Chapter One:
Systemic
The Machine vs the Community: What's Breaking Our World and How We Can Fix It
Summary:
Our world has big problems — from unfair workplaces to struggling families to environmental destruction. These issues all come from the same root: a system ("the Machine") that teaches us to step on others to get ahead. This system runs on autopilot in our minds, making us see life as a competition where, for personal gain, we dominate others with less power and submit to those with more power.
But there's hope. Good people everywhere are already working to fix things — running worker-owned companies, helping the homeless, building stronger communities, and fighting for justice. Right now, these helpers work separately. This essay suggests they could join forces to create something powerful: a movement where everyone has a real voice and power is shared fairly.
This movement would fight for basic needs (like living wages and affordable healthcare), strong communities, responsible businesses, and a government that serves the people instead of powerful wealthy elites. It would start small, with groups of people helping each other break free from the urge to dominate and the willingness to submit. As more groups form and join together, they could build enough power to grow a movement that makes real change.
The choice is ours: keep playing the old game of winners and losers, or build something better together.
Our world is broken. Millions hate going to work, stuck with bosses who treat them like tools instead of humans. Kids go to schools that teach them to fight each other for grades instead of helping each other learn. Families barely pay their bills while the rich get richer. These aren’t separate problems — they’re all connected.
Society pounds one message into our heads: step on others to get ahead; life is a game of winners and losers. This poison seeps into everything — our jobs, our schools, our neighborhoods, even our families. Most of us don't even see it; it runs on autopilot in our minds; it’s just "the way things are."
But it doesn't have to be this way. All around us, good people work to make things better. They help those in need, stand up for what's right, and try to fix what's wrong. The problem? These helpers usually work alone instead of together, and when they do team up, ego-driven power struggles tear them apart. If we could overcome these divisions and join forces, we could build something powerful — a new way where everyone has a voice, power is shared fairly, and a movement of millions transforms society from the bottom up.
The Crisis We Face
In Our Social Lives (Chapter 2):
Our society is poisoned by contempt. Every day, people use cruel labels like "white trash," "welfare queen," "loser," and "illegals" to make others feel less than fully human. These aren't just mean words — they're weapons that crush people's spirits. Meanwhile, we worship shallow things like looks, money, and status. Your bank accountmatters more than your heart. Gaining a higher rank is most important.
The messages hammer us daily:
"Only the strong survive"
“Someone must be in charge”
"Look out for number one"
"Winners never quit, losers never win"
"Life's a competition — eat or be eaten"
"The poor deserve what they get"
These aren't just sayings — they're chains around our minds that turn us against each other and make us see other humans as enemies to fight or stepping stones to use. Before we know it, we're trapped in this cycle of feeling better or worse than others. We dominate the less powerful when we can and submit to the more powerful when we can’t.
In Our Personal Lives (Chapter 3):
Fear and anger eat away at our souls. When people feel threatened and powerless:
They lash out at anyone they see as "below" them
They suck up to anyone they see as "above" them
They think their worth comes from their paycheck and the stuff they own
They crush others just to feel better about themselves
They stop seeing other people as human beings
The human spirit gets twisted. People don’t respect others and don’t really respect themselves. Even people who want to help others often act like they're better than the people they help. Some churches preach that being rich means God loves you more. Some spiritual teachers tell their followers to give up their power and just do what they're told.
In Our Culture (Chapter 4):
Society’s media tears down our humanity piece by piece:
TV and movies make the rich look like heroes and make fun of the poor
Social media turns friendships into a popularity contest
Songwriters are superficial and ignore social and political issues
Ads tell us we're worthless unless we buy more consumer goods
News outlets rarely examine root causes and treat conflicts like a boxing match
National TV covers news very briefly; on local TV if it bleeds, it leads
Entertainment glorifies violence
In Business and Work (Chapter 5):
The economy has become a weapon against human dignity:
Big companies crush workers' unions with threats and expensive lawyers
Workers get treated like tools that can be thrown away
Companies hide billions in tax money while schools fall apart
Businesses ship jobs overseas, killing whole towns
Family farmers get forced off land they've worked for generations
In How We Treat Our Planet (Chapter 6):
We're at war with Earth itself:
Ancient forests get cut down in a matter of days
Our oceans drown in plastic waste
Poor neighborhoods choke on pollution
Climate change threatens to make parts of Earth unlivable
Species die out while we argue about whether there's even a problem
Native peoples watch sacred lands get destroyed
In Politics (Chapter 7):
Money and power undermine democracy:
The super-rich buy elections like they're shopping for cars
Politicians serve the rich and enrich themselves
Wealthy elites monopolize power and spread economic insecurity
We're taught to hate our neighbors while the rich rob us all
Insecure citizens fight each other while the real thieves walk free
True believers are more about defeating the “enemy” than making positive gains
Resentful people hope for a strongman who can fix everything
Nations start wars for profit and power
The Big Picture
All these problems are tied together. Society integrates our institutions, our cultures, and ourselves as individuals into a single, self-perpetuating, top-down social system: the Machine.
No one person runs this Machine. It grinds away even when we replace its managers. Power flows from the top down, and everyone scrambles to climb higher, looking down on those "below" them, bowing down to those "above" them, and going along to get along.
The Machine tells us anyone can make it if they're smart and work hard. That's a lie. People born with advantages have a much easier path, and they make sure their children and friends get those same advantages.
We all keep the Machine running, often without knowing it. Every time we buy cheap clothes made by exploited workers, or even when we vote, we feed the Machine. We all play its game, and we all get played. A would-be dictator like Donald Trump, who loves the word “dominate,” would not be so successful if most Americans did not have strong domineering tendencies.
What's Already Working
Here's the good news: caring people everywhere fight to make things better. They:
Help people in need
Build stronger communities
Stand up against injustice
Find ways to work as equals
Create ways to share power
These helpers include:
Workers who own their companies, where everyone gets a voice
Volunteers at food banks and homeless shelters
Groups creating dignified homes for elderly people
Teachers who use ways to help all students thrive emotionally
Neighbors joining forces to solve local problems
Here are some real examples that work:
Programs helping older folks stay in their homes while getting good care
Communities where people share spaces and make decisions together
Small nursing homes that feel like real homes, not warehouses
Neighborhoods where residents help plan what gets built
Schools that teach kids not just facts but how to be good people
This informal "compassionate humanity community" makes a real difference. But right now, it’s scattered — like drops of water that could become a mighty river if they came together.
Imagining a Better Future
What if all these helpers joined forces? Just imagine: They strengthen this informal community into a powerful, organized Community — a new bottom-up social system where everyone has a voice, people hold leaders accountable, and power is shared fairly.
The bottom-up Community grows stronger as regular people work together from the ground up, which helps balance the top-down Machine. This creates a system of fair rules that everyone respects — like how we all stop at red lights because we know it keeps everyone safe. Take labor unions as an example: union representatives listen to workers' concerns, work with management to make improvements, and even get seats on company boards where big decisions are made. This example serves as a model for others throughout society. This bottom-up Community doesn’t completely replace the top-down Machine; both systems exist side by side and balance each other as each has its own strengths.
Social and political activists grow a democratic, member-controlled movement with members who agree on three basic truths:
Every person deserves respect, safety, economic security, and a real voice in decisions that affect their life
We help each other become better people by breaking free from the urge to boss others and bow down for personal gain
We make our leaders answer to the people they serve
In this better world:
Everyone Can Meet Their Basic Needs
Every person can get a job that pays enough to live on
Everyone can see a doctor when they're sick
People can find homes they can afford
Parents can find good childcare
Workers have unions to fight for their rights
Small family farms stay in business
No one lives in fear of becoming homeless
Communities Are Stronger
Police officers know the people they serve
Students help decide what and how they learn
Local farmers' markets keep money in the community
People have time for art, family, and helping others
Anyone who wants help with drugs or mental health can get it
Work Becomes Fair
Companies help their communities, not just chase profits
Workers evaluate supervisors as well as vice versa
Workers help run their companies
Team members give honest feedback to their leaders
More workers own their businesses together
Full-time work means enough pay to live on
Prices stay fair so everyone can afford what they need
People Treat Each Other Well
Families decide things together
Individuals check in on how everyone's feeling
People really listen to each other
Everyone gets respect
People work out conflicts by talking honestly
Government Works for Everyone
Politicians meet face-to-face with voters regularly
Regular citizens study big problems and suggest fixes
America works with other countries as partners, not bullies
Compassionate laws that most Americans support get passed
Money doesn’t control our elections
The Movement Acts Together
This isn't just talk — it's about building and using real power. The movement:
Bgins meetings with quiet time — a moment to get grounded and remember why we're fighting. Once a month, we have a Holistic Check-in, during which people share their struggles, victories, and efforts to break free from the Machine's training.
Builds a Purple Alliance that mobilizes millions of Americans to fight for laws most of us already want. Instead of letting politicians divide us, we force them to pass legislation that serve the people, not the powerful. When they resist, we're ready with protests, boycotts, and peaceful civil disobedience.
Makes elected officials face the people in monthly Community Dialogues. Every Representative, Senator, and the President answer for their actions. No more hiding behind speeches — real people, chosen at random, speaking truth to power.
It holds National Conventions where Community representatives from across the country sharpen their strategies and update their goals. This movement isn't run from the top down — it grows and changes based on what working people learn in real struggles.
How We Get Started
This fight begins with three simple steps:
A small group of people says: "Enough." They help each other break free from the Machine's poison — the urge to dominate others and the habit of bowing down to power for personal gain. In this way, they overcome the ego-driven power trips that weaken so many groups. They stand together, grow together, and fight for change together. Most importantly, they prove another way is possible.
Word spreads. Others see this group working together with mutual respect and shared power — no bosses, no followers, just equals fighting for change. More groups form. The spark catches fire.
These groups join forces, bringing together fighters and dreamers from every corner of the country. They hold a national convention that launches something new: not just another organization, but a movement to change the world.
This might sound like a dream. Maybe it is. But dreams have power. Even talking about these ideas plants seeds in people's minds. Some seeds might grow into small changes — a fairer workplace here, a stronger community there. Or they might burst into something bigger — a movement powerful enough to shake the Machine to its core.
We don't know exactly what will happen. The Machine won't give up power easily. But we know this: every time someone stands up instead of backing down, every time people join hands instead of turning against each other, every time we choose solidarity over selfishness — we get one step closer to the world we need.
The choice is ours. We can stay trapped in the Machine's game of domination and submission for personal gain, or we can start building something new — something human, something fair, something worth fighting for.
What side are you on?