NOTE ABOUT THIS WEBPAGE: THIS TEXT COMES FORM AN APPLICATION FOR COLLABORATION WITH THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ON CREATING A PILOTE-EXPERIMENTAL SUSTAINABLE HOLISTIC HEALTH ECO-VILLAGE ON THE WEST COAST IN ORDER TO MEASURE TO WHAT DEGREE FEW MONETARY RESOURCES ARE NEEDED TO SATISFY BASIC HUMAN NEEDS.
Affordable housing for all Americans, French people and Planetarians via a cordial Franco-American entente and the creation of a new institution: sustainable eco villages and neighborhoods.
" The world has witnessed the rise and fall of monarchy, the rise and fall of dictatorship, the rise and fall of feudalism, the rise and fall of communism, and the rise of democracy; and now we are witnessing the fall of democracy... the theme of the evolution of life continues, sweeping away with it all that does not blossom into perfection. (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi)
Today is reminiscent of the massive unemployment waves of the Great Depression, (e.g. in January 2009, there were half of a million lay-offs), of the massive slums of the Hoovervilles on the 1930s, of the massive depreciation of homes (over 20 percent), the massive restriction of "demand". And "supply". Fear is undermining Trust. During the dark times of the 1930s, economist Keynes convinced F.D.R to not abandon the People via a free for all, laissez-faire Smith-type of economy where the sharks get indigestion from eating too many defenseless sardines. That if Ricardo was not entirely right in his division of labor theory, he Keynes was completely wrong in his recommendations to infuse capital into the system, more regulation and intervention in Government and greater State assistance to the masses. Though today's macroeconomic circumstances are different from those of the 1930s, there are many symptoms which are alike, most of which are worsening public health and the People's ability to satisfy their basic needs. In this century, after over twenty years of delusional and self-serving "deregulation" and "laissez-faire" dogma, economist Nobel laureat Stilgitz (and Columbia University Professor) sums up the facts on this issue.
"The truth is most of the individual mistakes boil down to just one: a belief that markets are self-adjusting and that the role of government should be minimal. Looking back at that belief during hearings this fall on Capitol Hill, Alan Greenspan said out loud, "I have found a flaw." Congressman Henry Waxman pushed him, responding, "In other words, you found that your view of the world, your ideology, was not right; it was not working." "Absolutely, precisely," Greenspan said. The embrace by America - and much of the rest of the world - of this flawed economic philosophy made it inevitable that we would eventually arrive at the place we are today." http://www.truthout.org/121008R See also in www.christianforgovernor2008.com the link "booksrepublic.html", an analysis of four recent books on the economy (including from Galbraith's son) which also contribute in analyzing the economic situation.
In this perspective, the Government has attempted to "jump start" the economy with an Economic Recovery and Investment Plan to achieve a "normative critical mass" in the economy via different management financial tools the Obama experts are putting in place (and-or consolidating) such as low Federal Reserve interest rates to encourage loans, huge capital infusions (liquidity) in the credit and finance system (hundreds of billions of green dollars, the banks' oxygen lifeline), the creation of Authorities which will buy distressed (or "toxic") assets from banks, bolstering federal securities, generating strong stimuli to the private sector (business being the engine of mainstream growth), and creating some "safety nets" and humanitarian intervention to the more vulnerable sectors of American Society (including the housing sector).
However, we are still faced with increasing obstacles insofar as the meeting of the Nation's "basic needs" is concerned. American households are relunctant to borrow, even at low interest rates, banks are relunctant to lend, credit is getting scarse, people are getting scared, 401k old-age security is collapsing, the IMF (international monetary Fund) is not offering any credible solution, crime is increasing, as are poverty and unemployment, and confidence is eroding.
Thus, it is reasonable to envisage that the era of super-consumerism, irresponsible finance and vanity shopping (possibly the "last stage" of capitalism) is coming to an end. That the time is ripening for a "Civilization (or paradigm) Shift", if only because the last 10,000 years have repetitively shown us that mercantile and military civilizations can not indefinitely withstand the passage of time. As there does come a time when the Civilization process becomes irreversible, where wise leaders need to see ahead and better plan the birthing of a New Age. Thus, the time for the nurturing a holistic civilization based on sustainable villages and Reason may have arrived.
A U.S ambassador to France can be instrumental in that he or she can contribute to at least speak about holistic health and sustainability village structures as the best scientifically proven social organization which can meet human basic needs and boost dignity, the best protection during social and international crises.
Not only will this initiative help to build the Peace among Nations and restore franco-American deep friendship (from rurality and grassroots up, France deep down has always been "village and rural" based), but it would greatly alleviate the present liberal economy from its inherent flaws, from its infernal claws. Moreover, this project is in consonance with President Obama's "neighborhood communities" project.
"Obama and Biden will create 20 Promise Neighborhoods in areas that have high levels of poverty and crime and low levels of student academic achievement in cities across the nation. The Promise Neighborhoods will be modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone, which provides an entire neighborhood with a full network of services from birth to college, including early childhood education, youth violence prevention efforts, and after-school activities".
From my understanding of Human evolution, the building of eco-villages and sustainable "enlightened" communities would be an interesting project to promote in France and Europe, if only because there have been (before Hitler's War) and continues to spread many thousands of these eco sustainable villages whose structures are a direct response to the economic crisis.
Ecovillages and sustainable settlements are human-scale, full-featured settlements in which human activities are integrated into the natural world with a low carbon imprint, in a way that is supportive of healthy human development, and which can be successfully continued into the indefinite future, notwithstanding man made and natural catastrophes.
In this realm, President Obama could propose via his French ambassador a pilot experimental eco village project where both Americans and French pioneers would build in the two countries at least one sustainable "neighborhood" holistic health proto eco village (from 500 to 5000 pioneers, maximum) and monitor its progress in terms of the indicators constitutive of social happiness (lack of disease, art, joy, productivity, creativity, low carbon impact, relative self sufficiency etc). Please click here for a visual illustration of this sustainable eco village movement.
And please click here for the Reasoning behind this project.
This measure could be organically tied to the measure on the building of human rights and duties light-house centers in all towns, a measure i emphasized during my gubernatorial campaigning, endorsed by over 16,000 citizen-voters.
With the President's support and enthusiasm, a U.S ambassador to France could also spread the idea of a universal federation of eco communities as a way to mitigate poverty and militate in favor of prosperity and peace. In the same way that a human body has trillions of cells, all inter-connected, all in vibrational resonance, in the same way, all sustainable villages could eventually be federalized within a universal trans-frontier structure.
Although we are far from this state of human affairs and it is up to grass root movements to configure this social phenomenon and despite the fact that the State system and the divisive forces therein still have much life to it, nothing forbids a cordial co-existence between State rivalries based on dependencies and intermediaries and eco villages based on autonomy, eco sustainability, the deep respect of human rights and duties and unity.
In this context, the very finality of the mercantile-scientific, industrial and military civilizations President Eisenhower strongly denounced before his departure is to enfeeble the People and keep them away from the ideal of "enlightened self sovereignty". To make them dependant, uncritical, diseased, addicted to devitalized foods, to prescribed drugs, to fear, television and routine. Unjust and arbitrary political systems feel less threatened by manipulated, dis-eased and stressed out citizens. Noam Chomsky may have identified one of its causes.
"Personally, I'm in favor of democracy, which means that the central institutions of society have to be under popular control. Now, under capitalism, we can't have democracy by definition. Capitalism is a system in which the central institutions of society are in principle under autocratic control. Thus, a corporation or an industry is, if we were to think of it in political terms, fascist; that is, it has tight control at the top and strict obedience has to be establishedat every level--there's little bargaining, a little give and take,but the line of authority is perfectly straightforward. Just as I'm opposed to political fascism, I'm opposed to economic fascism. I think that until the major institutions of society are under the popular control of participants and communities, it's pointless to talk about democracy." Noam Chomsky
This is why our best defense, our best argument against "controling" tyranny, diseases and vainty is to be healthy, educated and aware "communatarians". In this perspective, of all of what characterizes Spiritual & Holistic Civilizations, holistic health and eco-sustainability are the two common threads which weave human excellence and vital autonomy from coast to coast. An element of which is eco-construction. (Please click here for a review on this question).
"Obama and Biden will invest in rural small businesses and fight to expand high-speed Internet access. They will improve rural schools and attract more doctors to rural areas. And they will implement a bold climate change and energy independence plan that will revitalize rural America through new investments in renewable energy production, including wind, solar, and biofuel investments." (President's agenda)
What President Obama and Vice President Biden write reflects what is going on in terms of the development of the holistic health and sustainability Civilization.
“I'm in this race for the same reason that I fought for jobs for the jobless and hope for the hopeless on the streets of Chicago; for the same reason I fought for justice and equality as a civil rights lawyer; for the same reason that I fought for Illinois families for over a decade… That's why I'm running, Democrats -- to keep the American Dream alive for those who still hunger for opportunity, who still thirst for equality.” Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA
And once Americans are better aware of the European and French sustainable village movement, then it will be easier to help low income Americans adjust to these challenging times via the edification and consolidation of greater sustainable living.
A lifestyle which will significantly bring down medical bills, violence and costly anomia while increasing education, dignity and the peace among Nations.
Half of one billion dollars devoted to this project would suffice for this "proven method" of meeting one's basic needs.
" Obama and Biden will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce. (...) Obama and Biden will create a program to directly engage disadvantaged youth in energy efficiency opportunities to strengthen their communities, while also providing them with practical skills in this important high-growth career field." (The President's agenda).
And not only "yes we can" but "yes we are" happy to see that the President's Father came from such a small traditional village. In Kenya.
" As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more." President Obama (Inauguration, Jan 20th, 2009).
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