View
215
Download
1
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Rise like Lions after slumberIn unvanquishable number,
Shake your chains to earth like dewWhich in sleep had fallen on you
Ye are many—they are few.~ Shelley
Insanity in individuals is something rare — but in
groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.
~Friedrich Nietsche
It's time to begin treating your world like you treat your toilet.
When your toilet is broken, you fix it. You don't pray that God fix it. You don't go to a protest against the injustice of its brokenness. You don't write a letter to your congressperson asking for action. You don't give to a charity for sick toilets. You don't read or write articles or books arguing that the socialist way to fix toilets is better than the capitalist way. Your toilet is important, so you don't piddle around. You JUST FIX IT.
If fixing the toilet requires more work than you can do alone, you get help fast.
If the break is complicated, you problem-solve and plan with practicality and effectiveness.
Today and every day, there are 50,000 people unnecessarily dying of poverty.
We are quickly destroying our Earth's species, forests, oceans, rivers, atmosphere and life
support systems. Economic inequality is worsening. Wars rage. By the evidence of human actions, it appears that our planet and its life forms are not as
important to us as our toilets.
We’re calling the circle now.
Next Step
Together
NST
The gift of common sense
governance
Just like three friendsdeciding which movie
to see.
Vision:
An interlinked world of organizations where the needs of individuals, groups of all kinds, and the environment are met. Everyone’s unique value and
capacity to contribute is honored and each person has a voice in the
decisions affecting them.
Mission:
To connect all groups and individuals who are in agreement with The Earth Charter into a massive, sociocratic,
decision-making structure, in order to plan and foster actions that meet our common goals efficiently, using only
peaceful, life-affirming means.
In or out?
Would you kill someonefor trying to create a
just, peaceful, sustainable world?
Yes
or
No?
Absolutely impractical!I couldn’t be
bothered!
If you would kill to maintainyour wealth or power,
you’re not in and you can’tspeak in this circle.
But
LISTEN!
Please…
don’t kill us.
We’re on your side!
We’re on your side,your deepest side.
If you could have all the
money in the worldOR
happiness, which would you choose?
How about if we give you so much love and happiness that you’ll want to give us
the army?
We love you.
Our fates are married.
We’ll make you a deal:
1. We will confer survival benefits upon you.2. You will not kill us for trying to make your life better!
Simple choice:
Kill me or
let me love you!
Deal?
Again, in or out?
I’m in!
Good…you’re like almost everybody.
“But what’s our next step together?”
Get into a group of no more than12.
Start one or join one.
12 is like a Good Friend group.
A friend helps you move.
A good friend helps you move a body.
Tell everyone you know.
Call those old friends.
Help them get into circles.
Link up.
If you don’t have much time,
don’t worry.
Someone in your groupwill have enough timeto connect you to a massive Love Army
of everyone who wantsa safe home for their
children.
Your group of 12 selects two
representatives.
Those two will represent your 12, forming a group of eight: 2 people from four
groups of 12.
Don’t worry about the overlap!
Just organize using the relationships you already
have.
The group of 8 will represent
4 groups of 12.
A maximum of 48 total.
Because of groups smaller than 12 and overlap, the average will probably be
about 36. A good number for
a weekend retreat…hint!
4 x 36 = 144The largest efficient sizefor a factory or a church.
Dunbar's number, 148, is the limit to the number of
individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable social relationships. Proponents assert that group sizes larger
than this generally require more restricted rules, laws, and enforced policies and regulations to maintain a stable
cohesion.
4 x 144 = 567A small town.
4 x 567 = about 2,400A big high school.
10,000 40,000
120,000500,000
2,000,0008,000,000
36,000,000150,00,000
.5 billion2 billion8 billion
(more than all of us)
You are a maximum of 16 circles from
the top circle.
In the Top Circle, and thenear top circles, are people
who are already there:Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Tutu,
Obama, Vaclav Havel, the World Future Council, and
the UN.
Nearly everyone who hasa clue, and is “in charge”
becomes a servant tothe one large, flat, circle
of almost all of us.
Everyone has 1/6.5 billionth of the power!
(always should have )
Probably, everyone shares the wealth equally:
$10,200 a year!
No more unnecessary death or
environmental destructionat all.
No terrorism.
No war.No healthcare crisis.
No inequity.No loneliness, because
we’ll all have to live, work,and celebrate
together!
Yummy!
Weave your life into a web of love.
~Sark
Thrust your life into the
breach of history.
Start a huge, foolish project like Noah. ~Rumi
We are calling the circle now.
in?
Sit down
in this circle
www.NextStepTogether.net
The three rules of epidemics
Gladwell describes the three rules of epidemics (or agents
of change) in The Tipping Point.
The Law of the Few: "The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social skills." Gladwell describes these people in the following ways:
Connectors are the people who link us up with the world... people with a special gift for bringing the world together.
Mavens are information specialists, or people we rely upon to connect us with new information. They accumulate knowledge, and know how to share it with others.
Salesmen are persuaders, charismatic people with powerful negotiation skills. They tend to have an indefinable trait that goes beyond what they say, that makes others want to agree with them.
The Stickiness Factor: the specific content of a message that makes it memorable and have impact.
The children's television programs Sesame Street and Blue's Clues
are specific instances of enhancing stickiness and
systematically engineering stickiness into a message.
The Power of Context: Human behavior is sensitive to and strongly influenced by its environment. As Gladwell says, "Epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur." For example, "zero tolerance" efforts to combat minor crimes such as fare-beating and vandalism on the New York subway led to a decline in more violent crimes city-wide
NST Essential Understandings
We need a mass movement:
We will use our great numbers.
How many people really will still want to kill us after we offer them utopia and happiness?
The numbers are on our side.
We simply need to connect and work TOGETHER.
Critical mass: Before acting on a specific project we will build our numbers until we have enough people organized to complete that project efficiently.
Barn-building: Quickly and in a practical sequence, we will
combine our energies and act on as many groups’ projects as
possible. I build your barn, you build mine.
Everyone's invited and expected to share an equal role: We assume that almost everyone on Earth is in the circle and
nearly ready to participate in the process of
determining and taking next steps together.
We'll stay focused on the root causes of problems: This is about actually fixing
the problems. We'll use whatever strategies we all
consent to, in order to effect big, lasting change.
We'll plan: We'll be PROactive, not reactive. Experience has
taught us that we are likely to lose battles fought on ground our
opponent chooses. Our "opponent" is the status quo system of governance in our world, in which "might makes
right", and which disregards the needs and potential contributions
of many.
We'll use only non-violent methods: The evidence of
centuries is very clear on this —violence begets violence. Hostile domination of others invites hostile retaliation and perpetuates long-term cycles of violence. We're done with
that.
Our essential strategy, Love more than anything, changes things for the better. Love is the offer no one can refuse. Love force was Ghandi’s tool, called satyagraha, "the Force which is born of Truth and Love or non-violence". Loving everyone means working for a world in which everyone thrives.
We'll start where we are:
We'll build from the relationships that already exist, connecting groups, individuals and leaders.
We'll seek the highest common denominator: We'll only act in the areas upon which a critical mass already agrees. We will deal with divisive problems like abortion only after the biosphere is safe, slavery and poverty are ended, and preventable diseases are no longer
killing masses of people.
This is simple:
We'll use common sense ideas that spread quickly.
We'll avoid artifice. This is noninvasive, natural, organic, elegant.
This is Powerful and Fast.
Things are in a dire state.We've no time for failure or fiddling around.
We'll incorporate fun:
People go in directions where they see joy, hope and pleasure.
We'll foster a culture that gives everyone a rich and wholesome life.
What is easy, usual, comfortable, fun will work
the best.
Sociocracy is key, and will guide our self-
governance:
This advanced form of democracy provides a new structure for
decision-making that can work in any group, and which assures that every person has an equal voice in
all decisions affecting them. It is fair and fast.
Boeke’s sociocracy was based on three fundamental rules:
"First, the interests of all members must be considered, the individual bowing to the
interests of the whole.Second, no action can be taken if there are
no solutions found that everyone can accept.
Third, all members must be ready to act according to these unanimous decisions."
The Four Sociocratic Principles
1. Circle organization structure
A circle is semi-autonomous, making policy decisions within its domain.
Circles have their own aims and designate functions to their own members.
Hierarchy in Sociocracy reflects different levels of work…not control
• Consent governs policy decision-making
Consent means there are no argued and paramount objections to a proposed policy decision
If the objection can’t be resolved the proposal doesn’t go forward
Not every decision requires consent
• Double Linking/Representation
The connection between two circles
A dynamic process by design
Organizations must be able to adapt appropriately to changes
Double linking allows for heterarchies
• Selection of People in open discussion to roles & responsibilities
Circles select people for roles and responsibilities in open discussion by consent
The process is highly affirming
Eliminates leadership by someone who is not trusted
No winners or losers
Cybernetics
The study of steering, based on lessons from living nervous
systems.Feedback
Decisions don't have to be perfect.
They can always be changed.
Is this proposal within your range of tolerance?
The Bush administration runs Iraq, mechanics run machines,
managers run machines. They don't listen to the people
they run.Living organisms run
themselves.
The brain in a human has 100 billion nerve cells.
There are only 6.5 billion people on earth. Each of us is much smarter than a nerve
cell.If we LISTEN to each person like the body
listens to each cell, we can run the world so we don't kill off a third of it, and impoverish
another third.
No more throw away people.
We must cherish everyone. ~Alice Walker
We are the real countries,not the boundaries drawn on mapswith the names of powerful men.~ Michael Ondaatje, The English
Patient
Recommended