Our Worldview
Building a Systemic Reform Movement
The desire for wealth, power, and status in order to dominate and the willingness to submit to oppressive power is society’s driving force. This pattern permeates every arena: cultural, social, personal, economic, environmental, and political — national, and international.
These dynamics reinforce each other, producing our prevailing self-perpetuating social system — the System. This hyper-competitive, hyper-individualistic system pressures people to conform, forces many to obey against their will, fragments society, scapegoats “enemies,” blames individuals for social problems, and foments revenge and the wish to punish.
Changing this system fundamentally will require a new central mission: to transform our dominant social system — the System — into a just and compassionate community that serves humanity, the environment, and life itself.
A systemic reform movement committed to this mission could advance simultaneous, synergistic reforms in every arena. This holistic and systemic transformation would address the whole person and the whole society, reform existing social structures, and establish new ones.
This shift would put wealth, power, and status in their proper place, second — as a means to a higher end, not the goal. It would replace the dominate/submit paradigm with equitable relationships and community-centered values while accepting that some domination is justified.
Humans are at their best when they set aside self-interest and serve others. We do what’s right because it’s right. We take care of ourselves to better care for others. We avoid both self-sacrifice and selfishness. Later, we may feel gratified about our actions, and others may praise us, but that’s icing on the cake.
Serving others is primary. We rise above self-centeredness and become other-centered. Individuals, families, communities, and nations can commit themselves, first of all, to the common good.
Facing reality is essential, but as individuals and in groups, we’re reluctant to admit offenses, failures, weaknesses, and mistakes. Apologies and compensation are even more difficult. We prefer to be comfortable and decline to examine ourselves honestly. Snapping out of self-centeredness is not easy.
Compassionate humanity community members promote justice, compassion, and democratic equality. We improve ourselves, unlearn oppressive social conditioning, support each other’s self-improvement, respect diverse worldviews, and acknowledge the equal worth of all individuals. We promote collaboration, cooperation, mutual empowerment, relational equality, and co-equal partnerships. We oppose unjust discrimination based on others’ identities, aim to ensure that basic needs are met for all, and create sustainable new social structures.
Compassionate action challenges oppressive structures and policies and nurtures personal development through acts of kindness and helping those in need. The System inflames fear, anger, and division. We cultivate trust, love, and solidarity.
Compassionate people spread empathy, appreciate diversity, “call in” rather than “call out” those who offend or violate others, and prevent suffering with structural reforms. Working together, we build a more just and compassionate world. Now’s the time for us to unite and develop a systemic reform movement.
The backbone of this movement could be a network of small teams whose members affirm the movement’s mission and support each other with their efforts. These teams could become tight-knit learning communities that facilitate peer learning, mutual support, collaborative teamwork, community service, and political action. They could set aside time regularly to report to each other about their efforts to unlearn dominate-and-submit conditioning.
With collaborative leadership, the movement could work towards shared goals while respecting everyone's needs and views. Democratic teams could foster cooperation, seek consensus when feasible, and empower workers to hold their managers accountable. They could invite participants to agree on a problem to target and work together to define and implement solutions. A commitment to nonviolence would strengthen relationships and advance lasting change.
Pragmatic idealism combines vision and realism to achieve meaningful change through incremental steps, without presenting these gains as sufficient. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change” is a useful guide. “Outside” activists and “inside” allies can both contribute to achieving winnable goals. Systemic reform activists could grow a sense of community by meeting neglected needs, volunteering with social service agencies, organizing enriching social and educational activities, and providing mutual aid.
This vision is not a blueprint and will never be fully achieved as presented here. Rather, it presents values, principles, and concrete goals that point us in a positive direction.