Welcome.
The Earth Holocracy Proposal is an honest, viable, common-sense way to achieve sustainability and establish ‘real global democracy’.
The Proposal presents a popularly-based vision and set of best-practice strategies for translating humanity’s common aspirations into effective action – just in the nick of time! It advocates the building of a ‘movement of movements’ based upon the broad platform of Global Solidarity for Local Self Determination.
It is a Proposal for building a new, decentralized system of participatory democracy from the grassroots – this option being presented as the only realistic way to realize the sustainable, peaceful, just and thriving world of common aspiration.
The term ‘holocracy’ refers to ‘holistic governance’ – wherein ‘the whole’ is made strong by the strength of ‘the parts’. The term is used herein to refer to the proposed establishment of a new decentralized socio-politico-economic system – based upon the self-empowerment and self-organization of Local Communities, united in an inverted pyramid of global cooperation, and operating in a horizontal, egalitarian, transparent, ethics-based, efficient and accountable manner. The Earth Holocracy Proposal’s organizational model is explored in Volume Four: The Holocratic Circle. The Proposal’s community-rights-based strategy for empowering Local Communities is explored in Volume Two: Local Community Empowerment. The proposal’s advocated blueprint for establishing a decentralized and sustainable economic system is presented in Volume Five: Economic Decentralization.
Please freely download the introductory volume of the Earth Holocracy Proposal here:
Volume One: The Earth Holocracy Proposal
Alternatively, select particular articles in Volume One for download:
1. The Urgency of Effective Work for the Common Good
2. Effectively Addressing the Issue of Climate Change
3. The Shift to a Life-Sustaining Civilization
4. The Time for Real Global Democracy is Now
5. Overview of the Earth Holocracy Proposal
6. Introduction to the Local Community Declaration of Rights
8. The Local People’s Assembly’s Declaration on the Rights of the Local Indigenous People
9. Statement of Global Solidarity for Local Self Determination
10. Whole System Change: The Imperative, the Feasibility and the Key
11. The Proposal’s Strategy for Whole System Change
12. Starting to Build the Decentralized System of Real Global Democracy Now
13. The People are the Solution
Foreword to Volume One
Volume One introduces the Earth Holocracy Proposal and its basic strategy for the building of a new, genuinely democratic, decentralized socio-politico-economic system from the grassroots.
The first four articles set the scene for the proposal. They address:
The Urgency of Effective Work for the Common Good
Effectively Addressing the Issue of Climate Change
The Shift to a Life-Sustaining Civilization
The Time for Real Global Democracy is Now
These first articles explore in various voices – that of the WorldWatch Institute, SMAA – Social Movements for an Alternative Asia, the International Trade Union Confederation, Naomi Klein, David Korten and many others – the imperative for humanity to take immediate and effective action so as to address very real threats to the future of human civilization – threats which are based upon the environmental non-sustainability of the globalized economy and the failure of representational democracy. Ben Courtice’s article, ‘After COP22, Let’s not follow the Kyoto road again’ (November 24, 2016), is included as a case study providing evidence for the futility of mass movements spending precious time pursuing top-down solutions, making demands of governments that are utterly subservient to the neoliberal hegemony. It adds weight to the resounding conclusion of the voices assembled in these scene-setting articles: that there is no top-down solution to any of the major crises faced by humanity at this pivotal time, but that “effective action” – that is, action that will ensure a successful shift to a genuinely democratic, life-sustaining civilization – can still be accomplished from the grassroots, by the active engagement and commitment of the people.
Overview of the Earth Holocracy Proposal
The fifth article presents a brief Overview of the Earth Holocracy Proposal and its strategy for humanity to accomplish the shift to a life-sustaining civilization in time. Decentralization of political, social and economic power is the only viable solution; and the process for re-localizing power can only be accomplished by the active commitment and engagement of the people. The proposal’s strategy – in keeping with the global direct democracy movement – is for the membership of local communities to form civil organizations and networks, People’s Assemblies, for community-based decision-making and collaborative action in the interests of the common good and a positive future.
Introducing the Earth Holocracy Proposal’s Local Community Declaration of Rights
While the Local Community Declaration of Rights is fully explored in Volume Two, this introduction is included within Volume One because the Declaration is fundamental to the Earth Holocracy Proposal: it is the proposal’s “springboard” to a genuinely democratic system, its key to Local Community empowerment.
The rights and roles of the world’s Indigenous Peoples in establishing a genuinely democratic and sustainable global civilization
The rights and roles of the world’s Indigenous Peoples in establishing a genuinely democratic and sustainable global civilization are – as explored in this article – greatly significant. This article serves as a prelude to the volume’s eighth article, the .
Local People’s Assembly’s Declaration on the Rights of the Local Indigenous People/s
The Local People’s Assembly’s ‘Declaration on the Rights of the Local Indigenous People’ is the companion piece to the proposal’s ‘Local Community Declaration of Rights’- whenever and wherever the Local Community’s membership includes Indigenous People/s for whom the area is part of their People’s traditional lands and territories. The credibility, power, clarity and authenticity afforded the democratizing process by these two Declarations standing side by side is enormous.
Statement of Global Solidarity for Local Self Determination
The ninth article presents the gist of the Earth Holocracy Proposal: it is the actual proposal submitted for the consideration of Local People’s Assemblies worldwide – the “Statement of Global Solidarity for Local Self Determination”. Widespread endorsement of the proposal would mean global backing for, and mutual commitment to, the empowerment of Local Communities to 1) direct their own affairs, 2) responsibly steward their sovereign territory’s natural environment and resources, and 3) initiate the grassroots establishment of a decentralized system of Real Global Democracy. The Proposal advocates the use of holocratic processes to ensure that the new era of active citizenship, robust stewardship and participatory democracy develops in a genuinely democratic, egalitarian, transparent and ethical way – as people everywhere, at all levels of society, self-organize the transition to a clean-and-green, sustainable and fulfilling future for human civilization.
Whole System Change: The Imperative, the Feasibility and the Key
The tenth article briefly reiterates the imperative for whole system change before moving on to affirm the feasibility for whole system change – a feasibility based upon humanity’s goodwill, dedication and ingenuity having already laid vital social, political and economic foundations for a genuinely democratic, ethical, sustainable and re-localized world system, and finally to propose that the key to whole system change is the people standing up together to claim and exercise their basic human rights – rights that are legally inviolable, but have never been expected to stand without citizen vigilance.
The Proposal’s Strategy for Whole System Change
The eleventh article lays out The strategy of the Earth Holocracy Proposal for whole system change – for “flipping the pyramid” of centralized power – in Six Steps. Firstly, the minds of the people must open to the possibility of passing on a living earth and good life to future generations – integrating the “geophysical fact” that this possibility requires “all hands on deck” – that is, the active commitment of us all. Secondly, the members of Local and Regional Communities form their civil organizations, People’s Assemblies, to claim and exercise their democratic rights. The third step spells out the proposal’s advocated method for building the new, decentralized system of participatory democracy from the grassroots. Revolutionizing the election process by the application of Sociocratic Design Principles, it is most feasible for the “flipped pyramid of Earth Holocracy” to be very swiftly built “from the new-top-down” – from the Local to the Global. By building a new decentralized system of global cooperation from the grassroots, a whole new map of the world comes into view – which is the subject matter of step four. The fifth step points readers to the fourth volume in the proposal’s series, The Holocratic Circle: Key to the World of Common Aspiration, which presents the “nuts-and-bolts”, organizational processes by which to ensure that the new, decentralized system is genuinely democratic, transparent, efficient and egalitarian, and that the people elected to various positions – by virtue of their having the required skills, knowledge, background and/or dedication to perform specific roles and functions – are accountable. The sixth step points to the proposal’s advocated methods for ensuring meaningful public oversight of the new “public service body”.
Starting to Build the Decentralized System of Real Global Democracy Now
The penultimate article champions the benefits derived from “starting to build the decentralized system of real global democracy now” – not the least of which includes, of course, “saving the world just in the nick of time”. While the proposal’s implementation certainly does represent “a game-changer” (due to the political empowerment of the people in their local and regional communities’ People’s Assemblies) and its ultimate purpose is indeed the creation of a whole new decentralized political system, this article makes it clear that the proposal advocates a smooth transition to an ethical, sustainable, “clean-and-green”, re-localized global civilization. As this transition can only be accomplished by “whole community engagement” – that is, the active cooperation of all the local and regional community’s membership – community members in local government and local business who are genuinely concerned to ensure the long-term advancement, resilience and prosperity (in truth, the survival) of their communities should appreciate that an empowered and committed citizenry is exactly what is required, inspiring their active involvement and support of the People’s Assemblies, and the channeling of available resources, funds and assistance into viable initiatives and projects.
The People are the Solution
Aah, the final article of Volume One! Yay! A great note to end on, this article looks at why “the people are the solution” to the mega-crises of our times. It presents the fantastic discoveries made by David Suzuki and Holly Dressel when they set out to research their 2008 book, Good News for a Change: How everyday people are helping the planet.
“The political turning [is] from a democracy of money to a democracy of people, from passive to active citizenship, from competition for individual advantage to cooperation for mutual advantage, from retributive justice to restorative justice, and from social order by coercion to social order by mutual responsibility and accountability.
“Less visible [than street protests or calls for reform], but even more important, is a spreading commitment to rebuild local economies and communities from the bottom up.”
David Korten, 2007, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.
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