[pf] Fwd. Two outstanding revolutionaries: Korten & Fresia - Richard K M

At 11:34 6/7/2000 +1200, I sent to GV NZ, a forwarded 'mail containing:
>  “it is very important to focus on our goals, to keep our eyes on the
>prize, and not be primarily 'anti' capitalism or anti anything.  But you
>fall into a trap when you talk about _an alternative, and when you look for
>your answers in alternative _ideologies such as socialism.  Why should
>everyone and all societies adopt a single new system?  And why cannot our
>new systems be organic and evolve?  Why do they need to be defined in
>advance by an ideology?

**  Here's one worth at least skimming by PF-ers, also from: 

Richard K. Moore <richard@cyberjournal.org>
Subject: cj#1100,rn> Two outstanding revolutionaries: Korten & Fresia

Dear friends,

On Tuesday night, in Dublin, I had the pleasure of joining David Korten for
dinner and then attending his lecture, sponsored by FEASTA (Foundation for
the Economics of Sustainability).  Upon return to Wexford, I took up a book
by Jerry Fresia, "Toward an American Revolution, Exposing the Constitution
and other Illusions".  Both of these experiences were eye-opening and
inspiring.

---

Around the dinner table, besides David and myself, were Richard Douthwaite
(author: "The Growth Illusion"), John Jopling (Project Manager: Sustainable
London Trust) and some FEASTA organizers whose names unfortunately I did
not record.  (:<)  When it came my turn to introduce myself, I said the
topic that interests me is _strategy -- How do we get from here to there?
How can we succeed in overthrowing capitalist domination?  People kept
coming back to that theme during the discussion, and expressed an interest
in further dialog.  

The lecture itself was at a deeper level than I had anticipated.  David
(author of "When Corporations Rule the World" and "The Post-Corporate
World: Life After Capitalism") started off by talking about the meaning of
the Seattle demonstrations.  They were about "democracy vs. corporate
rule", he said, and they signalled a transition "from separate movements to
a movement of the whole".  This movement, he said, represents "an epic
struggle between humanity and its institutions, between life and money".  I
like the way he gets to the heart of the matter.

He talked about some research which identifies three basic types of people
in the US population: 'modernists', 'traditionalists', and 'cultural
creatives'.  'Modernists' are more or less what we'd call yuppies -- their
attention centered on themselves and getting ahead.  'Traditionalists' care
about family and traditional values, are often religious, and may have
xenophobic or racist tendencies.  'Cultural creatives' tend to be more
flexible in their beliefs, may have a spritual orientation, and are
generally the ones organizing the current movement.  David was optimistic,
because the trends seem to show a steady increase in the percentage of
cultural creatives.

---

I find this to be a useful categorization, more useful than 'left' vs
'right'.  But I disagree with an interpretation that puts cultural
creatives in the role of 'good guys', and the rest as a 'problem to be
overcome'.  It is 'cultural creatives' like Adam Smith, for example, who
invented capitalism in the first place, and many of those (eg, Kissinger &
Huntington) shaping current global policy also fall into that category.
Shiva, Hindu god of creation, is also the god of destruction.  Innovation
is a multi-edged sword.

In fact it is the _traditionalists whose world view is most aligned with
the principles of sustainability, community, local sovereignty, and a
stable world.  Republicans have managed to control the traditionalist vote,
not because of an alignment of interests, but because of lying politicians
who _pretend to be religious and to hold traditionalist values, and who
paint a liberal bogeyman to arouse traditionalist fears.  Racism is not
inbred in traditionalists, rather American culture has historically stirred
up racism, so as to divide the people against themselves.  Politically
speaking, traditionalists are a sleeping giant -- when they awake the
revolution will begin in earnest.  And after the revolution, they will be
the ones who contribute most to societal stability.

Modernists are poltically neutral -- their attention is focused on adapting
to whatever system prevails.  They won't help the revolution much, and they
won't hinder it much either.  

So what about us cultural creatives who want to end capitalism and achieve
a livable world?  What is our best revolutionary strategy?  I suggest that
one of the most important things we can work on is building alliances and
building community with traditionalists. In the process of building
alliances, people learn to listen to one another and to identify their
underlying common objectives, and this leads to a sense of community.  This
kind of community building is the seed out of which can grow a
revolutionary movement, a civil society, and a democratic process.
Traditionalists are all around you, you don't need to go off to a
demonstration to meet them.

This is one area where PGA (People's Global Action) has it all wrong. In
order to 'join' PGA, one must subscribe to a litmus test of liberal
beliefs.  I don't object to PGA's list of beliefs, in fact I share them.
But they are designed to exclude traditionalists.  By insisting on
ideological purity, PGA is cutting itself off from the mainstream of
revolution.

---

David Korten then went on to present two diagrams, 'The Civil Society' and
'The Capitalist Society'.  They were brilliant; I hope I can remember them
correctly.  The Capitalist Society has an elite oligarchy at the top, with
power going downward, through bought-off politicians and corporate-serving
institutions, with powerless individuals at the bottom.  The value-system
is monetary and the state is the agency maintaining order, by virtue of its
monopoly on the legitimate use of coercive power.

The civil society diagram is quite different.  Power starts at the bottom,
based on a spirtitual connection with the Earth, and with place.  The heart
of civil society is the _culture, which is neither individual nor state,
but rather a community asset passed on from one generation to the next.
Economics are an extension of culture, and the model is one of
mutual-benefit exchange rather than accumulation of money.  Order is part
of the culture, not something forced from above.

In Ireland it is easy to see such an organic culture, and it is easy to see
as well the corrosive power of capitalism at work undermining that culture,
with its pokeymans, playstations, and overpriced logo clothing.  How a
sense of culture is to be revived in a melting-pot nation such as the USA
is a bit more problematic, but the civil-society model nonetheless seems a
good starting point for characterizing the kind of democratic, sustainable
society we are seeking.

Social change comes about when three factors exist in the right proportions
in the population: (1) discomfort with what exists, (2) vision of what can
be, and (3) a means to get from here to there.  David has articulated (1)
and (2) brilliantly.  I suggest that rethinking the role of traditionalists
will be his key to getting a handle on (3).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike Townsend, a teacher of social work at the University of Illinois, sent
me a copy of Jerry Fresia's "Toward an American Revolution, Exposing the
Constitution and other Illusions" -- and I'll be eternally grateful.  This
is a 'must read' for Americans of all persuasions.  I've seen some of the
same themes in Chomsky, and in Zinn, but never have I seen the truth of
American history told so directly and with such authority -- and in only
230 pages.

Fresia lists the 35 primary framers of the Constitution, devoting a short
paragraph to each, revealing that nearly all were speculators, bankers, or
large landowners.  Their stated intent was to ensure that power would
reside with the wealthy, and that popular will would not be allowed to
interfere.  A few of the 35 wanted more real democracy, and most of them
left the Constitutional Convention early in disgust.  

Fresia quotes Francis Jennings, who captures the real meaning of the first
American Revolution better than I've ever seen it expressed:

    "When England invaded America -- what we usually call
    'settling' it -- the Crown lawyers had consulted their only
    precedents to rationalize the position of the new American
    outposts in the structure of the empire.  Each colony became
    in legal theory a collective lord analogous to the barons
    who had marched into Ireland.  When the Americans turned
    against the Crown they continued an ancient tradition of
    lords who have marched too far and grown too powerful to
    accept royal orders gladly.  In this pespective the 
    American Revolution was a barons' revolt."

Fresia explains that there were two separate movements to overcome Royal
rule.  On the one hand there was this elite-sponsored revolt, whose goal
was to get rid of the Crown, but retain elite domination in the new
republic.  On the other hand there was a popular movement -- more in tune
with general public opinion -- whose goal was to end elite domination
altogether, the local variety as well as the Royal.  The barons' revolt was
based in the coastal trading cities, where the power structure resembled
Korten's 'capitalist society' model.  The popular revolt was based in the
inland rural areas, where Korten's 'civil society' model applied.  

Thus the struggle between the civil society (democracy, community, local
control) and the capitalist society (elite domination, materialism,
hierarchical control) began in America at least two centuries ago.  It is
time to rejoin the struggle.

rkm
---

Mike Townsend tells me that Fresia's book has received almost no public
attention.  Fearing it might be unavailable, I checked amazon.com and got
the following entries:

        1.  Toward an American Revolution : Exposing the Constitution 
            and Other Illusions
        by Jerry Fresia. Paperback (September 1988) 
        Our Price:$15.20
        You Save: $3.80 (20%) - Back Ordered
        
        2.  Toward an American Revolution : Exposing the Constitution 
            and Other Illusions
        by Jerry Fresia. Hardcover (September 1988) 
        Our Price:$35.00 - Special Order

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