Living Together Research Proposal

Living Together/Introduction

On planet Earth, can we live as one human race (or family) in peace, equality and prosperity?

This overarching question is sub-divided into the the following lines of inquiry:

World Government

Can peace be achieved through world government, and if so, how would it operate and how would it be structured?

What are the current ideas of the political science mainstream regarding creating a peaceful, just and prosperous global society? Are these goals even being pursued by political scientists, and if not, what are their goals? The currently popular ideas will involve the strengthening of centralised institutions like the world bank, united nations, world trade organisations and the decreasing role of nation-states which will be required to relinquish authority to said global institutions or even a world government.

Statistics show that the trend in recent decades has been the disempowerment of national and local government in favour of multinational corporations and global institutions. However, this has resulted in an increase in environmental problems, injustice, political instability and chaos. How is it possible that more of the same will lead to a better result?

The question arises: Is it necessary to distinguish between the notion of “world government” in the sense of centralised decision-making and “global government” in the sense of holistic decision-making, which reconciles the needs of the individual and the needs of society. This implies that a system of Global government first and foremost provides the means to empower the individual and would build local, regional and global governance systems upon the cooperation of empowered individuals.

The framework that allows this would need to be a governmental system that harmonises economic, social and political goals and avoids the issue of corruption that stems from secrecy, political representation and hierarchical power structures. The most fundamental principles guiding said system would allow “think global, act local” decisions and would also have “all aspects changeable”. These principles would necessitate transparency with respect to decisions made and resource movements between the organisations that form the global government as well as the possibility of direct involvement by all citizens.

Philosophical Foundation

Within cultural diversity, can common values be found which can serve as a foundation for a system which supports the unfolding of individual human potential in a way that benefits society?

Notes

• fundamental idea about leadership: 'with power must come wisdom'
  • check connection between Guan Zhong, Confucius and Plato. this point is crucial if we concider that plato and his ideas on democracy are the foundation for our understanding of democracy. if he made a connection between power and wisdom a whole lot of questions arises and will make it easier to show why the current system is out of order and in a state of chaos
• elaborate on the importants for us as humanity, but also for us as individuals to understand and become aware of who we are within the big picture
• establish the notion of an universal truth.
• Nothing to be gained through deception - need to show how we are currently deceiving - References in 'The Corporation'

Universal values and cultural value

Unity is an underlying feeling or values foundation, however cultural values in combination with the political construct of nation-states lead to an emphasis of what separates us, often leading to alienation and conflict. However, at the core of the philosophical foundations of most cultures lies an acknowledgement of certain universal values which go beyond culture. The Golden Rule for instance is referenced by the Old Testament, I Ching, and other ancient scriptures. A summary of universal principles based on fundamental teachings of philosophical and spiritual movements (Buddhist, Taoist, Muslim, Christian, Jewish) will be provided. The adoption of said universal principles allow the individual to understand what we humans have in common and develop a global consciousness.

Regarding the relationship of individuals with society

The goal is a system which supports the unfolding of unique, individual human potential in a way that benefits society. It will be discussed how this issue relates to the question posed by the paper and how it could be addressed.

Implementation and Transition

Having discussed the philosophy and systems required, how do these things get implemented in the context of current society and how do we get from here and now to there and then?

Notes

• Discussing the benefits of parallel implementation for both ways. Sustainability - social, environmental and economic
• Discussing platforms and sanctuaries using established terms, such as co-working groups, urban communities, social and business networks
• Discussing existing groups and current achievements, point to further synergies and potential connections
• implementation first part of section 3, transition part 2 - parallel development expresses how this transition happens
• implementation part starts with historic part and then goes through different examples existing one and imaginary ones
• parallel and 'step-by-step' model for transition. current system is moving aspects and organisations into the new way - new form of revolution which became possible because of inet, worldwide com wasn't possible before that
• inet and web offers examples of new ways of working together and operating organisations which still need to be integrated on a broader level of society; currently no major corporate or governmental institution operates in accordance with those new forms of organisation and cooperation
• need for organisational systems that people use and get beyond current business model of deception and profit
• implementation section shows how section two(philosophy) is represented in organisations, business, etc.
• examples for the new way: skype, wikipedia, 'farm', open source development
• show how new developments interconnect - platform development, peer-to-peer, peer based organisation
• list source(s) for given examples?
• express benefits of peer based and co-op instead of competitive

Parallel development

In this section the philosophical and structural ideas are unified for their practical implementation. The trend of progressive alignment of people who already have a global consciousness through various forms of cooperation and organisation leading to the development of global culture within the nation-states and world wide. Introducing platform organisations (better cooperative organisations?) and sanctuaries for economic sustainability(first aspect?), networks for travel, trade, knowledge exchange. Integration and higher levels of governance will arise from this network in parallel with existing socio-economic systems.(emphasise the benefit for all of parallel development?)