Welcome
to People for a New Society
We are a nation of
people,
different in many ways but alike in so many others. We work hard. We
depend on
our paychecks to live, feel
stressed out by too many hours, or too few. We worry about our
future,
or the future of our kids. We are in college or in prison; retired or
disabled. Young, old, unemployed or overworked. Computer techs and
nurses. Delivery drivers and engineers. Teachers and cashiers.
Designers and scientists. We are the
working class. Without us,
nothing could happen, be produced, nothing grown or harvested,
nothing fixed or invented. Whether we live in
suburban
developments or cities; in an apartment or a house; pay rent or owe
on a mortgage. Homeless, just making it or worried we might lose
all we've gained...we must work for our living or suffer the
consequences. As a class, as a community and as a people, we share the same basic
needs and basic desires: to live in & be part of a healthy,
peaceful and humane
society.
Why
we are here...
We at
PeopleForANewSociety are like so many others, looking for real
change and a path to get it. But what's left for us to do? After we've
tried 'yes we can' and get 'no you can't'...after voting for the
'lesser of two evils' & get the lesser evil but no solutions, is it
hopeless? Unless we look at alternatives to profit and competition and
the way industry & society is run today--from 'above' to benefit a
few- it is hopeless! We need
to look at the entire economic & civic model and find a way to
change it. We need a strategy that can take
us from where we are, to where we want to go.
WE DO HAVE OPTIONS
While corporate control
of the political arena is strong, the political arena still offers the
best means for peaceful and meaningful change. Rigged to protect the
existing regime, its 'two parties' are really
just one - a duopoly. Both exist solely at
the discretion of corporations and to serve their interests. The only
'fight' is for dominance
between big & bigger corporations, one capitalist interest or
another. Republican or Democrat, either party gains office only by how well it serves to
protect capital and profits, not how well it solves our real problems.
Why vote? But what if we use our ballot differently? Not to vote for
Reform, but for a totally new
society? But how?
Until now, change - if
it was to be peaceful- required reaching a vast audience
and union halls were often the natural place for issues, and
consciousness, to be raised. Jobs lasted for decades, bonds formed,
grievances aired. In fact, all reforms in the twentieth century grew
out of organized demands from the union movement. Fast forward to
today. Workers are 'on their own', mainly non-union, the existing
unions weak & broken cartels, bureacracies tied to the Democrats
and politicians. Wages stagnant, working conditions & jobs
insecure, no sense of identity or what used to be called class
solidarity, the typical worker today is more akin to the migrant
worker, isolated and alone. Our culture is 'atomized',
fragmented. Religion offers some community, as do clubs or social
groups. But
none serve as centers to talk about the serious issues we face. And the
issues have become so big, so complex and terrifying - horrible
environmental and health hazards, lost jobs and debt, vast inequities
between the few and the many- we vote with little or no hope of
results. With no single unifying effort- just scattershot, inefffectual
complaints- most Americans have become 'the silent majority'. Or become
angry and join "The Tea Party" in empty protest.
With no unions left, no
sense of class solidarity, no place for social cohesion, with
insecurity and threat now built into our daily lives we seem hopelessly
divided. We know we have problems, but at best try to attack them one
at a time. We can't see the interconnected systemic cause, never mind
the solution. We've lost control. So is there hope? Can we come together and really
have an affect? We at PFANS believe we can and stand at the beginning
of a new movement, embrionic and unnamed but with important potential.
At the same time we see reason for apathy and cynacism, there is in
fact huge numbers of concerned, active, independent and fragmented
groups and political stirrings across the internet. Despite the
distractions and stress of modern life it is proof that people's
interest in 'changing the way things are' have not declined but have
greatly increased. How do we transform all the seperate 'issues' into a
unified movement that tackles all of them? Its beginning to happen, but
not in ways we've seen before. For now on, with the computer based
'social network'
our new 'town hall', we have to rethink the whole notion of
'unity' and principal, & participate in new, broader
connections, respectful dialogue & interchanges that still
allows for independence. Our LinksList is part of that effort. "Private
Property" lines, turf, language, mistrust & old wars are luxuries
we can no longer afford. We need new openness on the left if we are to
see progress.
The coming decade can
only bring more problems, less faith in reform, greater revelations
about a system that should no longer be sustained, greater distrust
of the Duopoly and the system it protects. The 'Tea Party'
instinct is just to get angry and find scapegoats, but media attention
has awakened more interest in organizing & running independent
candidates and thats good. The problems and complaints will grow.
Eventually independent candidates and independent 'social protests'
will -intentionally or not- uncover the economic link between all the
ills they address piecemeal and from that will grow a unified movement,
stronger and broader than any union, party or theory could ever do.
Right now we don't really 'need' third parties, but we do need
well-informed candidates. We need to use what we know and help clarify
that the goals of our various 'groups' must recognize Capitalism as the fundamental
cause of our social ills, and
that
the institutions it rests on must be replaced by Democracy where we
work and where we live. Change can happen, peacefully in the
way and at the time it is needed.
The idea is nothing new, but is in fact over Two Hundred years old: our
heritage and our Constitution made provision for it to happen. In fact,
the idea of using the
Constitution for the people has
already begun to take root (see our LinksList). PFANS knows our best
hope is to take it further until we replace the entire unworkable,
anti-social capitalist framework that holds us back. While the concept
of peacefully
legislating to form a new, true CIVIC and ECONOMIC democracy...with a
green, humanist agenda
of peace & justice... while such an idea may be unfamiliar now, it
will eventually start with one or two Representatives being elected.
From there, the simple fairness & rationality of it will make it
grow & spread. A new society will be born.
For radical &
fundamental 'change politics' to begin in this country, of course, will
require a broad base of citizen awareness, consistency and principals,
but the dialogue must begin. And
it is. For the first time in decades, dire economic and environmental
conditions call into question the old assumptions about Capitalism's
ability to redeem or 'reform itself' . Coupled with that, for the first
time in decades political activity on the right and left is burgeoning.
Yes, there is plenty of apathy & lethargy, but that's not from
'contentedness'. Its from distrust of the old politics that haven't
worked: The Promise of Reforms up to and including those from Obama.
But not only from within the plutocratic
Democrat or Republican Party. Reforms from
a 'third' party - typically based on one or two issues of gender, race,
environment- have no broader goal or deeper vision and therefore have
limited mass appeal. Reform agendas have increasingly become suspect as
ineffectual because its known they're dependent on
big money and/or big compromise, and trying to work within Capitalis, are bound to
fail. Other than the option of earlier 'revolutionary
theory' parties which seemed remote & alien, rebuilding society
democratically thru the political arena in this country has never had
much
opportunity for success.Til now. Now 'lack of organization' doesn't
mean 'lack of participation'.
How Can We Really
Change?
With the advent of new
ways of communicating and getting together 'on-line', we at PFANS
believe that we may be at
the start of a new era, an era based on freer access that give
advocates for fundamental
change as well as meaningful incremental change, a new chance to be
heard. Small no longer means what it once did. That will even get
better. Independently pursuing our own projects, we can also hear from
other voices who call for fundamental changes in our civic and economic
relationships thru social ownership & grassroots decision- making.
So many of us are not that far apart; we should start to talk about our
similarities not just our differences. But most importantly we need to
get political power and we can. Using social-networking, blogs and
websites, 'Independent
candidates' can now run without the need for a party, can require only
local support and use internet organizing to run & get on the
ballot. Political action is still vital. WE need to recognize that
bkkesides limited message appeal & a generational belief in
reforms, previous
'grassroots' or minor party attempts also failed because they depended
on labor-intensive, costly efforts. Now with almost universal access
to sophisticated approaches, organizing & dialoguing is easy thru
websites,
blogs and social networks. While grassroots, ad hoc & independent
activity is in its infancy right now (See LinksList) it appears to
offer the
antedote to previous isolated, small, labor-intensive attempts that
struggled to have any ripple-effect or impact. Of course, new
technology, communication and networking
tools are not the inevitable or automatic panacea to solve our
complex problems...And raising consciousness & understanding will
take time. But its important to recognize the potential of
independent action and initiative -
especially those of us who have seen other approaches to deep change
fail. Just as
our forefathers & mothers did when they conceived of the
Constitution and Bill of Rights, we must be grounded in the present but
with a basic vision of what a new, better, humane society could look
like. Within this decade, we need
people who want real change, run for office, are ready & excited to
face the
challenges and the
possibilities. And, importantly, we
need to vote for them!
WORKING FROM
WITHIN, WHERE IT REALLY MATTERS
Forget working with the
Duopoly. Working within Congress itself holds the best access to
re-frame the Consitution, our economy & society itself. Once
elected, our Representatives
will not
be only 'place-holders' for a new agenda, they will be ADVOCATES of
it thru Constitutional change. While
serving in Congress, how would our 'new society' representatives
behave? Not like others: Yes, ours would support & vote for
the highest standards of Reform measures proposed
...but they would be clear on
this ONE fundamental principal: REFORMS ARE NOT GOALS they are
steps. So how
would their candidacies &
representation differ from other progressives, liberals, reformers?
Everyday, their GOAL would be: to
use our Constitutional right to replace destructive laws and
institutions with new ones that benefit and protect The People.
Not profit, not
corporations, not private gain. How is this our right? Two hundred
years ago, our forefathers and mothers recognized the need to change
with the times would happen again to others in the future. In
explaining Article Five, they wrote that when old laws and institutions no
longer work to make the people healthy, safe or happy, they must be
replaced. Therefore, because of our unique history & our
revolutionary heritage, the Constitution gives us not only the right
but also the responsibility to create a new society better suited to
the needs and aspirations & capacities of our people. (Check
out our cooperative model at "New Democracy" visuals)
So, why are 'WE'
here? Because we're ready to stop
repeating the failures of reform & ready for
a new, positive direction. We know we need a New Society & a
realistic strategy to get there. That it will not be quick, but
rewarding. This website is a place to start and we're ready
to
begin. We offer Links & a Forum for dialogue, Videos, Reading
& Archive materials. Together, let's get started.