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In 1863, Abraham Lincoln in his famous Gettysburg Address proclaimed:
"...that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom,
and that
government of the people, by the people, for the people,
shall not perish from the earth."
The American people, and the rest of the world, both deserve and need this ideal form of government. But instead we have what may be called:
government of the people, by the political class, for the special interests.
The present condition of our society calls for a major reconstruction -- a Great Awakening for the new millennium. Our numerous economic, social and environmental problems persist and worsen. We do have the intellectual capital and the economic and spiritual resources to solve these problems. But our powerseeking and powerholding politicians are evidently unwilling to take the needed actions. Accordingly, concerned citizens must unite and effect the needed changes. The social movement Government for the People is designed to effect the needed changes for our society. A powerful grassroots efforts can be mounted, to reach out to the millions of concerned citizens ready and able to bring about the needed improvements to our society and the world.
Superficially at least, things have never been better in America. But if we look closely, we find many undesirable conditions. A prosperous democracy should not have a disillusioned citizenry, which stays out of the political process. Nor should we have the kind of problems that diminish our well-being as a society. Is it desirable that 40 million Americans are not covered by health insurance? Or the U.S., with 5% of the world's population, will soon have two million convicts in prisons, which will be an astonishing 25% of those who are incarcerated for crimes committed in the entire world? The majority of the eligible voters did not vote in the 1996 presidential election -- only 49% voted. The percentage of voters in the 1998 congressional election was less then 40% of those eligible. (For a summation of these problems see the Common Good Covenant.)
In the past, social movements have emerged to achieve needed social change. A
social movement is an alliance of people and organizations that share a dissatisfaction
with the present state of affairs and have a vision of a better human order. The
slavery abolition movement of the United States is probably the best example of a
successful social movement.
"Social movements are collective actions in which the populace is alerted, educated
and mobilized, over years and decades, to challenge the powerholders and the whole
society to redress social problems or grievances, and restore critical social values."
Social movements have played a prominent part in American history. The abolition
of slavery, women's right to vote and the civil rights movement in the '60s are among
the examples of successful social movements. Accordingly, it is feasible to develop
a theory and action plan for the social movement needed to abolish the political
class and its mismanagement of the human condition.
The magnitude of the effort needed to bring about the political changes requires
the participation of many individuals and organizations. A mega-coalition
-- a coalition of coalitions -- will be established to enroll the assistance of concerned
citizens and organizations. The Common
Good Coalition will support the Government for the People social movement.
The purpose of the proposed social movement will be the world-wide establishment
of the next level of human societies, the Common Good State.
The currently existing form of governments in all the nation-states of the world
is the traditional state. While this form of government did bring about human civilization
and progress, it is now in a condition of decline. All too frequently powerholders
-- accurately called a political class -- are mostly interested in gaining and keeping
power, at the expense of their societies. This mindset brought about in the 20th
century disastrous wars, genocides and other horrors. With the emergence of mass
destruction weapons the 21st century could become even more destructive, unless preventive
actions are taken. The common good state would abolish the world-wide political class,
and expand human progress throughout our planet Earth. (See the Common
Good State description.)
A non-profit educational organization, the Human
Progress Network, is the organizer of the movement. As a think tank, the
organization conducted research into national and world problems. Concluding that
our many problems can only solved through a global approach, the Government for the
People movement was initiated.
There are also many associations and coalitions of concerned citizens interested
in social, economic, political and other problems, including women's and children's
issues, peace and justice, and environmental concerns. By incorporating their reasonable
solutions to our problems, their support will be obtained for the successful implementation
of the goals of the Government for the People movement.
There will be many ways you will be able to help. You can provide financial support, to build up the capabilities of the movement. You can volunteer to spread the message to family and friends. You can make suggestions and proposals to make our movement more effective.
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