE base *se(i)- "to sow" (cf. Goth. mana-seþs "mankind, world," lit. "seed of men"). Used in ecclesiastical writing like Gk. aion "of this world" (see cosmos). It is source of Fr. siècle. Ancient Roman ludi saeculares was a three-day, day-and-night celebration coming once in an "age" (120 years). From Etymology On-Line 

I was Green Party of Canada candidate in the federal 2004 election, have on environmental committees with the Liberal Party, deeply involved during the 1970s with the British Columbia NDP on a couple of election campaigns especially in establishing of the Uranium Moratorium by 1980, voted ‘Yes’ during the 1980 Sovereignty Association for Quebec with Canada and have worked in promotion of collaborative strategic progressive voting during subsequent elections with the NDP, Liberal, Bloc-Quebecois and Green parties. Despite my roots in the ‘left’, I am impressed that Conservative values have a key role to play in a sustainable future. 

POLITICAL ‘Grains of truth’ 

3-dimensional Secular politics and Economic Democracy like other holistic disciplines are challenging to communicate in our linear (2-D) culture. Progressives are beginning to understand that the ravages of the monetary system require a deep positive response welcoming the diversity of approaches which all parties represent. Conservative values such as emphasis on livelihood, accounting and economic planning are crucially important. We can realise that each party have fallen into various traps. The Tories have fallen into a money-only analysis, valuation and population / planet control, which is degrading the biosphere and human society’s ability to support life on earth. All social-economic & political perspectives and practices have grains of truth needed for the sustainable functioning of the whole. Everything humans do and believe in our systems has indigenous antecedents. 

MONEY 

‘Money’ (‘mnemonic’ derived from the Ancient Greek word μνημονικός mnemonikos ("of memory") and is related to Mnemosyne("remembrance"), the name of the goddess of memory in Greek mythology. has essential functions for society. However our present form of money is fragmented-corrupted from its original meaning leaving humanity with a ‘virus’ in its operating system. Turning back our computer to the indigenous period when our operating system is functional allows us to understand that money originally was an integrated accounting and value system for Capital (‘cap’ = ‘head’), Currency, Condolence (Social Security), Diplomatic Conveyance, Collegial accreditation in progressive ownership of Production Societies from apprentice to elder, Accounting mediated Communication in the string-shell, Social and economic identification as Costume and many more functions. 

COMMERCIAL – INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY 

Systems of Economic Democracy with multi-stakeholder founder, worker, supplier and consumer investment participation programs are represented in such as Tembec Forest Products, Dofasco Steel, Ben & Jerry’s Ice-cream, Tom’s of Maine, the Natural Step, Keiretsu (eg. Toyota Japan), Chaebol (eg. Daewoo Motors Korea), Associative Economics (Europe) and others. However participatory commerce and industries have a continuing problem. Stock-market based industry watchers, looking for ‘money-profit’ opportunities and knowing the growth curves of ‘invested-stakeholder interest’ first invest, then leveraging controls from inside and outside are able to take control of these industries without a 3-D understanding of the driving economic force of collective intelligence or the relationships involved. 

EXTENDING OUR WELCOME COHOUSING

When standard commercial and industrial economies are joined with domestic Multihome (privacy with community options) traditions of the Longhouse/Pueblo, then we enhance more welcoming economies which double the citizen’s economic and political power. Indigenous multi-home options develop within existing apartment and townhouse complex living so as to provide enriching options for tenants and condominium owners. Domestic organisation roots ‘economy’ (Greek ‘oikos’ = ‘home’ + ‘namein’ = ‘management’ derived from ‘manus’ = ‘hand’ = ‘care & nurture’) back in its intended purpose. Indigene Community focuses on cohousing https://sites.google.com/site/indigenecommunity/relational-economy/extending-our-welcome-participatory-multi-home-cohousing

LIVE, BUY, BE, WORK, INVEST & EXCHANGE GREEN

When political parties mobilize resources of members and voters among community-based es-sential service providers, other citizens will join. We can rebuild sustainable economy from the ground up (tree-roots) joined in local Relational Economy. The same resources, which political https://sites.google.com/site/indigenecommunity/relational-economy parties need to ‘win’ elections can be found in abundance among party members and local communities.  Instead of competing to ‘win’ empty election victory, parties can develop Human Resource Catalogues for first their memberships and then for the broader communities in which they operate.  https://sites.google.com/site/indigenecommunity/home/membership  Green ecological-economies are strengths which transcends party affiliation.  Those with money and those with time both need to have their contributions accounted for currency, capital and benefits.

POLITICAL ECONOMY (‘’Follow the money’’, Bill Clinton)

We all realize that the political communications process needs media ownership (capital) and operating budget funding far in excess of what is acknowledged by the Canadian Electoral Funding Act (which the Conservatives have targeted for elimination in this majority mandate). The mainstream parties culture hidden funding relations with large corporations. Liberals were caught red-handed during the Sponsorship scandal around the last Quebec referendum and thereby de-structured their funding apparatus leaving the Conservatives with a massive advantage. The Conservatives are now riding an unfettered team of corporate horses & media control. The ensuing vote harvest showed itself off during the 2011 election.

VOTING WITH DOLLARS & TIME

Progressive political parties can help Canadians organise their earning and spending dollars to recapture both economy and policy making. Canadians should recognize that; corporations are economic collectives, representing essential livelihood planning and realities. Livelihood in this present economic system, is sacred to all of us (even if in ignorance we destroy the biosphere and eliminate humanity’s future). Political opinion ‘democracy’ (One-member/one-vote) generalized over vast areas of decision-making, without opportunity for making commitment nor giving and measuring contribution is neither sacred nor functional. Citizens vote far more effectively everyday with the dollars we spend ultimately determining both economic and political policy, than with an ‘X’ marked once every four years.

STATISTICS USED

Statistics Canada 2006 counts roughly 31,612,897 people in Canada at 2.5 people / household = 2 adults + .5 youth. 61.4 % of Canadians voted = 14,720580 voters. Canada’s 12,437,500 households earned and spent roughly 1.1 trillion dollars in 2006. This divides up into 41,401$ per full time wage earner, 34,796$ per person or 66,343$ per household economic family. These income figures are skewed by the extreme incomes of less than 1% portion of the population so are adjusted here downwards to calculate 66,343$ / median household income.

During the May 2nd 2011 Canadian Election Conservatives, New Democratic, Liberal, Bloc Quebecois, Green parties ran candidates in all ridings across Canada, drawing the above votes.  *Other Small Parties include: Independent (non-party aligned), Christian Heritage, Marxist-Leninist, Libertarian, Progressive-Canadian, Rhinoceros, Pirate, Communist, Canadian Action, Marijuana, Animal Alliance/Environmental Voters, Western Block, United and First Peoples' National parties.  Other small parties all ran candidates in various ridings drawing 1% of votes.

PROGRESSIVE SECULAR POLITICAL ECONOMY

Towards employing the resources of all of our collective community personality and parties.

Canada’s individual income, earning and spending is calculated at 1,100,000,000,000 or 1.1 trillion dollars in 2006.  For the purposes of the above statistics, the higher end billionaires and multi-millionaires haven’t been included in this calculation using Statistics Canada 2006 figures and a median income of 41,401$ / year / full-time earning individual and 66,343$ / year / Economic Family totalling 826,000,000,000$ (826 billion dollars) is used as the baseline income in these calculations.  Time and money in Human Resource Time-based accounting modules for Founders, Workers, Suppliers and Consumer stakeholder investment are interactive and equivalent.

PROGRESSIVE & CONSERVATIVE COMPLEMENT

Organising this already existing progressive economic flow into support of a sustainable green economy will not only make human life on earth sustainable but as well will recapture the political, finance and economic system for human livelihood.  However many progressive processes are self-defeating.  The bootstraps approach of conservatives have indigenous roots.

The good news is that implementing this kind of Human Resource Time-based accounting and Capitalism is the real message which Conservatives have been trying to reach (unconsciously) and spread over hundreds of years even as they destroy the biosphere.  Conservatives will join the rest of the population in a green economy making capitalism possible for everyone.https://sites.google.com/site/indigenecommunity/relational-economy/2-sharing-our-livelihood

SECULAR POLITICS

Parties can involve members and populations directly in achieving livelihood based ecological-economic development. Canadian statistics roughly (~ is used as approximate symbol). Political parties are centrally fixated upon electoral political democracy rather than working with the population’s present strengths and resources.  As you will see in the table presented below progressive parties including the NDP have huge resources in the population, communities and member activists who have voted for them if we think in terms of enumerating and animating our strengths.  Our voting populations collectively have economies in the billions of dollars which can be organised towards our social, political and economic mission by calculating and animating individual, family and household earning & spending.  Let’s build Political Economy empowering the strengths of individuals and families in the present economy and infrastructure exactly as they exist.

Obviously Canada is presently just a colonial branch of once French/British and now American monetary-capital based economy.  If we want to put our roots into this soil as well as change the world, we need to be knowledgeable about engaging citizens overtly in political-economy.  Canada will need this kind of concertation if we are to be able to sweep past the USA’s reactionary central monetary model of economic dominance.

"Regard human labour as more even than money and you have an untapped and inexhaustible source of income, which ever increases with use." (letter to a British Governor circa 1945) “Becoming the change we want to see in the world”, "Live simply so that others may simply live." Mohandas K. Gandhi

Douglas Ou-ee-ii-jay-ii Jack douglasf.jack@gmail.com   www.indigenecommunity.info 

project coordinator, Home of Dialogue, LaSalle, Quebec, H8R 1X9