Land Issues, First Part, the Quaker bit

So, let's talk Land Issues.

In the opening article on the five mechanisms that capitalism uses to hurt all people and to harm the planet and our fellow creatures, I introduced the helpful acronym, TRIP-Up.

The T stands for Theft, as discussed in the first of these articles: the Theft of the economic resources that are needed to sustain life.

Human life included.

The first of those economic resources that The Thieves stole was land: and by land I include the entire planet and all its God-given resources.

Now, since I am a Quaker (and a Christian, panentheist, PhD Chemist, grandad and so on), please allow me to speak about the G-word (God) before I talk in secular, every-day, terms.

In north America, the native peoples speak of 'The Creator, God' and, if we simply describe 'God' as The Creator of The Universe, there seem to be two strands of though. One says that, like a job-by-job building contractor, God created The Universe. And then left. To go and sit away from Us and the rest of The Creation, up in the Clouds, beyond 'His' Creation: away from us all.

The second strand of thought, and this I share, from my experience as a research and teaching chemist, is that 'God, The Creator' stayed within The Creation, everywhere, in every thing, all the time.

This is why I describe myself as a 'panentheist' (pa, everything/across all, en, within, theos, God): not pantheist (pan, everything/everywhere, God: ie everything is God: including rape, violence, Ownership, murder . . . Oh no!).

So, for me, since The Creator, God, is present within everything, everywhere, all the time, then to claim 'Ownership' of anything, ourselves included, is, not only Theft.

But Theft of God (within everything), too.

Ouch!

So, on to the secular, day-to-day, no God words, bit.

Draft Motion to PLP Regarding the plan for Co-operative Socialism

What we can do next!

Rather than be responsive to what the Fibs, Cons and Nats do, let's take the initiative.

Here' a model Motion supporting true, Co-operative Socialism.

Please ask your Branch Labour Party, Branch Co-op Party and Trades Council to support this:


Here is a Draft Text:

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MOTION To The Parliamentary Labour Party

From: [Your] CLP

Copies to: [Your] County Labour Party, and [Adjacent] CLPs, to The Labour Party NEC, c/o LP General Secretary Jenny Formby and to Jeremy Corbyn, MP and John McDonnell, MP.

Proposed by: [Name and LP Membership Number here]

Seconded by: [Name and LP Membership Number here]

'We, [Your] CLP, request that our Parliamentary Labour Party use a forthcoming Opposition Day Debate to debate the following Motion:

   'That This House shall adopt, enact and implement, and Annually Audit and Celebrate, the plan for Co-operative Socialism, as already adopted by Labour Action for Peace, Occupy London, Bromley Co-operative Party, Bromley Peace Council and Bromley Trades' Council Pensioners' Action Association, noting that details of this plan are in the 'CCPA Reader on Co-operative Socialism', as given in the papers' section at www.interestfreemoney.org, with explanatory videos and broadcast radio interview on YouTube: which can be found by using the search term, there, of "Co-operative Socialism".'

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Note: for recipients and readers convenience, the plan for Co-operative Socialism is as follows:

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Seven-Point Co-operative Commonweal Action Plan

   - to create a fair, safe, peaceful world

From the CCPA Reader on Co-operative Socialism

At:

http://www.interestfreemoney.org/papers/

1. Co-operatives and peace — not corporations
and coercion

    Convert competitive, market-based activities into work-
place co-operatives, and remodel monopoly activities as
community co-operatives. Each co-op would demonstra-
bly operate according to the Co-operative Values and
Principles of the International Co-operative Alliance and,
from the commonweal and the planet, would have re-
spectful, time-limited co-stewardship of appropriate land
and knowledge resources.

2. Not-for-profit banking and financial structures
as co-ops — Pre-distribution, not Redistribution

   Distribute the added-value/created-wealth from these
workplace co-ops through nationally collected, co-opera-
tive corporate taxation, distributed into local, democrat-
ically-controlled Community Banks, and so make money
and credit available for eco- and socially-responsible wealth
creation, community development, and global care.

3. Step-wise abolition of money as access to
needs — global co-stewardship for needs and
care, not private resources for profit

   Maximize necessary service provision (health, education,
libraries, transport, and so on) on a co-operative, free-at-
the-point-of-use basis: retaining money only as a mecha-
nism for access to discretionary purchases.

4. Fair, Guaranteed Incomes — Near equal/Equal
income for all

   Introduce guaranteed fair income for all, within upper
and lower brackets: based upon a liveable, fair Citizen’s
Income, and so do away with the need for direct and
indirect personal taxation — income tax, sales taxes, and
so on.

5. Abolition of for-profit money - An end to
usury/riba, and of banking as global warfare

   Abolish money-lending and credit-creation for profit,
and so operate banking as a community-controlled, co-
operative public service.

6. Regulated international relations — An end to
global exploitation through financial speculation

   Reintroduce international exchange controls, a Tobin Tax,
etc., as necessary.

7. All our sisters our brothers, and all our brothers
our sisters — One in all, all as one, all in one.

   Make capital grants (not loans) to developing countries.'

We so propose.'

If helpful, I can travel in order to be present at a Question and Discussion session (as already done for the Bromley and Plaistow North BLP for the East Ham BLP.