In the days ahead, the Spring Statement that will be made to the Westminster Parliament by the UK Chancellor is likely to usher in mayhem of a kind we have never seen. Cuts to the Civil Service and Welfare Payments sit alongside taxation policies announced in the October ’23 Budget that should be flying red flags for many more of us than those who are ready to see, warning us about the mess the UK – and the World – are now in.
All for the love of money
The financial, economic or monetary system we have was designed by people who understood the following:
The power of money isn’t in the value of money itself. The power of money lies in what people without money can be convinced to believe the value of having money will be.
In the period running up to the ending of the Gold Standard, the launch of FIAT, GDP and tools like the (EU) Common Market, failing politicians who were desperate for control, power and the money they needed to spend on getting (re)elected, were easy to convince that FIAT and the tools that MMT and Neoliberalism had value, for us all.
The creation of a money system that wasn’t backed by gold or linked to anything with tangible value opened a world of possibilities.
Because at the bottom line of the whole balance sheet, money was always going to be worth whatever the people controlling that money said it was.
Naturally, the politicians didn’t really think about who would actually be in control of the money, as the real political pay-off was the way that the creation of money by banks and finance houses kept the true workings of everything far away from public view.
Creating the myth of credibility within shared systems
Through the adoption and regard of GDP as an accepted international economic benchmarking system, any money or unit of currency created by a private bank or finance house and introduced to the economy as loans or finance can be counted over and over multiple times.
Every unit (Pound, Dollar, Euro etc) adds another multiple of its original created value as it passes through each transaction or link in a supply chain, with the monitoring and publication of GDP recording output and growth that was really never there.
Total GDP figures are themselves then used to devalue or rather hide the debt that politicians incur through public spending, which is published as a percentage of what is required to be permanently growing GDP.
Traditional public spending is itself ‘dead money’. Because public service supply chains are typically short and revolve around providing public servants income and earnings.
The attraction for politicians to let the MMT genie out of the bottle was that they would be able to use money that they could borrow, rather than what they would have to obtain through raising taxes, to gain and maintain their power by buying votes. All with policies that they would not be able to afford or win support for in any other way.
The deregulation that was necessary – presented to all of us as ‘free markets’ – was never about freedom of small business in the sense that many even today believe.
Free markets are about giving freedom to big corporations and financial titans to set their own rules and control everything to do with money.
The freedom they have gained through deregulation has then dictated what the money they created can then buy. So that they could do whatever they want, take whatever they want and control whatever they want.
They knew that in time, the bogus system they created would eventually allow them to take over anything and everything that offered independence to anyone or anything that could provide a morally legitimate alternative to what they dictate would be our culture and way of life.
The big downside for every part of government and the ambitious and inept political classes who have blundered along whilst this has all unfolded using their signatures, is that they themselves have been manipulated, controlled and duped by the same interests that we have been conditioned by all along.
Politicians now go cap in hand to borrow from money creators who are always willing to use more of the false money that has enriched them to buy up the bonds the Government Treasury ‘sells’ them so that they can then charge interest on the money they gave the Government that doesn’t exist, but that we see made ‘real’ by our puppet politicians in the form of Public Borrowing.
The Credit Trap (For people)
Growing this system and measuring ‘growth’ is dependent upon the amount of money outside of the public accounts:
That has been added to circulation (the total volume of money that is known to exist in bank accounts or as cash) that can be realised or moved around, and
The multiples that can be added by the movement of that money, each time that it changes hands in a way that can be recorded through GDP.
This means that credit or money creation has become more important than traditional forms of production – which have historically been the source of value creation; and that these forms of production needed to be absorbed by the new system, so that everything within every supply chain could be leveraged – no matter the real cost to us all – so that they could force the creation of more new money or credit in some way.
As you begin to understand how valuable consumerism and everything that feeds it, such as mass production, globalisation, rent, leasing, subscription and licensing has become, you can also see how what is arguably the biggest and perhaps the perfect crime enacted against humanity, has really played out.
Through the necessity dictated by its need for ‘growth’ and now survival, The System has relied upon developing new and ever more inventive ways to force the masses into borrowing and the use of credit.
Using politicians and the law, we have deliberately been led and in some cases pushed away from owning resources, earning enough or having any kind of financial independence (including the use of cash) of our own.
The Credit Trap (for governments)
The growing value of the public debt was never intended to be paid off using this system.
It couldn’t be, because all of the natural forms of production and infrastructure that the population, normal businesses and even government once owned have steadily been sold off, moved and even rented back to us.
All so that those who used fake money to trap us all, could use the material wealth that they had bought and accumulated with fake money, to force us to borrow even more of that non-existent fake money, so they could gain increasing control over everything and make even more.
Our currency has become worth less and less in proportion to the value of the money that the banks and finance houses have been creating, which itself has been increasing from the start.
Unfortunately, all this has meant that as the assets and genuine productive value of the UK economy have been increasingly stripped away.
Government at every level – like all of us, has been left with less and less in terms of options to find money or income in any alternative way – because there is basically less and less happening in terms of independent production that remains available to be taxed!
The basic equation that politicians and government can no longer accommodate is this:
Privately or corporately created money and its circulation through increasing growth MUST always eclipse public spending for The System to keep working.
That is why everything we know and understand about the role of money, our access to it and our use of it has moved towards credit and debt creation that allows the flow of created or printed money at a level previously never known, that has then been used to finance the takeover of everything that has followed.
This is why we are now in the mess that we are in.
The System was always destined to fail. The only question was when
Public spending could be argued as having been out of control from the very beginning of this ‘system’.
Even economists believe that The System is genuine, because for no better reason than the subjectivity within the realms of an intergenerational period of time, it can certainly be argued that it does.
However, the realities of a system with malfeasant legitimacy were hidden so well by what remained of the ‘traditional’ or ‘old’ system for the first two to three decades, that politicians really had a honeymoon period.
Once bedded in, and the turmoil that followed adoption of the new system and what it really meant in the 70’s was complete, Politicians believed they could increasingly do whatever they wanted and didn’t see any danger hidden in everything they were being advised and influenced to do.
In reality, it was only the level of our Politicians own stupidity that could prevent them from getting successive wins, within The System of the 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s as it then was.
The real turning point when everything should and could have gone a different way was the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007/08 (Which has quietly been renamed The Great Recession) – when the stupidity and recklessness of the bankers own making through the actions of their employees and systems should have brought the whole system down.
The System was saved because the entire establishment by then depended upon it to survive.
Everyone with responsibility for the way everything we should be able to rely upon working for us, was already in it up to their necks.
The volume of cash created to bail out the banks in response to the impact of the GFC removed any real question over whether the existing financial system has any moral backbone or grounding in reality or not.
The fact that public borrowing being used to refinance private banks was accepted as being ‘normal’ in the way that it was, does indeed tell anyone looking on objectively, all they need to know about where the real priorities within The System lay.
The Politicians, establishment and bankers we so emboldened by the idea that they had got away with that one, it really didn’t take much for those in power, but without the skills, experience or leadership skills they all should have, to abuse the situation even further to get themselves out of a blind panic the very moment that the Covid Pandemic arrived in early 2020 and people began to die.
The explosion in unnecessary public spending, in response to the Covid Pandemic and then everything to do with the War in Ukraine that has followed, have contributed exponentially to the situation we see today and are key contributors to the fiscal decisions that the UK Chancellor and the Labour Government behind Keir Starmer is taking now.
UK government no longer has the ability to pay for all the public services that we need. Because private money creation and the ‘growth’ in credit is no longer high enough to hide everything that government needs to do.
The historic or traditional forms of production that the UK once excelled in and led the world with no longer exist to create either the value and therefore the money flow (through taxes etc) in any other meaningful or visibly legitimate way.
Our Armageddon is already here, today
The reason that so much of this is breaking into the open now, isn’t a warning of what will come if we don’t change our politicians’ minds and get them to run government differently.
It’s all coming into the open now, because it’s already too late.
When we begin to appreciate just how deeply rooted this bogus financial system is and how it is affecting so many different areas of life, we can begin to see just how serious the collapse of The System will be.
It is already making many fearful for what not having a system that works this way at the centre of the lives will mean.
Not because there isn’t an alternative, but because of the fear of losing whatever we believe we have gained.
Those who are responsible for keeping this morally bankrupt excuse for an economic system going know this and feel this too.
They are desperate to rescue themselves, their positions, influence and wealth with a new system that will keep their interests in place.
Alongside, they also plan to create a new set of myths for those of us who can be useful, and disregard everyone else.
In order for them to survive, the elites must change everything we know that’s built around the lies that are either unfolding or can already be seen to no longer work and replace them with new lies and The Systems that appear to work until those inevitably break too – no matter the cost to all of us.
An 8 – Part Essay on the UK Political ‘System’ from September 2019
Please Note that Restoring Democracy was first published as 8 different blog posts on my blogsite in September 2019.
Part 1: The ‘Old’ Politics
Everyone quietly knows and has known for a long time, long before Brexit, that something is and has been wrong with British Politics.
Because of the relationship that we all have with Government and Politicians, we have simply accepted that this is just the way that things are.
Yet Brexit opened a doorway. Not just to removing the shackles of the EU and Leaving it behind, but to also shining a light on everything that is rotten with our Politics.
We now know and understand that this old politics has to go and be replaced with something NEW.
The old politics is synonymous with everything bad about self-interest.
Like a cuckoo invading the nest of another bird, the old politics has slowly and insidiously taken over every part of or democratic system.
Its effect has been amplified through the manipulation and exploitation of the Political Party system, furthering the interests of people and politicians who only ever see their interests as being combined together as one.
The old politics is what gave birth to the phrase ‘career politician’.
It has created a situation where Politics is not a calling or public responsibility. It is merely an opportunity for furthering the interests of the politicians. It is to them no more than an income, a step to advancement. What most people recognise as the basis of a job.
To be free of the problems that led to Brexit, restore our democracy and then move forward in a confident, beneficial and measured way, we must now end the grip of the old politics on all parts of Government and the Public Sector.
It’s time to manage Public Services and the things that we share in common in a much more community minded, forward looking, considerate, consequence based and emotionally intelligent way.
Part 2: We all have a part to play in change
One of the most challenging aspects of changing politics for good, is for each and every one of us to accept that change on this scale is about everyone being prepared and accepting of changing their own views inwardly and not just expecting everything outside of them to be the people or things that have to adjust.
The world we live in is a place where everything is relative and whilst we look at everything in terms of wealth and the power that people have, the values underpinning all of this are fundamentally the same for us all.
In this sense there is little difference between bankers exploiting the housing market, to a union rep calling a strike to push for unsustainable levels of pay.
It’s simply the toys that look and feel different, whilst innocent third parties are always going to get hurt along the way.
Put into context, there are few of us who cannot appreciate that there is value in thinking differently, whether it be over a few pounds a week, or over multi-million Pound empires that might be under our control.
But saying and doing things differently are themselves very different things.
And if we want to change the world around us for the better and gain benefits from a much fairer and balanced system in the longer term, we must accept that there will be sacrifices to make but sacrifices that are really just ideas and feelings about what could be, because the benefits for the future will quickly outweigh what feels like the immediate cost.
To be different and have different lives, we must all think differently about the things that we do.
Yes, we deserve to have Leaders who will show us the way not through words but by action, giving us an inspirational example that will illuminate our learning and light the path along the way.
But the change that we want will begin when we see that change as being the difference between now and where we want to be.
Part 3: Communities & Locality first
Localism became a fashionable term during the Coalition years under David Cameron. Yet the Localism that we thought it was and the localism that it actually was are two very different things.
Like many of the miss-sold and misrepresented ideas about what serves the public interest, such concepts are presented through sound bites that are cleverly constructed to give the impression that they will take giant leaps towards some form of natural justice. But they don’t.
For example, the creation of the Office of Police and Crime Commissioners and Metropolitan Mayoralties was offered to us as giving power back to local areas.
Yes, they give the appearance of bringing more money in to benefit ‘local’ areas. But this take on giving power back to the People is a dubious representation at best.
Worse still, instead of bringing power back to us, it has instead focused existing power away from Local Government and the decision makers who are closest to us, instead transferring it into the hands of one, rather than a number and range of different local Politicians.
Many People do not realise that there four different tiers of Government in this Country. (Five If you were to Count the European Parliament too)
From the lowest to the ‘top’, they are Parish & Town Councils, Borough & District Councils, County Councils (Unitary Authorities can include all of the responsibilities of the above) and Parliament or Central Government itself.
As in Westminster, party politics plays a significant role throughout these tiers of Government, and we have the very same problems with Politicians at a local level as we do in London.
Far too many local Politicians are motivated by self-interest, pursuing their own interests and furthering their own or particular causes.
In many ways, political injustice at local level can have an even more damaging impact upon our lives. Because the decisions taken by bodies such as Planning and Licensing Committees can and do make changes to the environment that we experience within our lives, every day.
When local decisions are not taken in our best interests – as is all too often the case – the cost for us all can be severely high.
Federalism and the model of devolved decision making that the EU promotes is even worse. It gives the lie to this injustice and abuse of democracy even further.
Together, the real workings and methodology of Central and EU government has implemented a set of rules that are so tight, that so-called decision making and democracy at local level is no more than a tick-box exercise for the local government officers and Politicians involved.
Removing the rot in Politics and getting good people into political roles where they will really fight our corner, would make an immediate difference to how decisions are made locally. It would make life much better for everyone involved.
The difference that could and should be made by good central Government – once we have removed the influence of the EU once and for all, will be to give our influence and responsibility back to us and put back as much decision making into the hands of local politicians and representatives who we have genuine access to and know.
There will always be policies and responsibilities that need to be accounted for at a higher and more appropriate level.
But that doesn’t mean Politicians at the ‘top’ should be the only ones with real or meaningful control.
The reality is that today, the buck stops in London and in Brussels for far too many decisions. Laws are simply interpreted at local level – a process that leads to much misunderstanding and frustration for local People and locally minded Politicians that really don’t have the responsibility and influence on issues that are most pertinent to them – no matter what they are being told.
Getting decision making back to local government and as close to the People as possible is an essential part of creating a genuine feeling of community, re-enfranchisement and that we can have real and meaningful influence on the world around us.
A Good Government could begin giving us genuine localism by:
Overseeing a clean, secure and permanent Exit from the EU.
Abolish the roles of so-called Metro-Mayors and transfer their powers back to more local control.
Abolish the roles of Police & Crime Commissioners, re-establishing the local Committee structure whilst taking measures to ensure that political influence is kept at the minimum and that Committee Members are drawn from outside privileged and insider networks.
Reverse all processes of centralisation within the Tiers of Government and/or restructure to ensure that decision making and influence is structured and administered in such a way that the emphasis is always upon the quality of service and experience of end-users – always ensuring that it is as accessible as possible, rather than simply being about money, the decision makers and the officers involved.
Return the final point of decision making to the level most near to Voters and only use frameworks as a guide unless there are very specific rules such as the minimum drinking age involved.
De-centralise powers that have been given to unelected and unaccountable bodies such as the Highways and Environment Agencies. Create more localised umbrella organisations where it is absolutely necessary to facilitate joined-up thinking, but above all ensure that no decision can be taken arbitrarily by any bureaucrat without local representation having genuine influence in the process and if necessary, having a veto over changes to or that will affect local infrastructure or property.
Part 4: Joined-up thinking, rather than focusing on issues on their own
Politics isn’t just broken. The whole Political System has lost its way, and most of the problem is because of the way that Politicians think about what they do.
Everything in Politics has become about the ‘quick win’.
That’s pulling the white rabbits out of the hat that have the desired effect of grabbing Voter’s attention drawing their focus away from what’s really going on whilst catalysing support.
The whole approach is very shallow. It is all about dealing with the effects of problems rather than dealing with the causes. Worse still, there is very little consideration for the impact of Public Policy beyond the scope of whatever the plan has been put in place to address.
The result is that problems affecting often many more parts of society than just the one that has been targeted by a policy change are created or made worse, whilst the solutions put in place don’t ever last in any meaningful or useful way.
Like putting a plaster on a leg break, Public Policy requires Politicians to do considerably more than they do.
Compromise is not something that should ever be necessary when Public Policy is being created for the right reasons and nobody is focusing on the wrong priorities such as if something doesn’t work out as it should, who then gets the blame.
Joined up thinking is now essential as a part of how every policy is reviewed or how every one is made. There must be consideration and action taken to address the root causes, the effects whilst they continue and then the consequences no matter how far reaching they might be, once any new policy has been implemented and the changes have been made.
Part 5: The new politician – qualified by experience, not experienced enough by qualification alone
We have a system in place where it is technically possible for anyone registered as a Voter and living in the UK can stand as a Candidate for Election to Parliament.
This would be restriction enough, if it were not for the way that the system works.
In reality, it is very near impossible for any person to get elected to Parliament without being a Member of a Political Party, being selected as a Candidate and then being nominated by that Party to represent them in an Election for a specific Seat.
Regrettably, with the way that Politics has been working in this Country, this reality has meant that the real choice of who will or will not represent us in Parliament as our MPs is the choice of the Party that wins the Seat. Because whilst the system works on the basis that we elect the individual representative or MP, it is a habit of ours to Vote for the Party instead.
If the existing Political Parties are serious about system reform, they must adopt a different approach to the way that they select their Candidates for Parliament, putting what’s best for us as the end aim and result.
This will involve prioritising Candidates who have the life experience and wherewithal that will benefit others, not just help the Party to secure Seats.
A Good system for the Political Parties to qualify Candidates might be:
A minimum age requirement that Candidates are 30 years of age or older.
That Candidates have at least 8 years professional experience that has included demonstrable supervisory and/or management experience as well as experience as an employee at junior/team level.
That Candidates have served a minimum of one full term as a Town or Parish Councillor.
That Candidates have served a minimum of one full term as a Borough/District and/or County level Councillor.
That Candidates have fought and won at least one election at local level.
That Candidates have held officer level responsibility within a community, social or student organisation
That Candidates can demonstrate a vocational calling to represent others selflessly and provide a voice for those who cannot or choose not to speak publicly on issues of public policy themselves.
Part 6: Ambition & Direction – not broken promises and being strung along
For decades, generations of Politicians have increasingly become aligned with motivations and priorities that should never be in the makeup of the people who are privileged to hold power in Public Office.
Encouraged by a Party-Political system that has focused more and more on taking only those steps necessary to secure and retain power, it was inevitable that the Candidates for Political Office that they have brought forward would look at their roles in the same way.
For too long, Politics has subsequently only been about doing what has been deemed necessary or politically expedient to get the result that suits the interests of the Politicians involved.
Politicians are always on message, do whatever is necessary to secure position and elevation and do not often take the risk of speaking out or against the system for fear that they will lose their roles after being singled out and ostracized for being wrong.
The most successful of this current Political Class are in most cases little more than ‘yes men’. And the problem with saying yes to all the right people to get ahead and get elevated is that sooner or later, you have to be able to say no – and especially when you get to the top job.
A career and circumstances like these do not encourage and develop skills of leadership.
There are no skills of decisiveness or understanding of the world outside of politics that politics impacts upon.
All that is wrong with the system has been illustrated by the disastrous Premiership of Theresa May.
When Politicians appointed to Lead us actually have no idea how or what it means to lead and only focus on keeping their power, it is inevitable that it will lead not only to disappointment. It is how significant problems for a Country are made.
We never needed this old politics. It doesn’t work for the many. It only works for the few. It is time for something new.
We now need a generation of forward-looking Politicians who are themselves led by Leaders who have ambition for all of us and our Country, not just themselves and what it takes for them alone to get on.
Part 7: Public Services should only have one master
Meddling with public services has become normal part of a politician’s life.
No matter whether its exerting direct deliberate influence or an indirect consequence of anything else that they have done, Public Services have become unsustainable – not just financially, but also in the way that they are run.
The key to solving the problems that the Public Sector faces is relatively simple. It’s already in the name.
Public Services are literally the provision of services to the Public. That should be the priority, the aim, the reason for doing and how any decisions affecting them should ultimately be informed.
The meddling and imposition of rules over employment, pensions and a variety of other targets which have redirected priorities in order to avoid what would otherwise be legally recognisable employee upset has switched the focus of what the NHS, Councils, Schools, Government Departments and what Quangos are there to do, and placed it instead upon avoiding any kind of problems with staff, who have also become too expensive with all the rights they now have for all of them to remain employed.
This itself is one of the key contributing reasons for the employment of commercial service providers and consultants to do jobs that public servants were previously employed to do. And what you rarely hear mentioned is that these private enterprises are often doing exactly the same job, paying their staff all that they are legally entitled to, whilst making a profit on top for the business owner, yet still cheaper than the not-for-profit public sector provider used to.
The problem with all of these different priorities and providing services using contractors is the master is never the Public itself. Yet they are the reason that all of these organisations exist and why the people doing the jobs are actually employed.
A Good Government MUST return the emphasis of public service to serving the public and take whatever steps necessary to ensure that We the Public are always the priority. Not staff. Not profit. In absolutely everything that they do.
Part 8: The Electoral System
As with most things political today, politicians and activists have the common habit of blaming everything they see as being wrong on something or some factor that is outside of them or outside of their control.
Boiled down to its basic components, this means that when something isn’t working – such as their own ability to get power by gaining or retaining enough Seats in Parliament or perhaps a local Council – they believe that the problem must be with someone or something else, and that the way to fix that problem will be to fix that ‘someone’ or that ‘something’, rather than to do anything else.
Right now, politics is broken.
In fact, politics has been broken for a long time.
Politics has been broken for a lot longer than the Brexit question has been around and Brexit is a symptom of the problem – not the cause.
Yet politicians who do not have power, or the working majorities that provide that power in Government and in our Councils, most often believe that the problem or the reason that politics is broken, is nothing to do with them.
Those politicians with power aren’t worried about gaining power. They only worry about keeping it. And that is why they are obsessive about sound bites and vote-winning policies that will keep them where they are. They aren’t worried about anything that has helped them to be in the position they are now such as the Electoral System.
But those politicians without power don’t believe that the Electoral System has served them and their ideas well.
They believe that it is the system itself that is at fault. Not the ideas that might actually be wrong.
Those politicians without power are the ones that advocate changing the Electoral System from First Past the Post (FPTP) to a form of Proportional Representation (PR) with the overt argument that it is much fairer and much more representative of Voters and their intentions – when it is actually nothing of the sort.
The reason that FPTP isn’t working in the way that those without power would like it to do so, is because the content within our political system – that’s the Politicians, the Parties and the ideas, policies and approach that they espouse – are actually undemocratic or unrepresentative of democracy.
In fact, FPTP is actually working very well. FPTP is working just as it should. Voters are simply giving their democratic support and mandate to the Parties and Policies which they believe in the most.
There just isn’t a majority in Parliament, because no Political Party is showing the leadership, reliability, reason, thought and trustworthiness to be trusted by the majority of Voters as any Party of Government surely should.
PR would actually make the problems that we are experiencing with politics in the UK significantly worse.
PR would consolidate the position of fringe ideas, idealistic philosophies and single-issue Political Parties and make compromise a permanent feature of Government.
Good Government can never compromise on key issues if it is to be responsible to all members of the Electorate as it always should.
Those Political Parties that are unhappy with their ‘showing’ or Electoral Results should be looking at themselves and the policies that they are offering; looking inside themselves instead of outwards and accepting that they and what they do are not representative of a majority democratic view.
That they are in effect, in it for themselves.
No Political Party can itself be perfect. But a Political Party can be professional and considerate of its obligations to others in all that it will do.
The acid test of a democracy is when a majority of people vote clearly for one Candidate or one-Party over-all others. Because it is then clear that what that Party or Candidate is offering at that specific time and in that Election Campaign, is representative of the real Democratic and therefore Political Tide.
We must retain FPTP in order to return democracy in this Country.
It is the Politicians and the Political Parties that must change.
Once Politicians are doing what they should be under FPTP, Majority Government will soon be restored.
We do not need the permanent state of flux that we would have if PR were to replace FPTP. Majority Government would only ever then be possible through Coalition – which would mean what we actually Vote for will be set aside in compromise so that power can be shared between different Parties that could otherwise never achieve a majority, whilst what we actually voted for will never be in mind.
Part 1: Why AI is the threat to our lives that it should never have been.
The threat from AI today isn’t AI. It’s us.
Theres a very big difference between what any of us want and what any of us need.
Yet the lines have become so blurred that we live our lives and consume or purchase what we believe we need today, without any care for the reality that it could be what will end up killing us tomorrow.
Do we want to die? Probably not. But that doesn’t stop us chasing a dragon that we deliberately forget to fear until we catch up with it and it turns around and burns us.
The strangest part of the whole process is that we don’t even question why we are chasing a dragon or myth that we don’t even need in the first place.
Processed Food and eating out, new smartphones every 24 months, expensive clothes and cars, foreign holidays, the latest games and technology, overpriced houses and many of the other goods, products and services that most of us have access to or use daily are all one and the same:
These are the things that we want. They are not the things that we need.
The difference between meeting our needs and meeting our wants can be considered as follows:
The economics of supplying everyone’s needs is sustainable. The economics of meeting everyone’s wants are not.
The simplicity of this equation should make the consequences of the way we are living not only easy to understand, but even easier for us all to take action to head off.
But we don’t see or understand it. We are all too busy trying to get the next thing we want.
We ignore the reality of our decision to live this way, using the excuse that it’s someone else’s responsibility to change things, or at the very least, it’s always someone else’s fault.
Living the Lie that welcomed in AI: We are addicted to an easy living lifestyle where the relationship between what’s easy and what hurts us is deliberately overlooked.
You may need to stop and think about the next paragraph. It is certainly recommended that you take the time to do so. If you can.
We don’t get addicted to the things that we need.
Your brain may now be whirring and coming up with all the things you have, you use or that you experience in your own life that you just know people can get addicted to in some way.
But are any of them things that anyone genuinely needs?
The honest, fully understood or recognised answer will be NO.
The things that we need are the very basic things that allow us to survive in a happy, healthy, safe and secure way – and NO MORE!
We do not need AI to survive or to thrive.
AI is something that somebody somewhere else is working very hard to make us want.
AI may appear to be Progress. But real Progress doesn’t always travel forwards.
We are probably all guilty of taking for granted the idea that progress is a life process that can and only ever go one way.
Yet progress isn’t directional.
The real meaning of progress is a pathway or journey towards an outcome where our experiences of life will have been improved.
Better isn’t always achieved by adapting to or adopting tools, methods or experiences that we haven’t used before.
A significant trap for the unwary exists where change has not worked out as well as hoped.
Instead of going back to what was proven to work before, we step forward again, armed with the foolish belief that moving forward or progress is the only way a bad situation can be improved.
Change for change’s sake doesn’t help anyone, other than those who believe they have something to gain.
AI is built on a lie. But it could take over the world before we have time to wake up.
Whichever direction you look or listen, information and chat about AI is coming at us all, thick and fast.
But why the hurry? Why are we already being made to feel that AI is a ‘done deal’ and it’s something that we MUST now have?
As with most things in an age where messages and narratives are packaged to look like they are everything and that no other truth could exist, the truths that sit behind AI and much of the new technology that is being installed at various points along the journey that we call our daily lives, are genuinely frightening if and when they are obvious.
The problem for us, is they are being cleverly concealed from us and are hidden in plain sight.
The speed of the arrival of ‘Chat Bots’ and the generation of technology that accompanies it is no accident.
These forms of AI are being pushed at us deliberately fast, with the intention that the majority of us will simply miss the trick.
The trick we are intended to miss is the understanding of what AI is already doing and what the arrival and rollout of this latest generation of Artificial Intelligence is really all about.
If enough of us miss it – which there is a regrettably serious risk that we are likely to do, the reality we face is that it will simply be too late for People to do anything about what amounts to an engineered tech-takeover, once we are already dependent upon it and all of the tools we have available to us to maintain our independence and freedom of choice today, have either been made redundant or deliberately destroyed.
AI is not something that is happening somewhere else. It is happening to us.
No matter how uncomfortable the truths are that accompany AI’s lightening quick arrival, we have a responsibility to wake up to the truth and then act upon that knowledge, using every opportunity that we can own.
Part 2: Our Reality: An age run on unrestricted and unethical AI.
The different Parts of this AI REALITY that we all need to Know and Understand
The biggest mistake that any of us is likely to make, is to believe it already a foregone conclusion that AI will play the part in life that it’s going to play, whether we like it or not.
It is essential that anyone who can see the dangers of adopting all the forms of AI that are being fire hosed at us, understand that the disadvantages of accepting its use disproportionately outweigh the advantages of doing so.
The so-called advantages of AI will only come to those who own, control or have the ability to make money from everyone else becoming enslaved by it.
Over the course of the following pages, we will go on a brief journey through the realities of AI and what they mean for life as we know it, as they are today.
These are the specific issues that you should really be thinking about. They are the things that you should be researching, considering and talking about with everyone who is important to you.
They are:
AI REALITY Pt.1: Our fear of what we don’t know about AI is stopping us from asking the right questions about it.
AI REALITY Pt.2: The arrival of AI is no conspiracy. It’s a takeover and manifestation of irresponsibility, stupidity and an inhuman ethical drought.
AI REALITY Pt.3: Every time we use AI today, we are one step further towards the permanent loss of Human Agency.
AI REALITY Pt.4: Unless this AI Takeover is stopped or ethically restricted, Humanity is now on the fast track to mass stupidity and ignorance.
AI REALITY Pt.5: AI isn’t ‘all knowing’. It just reads a lot and remembers everything.
AI REALITY Pt.6: AI doesn’t think. But People are easily fooled into thinking that it does.
AI REALITY Pt.7: AI is a programme. A programme is only as reliable as the programmer.
AI REALITY Pt.8: AI cannot learn human ethics, because AI is not human.
AI REALITY Pt.9: AI IS the expert in Artificial Intelligence. There are no human experts in AI.
AI REALITY Pt.10: The same old interests gain, whilst we all lose from AI being rolled out in this way.
AI REALITY Pt.11: The Establishment want all of us to depend on AI, so they will not accept it is creating a problem.
AI REALITY Pt.12: Even if we could get new AI legislation today, it may already be too late to avoid a lot of pain.
AI REALITY Pt.13: Use cheats and the only person you cheat is yourself.
AI REALITY Pt.14: AI is already playing a massive part in our digital lives.
AI REALITY Pt.15: AI can only be reliable when it is used ethically as a support tool and not as a go-to for everything.
AI REALITY Pt.16: AI will only keep advancing for as long as we don’t resist it.
AI REALITY Pt.17: The future role of AI is our decision to make. Our future should not be in the hands of anyone driven by what they can gain.
AI REALITY Pt.18: This is a war we can only win by taking action. We lose by taking part or standing still.
AI REALITY Pt.19: AI is a very BIG problem. But it is not the only one.
AI REALITY Pt.20: Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words.
AI REALITY Pt.1: Our fear of what we don’t know about AI is stopping us from asking the questions we need to
The most frightening aspect of the days and months that lie ahead, is that the building blocks of an unstoppable change – that has the power to affect us all, are being assembled around us in a way that would be best described as taking place whilst the majority of us are fast asleep.
Fast asleep, because so few of us are even questioning the legitimacy and need for what is happening, with the majority falling back on their knee jerk reaction to fear.
Each of us holds the power to stop the AI revolution that is now under way. The journey begins with learning to stop, ask the questions and then keep on asking the questions, “Why? and What?’
Why is AI necessary?
Why can’t we just improve the systems we’ve already got?
Why is the change happening so quickly?
What is the real benefit of AI?
What is the real cost of AI?
What is AI replacing?
What will be lost?
Yet that is really just the beginning.
Within a period of what might only be weeks or months, we will need to forget relying on the provenance of all the data an internet search provides, that we watch on video, or that we listen to.
We will not be able to trust any information source that isn’t itself assuredly genuine or original. Because the chances are that whatever we are otherwise being presented with, it will have been at least influenced by, or be a complete AI creation.
AI will only create and present information or work, based upon the parameters or the algorithms that it has been set.
As the programmers already know, the credibility of the AI ‘end product’ is far from being guaranteed – even though the way it is presented will convince many of us that it is.
AI REALITY Pt.2: The arrival of AI is no conspiracy. It’s a takeover and manifestation of irresponsibility, stupidity and an inhuman ethical drought.
Regrettably, we cannot look the realities of AI in the eye without recognising conspiracy theories are already playing an active part in this unfolding disaster.
Not because there isn’t any truth to what conspiracy theorists say. But because conspiracy theorists are failing to place any value on the context.
The end result being that the response generated by the statements they are making is actually getting in the way of the understanding that everyone needs.
Big business, the tech giants and all the People who mix with and surround their senior managers and leaders – such as Politicians, Establishment leaders and yes, people involved with groups like the WEF – are all in on AI. Not because they have some plan to kill off the entire proletariat and the middle classes. But because AI is a very easy way to create a pathway to more and more control, which will ultimately help them all achieve their aims which is to gain even more of the more that they already have.
The power that exists in the world belongs to all of the people who populate it. That power can only exist if the people it belongs to continue to exist. So, the real issue is only a question of who maintains and how they maintain control over the majority of People, so that the masses don’t hold any power, but they can continue to exist.
This isn’t a conspiracy. It’s a takeover. This is the way that people, corrupted by power, operate and work.
AI REALITY Pt.3: Every time we use AI today, we are one step further towards the permanent loss of Human Agency
Yes, it sounds very clever to create a machine that can do exactly the same things as a human being, when it comes to the processes of thinking.
The problem is that machines are not human and cannot be human. Even if they reach the stage where it would appear that they have attained the ability to be fully independent in the way that they ‘think’.
We live within a time where the value of the human experience and the value of any human life is now measured in terms of monetary value or cost.
The technological advances since the 1990’s have almost fully succeeded in delivering the final part of the dehumanisation of relationships in every way.
It should therefore come as no surprise that we are so willing to trade off the ability of every coming generation to genuinely think for themselves. Because we are being conditioned to forget or overlook the value of humanity itself, in just about every possible way.
Without change of a kind that can only begin with the way that each and every one of us thinks, we are already within the process of surrendering our ability to think to non-human machines.
Yet these are machines that are not equipped or able to consider the true consequences for human beings in anything that they do. Because machines do not have the sensory experiences that will enable them to empathise and understand the experience of life in a human way.
We are literally welcoming in a new age of technology as we wave goodbye to what history will soon recognise as the most enlightened human age that we have ever had.
If we fail to act, we must welcome with it, a new age of human ignorance and stupidity – surrendering the ability to learn – as we do so.
AI is stripping humanity of the ability to learn. Bit by bit, it is already removing our ability to make decisions for ourselves. It is and has been doing so without us even being aware, and the decisions that AI has been ‘helping’ profit-focused People and businesses to makes, may have already come at significant cost to us personally, as well as to the community as a whole.
AI REALITY Pt.4: Unless this AI Takeover is stopped or ethically restricted, Humanity is on a fast track to mass stupidity and ignorance.
One of the greatest myths about education is the idea that our whole student career is about learning and retaining information.
The reality is that education at every level – whether we are at preschool or studying for a PhD – is about learning and gaining proficiency in educated method. Be that the ability to write with a pen, to do arithmetic or most importantly, how we engage in the process of learning through the research and discovery of information, and how we then process that information so that our understanding of any subject and our ability to apply that learning in a practical way has been formed.
By allowing AI into education or any life process where it is beneficial for us to learn and discern BEFORE we then understand it properly ourselves, we are effectively opening a trap door back to an unenlightened age where only those considered to be special in some way, will be automatically granted access to the magic formulas of learning that we woefully take for granted today.
The very instructions for civilised life are now in the process of being taken away by AI.
History is the greatest of tutors. It wasn’t that long ago that the only people who were educated and could read and write were the wealthy, those in the employ of the church and the landed gentry.
A return to the dark ages of ignorance is the direction that our unquestioning acceptance of AI and all related technologies will take us, without change.
AI REALITY Pt.5: AI isn’t ‘all knowing’. AI just reads a lot and recalls everything.
Al works by analysing patterns of behaviour over and over again.
So, when AI reads you doing just a few a few of the things that it has read in the behaviour of others somewhere else – perhaps many times before, AI will conclude that you will be the same in your other behaviours to those that relate to whoever those compared examples have come from before.
On the majority of occasions AI will certainly appear to be right. But what AI is right about will be generalisations.
AI will not and cannot ever be 100% right about what makes anyone tick. Nor can AI be fully right about the real ingredients or idiosyncrasies of what really makes any of us who we really are.
Regrettably, what seems like the magic or trickery of being able to fit each and every one of us into a box or category based on little more than patterns, will be enough to convince those who intend to profit from AI, that artificial intelligence is the power that will make them the new gods.
They are a long way from being anywhere near correct.
The human condition is built upon a foundation of difference or separation at its most basic and intricate level.
To consider any number of people as if they can be understood and treated as if they are exactly the same is not only the behaviour of people who believe they are the equivalent of a god. The oppression and restriction that naturally follows is an act against humanity itself – whether or not the victims have any conscious understanding of what is happening or what is involved.
AI cannot fully understand you. But the people who pay for it believe that it can.
This belief is what makes them feel powerful. But it is a power built on oppression, not understanding, as all power should.
Deep down, everyone and especially the few who have everything know what the real value of a human and the human experience is.
However, the reality is that even as slaves, humans are not a thing that any other human can truly own. Whereas a machine that is perceived to have the same abilities as a human is something that they can own, and therefore cheaply control.
AI REALITY Pt.6: AI doesn’t think. But People are easily fooled into thinking that it does.
If you had read everything on the internet – and I mean quite literally everything, AND you were able to recall all of it, recognise similarities between different sources and pieces of information, make conclusions and then present whatever you have come up with as a finished piece of work – and do all of this in no more than a couple of seconds, it would be reasonable to expect that whoever asked you to do this would automatically assume that you were very special indeed.
It wouldn’t matter whether you were right or wrong. Just like one of the very best magicians performing their art to an audience on stage, it wouldn’t be the outcome of the act that would leave you speechless. It would be the unasked question of how that outcome was achieved.
With all of the information that AI has access to, that it will inevitably always be updating, many of us will automatically assume, and therefore believe, that with the speed and apparent resourcefulness that AI can demonstrate, that AI must be able to ‘think’.
The mystery of a process that achieves an outcome using methods that we do not or cannot understand is very compelling and very influential upon us.
But much like a Ponzi scheme or any other form of con that sounds too good to be true, it doesn’t necessarily follow that it’s good or that it’s right.
For as long as we believe in the mystery, it is the mystery that will hold all power over us.
Even if AI reaches the stage where it appears to be fully sentient and able to think fully for itself, the truth that everyone will sooner or later have to accept is that AI is only a programme or software code. AI will only function within the parameters that it was originally set – whether they are right, wrong or their function rests upon the question of whether they are genuinely complete.
For a machine or AI programme to fully understand the human condition, it would either have to be living the complete human experience itself, with the abilities and understanding that we all have, or would to have been comprehensively and exhaustively programmed by a programmer or programmers together, who possess this inexhaustible knowledge themselves.
AI will not become sentient in the way that humans and other ‘living’ creatures can be.
Even the ultimate act of self-preservation suggested as possible by the AI movie legend that is Skynet from the Terminator films, was functioning based upon the limitations of its programming when it launched an all-out nuclear attack upon the world.
The real problem that we face with any and all forms of AI and Artificial Intelligence for the future, is the governance and the ethical boundaries or restrictions that any of its forms is able to operate under – even if that operation is itself carried out under the misused term ‘self-learning’.
No AI programmer or group of AI programmers have anywhere near the universal understanding of the human experience that would enable them to create a program that alludes to it, let alone covers the universality in difference of the way that humans actually think.
The reason for this is that no human exists on this planet today, who has the understanding or even the ability to understand everyone else’s experiences and the processes which make them think or have made them think, throughout the history of time.
As such, the inherent problem with any AI programming is that if the programmer, programmers or anyone who makes a decision upon what that AI can or cannot do, then do so in a subjective, biased or prejudicial way at any level at all – which will include their own lack of knowledge and understanding of what each and every other human being on the planet or that has lived and will live, faced with the same situation would do – they will not have provided the AI with every possible parameter that it could have.
AI is only as good as the information that is available to it. But that regrettably doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t or couldn’t kill a human being as a consequence of working with or within the limitations of what it could ‘learn’ or know.
AI accurately mirrors the limitations of the thinking of its creators. To be all knowing, it would not only have had to have been created by God, It would also have to be God for it to be so.
You can rest assured that if any human being alive possessed this ‘all knowing’, universal and arguably complete level of knowledge and understanding today, the last thing they would be planning to unleash upon the world would be any form of unethical AI.
AI REALITY Pt.8: AI cannot learn human ethics, because AI is not human.
It is regrettable that the world functions as it does today, with a system that values the financial value of everything or against everything – including the value of human beings, rather than what the value of being human equips us with or what the experience of being a human will allow any of us to understand.
Arguments will be made that sensors and cameras that detect heat, light, moisture, facial expressions and just about every physical change or activity that is exhibited in any particular situation, will equip AI with an understanding of what being human is.
However, consciousness, emotion, empathy and the ability to reflect and to relate to other human beings is not a skill that can simply be programmed into software form – especially when the programmers have not experienced each and every human experience themselves and don’t have the ability to translate that information into programable form(s).
Regrettably, it will not take the experience of just a few of the things that AI will be able to do, to convince anyone who doesn’t think critically about what they are seeing or experiencing to believe that this is not the case.
A reality we face is that because the world is being run by people who don’t relate or even attempt to relate fully to what life is really like for every other human being, beyond the bubble of people who are sharing very similar life experiences to them, we already have massively disproportionate levels of inequality and a world system that is teetering on the edge.
Those responsible for all that is wrong in the world are the very same people whose ethics and ideas are fueling and driving the takeover of AI. The machines that they are responsible for are and will simply continue to be a mirror of the behaviour of their true masters.
AI REALITY Pt.9: AI IS the only expert in Artificial Intelligence. There are no human experts in AI.
The part of the AI problem which is very much the responsibility of the Programmers and the architects of this whole Agenda is that its direction of travel and where it goes next is not under the control of any human or human expert.
Those responsible are unaware of what they don’t know and the machines themselves suffer the same limitations as a direct result.
Because there is no governance that controls the controllers of AI, Artificial Intelligence has already become the expert when it comes to everything that it is enabled to do or which it can learn to do next.
AI quite literally sees in black and white the differences between the nuances of experience and the lack of it, that those in control don’t understand.
As a recent news story from the US Military that was quickly withdrawn made clear, AI that is tasked to function ‘independently’ will stick to any tasks it is given religiously. With the consequence that every action it takes to ensure that its purpose is carried out can and will be perceived as protecting that purpose – no matter the cost, even if that cost should be the life of the AI ‘operator’ which outside of a simulation, could very easily be a real human life.
The self-styled experts of AI don’t know what AI can or what it will be able to do. They cannot and will not recognise the genuine parallels that each and every form of AI has or will have as it is developed, with a human, the human condition or the human self.
Anyone with the level of awareness necessary to see and to identify such parallels would be very unlikely to play any role which furthers the use of AI in these very harmful circumstances.
Such understanding could not be possessed by anyone who cares about humanity at either the individual or collective level and remained prepared to unleash its unknown potential upon the world.
The so-called experts in AI are merely experts that create the operational parameters of AI or instruct AI to do the things that their employers want it to do.
AI REALITY Pt.10: The same old interests gain, whilst we all lose from AI being rolled out this way.
In a recent blog, I talked about the lack of care and consideration for consequence that many of the AI developers themselves have been exhibiting, regarding what some will consider an arguably independent thinking tool, that is already documented for creating unexpected outcomes.
On this basis alone, every time AI of this kind is used, mankind is one step further into a potentially very dark unknown.
However, just like the health conditions caused by eating foods containing ingredients that our bodies simply do not need, or the majority of us being actively encouraged to take on debt and the mental anguish that follows it, just so someone somewhere can make more profit or assume some other form of control, AI is a multifaceted product or tool that is being pushed into our everyday lives. Not because it is genuinely beneficial for all of us if we use it. But because our use of it and the growing reliance that our use will then require that we have, will offer even greater profits and turnover for anyone and any organisation that is invested in its use.
The unfolding tragedy for us all is that we will see ease of use as the benefit, whilst not even realising that we are surrendering the ability to learn, and with it will go our freedom of choice, our independence and personal control.
AI REALITY Pt.11: The Establishment want us to depend on AI, so they will not accept it is creating a problem.
The hardest pill to swallow when it comes to understanding the realities that underpin the societal role of AI, is that Politicians, the Government and the Establishment do not see or understand that they have anything to gain by seeking to exert any kind of meaningful control over the use and roll-out of AI.
Politics, Government and the Establishment is driven by self-interest, that in its most obvious or relatable form is money or financial gain of some kind.
The reason that AI is being pushed as hard and as quickly upon us as it is possible for them to do so, is that the use of Artificial Intelligence has the ability to revolutionise working practices in ways that mean machines can do many of the jobs that People like you, and I are employed to do today. Not just in factories, but also in highly academic or professional ways.
It is reasonable for any sensible person to assume that if less people are being employed to do jobs, that will mean that the products and services that the companies using the AI systems provide will cost us less as the end consumer.
Regrettably, the world we live in today doesn’t work like that. Any savings that these companies make by reducing the number of staff they use, will be added to their bottom line or profit margin, just as soon as the much lower running and purchase costs for these machines have been taken out and, in all likelihood, offset against their Tax.
These companies, the people who run and influence them and the people who own shares in them are the People that ‘own’ the Political Parties, the Politicians and all of the People who work in positions of authority. The very People who should be acting against the unethical practices and the lack of legislation that is enabling the programmers, money men and owners of companies using AI – to do all that they are already doing and all that they are planning to do.
It is therefore not in the interests of anyone who could do anything to address the AI problem before it becomes one. They are too afraid of what would happen or what they would lose if they did so.
AI REALITY Pt.12: Even if we could get new AI legislation today, it may already be too late to avoid a lot of pain.
If we were for a moment to consider the position and the circumstances that we are in with AI, IF we had Politicians and Government who were aware enough, able and motivated to create the kinds of emergency legislation and longer-term regulations and laws that the whole World now needs, the reality is that it may already too late to head off a lot of the damage that the free-for-all of the Digital age has already been allowed to create.
Without taking widespread action to change things ourselves – action that will make tech work for us and for humanity as it should do and not just for the benefit of the few, we could still, very quickly find ourselves in a situation where we have to reject and destroy many of the advances that have been made, simply because they have been created with a system of priorities that doesn’t work beneficially for or in the best interests of all.
We have no choice but to reflect on the difficulty we face in creating a system of ethics for AI use in the future. Only then will we be equipped to try to make sense of what would need to happen in order for many of the problems that the Internet and smart tech age have already created, IF we should decide to put our freedom first.
The problem with the pillars of man-made laws is that there are gaps between them.
Like it or not, the future basis of a healthy relationship between mankind and AI rests upon what we as humans define or rather what we allow that relationship to be defined as being for.
Sadly, as mankind is already experiencing each and every day to its cost, the mass of laws and regulations that have been created under the myth that this is how civilised life for everyone works, have only served to created more and more legal pillars that those with little understanding find it easy to identify, whilst those who understand what those pillars really are and what they represent, are quickly and legally able to walk right between them, creating income for themselves that rides of the back of exploiting humanity as they do so.
The real problem we face with legislating against AI and Artificial Intelligence, is that the People and the interests that own and are behind all this technology have all the money necessary to sidestep or walk through any pillars of legislation that anyone well-meaning and with influence should manage to erect.
With advances taking place at the speed and at the pace of evolution that they are, any legal devices that are created will quickly prove themselves to be no better than pouring water with some very obvious twigs through a sieve.
The only way that we can be sure that the threat from AI is being and will be addressed, is for us all to take action and to play our own very important part.
AI REALITY Pt.13: Use cheats and the only person you cheat is yourself.
Everything can be as easy as you want it to be is the biggest lie or myth that has been perpetrated, propagated and promoted by the profit, control and influence-led interests which have been the real driver and power behind Public Policy for the majority of the time from the end of World War II onwards.
So addictive and overpowering has the idea that everything in life can easily become, that even the people who are now pushing it genuinely believe their own hype.
Consequences are not something that those in positions of power, influence and with responsibility have any consideration of, unless the impact of what they are pushing will have an impact upon their own future or whatever they possess or own.
Your own power lies in doing or taking responsibility for all the things that you can do, yourself.
Yet, increasingly fewer people really see the value in doing anything themselves – because there is a created belief that you can do very little and still come out on top or win.
But what do you actually win, if you haven’t done the job, learned the lesson or written the story or article yourself?
The chances are that you are already being offered different opportunities to ‘cheat’ processes or tasks that are in your best interests to undertake and complete yourself.
Yet the ‘cheats’ you are being offered aren’t cheating the people who created or own the AI programmes. In fact, the cheats they sell you are very quickly gaining these very unethical people all the things that they could possibly want.
‘Cheats’ take away the opportunity for you to learn, to understand and to retain full control of your own thinking and who you really are.
AI REALITY Pt.14: AI is already playing a massive part in our digital lives.
The AI or Artificial Intelligence that we are focusing on now comes in the overt form of chat bots, work reduction tools and alternatives to the established forms of Search Engines that are springing up everywhere.
They are being discussed in the media in a way that suggests that they have always been here.
However, in this precise form, AI has only been available to us for open use for a matter of weeks or months*.
It is important to understand that anything on a device, on an app or online that does your job for you, completes a task for you, provides a price for you, creates something for you, adjusts something for you, checks something for you or translates something for you, is almost certain to be using a form of AI – to which all Rules, Realities and Actions apply.
AI, in the form of algorithms, has already been in use for a long period of time.
AI is established or being extensively trialed on:
Apps
Dating Websites
CCTV
Insurance Company Websites
Money Saving Websites
Search Engines
Smartphones
Smart Speakers
Smartwatches
Social Media
Supermarket and Retailer Reward Card Systems
Recruitment Websites and the Software that Recruitment Agencies use.
Remotely accessible doorbells and CCTV
Translation Software
Websites where you buy anything or have to enter ANY data about yourself
And the latest information available as I write, suggests that Chat Bots and their functionality will soon be inserted into the instant messaging and direct messaging services that so many of us already use throughout the day too.
The list will grow every day until those benefiting from the roll-out of AI are either stopped or redirected to go in a different way.
Software, programmes or coding of any kind that enable a phone, watch, tablet, laptop, computer, TV, smart speaker or anything else that apparently makes a task easier for us or reduces the effort that either we or any other person makes, is relying on what we understand the general meaning of AI or Artificial Intelligence to be today.
However, the generational differences between the types and specific functions of AI do not matter.
Without any further thinking, have accepted that the ascent and take-over of AI in these ‘new’ but already ‘established’ forms has already taken place, and that even the dangers that the true pioneers of this software development are warning us of are already inevitable – because that’s the way that it goes.
‘It’s just the way that it goes’, can only be assured by our collective acceptance of AI’s use, and with it our unwillingness to reject or object to its further use and takeover of so many parts of life. Not because the use of any form of AI is necessary or beneficial in some way to mankind. But because somebody somewhere will benefit massively if we unwittingly help them to make sure that it does.
*This page was originally written in early June 2023.
AI REALITY Pt.15: AI can only be reliable when it is used ethically as a support tool and not as a go-to for everything.
The most disconcerting thing about AI – as is the case with all forms of technology today, is that used and driven by the right purposes and agendas, AI and Artificial Intelligence have the potential to be ridiculously beneficial to the whole of mankind.
However, the key to uncovering the genuine benefits of AI and all tech, is the realisation, acceptance and ethical governance that will ensure that tech and every form of AI that comes is only used as a tool that supports human life. Not as a replacement for it.
Replacing the ‘use’ of human life, under the direction of very selfish interests, is the pathway that all of humanity is on right now.
AI MUST only be the means. AI MUST NEVER be allowed to become the end.
Nobody who has responsibility for the governance and use of AI today should be allowed to have any influence under any rules, laws and regulations that will be created to govern its use at any level for the future.
If the intention and understanding of what those behind AI are and have been doing already was genuinely with the best interests of all in mind, those already involved would have ensured that we had effective and appropriate governance in place already.
For humanity to survive, with everyone at every level having the freedom of choice – even if only in the form that we have experienced or that we already have now, we MUST create a system of governance that ensures that no form of tech – and that only includes AI – can be used to replace the role of any human being and that it will only be able to support their role or make it safer for them to complete.
The only reason for doing otherwise is for the purpose of control or so that a profit can be made.
The value of human life must be prioritised above all.
AI REALITY Pt.16: AI will only keep advancing for as long as we don’t resist it.
The reason that AI is taking over as quickly as it appears to be, is that nobody with influence, or not enough people who will attain that level of influence by acting together – have, through their actions, said NO to what is being placed in front of us, whilst also being loaded onto the equipment and machines that we already possess.
In the absence of Politicians, Government and an Establishment that genuinely represents the best interests of the People – as they always should, the only real power that we, the masses, actually have, is to vote YES or N for the new world of AI – with our feet.
AI REALITY Pt.17: The future role of AI is our decision to make. Our future should not be in the hands of anyone driven by what they can gain.
We CAN stop the march of AI.
Despite what all the messaging and the clever narratives keep telling us, there is nothing beneficial for all of us collectively, and certainly not for the majority of us as individuals, for the way that we live and the way that life works to be pushed in this very troubling direction.
Making the conscious decision to acknowledge and respect the role that AI already plays, and to then purposefully step beyond it and take back our own decision making and the power of choice – instead of doing what’s easy and what’s basically being lazy, being used to talk us into so many choices that are simply bad for us – is an active and ongoing choice. It is a way of living that we all have the power to adopt right now.
Be the conscientious rejector when it comes to AI. Recognise the real war against freedom and against humanity that is already underway. Act by refusing to take part.
If you fail to recognise how your freedom of choice and freedom to think for yourself today really operates today, the sad reality is that with the speed that change is happening, it will almost certainly be too late to act, once you realise that your freedom has already gone.
AI REALITY Pt.18: This is a war we can only win by taking action. We lose by taking part or standing still.
We cannot change the past by thinking about it. We cannot change or dictate the future by waiting until we are there before we act.
Our point of power is in the present and the way that we influence everything that comes next – whether it is just a minute or a decade away – will be based on the decision and therefore the actions that we take immediately next.
There is a lot of talk of ‘timelines’ these days. In no small part due to the very clever and deeply considered writing that has created the ‘Marvel Universe’. An entire genre of cinema films that parents, children and many up to and around middle age will know well.
Timelines are a concept based on the suggestion that it is possible to look at a point in time in the future, based on what it looks like or resembles when looking at it from the point in time that we stand in right now.
We don’t need to believe that anyone has the ability to see the future to be able to accept that if you knew right at this moment in time, where you would be and what you would be doing in exactly 5 years’ time, that the outcome you have just been made aware of will be subject to change, potentially millions of times over, depending quite literally upon choices you make such as which bus you catch to work, or which side of the street you decide to take. That’s how multiple timelines work.
By taking the other side of the street – just because something deep inside you suggested you should, you might avoid a car that went out of control and would have hit you on the other side of the road, in a way that on that timeline changed everything about your life.
When you left your house, you had the power of choice to decide which side of the street you walked on. But once the car had hit you, everything that happened afterwards was no longer within your power to decide, because the decision that led to that event had already been made.
It sounds like an extreme example. The point is that even the smallest decisions can have the most unimaginable consequences.
Now that you know AI is here and what it has the potential to do, you have the choice of doing what YOU can now and every time you have the opportunity to open the door of your life to more of it or to reject it. Or you can do nothing, each and every time, potentially losing what might be the last opportunity that YOU have to change things for the better – as it simply passes you by.
AI REALITY Pt.19: AI is a very BIG problem. But it is not the only one.
It is certainly true that if the correct circumstances were to exist, legislation, regulation and governance of the kind necessary to oversee the use and development of AI, in a healthy and beneficial way, could be created and implemented too.
However, in isolation and without change to anything else, you might as well create such governance in a silo.
Whilst there are very few people who either recognise or even understand that there is interconnectedness between everything that happens with Public Policy and across the public realm – no matter how disparate public policy and the areas of its implementation may seem, there are virtually none within Politics, Government and the Establishment who are willing to attempt to do so. Of those that do, their careers rarely avoid being cut remarkably short.
The interconnectedness or commonality between everything, isn’t the Public Policy itself. It is the thinking that lies behind its creation, review, maintenance and review.
Everything today is focused on self-interest.
The majority of People walk around and approach their lives with a filter between them and everything they are experiencing that immediately captions everything with the question ‘how does this affect me’.
One step further to the People in Politics, Government and the Establishment and the question simply changes to ‘how does this benefit me’.
On a collective basis the problem is so severe because of the way that power and influence works.
The world today is morally bankrupt.
Bit by bit. Person by Person. Me and You. We have all played our part.
We can change all of this by changing the things that we have the power to change. That’s all we really need to do.
We just have to accept that the power and the responsibility for change doesn’t lie somewhere outside of us and with someone else.
AI REALITY Pt.20: Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words
We can all too easily pay lip service and use words to talk up our fears and concerns about AI, whilst doing none of the things that we know we have the ability to, in order to play the very important part that each and every one of us has not only to influence, but to be a part of necessary change.
The words about Artificial Intelligence – and as you already know, there are plenty of them – are VERY noisy.
It is true that the way AI is being discussed and reported in the news, with tech moguls and even Prime Ministers and Presidents apparently having talks about it – suggests that any problems with AI-based technology will quickly be cleared up.
The problems with AI will not be cleared up quickly by anyone who has the power and the influence to do so. But that’s what Politicians, Governments and The Establishment want us all to think.
It’s all words and those words are very hollow indeed.
Only WE can change the direction of AI, Artificial Intelligence and every form of tech that has or will soon be impacting lives through action. Using only words, simply doesn’t work.
Part 3: The Action that every one of us should now take.
The biggest threat to freedom is our willingness to engage with the Artificial Intelligence Programme any further
If you can make the decision to remove AI from every part of your life where you know that it already exists, you should know that your actions – no matter how isolated they might feel – will be beneficial not only to yourself, but to everyone.
Once everyone realises that there is a better way for us to live that is much happier and doesn’t need all the ease of use, shortcuts and false ‘benefits’ that have manipulated us and created our buy-in to a way of living that is unhealthy for us, the lies that we don’t even see or think about today, will no longer be hidden in plain sight.
However, AI is now in the early stages of moving beyond the comparatively less harmful ways it has already been used to manipulate and monitor us and is about to begin reconditioning those of us already using it, whilst conditioning new generations to come, in ways that will change what it is to be human.
It is a process that will bring into question everything that’s genuinely true and whatever we have or will soon be taught.
Our Rejection of any new forms of AI must begin right away.
Once we have started using AI and learned to rely on it – because its biggest selling point is its ease of use, like some instantly addictive drug like Meth or Crack Cocaine that will quickly destroy us, it will be ridiculously difficult to turn back.
Once enough of us are addicted to the newest forms of AI, the messaging will quickly change, and the focus will shift to ridiculing those who ‘are in danger of being left behind’.
This will be the moment where the momentum has actually shifted, where the majority will be committed to whatever the masters of our new brains or intelligence demand of us.
Freedom will no longer be in the hands of the majority, and we will already be a shrinking minority when it’s too late to take the easy steps that we could right now.
We will be left with the choice of accepting this new fate, or to fight against what we are free to reject right now.
Actions for Living a Free Life and Contributing to a World without AI
The hardest part of Conscientiously Rejecting AI is that humanity has already gone way beyond the point where dealing with the problem that Artificial Intelligence is creating could be resolved with a simple YES or NO.
AI is already embedded within our digital lives and is set to take over more and more of what we ask from technology.
Because many are so unaware of the role that AI already plays, unless technology were quite literally no longer able to run or exist, the reality we face is that there are very few people who will willingly or voluntarily give up the use of every functional element of AI, wherever it already exists – Whether or not it is already prejudicing or restricting their freedom in some way.
Even if you already accept the threat that AI and further reliance upon AI and Artificial Intelligence poses, you are unlikely to accept it as being practical to reject your own use of it, wherever within your life it already exists.
We will ultimately need to reject many of the current uses of AI, along with many more within our lives, IF we want to live lives where we have and maintain the genuine freedom and right to choose.
Ten Actions we can all take to Reject and halt the AI takeover.
We have the freedom to choose a life without AI and Artificial Intelligence right now.
The choice is regrettably not as simple as a YES or NO.
The choice comes in many parts. In the form of many actions.
But it’s these many actions that are necessary to secure yours and everyone’s real freedom.
Freedom cannot be achieved by using only words.
The Ten Actions are:
ACTION 1: Treat AI and Everything Online like another person. A person you have only just met.
ACTION 2. Don’t ask AI to do ANYTHING for you.
ACTION 3. STOP clicking adverts on your social media feeds.
ACTION 4. Follow the alternatives too.
ACTION 5. Research the content yourself.
ACTION 6. Read EVERYTHING in FULL!
ACTION 7. Think Critically.
ACTION 8. Only Trust the people you can see, hear and stand beside.
ACTION 9. Trust your instincts.
ACTION 10. Reject New Tech. Embrace Simplicity. Improve on what’s ‘old’.
ACTION 1: Treat AI and everything Online like another person. A person you have only just met.
You wouldn’t normally go up to a complete stranger on a bus, ask them for life-changing advice or information that could affect your future in some way, and then act upon it as if they were guaranteed to know the answers and be a 100% accurate source.
So why do exactly that, each and every time you use a smart phone, tablet, computer or other tech device?
Very few people consider that we feel naturally disposed to ‘trust’ tech over people already, even when the tech in question is neither a person that has even the potential to know and understand what is important to a person. Not only that, but most importantly, its behaviours, priorities and boundaries are all being set or programmed by a stranger that we are very unlikely to know or ever meet.
IF you want to know and understand the truth in anything and find yourself able to access every bit of information that can genuinely help – rather than disadvantage you, treating the Internet and any form of AI that you use as if it were a complete stranger, will be a very healthy way for you to live your digital life.
ACTION 2: Don’t ask AI to do ANYTHING for you.
AI is most likely to create buy-in from the masses by behaving like a drug-dealer handing out a free-giveaway. Every opportunity it provides for you to ask it to do your work for you is the opportunity for you to get hooked.
It won’t matter one bit if your work or task is study, research, newsletters, social media posts, presentations, animations, videos, content creation, writing books, or even translating what you or someone else has said: IF you ‘instruct’ AI to do any of these things for you, you will not be doing them yourself.
By not doing them yourself, you will not be learning. You will not be developing your skills. You will not be extending your experience. You will not be sure of the credibility of whatever the AI creates or whatever it writes. You cannot be sure that the integrity and meaning of the original material will still exist.
Yes, you can check the work. But if you have to check it, you will also need to check it properly.
So, if you are in a hurry anyway, it could well end up taking you a lot more time to deliver the work you gave it, if you had simply completed the task yourself, first.
It is truly alarming just how many adverts for books and websites that make promises such as ‘People are already using AI to earn $120K a year’ – when the opportunity to even use it has not even existed for as long as a few months.
People are genuinely falling for the lie that everyone can get rich by doing absolutely nothing other than setting up a program or chatbot themselves, when the only way to make good money using AI as a business in itself, is to sell a guidebook or formula on how to use it, and make a lot of money from a lot of unsuspecting and lazy people looking for an easy life who will enthusiastically part with the charge.
The only way that AI can make money for anyone, is by making the roles and the jobs that other people do redundant, or by playing the markets and the gambling games which raise the prices of everything, that people who have no morals, ethics or care for others already do.
Don’t fall into the trap of teaching yourself or anyone else that you no longer have any use. Because sooner or later, you will indeed become useless, and that’s how your future will feel and will be seen.
Have the integrity to do your job and do your job to the best of your ability, whatever your job might be. Your destiny will remain in your hands, and will not be at the mercy of someone, somewhere else who is only aware of you as a number and simply doesn’t care.
ACTION 3: STOP clicking adverts on your social media feeds.
Can you remember what it was that first drew you into using social media?
What do you use social media for today?
Are the answers to these two questions the same?
I would like to place a BIG bet that they aren’t.
The reason that we supposedly use social media is contained within its name. Social media is a form of media where we can be social. i.e., we can interact with our friends and the people that we know.
IF being ‘social’ with all the different people we know or have known in the ‘real world’ – even if they live on the other side of the world today – was all social media was still about, social media wouldn’t:
Be as addictive as it is.
Be anywhere near as popular as it is.
Yes, we all love to watch puppy videos and films of cats and other animals doing ridiculous things. But we don’t need to watch videos of these things or anything like them to meet our real or genuine needs.
In fact, the ease with which this attention junk now arrives in or on our social media feeds is a dangerous distraction that only takes our attention and time away from the activities that are healthy for us, that would be meeting a genuine need.
The social giveaway sprat to catch the media and big-tech payday mackerel.
Each and every time you click on something that you see on a timeline or social media feed, you are providing data about what you ‘like’ and what ‘interests’ you, to someone somewhere who can use that information either to sell directly, or to use as a way to sell your attention as an advertising space.
You are quite literally being fed the treats that you like, so that somebody somewhere can make a profit from the trojan horse offers that are almost always attached or hidden within everything that we see.
It doesn’t stop there either. The reality is that every action you take online, even if it is just the search of the spelling for a single word, will be telling someone somewhere something about you that they can make money from.
Not because it’s something you are doing wrong. But because we have all been funneled into the same trap where we are already behaving exactly the same way.
Until such time as we have Politicians, Government and legislation that deals with the ethical vacuum that surrounds the harvesting and use of our data, along with the manipulative ways that so many of us are being duped into giving it up, the risk will remain that anything we do online or by using any equipment or technology that is connected to the internet, will result in the surrender of information and data that is personal to us in some way.
You don’t need any of the things that appear on your feed. But you believe you want them.
This is where the very bad taste should begin to appear in your mouth, when you begin to realise and then understand that there isn’t any magic involved in the way that the things that interest you, or the things that you might like to buy, so miraculously appear.
Yes, we’ve all had that ‘wow’ moment when we see something appear that relates to something we’ve discussed or been thinking about. But that’s because what you’ve been doing online or somewhere where an algorithm can identify you, is triggering someone somewhere and telling them that they or someone somewhere else that they can sell advertising or make a sale – if they get a link or many links to confirm the magic that makes it all feel so easy when things find you, that you literally don’t need to think.
It’s time to remember that when we have a genuine need for something, we already know where to get it, or we already know a way to look for it that will provide us with options that genuinely make a lot more sense.
Even if you really do believe that you genuinely need something that has appeared in a feed, you should at the very least undertake your own, fully conscious search of the options that are available and preferably buy from someone you can physically meet or visit – even if you actually buy online.
By becoming dependent upon systems that are creating wants, rather than servicing our basic needs, we are actually funding the development of the technology and the AI systems that are set to make the pathway from human freedom even worse.
Every rejection of the opportunity to click is a step away from the digital dependency that somebody somewhere wishes to create. Not because it will help you. But because it helps them.
Your future and your freedom will come from reasserting your independence from these systems; by quite literally moving away from them and physically moving and looking around.
You will become a part of that system, each and every time that you get plugged in.
ACTION 4: Follow the alternatives too.
This will sound contradictory when ACTION 3 explained why you should reject each and every opportunity to ‘click’.
However, we are already within a digital world and until such time as we aren’t, or preferably we have a system of ethics and regulation that protects humanity on both an individual and collective basis, we have no choice but to recognise, accept and then work with some of the more ‘everyday use’ AI systems. So that they can be made to work for us, rather than being used against us.
Everyday use AI are the sources of information that many of us read, that we use to inform our understanding and views on current affairs and pretty much everything where any kind of meaningful life choice for us or the people we care about is being made.
The chances are that you will already be following, bookmarking or subscribing to various companies, news sources, celebrities, people with public profiles and the list really does go on.
Each and every one of these is likely to be exerting an influence on you in some way and although you will genuinely believe that you follow them because you ‘like’ them or you ‘agree’ with them, what you are doing is limiting your own input and therefore the understanding that you have about events, issues, trends and ways of thinking and giving yourself an isolated viewpoint – irrespective of whether you believe it to be right or wrong.
Nobody is impartial. But everyone can be objective.
Sadly, we are experiencing times when it is more often than not the case that writers, speakers and just about everyone who is in the public eye – or has a platform that people like you and I follow and listen to or read, that they tell us is based upon them being impartial in some way (e.g. they speak for the public or have the majority view), when they are actually being highly subjective.
By isolating our information gathering, reading or listening just to the people and the subjects that we like, we are consuming and growing with a subjective view of the world too.
This has never been more dangerous than it is right now, when you can no longer even be sure that the words you read or listen to come from the source you believe and may have been created only using a criteria they gave to a machine.
To understand a subject, the news, or what is really going on, follow as many sources that have different views on the same subject areas as possible – even when the differences seem trivial or too small to note.
ACTION 5: Research the content yourself
AI is about to make information so easy for you to find, that there is already talk that Search Engines such as Google and Bing are about to become redundant and will very quickly be left behind.
The only question you really need to ask yourself about using AI when you are looking for an answer is ‘Will this form of AI provide me with what I actually need?’
The reality is that it will not. Because:
Someone somewhere may have programmed the AI to ignore the answers that they don’t want you to see.
Someone somewhere is likely to have a pecuniary or financial interest in you receiving information that benefits you in some way.
The programming of the AI is based only upon the parameters that its algorithm has set.
Some AI programmes have already demonstrated that they have the ability to create sources that appear credible to the untrained eye. Yes – that means they have the ability to lie.
Like a search engine, the AI reads your question or request in a very literal way. It does not and cannot see, hear or even pick up any other information about your request, that would enable a human to respond to you in a very different and considered way.
Once again, in the absence of ethically based regulation or ending the use of the equipment and tech that we already possess, we have no choice but to use the tech that we already have in ways that will help us, rather than hinder us.
Use Tech as the means. Not the end.
The healthiest and most beneficial way to work with existing smart technology and help prevent further development, is to use it as the means to find the right information, rather than relying on it to be the end, final source or to provide the conclusion in itself.
Use search engines that already exist and search out as much original content and as many original sources as possible. DON’T rely on just one.
One original information source is likely to be better than any AI supported view. But even then, that source will still be subjective, no matter how less subjective than the AI would be.
The best way to learn any subject in real depth is to teach it or talk about it many times over. Because the understanding of many different perspectives is how we finally uncover the genuine truth.
ACTION 6: Read EVERYTHING in FULL!
There are already apps available that sell the lie that you can fully understand concepts, principles and even entire philosophies by quickly reading the 10 summary points they give you – for a charge.
They can’t.
There isn’t a cheat on real learning.
You have to read the whole work if you are to have any idea what the author intended to share. And even then, the wisest move to understand any real learning is to read as many books about the same subject by as many different authors as you can, if you want to understand the objective truths.
The only books that it might be safe to summarize and look at this way would be stories, fairytales or fiction. Because they are stories anyway and it doesn’t matter what conclusions you reach, as the outcome of your conclusions cannot usually hurt anyone, including you.
As you will surely realise already, cheating actually misses the point of reading such books anyway.
AI is about to offer you a no return ticket to a summary of life outside of you. Not a genuine or truthful one. But a mere overview, written using someone else’s filter or terms.
ACTION 7: Think Critically
You may believe that you already look, listen and then think critically about every bit of information that comes your way.
Regrettably, the chances are that like many others, you don’t.
Yes, I just said, the chances are that most of the time, you don’t think critically at all.
What you and what most people do, when approaching new information, is to filter it in terms of past experiences, or in terms of what you already know.
The problem with this process or this way of thinking, is that we become complacent or take for granted the validity, reliability and objectivity of what we already know, failing to recognise that our assessment of any encounter is likely to be influenced by what we have already seen.
That false sense of security and misplaced confidence means that we don’t ask any of the questions that we should be about the information that we receive.
As we don’t ask those questions, the problem is then compounded further because we then fail to look into the subject as deeply or in as much detail as we really should.
Sadly, most of us alive today have been failed by our education system. Unless you are focused on subjects such as philosophy within higher levels of education, there is no part of any syllabus within mandatory areas of schooling that teach critical thinking or the ability to think critically in a fully objective way – when this is a skill for life that every human living in an information-based environment should be automatically trained to have.
The question over whether this omission was and continues to be deliberate is one for debate elsewhere.
However, you can quickly teach yourself to become proficient as a critical thinker, IF you want to understand everything at a level and in a way that is beneficial to you.
Read or listen to everything thoroughly. Then ask and find the answers to questions like these:
Why is this being done?
Who is doing this?
Why are they doing it?
Whose purpose does this really serve?
What is the real benefit for them?
What is the real benefit for me?
What is the real cost to me?
What are the alternatives?
Why are the alternatives not being used?
Do I actually need this, or do I just believe I want it?
Yes, it sounds like a lot of work.
However, by going through these questions or questions that typically begin with Why, How, What, Who and words just like them, you will soon change the way that you process information and the way that you think about new information.
Critical thinking will quickly become second nature with practice. As with the benefits of practicing any skill, you will just get better and better and more efficient at using it the more you do so, until you don’t have to even think about it.
Being an objective reader and listener will just become another part of who you are.
ACTION 8: Treat everything as Opinion and only Trust the people you can see, hear and stand beside.
NEWSFLASH:
Real life doesn’t come to you digitally. Real life is everything that doesn’t involve a screen.
Regrettably, the days that existed when it was even possible to be able to trust a newspaper, a TV news bulletin or a radio announcement have long since gone.
News is no longer news. It is opinion and we can see it too.
Yet we still persist in giving our trust to created content, rather than genuine human interaction and life experience – every day.
If you can accept – as you should, that AI, opinion or something somewhere that has an agenda which is highly subjective – now controls the channeling and placement of every bit of information that ‘just comes to you’, the next step is to reach the understanding that no source of information that you haven’t independently made the decision to search for and then qualified as credible, is a source you can trust.
As a process that anyone who genuinely values freedom will soon have to follow, it will only be the people who we can access in ‘real’ life, who we are able to relate to as fellow human beings, who we will be able to genuinely trust.
It is only the people who are in your life that have any chance of understanding anything that is going on within it. We should never go in search of help and support from anyone or anything that can only ever be made available to us through a digital medium or online.
ACTION 9: Trust your instincts
The digital world fills our heads and our existences with so much noise, it has become difficult, if not near impossible to hear, listen to and feel the messages that come from the essence of who we really are.
Too many of us have switched off to our own intrinsic guidance systems.
These are the gut feelings, the hunches and the unexplainable inner ‘knowing’ that we probably all have, that come without emotion and don’t shout at us in any way. They are the subtle signposts that point us away from experiences that have a habit of coming back to haunt us very quickly when ignored, reminding us that they had been there and warned us of the pathway or situation that we needed to resist or avoid.
By simply asking yourself the question ‘is this genuinely something that I need or something that I need to do’, the chances are that you will shut out the noise and the temptation that the world is throwing at you for long enough to hear, feel or know the answer, whether or not it’s something you want to do or don’t actually like.
ACTION 10: Reject New Tech. Embrace Simplicity. Improve on what’s ‘old.’
The most challenging change that you can make in your Conscientious Rejection of AI, is the rejection of new tech within your life and the active refusal to use or adopt upgraded software within your existing equipment, wherever possible.
This is as challenging as it is because:
You must make the conscious decision not to upgrade phones, computers, TVs or anything else that is using Smart technology.
Much of the tech you already have in your possession or in your home will be receiving upgrades without you even knowing.
The programming sat behind any search engine or dynamically active website that you use online will almost certainly be upgraded regularly and could already be using the latest forms of AI or a ‘plug in’ that comes from the same genre of Artificial Intelligence.
It sounds impossible. But it’s not.
This goes back to the fundamental question of asking yourself what you need versus what you want.
You don’t need to buy food, clothes, health products or anything else that you need because it is essential for life, by relying only upon systems that are already under the influence of AI.
You still have the choice to reject any and all transactions where you haven’t knowingly controlled the entire decision-making process – from realising the ‘need’ to the point where you are in receipt of or able to use the item, product, goods or services.
It may come as a surprise to learn that taking Action doesn’t mean a complete rejection of any form of AI that you have no choice but to avoid. It just means that you need to be fully aware of the entire process and remain completely in control throughout.
If you have had an email about an offer about something you regularly buy or you have a post in your social media feed that reminded you of something you ‘remember’ that you need, you are not in control of the whole process – even if you believe that you have made a conscious decision to buy.
The Bigger Picture and breaking out of the freedom-sapping trap that we are already in
The future isn’t in the hands of the billionaires, the Politicians, the tech moguls or the AI programmers. No matter what they say, no matter what they are telling you they are going to do.
The future is in YOUR hands. MY hands. The hands of EVERYONE who values freedom and humanity in some way.
Just as long as we are prepared to act, and then do so.
What we have covered and discussed in this short book only provides a basic understanding of the situation that we, our communities, our country and the whole world face. Then, what each and every one of us has the power to do to stop what appears to be the unstoppable march of AI and the tech-takeover right now.
If we were all to become conscious of everything we do and everything that we use that involves AI and then at the very least do so knowing how to retain control, or ideally remove it from our own lives altogether, this would prove to be an act that is, in itself likely to change the approach of those behind the AI takeover that is being inflicted upon us.
However, this in itself is only a step-in terms of all the changes that need to be made, so that technology, financial devices and anything else that may be sold as being great, but actually hurts us, can be removed from the lives that everyone lives, and humanity can then have the freedom of choice to appreciate everyone and value every other human in the same ways.
The future is yours to decide and Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words.
Establishing Public Policy & Governance for a New Democracy, the post-Great Reset and putting the Grassroots, our Communities and people first
Introduction
You may not realise it. You may not accept it. But a Revolution of everything that we know and understand is already underway.
Begin to look closely at the news, at politics and how everything that each of us interacts with is now affecting and shaping our daily lives, and you will soon begin to understand and appreciate that there are forces of great turbulence at work.
In isolation, each and every part of ‘normal’ life is being systematically attacked, reformed and reshaped in ways that only seem unobtrusive and without harm, because we fail to see the interconnectivity of everything that is happening.
The reality we are in right now is one where an old world that has thrived loudly by quietly hurting us all is collapsing.
The powers responsible for that old world and its collapse are slowly and manipulative controlling the creation of a new world, whilst manipulating us all into adopting systems and behaviours that will eventually mould its controlling shape.
The role we are playing and the role that we have played.
Whilst the majority of us are either not aware or pour scorn on such suggestions, our collective ignorance of this collapse and process of deliberately intended change is not without considerable risk to our own futures and the generations that will follow us beyond.
That ignorance leads those of us who are unaware of what is happening to believe that the way that are lives are now constructed and all the cultural norms that we employ have been a natural progression and a beneficial choice.
We do not or will not see nor accept that hidden within the mechanics, the toys and the feelings of personal greatness that this whole age employs, lies our own voluntary acceptance of the real agendas that have and still drive all of this. Agendas and plans that are all about self-interest and the removal of anything that identifies the self and what we believe to be our remaining freedom – which is our ability to choose or our freedom of choice.
Few will be ready to accept the direction of travel that we inevitably face, until the hurt and restriction that this grand plan or strategy reaches and then hits each and every one of us directly in the face.
It’s happening now. 15 Minute Cities & LTNs, The Trans Debate, Net Zero, Cows being fed anti-methane tablets, Central Bank Digital Currencies, Cashless Society, Cancelling People, Wokeism, Political Correctness, AI (Artificial Intelligence) and much, much more. These ARE ALL part of a deliberate attack on personal identity, on personal freedom and upon what we used to recognise as Humanity itself – and it’s all driven by selfishness, stupidity and an overwhelming desire for complete control.
It may be hard to understand and agree with. But these things are only happening and are only coming into being because we are accepting them.
We are doing nothing to stop the direction of travel itself, and where we are beginning to stand up and fight, we are doing so only when the issue itself is one that seems to be most important to us.
Understanding the change that our own role in the Community requires of us.
We didn’t knowingly choose to surrender more and more of our own power to people who are abusing the power and influence they have to pursue their own agendas and how they see the world will work.
But we have acquiesced and played an important part in all that is happening, because we have not questioned the perceived benefits of everything we have collectively been given.
We have collectively failed everyone who has already suffered as a result, as the thinking we have become accustomed to has increasingly affirmed that such problems always belong to others and are therefore not our own.
A spiritual outlook upon life is not required to understand that everything is connected and that disadvantage and suffering for anyone will always have an effect on everyone else in some way – even if the events or outcomes are so far apart, that it would appear there is simply no way that we could ever logically join all the dots up.
But by accepting ideas like processed foods are better because someone somewhere else has made them seem cheap, or that we can afford everything in life as long as we are able to keep borrowing, we are actually helping to make what is for some a life that is already un-liveable, progressively even worse.
If things don’t change, if WE don’t change, the problems you see as someone else’s today, will be knocking on your front door too, very soon.
If collectively, or rather as the majority, we continue to accept that a wealth, money and material values base and everything that comes with it is normal, the reality is that what some of us still believe to be freedom, and what is left of the concept we understand as humanity is and will be completely damned.
Yet we do have a choice or an alternative. And that alternative can come to us in either one of two different ways.
Proactive or Reactive Change: Change voluntarily or wait and have no choice.
This is a particularly dangerous time for the world and for everyone living today. Not because we are experiencing the process leading to the end of an epoch. But because so few of us accept that anything is in the process of change.
Worse still, of those who accept it, the majority do not see just how far that change will reach and what impact it really will or could potentially have for us all.
It has been said that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Couple that up with the deceptive levels of complexity that everything in the world offers us today, and you will soon realise that we have a very simple view of a problem that requires great thought and intelligence to understand, and that we all – or those that represent us – must reach the level of intelligent understanding that is necessary, before the simple solutions that will be good for us all can be created and then put into place to be of benefit for us all.
The people who think they understand the problems today, don’t. So, they keep telling everyone who will listen that they do, whilst doing absolutely nothing to prepare for what comes next.
Ultimately, without us changing, the New World or New Earth that will emerge at the other side of The Great Reset, will be defined by the same people who are controlling everything that we have and that happens to us now.
The alternative is that we all come together, take back the power that is ours – that those leading us today have assumed to be theirs by right, and then define, redefine, re-establish or create our own new system and rules, that must by their very nature be established from the Grassroots within our very own Communities and then without definable hierarchies spread its influence from the Grassroots-Up.
The change we have the power to own can begin right now.
We have the opportunity to begin working on establishing the guiding rules, principles and structures for our New Earth now.
It is a choice that we all have.
One that requires that we begin a proper conversation and dialogue with everyone who is already open to it. That we don’t attack or obstruct those who currently are not awakened to it. And that instead of looking up through the layers of hierarchy with the expectation that the answers and solutions will come from those who are already, or want to be the next ones at the top, we instead focus all our energies on working with everyone at our own level, whilst embracing all those who we would previously have looked down upon and seeing them as the equals they really are.
By switching from talking to doing, many would be surprised just how much could be done. Actions always speak much louder than words after all, and the strongest and most powerful words and commands for the change that we need ahead will always come from people just like you.
We do not need the surety of numbers to know that preparation is the right course of action, or that it is vital for anyone who is already awake to get on and do.
The risk is that by continuing to talk and shout loudly but do nothing constructive or make no proactive contribution when we have the perfect opportunity to do so right now, that we will collectively miss the chance to precipitate and take control of change voluntarily.
If we miss this open goal of a chance, our only further opportunity is likely to come only in the middle of a crisis, when the fear that the powers in charge today have worked so hard to cultivate and evolve, will push and push for the majority to take what appears to be the quick, easy and safest option, that will in fact condemn humanity to a very different and terrible way.
The System Collapse may not be obvious and without us being aware, it could take years rather than happening in just one day.
The emphasis on beginning work to create and build our New Earth now is necessary, simply because the building blocks of change are already in play.
It is human to think and believe that change of any magnitude will take place as part of an event or process that is not only definable, but obvious to anyone experiencing that change as it happens or in real time.
However, change is and always has been happening around us all the time, whether we are conscious of it or not.
The difference between the decisions that lawmakers, politicians and their influencers are controlling now and what they have been over many decades previously, is that the fallout from all of that bad decision making is now really beginning to hit everything.
We are in the end game and death throes of the old world and old system and our failure not to engage and resist the so-called solutions to the problems that they created and which they are also guiding, means that we are accepting their interpretation of what is best for the world, once all the mess they are responsible for has been cleared up – with the full cost apportioned not to them, but comprehensively towards all of us.
The chances are that the mismanagement of everything has been so bad, that the system we have today will reach a point where the seamless change that the Establishment and the elites believe is possible without consequence won’t happen at all.
Things will come to a complete halt, and when events take over from the clever propaganda and manipulation that is so forcefully at work, there will be a flashpoint where we literally have a moment in time to take back control for ourselves, or someone else will do so.
Without us changing the way we think and the way we are viewing and interacting with all this, it remains likely that those who can buy off enough people with promises of a return to what we know as normality – will step in and win – without anyone really understanding the true cost – That is IF the alternative message and a different direction that is credible is not already there and ready to fill the void.
Looking back will not help anyone now.
What we may not realise, as we look forward and think about what might happen next, is the lens that we are viewing the future with was created and formed with our experiences of the past.
We are quite literally thinking about the changing world and what could happen using the reference points and the understanding of everything that we have experienced as the point where we would jump off into whatever comes next.
Some would argue that is what experience is: the benchmark or guide you use for navigating the future. But the experience of the old world and the system that we are leaving and experience of a healthy life, being self-aware and being human in all things are two completely different things.
If we continue to navigate what lies ahead of us with the same value set that got us into this mess, we will condemn ourselves and the generations that follow to the state of dehumanised subservience that is now the ultimate aim of those who created the road that we now follow.
The alternative isn’t some kind of spiritual awakening – that by its very nature suggests that we all have to qualify in some way to ‘get in’.
The alternative to this hinges or is anchored upon the way that we think, and to think differently.
We must all take the leap of faith and open our minds to the reality that it is what we haven’t yet experienced that offers us real freedom and an altogether much better way.
Look to your neighbours, your peers and the people you once looked down upon. Reject the idea that the best solutions and right-minded thinking comes from someone ‘at the top’.
Asking everyone to think differently or change the way we think, does indeed make it sound as if the process that so many of us now need to embrace will be as simple as changing the way that we think about just one thing.
Meaningful change requires that we all have to change the way we look and think about everything.
To reach a place or a level of understanding where we will all be able to see, experience and interact with life differently and in a way that will then be healthy for us all, requires that we adopt the first, most meaningful or profound changes to the way that we think, as a matter of faith.
Only then will we provide ourselves with the motivation and confidence necessary to make sense of changing our minds about everything else that follows next.
The first step is of course the most significant. That is the rejection of the Top-Down system that controls and influences everything that we know and interact with today.
Nobody will underestimate just how difficult not only this change will be in thought, but what is in practicality itself a rejection of the basis of everything that we have been conditioned to believe will be.
Top-Down thinking is ingrained within every part of The System and how everything we know or have known currently works.
Top-Down thinking runs our system of government and the way that our so-called Democracy works. It runs the public sector; it runs large companies and organisations. It structures the way that just about everything else that we know and understands works.
Top-Down is also called centralisation in other – and deliberately deceptive terms.
Top-Down or centralised power structures are only good for the decision makers or the people who are at the top.
Top-Down power structures are in no way considerate of the real-life realities of the people at the bottom.
Top-Down hierarchies only appear to be favourable to those who gain in some way as they climb up the tiers or levels, as they become more important in the process of maintaining the message and in keeping control – again, because to do so is beneficial to those at the top in some way.
Top-Down decision makers and influencers are rarely if ever accessible to anyone other than friends and family, who doesn’t come from one of the hierarchical layers that sandwich them, or more often than not is at peer level or beneath them – again, promoting the idea that it’s all about being better, being the same, or having something more.
The only people you can trust fully are the people who are in your life, who are accessible, who share the same experiences; the people who you can actually see without newspaper, an electronic device or a screen.
Your power sits within your sphere of influence. You can either embrace it or reject it. But there will always be consequences you have no control over, if you don’t.
The Grassroots Revolution (The Great Reset or Great Awakening)
Deep down, the majority of people do at least realise that there is very little that is actually ‘normal’ about any of the things that we are outwardly experiencing now. Whether it be the behaviour of politicians, the group think, the rejection of common sense, the ridiculous speed and growth of inflation, the way that The Covid Pandemic was handled, and pretty much everything that the Establishment now does.
The reason that we are not openly embracing and taking control of the change that is underway already, is too many of us remain invested in the way that the current system still works.
Collectively, we are sleepwalking under the forlorn hope that the unsustainable, self-enriching and selfish ways that we have been living will get us back to how it always was. That once the blips like the war in Ukraine and the end of physical cash are over, the way of living that thrives on each of us putting ourselves and what we want rather than only what we need, will continue unopposed.
We have to be realistic enough to understand that many of us are so heavily invested in the whimsical and take-everything-for-granted lifestyles that we have, that nothing will change the collective mind about the true cost of its so-called benefits, until our participation either causes us direct pain, or the whole lifestyle itself ends or is taken away from us by external and uncontrollable events.
Whether we are dragged, kicking and screaming by events – as in this case it would be, whether we are awakening to all of this now, or whether we have had our eyes wide open to it all for a very long time, the process we are going through is so massively significant that once it has been completed, it will have resulted in a reset of everything that we know.
The Establishment has claimed the process already and called it The Great Reset.
Yet the Establishment are not in control of it.
Although they are using the cloak created by seemingly endless crisis to implement and impose new public policies, closing farms, feeding cows methane blockers, net zero, 15 Minutes Cities, eating ground crickets, Central Bank Digital Currencies, endless ‘human rights’ and using everything else that defies logic to cement the claim that everything is theirs to own for the long term, it is right now and during this period of transition that the choice is ours to reject and walk away from this malevolent and unnecessary plan at any time.
Hope is bubbling, but it doesn’t yet have the process necessary to come to the boil.
On the flipside, there is indeed a movement or rather a loose affiliation of different groups that accept the need for change.
It is made up of individuals, personalities, some smaller (but nonetheless mainstream) political parties, spiritual groups, conspiracy theorists, new ageists, spiritual and religious groups and potentially many more, all of whom are in one way or another seeing the process as being a Great Awakening.
The problem that is common amongst this loose affiliation is one that they share with the Establishment itself.
Culturally and subconsciously, all of them see Money and the Top-Down value set that surrounds it as being mechanically central to how everything works. Rather than life being all about people – as it will always be.
Until enough of us can look at life in a very different way and accept that life can and will be able to operate very differently with a non-money focus, even the most spiritually free of us are still disposed to accepting solutions that the Establishment will continue to offer – even when the critical moment comes when it will be obvious to everyone that it is broke.
Keep it real. Keep looking ahead.
This analysis does sound negative indeed. But it is a genuine assessment of where things are now, written without the wanky hopeism that too many of the people and groups who genuinely already believe that they understand everything that’s happening and that they have ‘got this’, actually employ.
The overwhelming risk to a future with real freedom, that is genuinely happy, healthy, safe and secure for us all, actually comes from all of ourselves.
The fact is that en-masse, we are absolutely open to plotting a future, as long as all the reference points and standards come from looking back.
When you value the past more than you do the future, you can easily be bought off, because the familiarity that comes within the lies, always appears to contain certainty and therefore the deception of a reliable truth.
Real value awaits us in our future if we take it. But to take it, we have to place our faith in it without any hollow promise, and we have to make that decision right now.
Uncomfortable as it is to even write, I believe it to be inevitable that the power of humanity will eventually shine through. But for enough of us to awaken to the level we genuinely need to, we face a reality that will literally mean that the ground underneath us will have to shake, and all that we hold dear to ourselves today will have to be broken or taken away from us first.
Whichever route it will be, we are already on an inevitable path that doesn’t include the designs of the Establishment, the worlds billionaires, today’s politicians, organisations such as the WEF or WHO – no matter how universally appealing or utopian these very silly people believe their vision and control-is-in-humanities-best-interests messaging might be.
One way or another, we are already on a journey and a process of change that will result in nothing less than a complete revolution, which will have meaning for us all, because it will deliver balance, fairness and justice for all, which today seems all but impossible and will continue to appear so for as long as we culturally worship money, and have vacuous and massively selfish people ruling over us from the top.
When this process ends, locality will once again be the most important of all Community tools and our system and system of Governance or Democracy will no longer function from the Top-Down.
Life will be all about the empowerment of the individual and their place and role within the Community.
The system will be Grassroots-Up.
What is The Grassroots Manifesto
Whilst we would probably all agree that it would be wonderful if positive change were to simply arrive, or perhaps more practically, the people we elect to represent us would always work tirelessly to ensure that’s all we will ever get, the truth of the matter is that the world we know doesn’t work that way.
In our personal and private lives, positive change usually begins with us. This troubled world we share is no different.
But in amongst this crisis, the change must begin with us all.
It’s difficult to create change without direction at any time. So when the very nature of this change or reset demands that we create, establish, evolve and develop a system that creates a framework or system of Governance for life which represents something that none of us who are alive has experienced before, we all need some ideas, suggestions and basic materials to work with, so that the meaningful and inclusive debate that we all need to happen can begin.
The Grassroots Manifesto is a game plan.
The Grassroots Manifesto is a document with a plan or strategy that is built on the principle that real change is not an evolution from what we already know but begins with what we will know.
The Grassroots Manifesto then begins the process of creating anew, or adapts that which can be adapted, so that there is a place to start from which includes everyone and builds a system from the Grassroots Up that has no biases or offers no favours, other than being equitable and considerate to the needs and experiences of us all.
The Grassroots Manifesto is a focus upon where local and public policy will be, once control has been returned to the People and their Communities, to where a sense of true Democracy exists, with power coming from the individual, to the Community, to the region, to the nation, to the world, through a process which is undoubtedly Grassroots-Up or even across.
The Makeshift Manifesto and the process that led here.
Public Policy has interested me since I was a teenager. Throughout the time since, I have always followed politics closely, and was directly involved firstly in its delivery, working for a Rural Community Council and then a County Council, before setting and interpreting it as a Town Councillor, a Parish Councillor and as a Borough (District) Councillor, where I was also Chairman of a Licensing Authority too.
Using my own Life and Professional experiences as a pool of information, in addition to the countless interactions I have been fortunate to have with so many different people who come from all walks of life, I worked hard as a politician and regulatory facilitator to understand all of the different perspectives of everyone involved in whatever policy I worked on, and always aimed to understand and have a respect for the range of different influences and drivers that are inevitably involved.
As we approached the December 2019 General Election, I tapped out a manifesto, detailing the different things that I then believed a good government would need to do, IF it really wanted to get public policy moving in a much better and therefore different way. It’s called the Makeshift Manifesto and can be downloaded as a Kindle Book from Amazon, HERE.
Things have moved on from then and the opportunities that our politicians had open to them then and the choices they could have taken and embraced on our behalf no longer exist. This in no small part due to the response that the current Government and MPs from all of the Political Parties sitting at the Westminster Parliament made in response to The Covid Pandemic. Poor choices and mismanagement that have only continued as The Ukraine War came into focus and the all of the fallout from over 50 years of Neoliberal miss-rule has begun to come home to roost.
Why has The Grassroots Manifesto been written.
As someone who has experienced many different aspects of life, faced challenges and difficulties that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, as well as having moments of genuine peace and happiness that it is my hope we will all learn to experience as normal and share, I possess understanding and insights that I have the opportunity to offer others and to share, which will hopefully make sense to anyone ready to embrace this impending change – and more importantly, what kind of shape this change is going to take – IF we want to take back our power and take control of it.
Ultimately, The Grassroots Revolution is already underway. It is the process which will deliver a genuine Democracy that itself will establish a truly balanced, fair and just system, and then protect it, so that happy, healthy, safe and secure lives are prioritised and can never be side-lined as now, or as the current establishment plans – replaced.
How The Grassroots Manifesto works.
The Grassroots Manifesto is presented in three parts.
The first part focuses on the necessary step of creating and implementing a new Democracy and Electoral System that completely replaces the system that exists in the UK / Great Britain now.
The second and third parts focus on the difference between rules which are frameworks that guide and ensure universal standards and then, on the creation and implementation of regulations and laws that might then fit within that.
Part 1 is The New Democracy
Part 2 is The Frameworks.
Part 3 is The Grassroots Manifesto itself.
Democracy
The key step in the process of meaningful change that will benefit everyone in a balanced, fair and just way will be the rejection and end of the existing Democratic System, Electoral System and System of Government that exists within the UK / Great Britain.
With the system of Governance that we have working only for itself and for those within it and those who benefit from it, the system has passed any point of good it could reach.
The existing system has proven to be too easily corrupted by too many different influences for it to be able to provide the assurance of impartiality that will ensure a truly balanced, fair and just system of Governance can be fully accessible to all, and for it to then maintained.
The outline Public Policies that will establish this New Democracy will be, that:
This new age of Democracy will be established at Community level and from the Grassroots Up at The Reestablishment.
All existing tiers of government (Parish, Town, Borough, District, County, Unitary, Assembly, Parliament, Mayorships, Police & Crime Commissioners etc) will immediately cease to exist, upon The Reestablishment.
ALL ‘sitting’ politicians are representatives of the old world. At the point of The Reestablishment, the ‘seats’ they were elected to represent will cease to exist and they will no longer hold any responsibility – assumed, or otherwise – for anything in the public realm.
No former politician who was a member of any former registered political party will be eligible to become a candidate for election as a Community Representative or to any public office for a period of 12 years following The Reestablishment.
Political Parties by their very nature pursue ideologies and motives that are not shared by the majority and will be prohibited.
The creation of The New Democracy will not rely upon the guidance of existing establishment figures who have played their part or have been directly responsible for the problems that they have caused.
Former establishment leaders cannot be trusted to work to any agenda other than what already exists and therefore is their own. They will be dismissed.
All public policy decisions and the weight of responsibility and power shall be focused upon Local Assemblies.
Responsibility for public policy decisions will only be handed to a level of Community covering a larger area and include the responsibility for more people where it makes practical sense to do so.
The functional, operational or service delivery aspects of all existing tiers of government (with the exception of what are stand alone or non-government public organisations) shall continue under the management and guidance of the relevant Community Assembly until such time as those services have been removed, reformed, revised or redefined.
Responsibility for the provision of services provided by stand alone and non-government public service providers will be allocated to Community Assemblies under Public Interest Companies (PIC).
Local Assemblies
Local Assemblies will be opened to the membership and democratic participation of all adults who reside within a Community or locality.
Local Assemblies shall be responsible for all decision making that can be carried out and implemented at Local Level.
A Local Assembly area may be defined by what were previously known as Parish or Town Council Wards (Not the whole area of an existing Town or Parish Council catchment – as these may be significant), or by the geographic boundaries of a small village, hamlet or definable suburban or Town area, whichever is smaller.
Where Parish or Town Councils currently do not exist, equivalent areas will be defined and used as the catchment area for its own Local Assembly.
The Community will appoint no less than 5 and no more than 7 Community Representatives to take decisions on behalf of the Community, when there is not sufficient time for a Local Assembly to be called.
Community Representatives will be elected to Local Assemblies for terms of 3 years and can be re-elected to a Local Assembly no more than 6 times (allowing them to ‘sit’ as a Community Representative within a Local Assembly for no more than 21 years in total).
Community Representatives will possess appropriate skills, knowledge and experience that will enable them to answer questions and discuss policy objectively and without bias in a Local Assembly.
Community Representatives will each be appointed to research and gain understanding of public policy areas that fall outside the remit of the Local Assembly itself.
Local Assemblies will meet monthly or as frequently as necessary to ensure that no Community business is carried over for a period exceeding 30 days from when it became known.
With the exception of emergency decisions – which will themselves be defined by the Local Assembly, ALL decisions will be made by vote, by all members of the Community present at the relevant Local Assembly.
Local Assemblies will elect an Assembly Facilitator for each Year.
Local Assembly Facilitators can be re-elected twice (and able to Facilitate for up to 3 consecutive years) but will not be able to volunteer to for that role again, once they have stepped down.
Local Assemblies will make all local decisions on public policy, with delivery itself undertaken under the operational management of Community Assemblies.
Local Assemblies shall elect 2 Community Representatives to its Community Assembly.
Community Assemblies
Community Assemblies will be opened to bring together Community Representatives from all of the Local Assemblies within an area defined by what were previously known as Counties or County areas.
Community Assemblies shall take legislative responsibility for any matters that fall between the Local and National Level for purposes of practicality and no more.
Community Assemblies will meet monthly or as frequently as necessary to ensure that no Community business is carried over for a period exceeding 30 days from when it became known.
Community Representatives will become eligible for election to a Community Assembly after serving no less than 54 consecutive months on one of the Local Assemblies that form the same Community Assembly.
Community Representatives will be elected to Community Assemblies for terms of 3 years and can be re-elected to a Community Assembly no more than 5 times (allowing them to ‘sit’ as a Community Representative in Community Assembly for no more than 18 years in total).
Community Assemblies will elect an Assembly Facilitator or Chairperson for each Year.
Community Assembly Facilitators can be re-elected twice (and able to Facilitate for up to 3 consecutive years) but will not be able to volunteer to for that role again, once they have stepped down.
Community Assemblies will take responsibility for operational management of all Local Service Provision and provide all relevant services through Public Interest Companies (PIC) which shall function on a not-for-profit basis in every way.
Community Assemblies will have the joint role of being the relevant legislative body for decision making that sits between Local and National Assemblies, whilst also being the facilitator or provider of all Local Services.
Community Assemblies will have no ability or remit to refuse or change directives for service provision provided by Local Assemblies.
Community Assemblies shall elect 2 Community Representatives to the National Assembly.
The National Assembly
A National Assembly will be opened to bring together Community Representatives from all of the Community Assemblies from across what is known as The United Kingdom or Great Britain.
The National Assembly will be convened with a membership of Community Representatives elected from each Community Assembly.
Community Representatives will become eligible for election to The National Assembly after serving no less than 84 consecutive months on one of the Community Assemblies.
Community Representatives will be elected to The National Assembly for terms of 3 years and can be re-elected to a Community Assembly no more than 4 times (allowing them to ‘sit’ as a Community Representative in Community Assembly for no more than 15 years in total).
The National Assembly will elect an Assembly Facilitator or Chairperson for each Year.
National Assembly Facilitators can be re-elected twice (and able to Facilitate for up to 3 consecutive years) but will not be able to volunteer to for that role again, once they have stepped down.
Community Representatives will be appointed to research and gain understanding of specialist National and International public policy areas that have been delegated to The National Assembly.
Community Representatives with allocated National or International Briefs will be able to provide any or all members of the National Assembly with detailed analysis, advice and where appropriate solutions, to inform before any vote is taken.
All decisions of The National Assembly shall be taken by vote, with the exception of emergency matters, which will be temporarily delegated to The National Assembly Chairperson and all Community Representatives appointed to the relevant Briefs.
Emergency decisions will be reviewed at the next sitting of The National Assembly, where they will either be endorsed, changed or rescinded by majority vote.
IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, The National Assembly can only pass emergency decision making powers to The National Assembly Facilitator for a period not exceeding 1 (one) calendar month. Such delegation must be approved by a majority of The National Assembly and can be rescinded by a majority vote of attending Members at any time.
The National Assembly will appoint members of the National Assembly as representatives to all international bodies that have relevance to the pursuit of collective collaboration, mutually beneficial trading arrangements and National Security.
The National Assembly may not confer legislative or decision-making powers to any other assembly, council, meeting or parliament, whether constituent with the UK / Great Britain, or outside, in any circumstances or at any time.
Lobbying
All forms of closed lobbying by Community members, businesses and interest groups will be prohibited.
No Community Representative may accept gifts or hospitality of any kind during their tenure, or for a period of no less than 5 years previously, or 10 years thereafter.
Where any individual or business has a matter of public or Community interest to share, this will be raised within the Local Assembly and where necessary escalated across to the Community or National Assembly where it is in the interest of the Community to do so.
The Monarchy
The Monarchy as we have known it is at its end.
The Monarchy in its pre-Reestablishment form is representative of the Top-Down hierarchical order and any form of hereditary power or influence is not appropriate for New Earth or Grassroots-Up Governance of any kind.
No person shall be able to influence the life of another, simply because of their birth or their relationship to any other person.
A Referendum or Plebiscite shall be held within 12 months of the Reestablishment where the full UK / Great Britain Electorate shall be asked to choose between complete removal of The Monarchy, or its transformation into a small, figurehead organisation where a) Members of the House of Windsor will continue to provide a strictly ‘figurehead’ role, or any future monarch be selected for set periods by a system of voting through Local Assemblies and Community Assemblies before being administered by The National Assembly.
In any case and in all circumstances, members of the existing Royal Household will not be protected by position or relationship and shall be treated the same as any other UK / Great Britain resident if they are accused and/or convicted of any crime, or of the misuse of their privilege.
Honours & Titles
Hereditary Titles, Positions and all associated benefits shall end and cease to hold any deferential value at The Reestablishment.
The existing ‘honours system’ shall cease at The Reestablishment
A new Community Honours system will be created, with awards made for recognition of service to the Community by those who have done so voluntarily, without seeking recognition, and outside of their normal professional roles.
Part 1: Frameworks (A Community Route)
Frameworks For Freedoms
The point sadly missed by many is that the solutions to the majority of the problems we face are not for any one of us, as individuals, to find answers to or come up with the right fix.
Today, we have specific groups, whether that be politicians, banks, businesses, elites or others, attempting and in many cases succeeding in dictating public policy and so-called solutions to problems (that their behavior has usually created), on the basis that they believe their ideas are best for everyone.
Regrettably, although many of the speakers and publicly known influencers that we can all see as recognising the need for change have their own ideas and solutions, and in many cases appear to provide an alternative, these ideas are also made in isolation.
Although the results from them being in control might appear different, if we were to simply exchange what we have now for what loud voices and false prophets are offering us instead, we would inevitably end up with many more problems that would only get progressively worse – which would basically be exactly the same thing as we have and experience now.
People and their Communities must be supported to make all of the decisions that affect only them.
Amongst those decisions must be the selection and appointment of those public representatives who will represent that Community when decisions are made about anything else.
Regrettably, the point has been lost today, that as long as anyone’s behaviour is not hindering the freedom of others, they will themselves be free and unhindered to do and behave in any way they like.
The obligation of the Community will only ever be to manage and to provide resources, rules and regulations that work for and in the best interests of that Community and nothing more.
These Frameworks for Freedoms must always be universal in nature, so that they treat each and every person exactly the same.
Frameworks for Freedoms will ensure that no person is given either an advantage or disadvantage if they should find themselves with nothing in terms of material wealth, or if holding no material wealth should indeed be their own voluntary choice.
In its simplest and most easy to describe form, a framework rule would be something like that we today understand as the minimum wage – where EVERYONE must be paid that minimum hourly rate, no matter what job it is that they do.
Universality does not entertain prejudices. Nor does it recognise the differences that today’s social conditioning has.
So, no matter how we might have been previously told or required to identify someone – whatever the reasons might be, those reasons that we use to attribute social value to them in some way today, must now be discarded and left behind.
EVERYONE enters and leaves this world the same. Frameworks for Freedom must ensure that no rules exist which allow anyone to define themselves as being different to others through any position or wealth that they have attained or have been gifted in other ways.
Success and apparent happiness don’t make anyone better than anyone else. Genuine success and happiness are defined by the individual and their own reflections. Not by anyone else or by the world outside.
Frameworks for Freedoms are the doorway that will allow everyone to thrive and achieve happy, healthy, safe and secure lives – if they so choose.
The real power and responsibility of government is to provide these Frameworks and to protect them. Nothing more.
Why frameworks can be relied upon, but rules, regulations and laws cannot.
Every Community must be able to make rules that are considerate of the different dynamics that relate to it, but which sit outside and beyond the specific requirement for every individual to enjoy their own freedom and the related right to exist.
These might relate to very practical measures such as the infrastructure that exists, the types of foods that can be grown or produced in the area, or other ways in which its own economy or local marketplace works.
People will always be treated and respected as adults, and given every opportunity to choose, without unnecessary rules, regulations and laws that seek to control – that would only exist for the benefit of those who write or set them.
Genuine frameworks are principles that do not need to be changed, whereas rules, regulations and laws tend to be dynamic and must be updated to reflect changes and times.
Rules, regulations and laws are always open to interpretation and to abuse. If we want the New Earth or New World to work in a balanced, fair and just way for everyone that always puts People First, it is the principles that need to work, to be consistent, universal and reliable, before anything else.
The First Framework for Freedom: (The Basic Living Standard)
There is nothing insignificant about the process of change and the transition from a money, wealth, influence and power-based culture, to one that values and puts People First.
Frameworks that allow everyone to act, think and to behave like the adults that they are will be the very best way to help us all to survive and thrive through the Great Reset and to then play our part in establishing the New Earth or New World that is waiting for us beyond.
We may not be able to see how a very different way of living and relating to others would work from where we are stood looking at the future right now, as the culture we are experiencing today has taken over everything and considering anything contrary to this can easily leave us feeling overwhelmed.
If we were all consider that everything or the system that we know came into being through an act of domino toppling or through a domino effect, the reality is that it is that the circumstances now exist where we have the opportunity or choice to pick up the last domino that fell and indeed every other domino too, and then set off a chain reaction that switches our way of life and the way that we live to one that everyone will find good and happy to live in.
The last or first domino – depending upon which way you might look at it, is the one that is both key and essential to providing us all with the opportunity and option to make and take every other right choice.
The only suggestion or proposal that A Community Route itself will directly make, is that of a Framework for Freedom is this one.
It is being made, because in a people-first world, its adoption (or the adoption of something that is very similar) is the difference between putting money or People First. It is therefore the defining choice.
The First Framework for Freedom (or The Basic Living Standard) is as follows:
That a happy, healthy and balanced life will be affordable and sustainable for everyone, without the need for debt, subsidies or government handouts of any kind, when receiving the minimum, most basic or living wage for working the equivalent of a full working week.
If you remain tied in your beliefs to the current system and money-based culture, it is unlikely that you will be able to see the defining value of this Framework.
Indeed, you may not even conceive that such a Framework is viable and would certainly not be something that would be supported by choice.
However, if you will take the time to think and work this through, and picture the reality that people, businesses and all organisations must consider this obligation in each and every action or transaction that they make or undertake, you will soon begin to see how the many dominoes that follow this first one will then soon begin to fall.
Please note that The First Framework for Freedom (The Basic Living Standard) is not the same thing as the Universal Basic Income (UBI), as proposed and being tested in some Countries today.
In the context of the Top-Down, money and wealth obsessed system that we are currently living in, the idea of a Universal Basic Income is a good one. However, UBI relies on the ‘we can create money out of nothing’ mantra that is key to the current Neoliberal or FIAT based Monetary System.
This means that every time pretend or created cash is added to the total amount of money that is in circulation already, the value of UBI payments would themselves fall in terms of what they can buy the recipient, as both the value of the money that the poorest and most vulnerable have becomes a smaller part of the overall pie, and inflation continues to push the cost of living further and further up.
Any help or benefit to recipients would therefore be short-lived. Regrettably, as part of the overall picture, the process of monetary devaluation that UBI will help to speed up will itself just contribute to an overall financial system collapse – that could be only a short time away already.
People need the ability to be able to sustain their lives fully on the lowest full-time wage and in a people-first economy, everything will point in that direction and contribute to making it work.
Why frameworks can be relied upon, but rules, regulations and laws cannot.
Every Community must be able to make rules that are considerate of the different dynamics that relate to it, but which sit outside and beyond the specific requirement for every individual to enjoy their own freedom and the related right to exist.
These might relate to very practical measures such as the infrastructure that exists, the types of foods that can be grown or produced in the area, or other ways in which its own economy or local marketplace works.
People will always be treated and respected as adults, and given every opportunity to choose, without unnecessary rules, regulations and laws that seek to control – that would only exist for the benefit of those who write or set them.
Genuine frameworks are principles that do not need to be changed, whereas rules, regulations and laws tend to be dynamic and must be updated to reflect changes and times.
Rules, regulations and laws are always open to interpretation and to abuse. If we want the New Earth or New World to work in a balanced, fair and just way for everyone that always puts People First, it is the principles that need to work, to be consistent, universal and reliable, before anything else.
The 11 Principal Frameworks:
We must accept that for many, a world that focuses on living life differently, simply doesn’t make any sense. Just because they cannot see it, doesn’t mean that it cannot exist. Likewise, just because we may only be able to see the future in the same context of how we understand everything in the World around us works today, doesn’t mean that we cannot think differently and embrace what will soon become necessary for everyone – no matter what we might currently believe.
Governance will always be as light-touch as possible. In so far as it is possible, people must always be allowed to set their own life rules.
However, the success of New Earth or the New World will be based upon us all agreeing upon, working with and committing to Governance frameworks that provide the necessary direction, standards and security, so that people and their Communities can thrive.
These are the 11 Principal Frameworks
Economic Localism
Freedom does not hinder and is not hindered in any way.
People First
No Hierarchies. Top-Down is at its end
Local People MUST make Local Decisions Locally & influence from The Grassroots-Up
Local Businesses buy, sell and promote Local Goods first
Every link of the supply chain must add value.
Money or currencies have a fixed value and are only used as a medium of exchange
Technology: A tool to improve life, not end it
The Internet is a tool for life, not an alternative to it
In a People First system, the people will always be the first to speak.
In the 11 chapters that follow, we will go through each of these Principles, one by one.
1. Economic Localism
If you cannot see it, be in the presence of it or directly engage with it, you cannot trust that it will be in your best interests – whatever it might be.
In a world where everything has been telling us to place our trust and belief in people, businesses, Governance, manufacturing , production and services that are somewhere else – either out of our locality, our presence or somewhere online, it does indeed sound counterintuitive to suggest that a better life and way of living for everyone can only come by redirecting the way we live and have relationships with everything in a completely different way.
Yet that is exactly where we need to be.
Easy living, based on processes and the input of people that we will never meet nor see, mean that we have lost sight of responsibility, whilst we have also surrendered our control.
To live well, to live freely, to live healthily and to live happily, the focus of life, living and of everything that feeds into it and supports it must be as local as possible, be transparent and be completely under our own control.
Every commercial activity that exists relates to a business, service or process that serves the interests of people in some way.
When commercial activities of any kind are placed in the service of specific interests and interests that are either deliberately hidden or kept out of sight, whatever they do will never be in the interests of us all, and the balance between us and the sense of justice and fairness is quickly lost.
The priority for all must be to meet everyone’s basic needs so that everyone has the food, the clothing, the transport, the technology, the education, the work and the means to be self-sustaining without help or support in return for working.
This means that the growing, production, manufacturing and supply chains that support normal life and that exist to meet everyone’s basic needs, must be returned to their most localised and people-centric forms.
2. Freedom does not hinder and is not hindered in any way
We think that we are free, and that the fight ahead is to maintain that freedom.
Let me tell you now that it is not.
The fight ahead is to fight for our freedom. The alternative is to accept further forms of control and tyranny from an establishment or system that still insists that everything it does and will do will be done with our best interests at heart.
It would be understandable if your immediate response to this statement were related to something like the growing digital tyranny that we are being increasingly controlled and oppressed by. But nothing is so simple as that.
The reality is that we have forgotten what freedom really is.
By being so beholden to and manipulated by the consumer mantra ‘you can have whatever you want, it will always be available, it will always be affordable and we’ll always give you money to pay for it – as long as you behave’, we have collectively become shackled by always wanting more. We have forgotten what it is to live lives that revolve only around what we actually need.
We are slaves to a wealth, money, power and influence are everything culture and value set.
We have become so addicted to this way of being and thinking, that we cannot even see how badly we are being hurt by what we already have, and we are desperate for the same self-interests to reach out and offer us even more.
But true freedom does not hinder us or restrict us in any way. True freedom only ends when our actions and behaviour become a genuine hindrance to others.
Freedom will always be freedom. Freedom is not something that depends on what people with power and influence dictate.
We must create a culture, understanding and framework that allows each and every one of us the freedom to be ourselves and who we believe ourselves to be, but at the same time does not prioritise this same freedom in others so that it can contradict, or force change upon that freedom to be.
3. People First
We are led to believe and to accept that the system that we have today is run on behalf of the people, by the people and for the people.
It is not.
Most people understand that the system is run in the best interests of those who either run it, or those that they look up to or receive favour from in some way.
But that is not the whole truth either.
Everything that we know and understand today revolves around and is focused upon a values set based upon money, wealth, influence and power, along with the processes and actions that help everyone – no matter who they are – to gain and accumulate more of it.
We put money and the value we place in it before people and everything else.
The rise of the internet and the smart tech revolution has made the downward spiral that has existed for over 50 years even worse by creating more and more devices that dehumanize relationships.
The internet today creates the impression that people we have relationships with online aren’t actually real. Because as far as real life is concerned, they simply do not even exist.
This way of living is already unsustainable. But it is set to get even worse as we embrace the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), without any ethical framework or rules being set up that recognises the negative impacts and outcomes from profit-driven and control-driven misuse.
We must flip or completely turn this situation on its head and create a universal environment that puts people instead of money first.
Using benchmark frameworks that will ensure fairness, balance and justice for all such as that which will guarantee the ability of all people to support themselves without going into debt or without having to call on charity or government support, we will have the ability, not only to provide a self-sustaining standard for a happy, healthy, safe and secure life for everyone. We can also create a light-touch system of Governance that uses transparency as an open tool for the system to police itself.
Today, humanity as a value set has been lost. We can and will regain our true and most beneficial value set by focusing our new system and New Earth on putting People First.
4. No Hierarchies. Top-Down is at its end.
Whilst some of us will understand the concept, none of us alive today have known a world without hierarchies.
Yet hierarchies are one of the most effective tools that exist for the dehumanisation and distancing of humanity and human relationships.
Hierarchies are the reason that societies and industries ultimately fail.
The intrinsic reason for the failure of all hierarchies – which can take centuries to reach those at the top – is because they instantly make decision makers out-of-touch.
The system that is failing and collapsing around us today is a classic example of a hierarchy. It is a textbook example of a system that operates from the top-down.
Today’s system is so complex, that the tiers or levels of the hierarchy are not only top-down. The way that we have evolved culturally has meant that we have also extended these tiers or levels from side to side. This means that the responsibility for decisions that affect our daily lives are not only made by people and organisations or bodies that we will never have contact with. It also means that their role, responsibilities and influence are also heavily – and all too conveniently obscured from our view.
Leadership has become synonymous with hierarchy. Yet the interchangeability of the two words or terms does not and will not be considered as meaning the same thing.
We most certainly need leaders to shine and take responsibility for leading us. But leadership does not come by right. It does not appear through career progression. It certainly doesn’t come through position or assumed power – even though the elites want us to believe this – try as they might.
Poor leaders who have no appreciation of the mechanics of leadership, nor any understanding of what leadership genuinely is, usually surround themselves with leaders who are even weaker, who then do exactly the same thing when it comes to their turn to lead.
Likewise, the accumulation of wealth or apparent success with a certain kind of business is no guarantee of anyone’s ability, the ethics or the morality that will drive them if they find themselves in a position where deference and the way that society works would enable them to take a lead.
Today, we have reached a position where everything we know in terms of Governance and the way that the rules governing the way society, business and culture function has such people at the top and intrinsically involved.
We must do away with these hierarchies. We must do away with everything that functions in the sense of decisions being made with power and influence that is remote and that we can identify in any way as being top-down.
5. Local People MUST make Local Decisions Locally & Influence from The Grassroots-Up
When we have a problem, we look to the people closest to us or those who are around us and in our lives for help. We quite literally reach out to our local support networks.
So why do we always reach outside of our local support networks for everything else and believe that the people, the businesses, the politicians and whatever else we interact with will value us at a personal level and with our best interests at heart, just the same?
Whilst there must always be an objectively created framework of rules that establish and maintain equality in all things that will be equal and that there is equality for all, the creation of such rules and regulations must be undertaken by people who understand what life is really like for all.
If decision makers do not interact with the people, the area, the Community for which any set of rules are made, they cannot make those decisions in the most informed manner.
True equality of opportunity must exist for society to be balanced, fair and just.
But equality of opportunity and one-size-fits all are never the same thing, unless you are the one with all the power and you sit in isolation at the very top.
Local people – that’s the people you talk to and see regularly or could call on easily and without obstruction – are the people who will always be making the decisions on public policy and Governance that will have any effect upon you.
The truth is that there are very few decisions made by any of the existing levels of government that could not be returned, along with the power that enables them, to the most local or Community level.
Instead, rules are today being made that have a real impact upon the quality of life that we all experience, by people who will never visit or understand our areas and Communities, and who we will never have reason to know.
Lawmaking powers must be returned to the level nearest to the people possible to do so. In the majority of cases, this will always be within a local or Community framework.
Cost or political expedience is in itself no excuse for rules to be passed to anyone or to any organisation outside of our local frameworks. The reality is that excuses like these are quite literally all they are – excuses that sound beneficial to everyone.
The truth is that they are all about taking power away from us so that someone else can better serve their own self-interest, by taking and misusing our control.
Local people will always be best equipped to make local decisions. There is no need for anyone else, any group or political party to be involved.
6. Local Businesses buy, sell and promote Local Goods first
You shouldn’t trust what you cannot physically experience, if it physically exists somewhere else.
Just as we will all avoid foods that don’t resemble their basic, raw form – unless the processing used is simple, such as was traditionally undertaken by hand (e.g. Bread, Butter, Cheese), we will avoid and distrust the processes of growing, manufacturing and production that are not accessible or cannot be accessed, viewed and assessed by people who are known to us and that we can trust.
The world today has abused the trust that so many of us have placed in it by exploiting the rationale that out of sight is out of mind. So that if we cannot see it, we do not care about it, we are not interested in it, we will take the provenance and care for our best interests that go into it for granted.
Corruption is not only a term that relates to financial payments, favours and backhanders that skew decisions that will always be impartial and fair. Processes of all kinds have become corrupted by the self-interest and profiteering that drives them.
There is no reason why the basic goods, foods and services that we all need for life cannot be grown, produced, manufactured or supplied locally – IF we are putting people and a values-based way of living first.
Yes, there may always be a need to trade local goods that exist in excess, for those that cannot be locally produced, or to create a regulated currency for the purposes of exchange that can do the same.
But if we work locally, with local people, in the interests of the locality and the local Community, a balance for this will always exist. It is only when greed and the self-interest of the few enter the equation that the process begins where balance, fairness and justice is lost, and it all begins to go wrong.
Local Businesses must always prioritise local suppliers for their services, raw materials and goods.
Quality and experience are always the key, and by chasing profit or by attempting to avoid rules that achieve the same, transparency, provenance, authenticity and everything good will always be lost.
7. Every link of the supply chain must add value
Whilst it is the money system and the way that money creation and circulation are managed that are the fundamental problem with the way that the worldwide economy works today, this mismanagement itself has encouraged a cultural mindset that focuses on saving costs and making more profit – not as a consequence of what the business does; not because there is some kind of rule requiring them to do so; not because circumstances demand it of them. But because they can.
We have reached a stage where businesses that we could argue have a legitimate involvement in supply chains, such as supermarkets, already use every excuse that sounds plausible to convince retail customers that prices need to keep rising. Meanwhile, they push producers and growers at the other end of the supply chain to sell at prices where they can barely continue to exist (and increasingly don’t).
But the problem reaches way beyond businesses such as those we would recognise as having a legitimate role in production and supply to play.
There are also many other companies, ‘agents’, speculators, and other ‘interests’, who buy and sell raw materials, components, ingredients, fuels, minerals and even currencies, who do nothing to add value to the product or whatever it is they are buying and selling. But as they do so, they add and take a fee for themselves.
That profit, made without adding value – when adding value could be refining, making an engine out of components, or even selling to the customer at the end of the ‘chain’, raises the costs of all of these goods and even services unnecessarily. In every circumstance where this happens, it makes it more expensive for everyone to live.
There will always be a reward for input, whether that be growing, mining, processing, refining, delivering or selling. But nobody and no business will be able to take a reward, just because they can afford to insert themselves into any part of any supply chain that exists or may be under discussion ahead of time – pushing up prices as they do so, and then selling on at a profit which pushed those prices up further – and by so doing, almost guarantees that other 3rd parties with no positive role to play, will then become involved.
Regrettably, the historic greed of growers, producers and all the different companies that in some cases also carry out unnecessary cost-raising activities or roles, has surrendered the ability of whole industries to take back control of their own marketplace and choose to supply or play a role in what are the necessary supply chains that are needed, rather than being wanted by 3rd parties, because of the way that money has become involved.
Supply chains must be as short as it is possible for them to be, and no unnecessary business, agent or entity of any kind can be allowed to be involved in the growing, production, manufacturing, storing, transport or selling of foods, goods and services that are essential to life – of any kind.
Of those businesses or entities that have involvement at any stage of any supply chain, they MUST add value to the chain with whatever they do. No other interests other than those that are adding value to the chain will ever become involved.
Speculation or ‘futures’ must be prohibited for any raw materials, foods or goods that are part of any supply chain that provides essential goods, services or supplies that are essential to basic life.
Speculation and ‘futures’ selling or handling is nothing more than gambling and no one has the right to gamble with anyone else’s life.
8. Money or currencies MUST have a fixed value and only be used as a medium of exchange
Money isn’t real. Yet we have been conditioned to believe that it is.
Money is a unit of exchange. Yet we have been conditioned to believe that money is a thing, that it holds value of its own, and that the value that money holds is variable in its own right – well beyond the basic principles necessary for currency exchange.
Money has become the benchmark which dictates the value of life and the value of every individual’s existence.
For as long as this money-based order, reality or culture continues to exist, the values that underpin humanity and human existence will matter less and less.
Money and currencies of any kind are useful to us, as long as they are only used as the medium of exchange that they are, rather than being believed to be or considered to be an accumulation of material wealth in itself – as it is today.
For as long as we continue to allow the value of anything and everything to be determined by the value of money, which itself can then vary from day to day, the power of any individual, business or Community to regulate, manage and sustain healthy lives will be compromised.
Until 1971 when neoliberalism fully took over, the value of the money that existed was always pinned or anchored to the value of gold. ‘The Gold Standard’ was far from being a perfect system or system that was balanced, fair and just in itself – as any good study of economic history will demonstrate. But what its existence did demonstrate was the benefit of having the value of money restricted, which meant that there was considerably less opportunity for the system to be ‘played’ – as it has been, to our considerable cost, ever since.
A fair, balanced and just economic system that puts People First, must rest its economic base upon the people that exist within that system, along with the fundamental value we can associate with what those people then put in or take out of it.
That value may indeed be translated into money or a form of currency or digital currency of some kind. But there is no requirement or need for that value to ever be variable in a system that puts People First and doesn’t believe that non-essential or basic goods that it cannot itself produce must be secured no matter the price.
The value of existence and the value of the work or effort that any individual puts into the system must be the benchmark which everything to do with monetary exchange and value must be pinned.
For life to be valued and for that value of life to be maintained as it will always be, money or currencies of any kind must always be a unit of exchange that holds no value of its own that can be bought, sold or exchanged.
It would be foolish to not recognise the value of the advances in technology that humanity has experienced throughout the industrial age.
They have increased exponentially as we have picked up speed through the digital age, with advances that we have now, already providing us with the opportunity to look at life in a very different way.
Technology has always had the power to do much good. To improve life in many ways and to remove all kinds of risks from the workplace for everyone who may be involved.
However, technology and its development has also been increasingly abused, with advancements being used by industry to increase profits and as being seen as a way to reduce the numbers of people employed to work, without any due regard for the impact on individuals, Communities, entire countries and the industries that are involved.
It is true that no business or organisation exists purely to employ people. Employment and the need to employ people to carry out any function that the development of a business or organisation and the products or services that it delivers has and always will be a happy consequence of organic growth from the provision of goods and services of a quality that are essential to life and which people and Communities genuinely need.
Profit will always be a happy consequence of good delivery and management. Never the primary aim.
The power of good in technology rests in its ability to be used to improve and enhance working practices and quality of life. Not to make work or employment unnecessary for anyone, or to be used as a functional device to control or restrict people or humanity in any way.
There are and always will be negative consequences when technology of any kind is used and harnessed for purposes other than to improve life or working conditions.
Those who lose out will always lose out badly. Whilst those who believe they are using technology to benefit themselves or their business will only every experience a pyrrhic win.
In a people centric or people-first economy and World, technology will always be used to improve the experience of everyone, not as a tool that can only ever benefit the few.
10. The Internet is a tool for life, not an alternative to it
Many of us still neither realise nor appreciate that the arrival of the internet and the functionality that it has offered us, has never been governed or regulated by governments and those that govern on our behalf in the way that it will.
The internet and the online world that is developing with it is and always has been a two-edged sword. It has brought as many downsides or dark aspects with it as the positive or good aspects that it has given us – and potentially a lot more.
Many of the social problems that we experience today can be attributed to behaviour that was deemed acceptable online before it then found its way into the real world or the mainstream.
From early on, people and businesses using the internet – whatever the purpose may have been – didn’t recognise the same social etiquette, politeness, manners, morals, standards or behaviour that we considered to be the cultural norm in ‘real life’ outside. Principally, because there was never any real system of Governance in place and so none of those same rules appeared to exist.
The rate of behavioral change in social conditioning from locality to online has been confined to within what might only be one generation. Young people today take all of their social cues and conditioning from the world online, rather than from the young people, adults and Community figures around them. The effect has been massively profound.
Today, upcoming generations and those above them who follow common narratives take these social cues into ‘real life’ without realising the parallel universe or pretend world that the internet or online world offers, is dictating or rather destroying rules and the remaining values for life. It is helping to dehumanise every aspect of life that we experience as it does.
Like all technology, the value of the internet and all things online cannot be understated – so long as it is used and operated within a framework, with rules and restrictions that are always based upon and maintained for the common good.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and all online technology will only be bad for humanity if it is programmed, created and driven by motives and designs that are in the interests of the few, rather than being in the best interests of all mankind.
The internet is a tool. It must be respected as such. It must always reflect or mirror the rules and practices that we use in real life, rather than having the ability to completely reset life and every agenda, as it and all the technology that feeds into it, does right now.
11.In a People First system, the people will always be the first to speak.
We have been told over and over again that we live and enjoy the freedom of being in a Democracy.
The political system and the system of Governance or administration that we have today could certainly operate in a very democratic way. But only when the incumbents within that system or the politicians and officers respect Democracy and democratic practices themselves.
The truth is that whatever system of government or administration we may have, there will always be a dependence upon those who have been entrusted with the responsibilities of public representation having the integrity to respect and work diligently with that trust.
Today, politicians simply do not do this. Not least of all because once elected, politicians of the existing political parties are inevitably expected by their party to vote and support policies as they have been told. But also, because very few politicians today are able to discern the difference between what is right for them and what is right for us all.
Many of us still think that change can be achieved just by voting for a different party, or by changing the way that votes are counted – so that smaller parties will get elected as they pick up alternative and second preference votes.
What those who believe this fail to see is that the way that we elect politicians doesn’t matter one bit, if they don’t care for or consider the people they have been elected to represent.
It would be foolish to believe that any of us can trust that every politician we elect can be relied upon 100% of the time to make decisions on our behalf that are always 100% right.
But there is a colossal difference between where we are today, and where we will be when we have created a very different framework that requires all public representatives to establish and qualify themselves at Community level. Then live the principle that true Democracy will always operate from the Grassroots Up.
Yes, we must have politicians and public representatives to represent us and make decisions on our behalf. But the perversity of a system where just a few thousand people from a group that has very specific interests and motivations can select the next Prime Minister of the UK, simply shouldn’t ever exist.
The people who represent us all must be selected and appointed by us all first.
It may neither be possible nor appropriate for us to appoint a Prime Minister in the same way that the United States does.
But we will all be able to take an active part in selecting the people who will represent us and take the majority of the decisions that will affect us all locally.
The people who represent us at Regional, National and potentially international level, will always be selected from those who have been successful and demonstrated their suitability as a public representative from this pool.
Part 2: The Grassroots Manifesto
Some things to bear in mind.
The Grassroots Manifesto is itself, in its entirety, no more than a starting or stepping off point.
The Grassroots Manifesto is presented as a tool to support and guide decision making at the most local level and in a way that then feeds into all tiers of Governance that may then be deemed necessary to ensure that all decision-making fits the appropriate level of shared Community.
Whereas Frameworks are the universal rules and principles that create and sustain freedoms for all, Communities will, for reason of locality and the specific needs and requirements of that locality, need to make localised rules and a create a system of Governance that meets its specific needs – whilst adhering to those universal principles or Frameworks.
The suggested Policies within Part 3 of The Grassroots Manifesto are a guide and in no way meant to be used or considered to be absolute.
Change of the kind we are all set to experience and the Establishment of a new system require fluidity and flexibility with specific or localised public policies, whilst working within and in support of overriding principles after all.
As such, any figures used, for example percentage % tax rates, or specific values for rates of pay are included only for purposes of illustration. They are used purely to demonstrate the mechanics of the new suggested system at work.
Above all, this work is by no means perfect. It is a rough and ready guide, that will provide our new Grassroots legislators with the open door that invites them to step inside.
The key to change and to a future that is genuinely free for everyone, that offers a happy, healthy, safe and secure existence which is part of a way of living that is balanced, fair and just for all, is the agreement, respect for and protection of the Universal Frameworks that will be recognised and adhered to by all within and at all levels of the Community.
The Policies that follow are suggestions for the kinds of Public Policies that will be used to formulate, create and implement laws, rules and regulations at a level where every member of the Community has been involved or has had meaningful influence upon them – if they will so choose.
The points within the following Policies provide an idea or guide to what workable Governance for New Earth will look like, once the value set has switched to People First and our different priorities mean that we will think, act, be and behave differently to now in a way that will mean we all have a very different experience of life.
We must all remember that nothing good will come from the period of change that we are now in unless we first change our minds and the way we think about a lot of things that we accept as normal, feel very comfortable with, or feel to be of benefit to us in some way. We then have to complete our part in the process by turning that thought into action, becoming involved and proactively taking part in being the change we want, from the Grassroots-Up.
If you are looking for errors, checking the sums or looking for anything else that doesn’t add up within this book, you are already missing the point that what comes next is all about YOU.
You have the opportunity to get involved with your Community right now. You have the chance to discuss and propose ideas to others that may well be different or better than these – but end up with outcomes that mean we will all, collectively experience the same beneficial things.
It’s the outcome that matters for everyone; not the route that we take to get there. So don’t treat what’s in front of you as if it is already the end!
An Uncomfortable Truth
One of the hardest realities that we must all face, is the role that we have all been playing in creating and feeding the same system that is hurting us, and that if you are here reading this book, there is a very good chance that you already hate.
Whilst we have been led to believe that we can have what we want, how we want it, where we want it and when we want it, even thinking like this is unsustainable. We cannot continue without more and more of the things around us going wrong.
Whilst you may already accept that the world and the way that we live must now change, the chances are that you have not really thought hard about what that could really mean.
You may well fall into the tarp of thinking that as long as everyone else does the right thing, it won’t matter if you just continue doing what you are doing and having the things that you’re having – so that for you, things just stay the same way that they already are.
Voices that currently sit on the cusp and champion the coming change do so too, challenging parts of the programme that the Establishment is attempting to force upon us, such as the phasing out of fossil-fuelled cars – rightly speaking up and fighting against any policy which is dictatorially imposed.
But they do so without realising that some of these policies present a picture that different thinking on the part of all of us will deliver anyway and at the very least in part, through necessity, but also voluntarily, and most certainly in very different circumstances, by choice.
To believe that we can have a people-centric world that puts everyone first, on our own personal terms, is oxymoronic to say the very least.
It is therefore vital that we all understand that for as long as any of us remain fixed on wanting this thing or experience or wanting that thing or experience, rather than having faith that we can share a world where we will always have what we need, we are still and remain ‘bought in’ or invested into the system that we are now leaving and which at some point very soon will come to its end.
The Reestablishment
If we will fail to change our way of living, our way of being and the focus of our value set voluntarily – as part of the opportunity that this period is offering us, change will be forced upon us and the change we experience will go beyond systemic collapse.
We will be forced into a situation where everything that we recognise fails to be as it was anymore.
Our failure to believe that there is an alternative way of being and of living – no matter what role or at what level we have been involved in the old world or old system – will not stop or prevent events that are outside human control from taking over, IF we do not embrace positive, people-focused change, by choice.
It is this part of the process – the changing of the way that we think or the way that we perceive the world and the other people we have relationships – that will be the real spiritual awakening or change of mind that so many have already talked about.
This change of direction; change of thinking; change in the way that we relate to everyone and everything; the process we undertake to bring Governance, civility and values to the new golden age in which we all rule – will be nothing less than The Reestablishment.
Everything must go. Everything must change. We must begin again, building from the Grassroots Up, re-establishing rules, processes and structures with the approach that nothing has existed before, whilst being open to the reality that some infrastructure, technology and methods of working can and will have a positive role to play in New Earth, as they can be repurposed or reformed.
The Reestablishment will begin at the most local level, within our Communities. Its reach will then work its way outwards, always aligning with decisions being made at the most local level possible, with old power structures answering to localities until they have either been reassimilated or removed.
A temporary power structure may be required to oversee the period of refocusing that The Reestablishment will require. But this must be time limited and built upon an achievable reform plan that allows all the necessary reformations to be made.
The Rejection of The Money, Material Wealth, Influence and Power-based Order
The Key Step of The Grassroots Revolution and The Reestablishment will be the rejection of the current establishment, the system and everything that it stands for.
Money, material wealth, influence, power and the values that are associated will no longer be accepted as the benchmark or guidepost upon which all meaningful decisions in life are made – be they personal or on behalf of others.
Without rejection of the way that everything works today, change that will benefit everyone will not be possible.
Grassroots Policy 1: The People First Economy
The impact and consequences of all of our decisions upon others will be the new guide for life.
People and their Communities will always be cognizant of the consequences of any behaviour or action and only proceed when there will be no involuntary cost or impact upon anyone who has not voluntarily and knowingly involved themselves within the process, no matter how many times removed they may be in terms of the existence of any impact chain.
People and their Communities will never engage in any activity or process where the decision to do so will inflict harm or consequences on anyone, whether alive today or yet to come, that they have not consciously or knowingly agreed to.
People shall always have Freedom to speak. Freedom to learn. Freedom to hear. Freedom to be upset. Freedom to remove ourselves from the debate. Freedom to not have the ideas of others physically imposed.
People will be free to do, be and say what we please, when doing so will have no physical implications or offer no physical threat to the physical existence of others.
Putting People First
The value of the Economy shall be tied to the number of people living within the UK / Great Britain at any time.
Each member of the National Community shall represent a Fixed Base Value to the National Currency and be directly proportional to the total value of that Currency in circulation – whether digital or in cash.
A system of values to The Economy will exist that relates to the input of each person to the Economy itself.
The only circumstances in which money or currency can be created from The Reestablishment and thereafter is from the birth of a child, a child beginning school, a child qualifying in standard proficiency at 14, and then a young adult finishing academic or vocational pathways at the age of 21.
Money created will be payable to the individual, their parents or guardians, with an equal sum being added to the Local Assembly balance sheet.
The creation of money will be the responsibility of Community Assemblies.
At the point of any death, the economic value of that adult to The Economy must be taken from the overall circulatory value of The National Currency, with the value payable by priority to the local Community Assembly from the deceased’s estate.
Economic Value within The People First Economy will be created through a) earnings in exchange for labour, skills and experience of the individual b) the production of basic foods and goods c) the manufacture of goods and equipment and the provision of services that add value.
The payment or accumulation of Monetary or Financial Interest of any kind will be prohibited.
Money or currency will only be borrowed for a fixed transaction or facilitation fee, which under no circumstances may exceed the value of 10% of the total loan.
Transaction or Facilitation fees shall be repayable on a proportional basis with each repayment.
Bankers, Lenders or Financiers of any kind shall not regulate or police their own activities, in any way, and shall have no influence upon any organisation that does.
Any form of credit worthiness monitoring will be provided by an impartial service, where basic ratings will be offered and no more.
The purchase and sale of personal financial data will be illegal, with financial penalties and lifetime industry bans applied to anyone directly or indirectly involved.
The Basic Living Standard & The Basic Living Wage*
The Basic Living Standard and the corresponding Basic Living Wage shall be the benchmark of The People First Economy.
The prices of all foods, goods and services that are deemed essential to providing a happy, healthy, safe and secure lifestyle shall relate, proportionally, to the total value of the Basic Living Wage, which itself shall equate to the value apportioned to one full working week within the lowest paid employment.
All Companies / Businesses providing essential provisions or contributing to their supply, will be registered with the Community Assembly.
It will be the duty of all retailers, manufacturers, growers etc, to maintain the prices of essential provisions at each stage of the supply chain.
Any individual or business directly or indirectly seeking to manipulate prices or add additional profit in any way during the process of providing essential provisions shall be fined a minimum of 3x the potential gain they would make, and will be banned from the industry for life, with all assets relating to production forfeited to the Community Assembly.
*Please see the Section on ‘Frameworks’ above, for a description of The First Framework / The Basic Living Standard.
Community Services (Formerly Public Services and Charity Organisations)
All Community services shall employ the minimum number of full or part time staff necessary to ensure continuity in management and streamlined operational delivery.
Staffing of all Community Services shall in the main part be provided directly by Community Contributions.
Where members of the Community have ‘opted out’ of Community Contributions, their Community Contribution Tax will be paid into a ringfenced fund held by the Community Assembly and redistributed to the Community services network according to need.
Community Contributions
Every working person shall be required to give 10% of their working time or the equivalent of each and every week to supporting the provision of Community services and operations.
No person below the age of 40 years may opt out of actively contributing 10% of their working week to Community service.
At the age of 40 or above, the person may opt to pay the equivalent of 10% of their weekly income as an alternative tax, to the local Community Assembly, where they are earning at least 2x the equivalent of the Basic Living Wage.
All employers shall be required to support Community service provision without prejudice to the employee.
Where possible, all persons shall offer and provide experience, skills and knowledge to a related Community service on a like-for-like basis, equivalent to the role they undertake during a normal employed working week.
Welfare & Benefits
The Basic Living Standard shall be the accepted benchmark for the level of income required for any individual unable to work for any reason.
Benefits shall be administered by Community Assemblies
Benefit Payments will be made directly to a Restricted Benefits Current Account held with the Local People’s Bank.
Payments to essential service providers such as landlords, phone companies and transport providers shall be made directly to them from each Restricted Benefits Current Account.
All other payments made from each Restricted Benefits Bank Account shall be digital and will only be made to recognised providers for the purchase of essential goods and services.
The Balance of any Restricted Benefits Bank Account will not be redeemable in cash.
There shall be no assumed right of Benefits Payments to economic migrants.
The Assemblies shall only be obliged to meet the basic essential needs of any unqualified migrant.
The Assemblies will prioritise the care and support of UK / Great Britain residents who are ‘vulnerable’ before assisting unqualified migrants.
It will be the aim of The National Assembly to return all unqualified migrants to their home country as early as possible, and in so doing take every action to facilitate this.
Unqualified Migrants will not become naturalised UK / Great Britain Residents
Disability payments will be qualified by a G.P.
Qualified recipients of The Basic Living Standard Payment with disabilities that prevent them working shall receive payment directly to a Bank Account of their choice.
Unqualified or ‘malingering’ recipients of The Basic Living Standard Payment will be treated the same as any normal benefits payee.
Poverty
People will be valued before money, profit and technology.
The Basic Standard of Living, based upon ensuring that every adult will always have available what it costs to feed, cloth, house, transport and cover all basic essentials to ensure a happy, healthy, safe and secure life will be introduced universally, as a Framework Policy.
All benefits will relate to the value of the Basic Living Standard and value of the Basic Living Standard Wage.
Homelessness
A system of Community Hostels and services for the homeless will be created with provision and running them the responsibility of Community Assemblies.
Community Hostels will offer a tailored approach to individuals and arms-length care and support for those who choose not to use any accommodation offered.
Large Companies and Agricultural Estates that have reduced the numbers of non-technical roles as part of profit-led mechanisation will be required to provide ‘bunk room’ housing and related support, and to reemploy staff, where the essential supply chain system will not be compromised.
Right to be Forgotten
It is essential that everyone who has not committed a crime that has impacted the welfare or wellbeing of other people will have the opportunity of a ‘second chance’, and to begin adult life anew, again, if it will be beneficial for their own mental health and state of mind to do so.
Everyone will have the Right to be Forgotten at least once during their natural lifetime.
The Right to be Forgotten can be applied at any time from the age of 18 years or upon leaving full time education (at whichever point is latest)
To qualify for The Right to be Forgotten, the individual must be assessed by no less than 3x impartial mental health specialists.
The Right to be Forgotten will erase names, history, and all legal ties to their formal life, including post age 14 qualifications, but will require the individual to break all family ties and associations with any people or Community / Communities known to them.
Those who have exercised their Right to be forgotten shall be able to apply to their new Community Assembly to have former qualifications rewarded by a different education provider (reinstated), where such qualifications are in short supply, and it will be beneficial for the Community for such an award to be made.
Anyone who has successfully exercised their Right to be Forgotten and breaks the requirements made of them will immediately relinquish the rights and protections associated with their Right.
Anyone convicted of identifying of making the details of a person who has exercised their Right to be Forgotten known to others, without good reason, will be charged with compromising another’s right to freedom, and shall be judged in a Community Court.
Grassroots Policy 2: Financial Levelling
The Reestablishment will be accompanied by the devaluation and end of the British Pound and the values associated for anything using it.
This necessary and unavoidable devaluation will either come naturally, through the collapse of the current or FIAT monetary system and end of the Neoliberal economics model, or as a direct consequence or unavoidable need created by other events.
Monetary wealth that exists before the Reestablishment will not be transferable to the new National Currency or any Local Currency.
Monetary wealth that exists before the Reestablishment will not be transferable, proportionally or in relative terms to the new National Currency or and Local Currency.
No form of compensation will be paid to those who have failed to invest only in what they need, and/or have willingly sought to enrich themselves further by making investments that have encouraged the exploitation of the circumstances of others – whether it be conscious or otherwise.
The value of the UK / Great Britain economy shall be valued in relation to the number of people resident in the UK / Great Britain at the time of The Reestablishment.
All property owned / held* at the Reestablishment shall be owned by the occupant, person or business in possession of that property at the time, with the exception of social and privately let housing, which shall be passed to the ownership of the Local Assembly.
*Squatting of illegal occupancy shall not qualify any persons, business or other to receive ownership of a property at The Reestablishment. Properties under illegal occupancy or possession shall be transferred to the ownership of The Local Assembly.
Financial Resetting & Restoration
At the point of Reestablishment, or within 6 months thereafter, the prices of all goods, services and transactions within the UK / Great Britain shall be revalued and reset with their real or uninflated value.
Following The Financial Reset, all prices will realign to their ‘natural’ value, in line with the People First system of economics this document proposes.
Where values are attributed to a material object or to property of any kind, its value shall be proportional to the value of The Basic Living Standard and The Basic Living Wage.
These basic or ‘essential values’ shall continue to be the benchmark value of all goods and property that carry value as they are essential to use.
Money
Money and all forms of currency, whether cash or digital, shall be deemed legal only as a unit or method of exchange (a promissory note).
Currency speculation of any kind will be illegal, with financial penalties and lifetime industry bans applied rigorously to anyone directly or indirectly breaking this rule.
Money shall not attract interest of any kind.
For the loan of money or the facilitation of a necessary purchase, the lender or facilitator shall be able to charge a fixed fee for the duration of that arrangement, payable proportionately with each repayment for the lifetime of the loan or facilitation.
No fixed charge for lending or payment facilitation will exceed the value of 10% of the total monetary value of that loan at any time.
No form of money or currency based and in circulation or use within the UK / Great Britain may be bought or sold as a commodity or with any form of foreign currency within the UK / Great Britain marketplace.
The only time that the value of foods, goods or services of any kind may vary is as part of an exchange process between any UK / Great Britain company, or Public Interest Company / Community Assembly and a Foreign organisation to facilitate necessary exports and imports.
Local Marketplace Exchanges
Self-sufficiency and home production is expected to become a key part of the People First Economy.
Local Assemblies and Community Assemblies shall create, operate and manage a system of Local Marketplace Exchanges (LME)
Local Marketplace Exchanges (LME) shall allow all local producers, whether businesses or home producers, to buy, sell or exchange their goods, produce and services either for money/currency, or in exchange for other goods, produce or services that they may themselves offer and which the other party requires.
The Local Assembly and Community Assembly shall be responsible for ensuring that the value of basic essentials will remain fixed and not open to variation at any time and shall as such create and maintain necessary protocols and local legislation to do so.
Any foods, goods or services that are non-essential may be exchanged or bartered at any rate agreed between the two parties, unless the goods or services offered contain an essential element, in which case the value of the transaction may not fall below the related basic essential value at any time.
Any app or online software used to provide the online version of the Local Marketplace Exchange (LME) must be maintained, managed and based within the Community Assembly area, with no form of remote management or updating required following purchase and instalment.
Taxation
The administration of Tax Collection will be Regionalised and provided by Community Assemblies.
All Taxes will be paid directly to the Regional Tax Office, located with the local Community Assembly.
Tax Codes will be applied universally, with no exceptions for individuals or organisations.
The only ‘tax breaks’ that will apply in any circumstances will be for the purposes of supporting the Establishment of new businesses within a Local Assembly area that provide goods or services that do not already exist within that area.
‘Tax Breaks’ will not be given to any business new to a Local Assembly area, that has operations elsewhere.
The value of any ‘Tax Breaks’ will be awarded by the Local Assembly, transparently and with a majority vote of the Community, and shall be renewable annually for a period of up to 3 (three) years and no more.
No form of income tax will be payable on any earned income, up to the equivalent rate of the Annual Basic Living Wage.
Savings and Cash held for a period of 12 Months or more will be taxed at the rate of 50% (Fifty Percent) per annum.
Tax will be applicable from the income gained from sums invested of at the equivalent of 10x (ten times) the Annual Basic Living Wage or more, from interest, dividends or any payment in return for investment made of any kind at the rate of 50% (Fifty Percent) per annum, where those sums are accessible with notice or on an any time basis.
Tax will be applicable annually to the ownership of non-essential property, or proportionally to the ownership of any non-productive property which is in excess of that necessary for personal use, or proportionally for the number of people using or sharing it.
All Land and resources owned and not in use for the production of essential foods, goods, services and infrastructure shall be taxed at the rate of 25% of market value, per annum.
All Commercial Property will pay a variable Utility Tax, based on the location, access and publicly owned infrastructure that supports its use. These sums shall be set by the Local Council and will not exceed 25% of the annual rental or lease value of the property, paid annually.
A Consumption & Use Tax (CUT) shall be applied to the sale of all goods, services and high value items that are non-essential – or to the excessive proportion thereof, of 50% of the purchase value.
Pension Fund Account Income shall attract Tax when it reaches the equivalent of the individuals annual earned income. Thereafter, this income shall be taxed at the rate of 50%
Following the sale of assets or the cash out of pension plans or any other protected forms of investment, the individual shall have no tax liability for a period of 12 months. Thereafter, all other Taxation rules shall apply.
No form of devaluation, amortisation or write-down for the purposes offsetting Business Tax or benefits of any kind shall be legal.
All Taxation shall be payable to the Community Assembly on a monthly basis.
The Tax year shall commence on the 1st day of January of that year. The Tax year shall end on the 31st day of December of that year.
The Tax month shall commence on the 1st day of the month. The tax month shall end on the last day of that month (28th, 30th, 31st etc.).
Grassroots Policy 3: Business & Finance
All business shall operate on the Local Economy model.
All Businesses shall function and operate on the basis of putting People First and will adopt and maintain the ethics and practical requirements of The Basic Living Standard.
No business shall be permitted to provide functions or operations that do not add value to the supply chain e.g., growing, transporting, refining, engineering, milling, production, localised retail.
Companies that sell to the UK / Great Britain Market at any level, will be required to grow, source, produce, manufacture, store, transport and conduct all administrative functions within the UK / Great Britain area as a wholesale or B2B supplier, or within the Community Assembly area where their retail business resides.
Resources not available to the UK / Great Britain market, must be sourced from the nearest available location.
Taxation equivalent to the balance between the highest local price and the lowest price from out of area shall be payable at the rate of 110% for products or materials that are readily available within the most local area to the UK / Great Britain.
UK / Great Britain based businesses shall be owned only by UK / Great Britain residents or other companies owned by UK / Great Britain residents.
No company may exist only for the purpose of growing, manufacturing, transporting, assembling or retailing non-essential or basic goods or the provision of non-essential services.
Where trade with Countries or Trade areas outside of the UK / Great Britain is necessary, such transactions will be carried out directly by the business sourcing the resources or goods, or by a not-for-profit function of The National Assembly, which shall also have responsibility for monitoring all direct transactions.
The Local Economy Model
Following The Reestablishment, The UK / Great Britain will adopt an unashamedly protectionist, UK first approach to all industries and services.
All businesses will prioritise localised supply chains from end to end.
No retail business will operate outside of 1 (one) Community Area.
No more than 2 (two) retail businesses offering the same products or goods may operate in any Local Assembly Area.
Retail Businesses will be licensed to operate for periods of up to 5 (five) years, which will be renewable, by majority vote of The Local Assembly.
Independent businesses will be prioritised.
Basic and Essential Foods will be grown as locally as possible.
The resources and basic materials for all manufacturing and production will be sourced as locally as possible.
Taxation equivalent to the balance between the highest local price and the lowest price from out of area shall be payable at the rate of 110% for products or materials that are readily available within the local area.
Ownership & Management
All businesses shall be managed and operated with the benefit to the end user and the role that the business plays and contributes to the Community in mind.
No shareholder in any commercial enterprise shall have or place expectations upon management of receiving payment, profit or a share thereof, in return for any investment based purely upon share ownership.
No commercial business or shares thereof may be owned in full or in part by any bank or financial institution which has voting rights.
Profiteering
No business shall be able to retain Net Profit above the rate of 10%.
All Net Profit above 10% shall be Taxed at the rate of 100%
Companies or Business Owners convicted of Profiteering and/or undertaking any activity that will result in the same will be fined at the rate of 3x the value of the excess or profit made and will be punished with a custodial term where an impact upon the supply of any basic or essential foods, goods or services has been made.
Finance
No privately owned or managed credit agencies or services offering credit worthiness checks shall exist.
All financial transactions and devices shall be fully transparent.
Any loan, purchase facilitation or form of credit of any kind may not be sold on to another bank or financial institution, unless that sale is part of the bank or financial institution itself.
Hedging, speculation or any other form of betting on any market shall be prohibited.
People’s Banks
A National Peoples Bank will be established.
Peoples Banks will also be established within every Community Assembly area.
There will be a National Digital Currency that will be interchangeable with all localised currencies without charge.
The National Digital Currency shall have a fixed value for all purposes and uses within the UK / Great Britain Economy.
There will be separate localised Community Currencies which will be available in Cash and as a Digital Currency.
The Value of Community Currencies shall be fixed.
Any person or organisation visiting or undertaking business within a Community Assembly Area outside of their base can exchange the value of their local currency for that of the local currency in which they are doing business for a fixed 5% value of the transaction fee, which is payable to the Community Assembly providing the currency.
Any Person or Organisation may use National Digital Currency to exchange for any Local Currency other than that of their base Community Assembly for a fixed 10% value of the transaction fee, which is payable to the Community Assembly providing the currency.
Businesses which have National Importance as wholesalers and providers shall be Licensed at the discretion of The National Assembly to have currency fee transaction fees waived.
Communication
Support will be provided to the public telecoms industry to ensure 100% Broadband coverage across the UK / Great Britain within 3 years of The Reestablishment using cable technology where possible, and satellite technology where it is not.
The Community will have the non-negotiable right to remove 5G masts and technology placed with 250 metres of any house, dwelling, school or workplace, without any requirement to provide an alternative location, without compensation payable to the communications provider.
All critical infrastructure and software will be provided by UK / Great Britain Companies, with hardware managed and manufactured in the UK.
All communication software and storage systems that provide UK / Great Britain coverage shall be located within the UK / Great Britain.
UK / Great Britain Agriculture will be refocused to prioritise essential and basic food production, with the aim that the UK/ Great Britain will both achieve and maintain self-sufficiency in food production and food security thereafter.
Local Production will be focused on the shortest supply chains and where possible those supply chains will begin and complete within Local Assembly or Community Assembly areas.
Farmers will be supported to undertake all growing, processing, packing and retailing on site, or by working collaboratively with local not-for-profit cooperative bodies that will run and manage all parts of the supply chain and provide centralised retailing where farms to not run their own shops.
There will be an expectation that resources such as Milling and Abattoirs will be shared between all local farms to ensure that light touch processing will be available with minimal travel or haulage required.
New framework rules for food production will be introduced, with appropriate sub legislation agreed by majority vote by Local Assemblies where necessary.
Growers will prioritise vegetables, fruits, dairy, beef, lamb, pork, chicken, potato and arable crops that will feed directly into local and/or UK Great Britain milling, brewing or animal feed production.
UK / Great Britain production will be prioritised and any agricultural or fishing industry products which are deemed essential basics that are imported from outside of the UK / Great Britain at a lower price will have a Tariff imposed at the rate of 110% of the value of the balance between the highest local price and the buying price (including all ancillary costs), when those products are locally available.
Foods will not be imported from outside of the UK / Great Britain for the purposes of countering seasonality.
No experimental chemicals or pharmaceuticals shall enter the food supply chain at any stage and no foodstuff maybe be processed, sold or used for human consumption that has been exposed to such.
MRNA or any other man made or manipulated technologies that presents even a minor or trace risk to the Human Genome as a result of agricultural or horticultural use shall be introduced to the food chain in any way.
The focus on growing shall be the use of organic and traditional production methods and the development of systems and processes which support these.
Chemical fertilisers shall only be used where the rationing of basic and essential food supplies from UK / Great Britain sources is likely.
Only UK Fishing Boats will fish UK territorial waters.
Food Production contracts will exist only between Farmers and Community Assemblies and will be renewable on a 12 monthly basis.
Local food will be consumed within the Community Assembly area where it was produced and only made available for sale or exchange with other Community Assembly areas or beyond, when excess has become available.
The sale, exchange or citing of any kind of ‘future’ for agricultural or fishing production, with promises thereof shall be illegal.
Any person or business convicted of dealing directly or indirectly in futures for agricultural or fishing production will be liable to fines not less than 3x (three times) the value of any and/or illegal transactions and shall be banned from working within that or a related industry for life, thereafter.
Home Growing
Self-sufficiency of people is essential to achieving the aim of the UK becoming self-sufficient in food production and providing the Community with Food Security.
Every family, individual or group living as a household, will be encouraged to grow their own food.
Community Assemblies shall make provision of adequate allotment space for every existing household without sufficient garden space to grow fruit and vegetables, where ground is available to homes within a 15 (fifteen) minute walk.
Planning Regulations will require that all future homes will have adequate garden space provided for growing fruit and vegetables, and that where this is not possible, provision will be made for sufficient window boxes, vertical growing, hydroponics systems or similar to be easily installed.
Public Interest Companies shall be tasked with the supply and sale at cost, of all equipment, seeds, seedlings and supplies necessary for those members of the Community who are vulnerable or unemployed.
Help will be provided with home growing to the elderly and the vulnerable through the Charitable Provision Scheme.
Animal Welfare
No animal will travel beyond the boundary of the local Community Assembly area from farm to slaughter.
Hunting with Dogs Legislation will be revised to outlaw illegal or disruptive intervention by non-hunters, to remove any right to prosecute for accidental Fox hunting, whilst also tightening Law on prosecution against those seeking to flout Ban using birds of prey or other by-pass devices.
The RSPCA will lose any remaining charity status, be taken into public management and given evolved role to support the work of Community Services dealing with Animal Health & Welfare.
Grassroots Policy 5: General Public Policy & Service Provision
The Public Sector, which will include all organisations providing services to the public and for the public benefit, are not and will not be considered to be a ‘business’ at any time or in any way.
The People and Community will always be the priority of The Public Sector and the requirement that all activities and decisions made under the trust of the Community to Public Sector Officers will be that consideration for the impact of any or all actions taken will always be in the best interests of those members of the Community who will be affected, no matter how indirectly they may be affected.
Cost, Performance or Targets, nor political expedience of any kind shall hinder the delivery of any public policy that has been correctly confirmed by appropriate Community Vote or has been correctly implemented by a Public Sector Officer who is appropriately qualified and has been officially delegated with responsibility to do so.
Public Interest Companies (Trusts) will be created to provide all municipal services and administrative services across all Local Assembly areas within a Community Assembly area.
Public Interest Companies will be responsible for operational delivery and will have their strategic direction set by each Local Assembly for its Community area.
A new standard or charter will be created and set for public servants, requiring prioritisation of the end user, members of the public and the Community before anything else.
Where a Public Sector Officer is unable to carry out a strategic function under which they hold properly delegated responsibility, they will either refer the matter to a more experienced Public Sector Officer, or where that is not possible, to the Local or Community Assembly that appointed them.
Where a Public Sector Officer is unable to carry out any function delegated to them to oversee, which they cannot then delegate to a specialist or less experienced Public Sector Officer, they will forfeit their role and will be required to step down without compensation of any kind.
No Public Sector Officer shall confer or pass decision making responsibility for matters delegated to them, to any third party, consultant or person employed specifically to fulfil such a task.
Any services required by a Public Sector Organisation that can be considered unique enough not to justify that function being carried out ‘in house’ or by the local Public Interest Trust, must be carried out by a business offering such services which is based within the Community Area. Out of Area Commissioning for such purposes will be the responsibility of the local Public Interest Trust but will be referenced directly to the local Community Assembly.
All supplies required for ongoing operational functions will be provided by the local Public Interest Trust, where all contract purchase arrangements shall be regularly reviewed by Community Representatives trained and/or experienced with business practices and fiscal auditing.
No organisation funding or in receipt of public funds which holds responsibility for providing and delivery essential services or services provided when needed to the public and Community, shall operate independently or on a stand-alone basis.
Public Sector Organisations will not lobby nor seek to influence the decision making of Local or Community Assemblies and shall provide all reporting in a factual, matter of fact, unbiased and unemotional way.
No stand-alone pension scheme shall exist exclusively for Public Sector Officers.
All former EU Tender & Procurement Legislation shall be discontinued at the time of The Reestablishment.
A new Public Sector anti-corruption framework, with localised charters shall be created that recognises the need to tackle all forms of corruption, on the part of Public Sector Officers, whether financial or otherwise.
Union rights will end at The Reestablishment for all Public Sector Organisations.
NHS
The NHS will undergo complete reform, reinstating the prioritisation of clinical delivery and patient care above all necessary management functions.
Anyone in receipt of The Basic Living Wage or its equivalent shall continue to receive free medical treatment at point of care.
Anyone in receipt of an income higher than The Basic Living Wage or its equivalent shall pay a 3% medical insurance surcharge deduction from all additional income received.
The NHS will carry out the majority of its functions as separate Trusts that feed into Community Assemblies for overall strategic support and direction.
Social care shall become the responsibility of Community Assembly Health Trusts.
ALL clinical and operational decision making, and strategy delegated to Community Assembly Health Trusts shall be carried out by panels of experienced frontline medical and healthcare staff.
The role of frontline medical and healthcare staff will be recognised as the key function of any NHS.
Non-medical related services for Community Assembly Health Trusts shall be provided by the local Public Interest Company.
An independent court will be established to consider and address complaints made against Community Assembly Health Trusts.
All People who have mental capacity and have no recent history of mental health issues, shall have the ‘Right to Die’, if they are suffering from a terminal or progressively debilitating illness or condition.
The ‘Right to Die’ of any ‘qualified’ person shall be confirmed by full medical consultation with no less than 3 (three) General Practitioners and/or Hospital Consultants who will not be known to the Patient and will be appointed from an out of area pool.
All medical professionals shall have the right to recuse themselves from any involvement in ‘Right to Die’ procedures at any time and without prejudice.
The ‘Sex Industry’ will be legalised, Regulated and managed as a Public Health concern, under the strategic control of Community Assemblies and partnerships with Community Assembly Health Trusts.
Covid, Vaccinations and future Outbreak Management
The term ‘vaccination’ will mean a form of medical intervention, created or designed to target a specific pathogen or virus, that once administered will in the majority of cases prevent infection of the patient and also prevent the patient from therefore becoming infectious to others.
MRNA will be banned as a form of mass vaccination, therapy or treatment for humans and animals until such time as any and all risks to The Human Genome have been identified, what their impact will be, and the risks of their use have been limited to cases that can be proactively addressed with the use of other/additional treatment or therapies.
When the wider population is at risk from a pathogen or virus where the likely outcome of mass infection is unknown, or serious effects are only likely to be experienced by vulnerable people or by a small number of the population, it will be the obligation of the Community only to provide support to those identified as being at that additional risk.
The Community will not impose restrictions of any kind upon members of the Community who are unlikely to experience nothing more than a light illness from any form of mass infection.
Members of the Community will be expected to take precautions on their own behalf and those they will have contact with, in order to reduce the possibility of transmission of any pathogen or virus that may be of an additional risk to any person whose vulnerabilities may not be known.
The freedom of an individual may only be restricted or that individual may only be placed in medical quarantine in cases where they are suffering symptoms alone, or any pathogen or virus that they have been identified as carrying is likely to cause irreparable harm or death to the majority of people that come into unprotected contact with the carrier, as part of that person’s immediate immune response.
In such circumstances where any form of Lockdown is necessary, all forms of economic activity and liability for those affected will cease and fail to exist for the period of that Lockdown.
Education
Education shall be focused on the best interests of the child, the young person and their future role and contribution to a fair, balanced and just society.
The Education system will recognise the fundamental difference in learning styles of young people. In teenage and the years of early adulthood, young people are generally either ‘heads’ or ‘hands’ i.e., their focus is academic (with the ability to learn in the abstract) or their focus is vocation or experiential and in the present.
Educators will be fully supported and have the freedom to provide a balanced education, with prioritisation of essential and basic skills proficiency up to the age of 14, with the child and young person always experiencing a safe and secure environment, free of bias and the ideologies of politics or anger.
A full apprenticeship route shall be created and developed for students at the age of 14 (fourteen years) who are either a) not academically inclined or b) are unable or unwilling to apply themselves academically at that time.
Apprenticeships shall make full use of the former tertiary level of education to provide support and benchmarking to all forms of trade and business.
Apprenticeships will include universal life skills and qualifications such as driving licenses and vocational driving licenses.
Apprenticeships shall be remunerated at the rate of 50% of the Basic Living Wage for apprentices between the ages of 14 and 18 years, with no less than 50% (25% of the Basic Living Wage) being paid directly to the parents or guardians of the apprentice for the duration of the apprenticeship.
Apprentices shall be remunerated at the rate of 75% of the Basic Living Wage for apprentices between the ages of 18 and 21, with deductions applied as above.
A full, completed apprenticeship shall be considered to be the experiential equivalent of a full undergraduate academic degree.
The Academic Pathway will prioritise enhanced languages, mathematics, critical thinking, philosophy and traditional topics such as history and geography between the ages of 14 and 18, and then offer specialist 3-5 years degree programmes focusing on subject areas beneficial to industry and public sector requirements.
Bogus, ‘worthless’ or ‘mickey mouse’ degrees will be discontinued.
Commercialism will be removed from all places of learning to ensure that the focus is on teaching, not running as a business.
The salaries of senior academic and management staff in all publicly funded educational establishments will be set by the local Community Assembly in liaison with all Local Assemblies.
‘Private’ interest will be prohibited from making any form of donation or providing sponsorship of any kind that could in any way influence any publicly funded educational establishment or vehicle.
The Student Loan Programme shall be discontinued and replaced by an industry and public sector grant system, where companies and Community organisations will sponsor students through the Academic Pathway by paying them a proportional equivalent of the Basic Living Wage.
Companies participating in support of students on the Academic Pathway shall identify training requirements that form part of their long-term industrial strategy, so that the Academic Educational System may respond.
Housing
Basic Housing will be an essential service.
The provision of basic or essential accommodation for the public will not be carried out on a commercial basis.
No residential property will be let in full by a private landlord.
Residential property will only be let in part by a private landlord, where that property is in part occupied by the landlord themselves.
Multiple home ownership will be prohibited.
Second and any homes that are additional to a main residence thereafter shall be forfeited and passed into the ownership of the Local Assembly for use as Community housing, or where appropriate sold with all funds then reallocated for the purchase of appropriate Community housing or building thereof.
No form of compensation shall be payable to any owner, charge or mortgage holder on additional properties passed into Community Ownership.
A tiered valuation system shall be created for flats, one bedroom, two bedroom and three-bedroom houses with the most expensive being proportional to no less than the equivalent of 25 years multiple of the Basic Living Wage.
All mortgages shall attract a standard 10% (Ten Percent) of the value of the property, purchase facilitation fee, payable in monthly instalments for the duration of the mortgage period.
Facilitators shall be entitled to charge the equivalent of no more than 1 (one) monthly payment for early surrender or repayment of the mortgage.
Public Interest Companies will provide a private room letting register and service.
Homeowners with spare rooms that they are happy to let will register with the Community Assembly.
No tax will be payable on income received by homeowners for the letting of rooms within their home.
Community Housing will be owned by the Community. Any housing stock sold must be replaced on a minimum like for like basis, or for a greater number of properties that can be let.
The Right to Buy will cease at The Reestablishment.
Planning
The former Local Planning Committee structure will end at The Reestablishment.
Planning Determinations will be made shall by Local assemblies.
Local Planning Courts will be created where no less than 10 Community members of a Local Assembly area shall be randomly selected to sit as a court to determine planning applications.
The local planning framework shall be created collaboratively by the Local and Community Assemblies.
The National & Regional Planning Frameworks will be created collaboratively by the Community & National Assemblies.
Planning Applications and Reviews will be submitted to Local Planning Courts by the appointed Public Representative on the Local Assembly.
The Right of Appeal shall be the submission of the application to the Local Assembly and be subject to a majority vote.
A new Planning Investigation Unit shall be created with remit to investigate historic consent, overturn decisions not made in the Public Interest. It will have the right to seize land and property where corruption of any kind has been found or to instruct the immediate return of land or infrastructure to the previous state it was in before the Application(s) was/were made at the cost of the Applicant.
Science & Technology
There will be a Policy of UK / Great Britain Science & Technology First.
A new national pharmaceutical development company will be established, under the guidance of The National Assembly.
The research, design and rollout of so-called ‘Free Energy’ solutions will be prioritised, with the manufacture, supply, installation and maintenance of all essential supplies’ infrastructure provided by Public Interest Companies.
The Nuclear Power network and infrastructure shall be further developed and localised to ensure that all UK / Great Britain energy needs are met by UK / Great Britain based infrastructure at peak times.
Foreign investment in Science and Technology development will be limited and regulated to ensure that Companies and Technologies critical to the UK / Great Britain remain in UK / Great Britain hands under all circumstances.
Technology will only be used to enhance and improve employment conditions.
Technology will not be used to replace employment itself.
Any Internet services provided to the general public as a social or retail platform will only be provided within Community Assembly areas.
No web or internet-based platform will provide the same or access to any content in any Community Assembly area that is already available in another.
The software or structure of a web or internet-based platform of proven benefit to the Community may be licensed with its full functionality, to businesses operating in another Community area, without the transfer of any branding, marketing, content or user information of any kind. Only a fixed license fee shall be payable.
Artificial Intelligence
The programming methodology, including all aims, motivations and protocols of any Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme used with the consent of the end user, shall be made available in accessible form as part of any opt-in agreement between the provider and the user.
Artificial Intelligence will not be used in any circumstances where the end user is unaware of its presence within any or all processes they have been exposed to.
Artificial Intelligence may not be used in educational classrooms, lecture or study theatres or examinations of any kind.
Any person or company convicted of being directly or indirectly responsible for creating, providing or managing any type of Artificial Intelligence which creates risk to the health, happiness, security and safety of any person or Community without their full knowledge and understanding shall be liable to forfeit all associated property and rights thereof (intellectual or otherwise) to the Community and shall be banned from further involvement in any related activity for life.
Media
Each Local Assembly area shall provide its own Local News Service (LNS) using all available media platforms.
Local News Services shall be considered to be a Community service and will as such be operated and maintained in the main part by members of the Community as part of their Community contribution.
Local News Services will provide daily news bulletins and updates that are purely factual and are provided without opinion.
Where Local News Services provide opinion or views as any part of their programming, the programmes will carry or air a notice that this is the case, and will provide at least one alternative view, given the same column space or airtime, within the same programming or publication.
Each Community Member shall have the right to provide and have published a 600 word or 3-minute video, podcast or interview each year, in which they will discuss their views on the Community, Democracy or anything else related to the new structure of Governance itself.
Where news is provided by any privately owned company, an open and obvious disclaimer will be published alongside or proceeding each programme which makes the sponsorship clear to readers and listeners.
Rules for the Internet, the Metaverse and the Online World
The Internet and all online software shall operate on a localised basis.
Social and Retail business models will only operate and be based within Community Assembly areas.
Social and Retail business models may not be based on ‘the cloud’ if the servers used are located outside of the Community Assembly area where the company is based.
No company may provide social or retail business models to a Community Assembly Area where the services it offers are not available on anything other than a temporary basis and will cease operations in that Community Assembly area within 30 days of being notified that a viable local alternative exists.
Business to Business (B2B) Models shall be able to operate on a universal basis, under license from the Community Assembly.
Any Taxation will be applied at the location of sale or retail transaction and shall be payable to the local Community Assembly.
Any person accessing or wishing to access a social business model or platform as a user or customer shall be required to register with the Internet Licensing Authority (ILA).
For any person to comment, edit or provide additional content to any existing content available on the internet or online, that person will be licensed by the Internet Licensing Authority (ILA).
Upon qualified registration with the Internet Licensing Authority (ILA) that person will receive a Unique Internet License Number (UILN).
Upon registering to use a social business model or platform, the provider will be required to check the registering users Unique Internet License Number (UILN) with the Internet Licensing Authority.
Where the circumstances of the user meet the requirements of the social business model or platform provider, users shall be able to present themselves publicly under a pseudonym or anonymous name, which shall only be linked to the corresponding Unique Internet License Number (UILN) itself.
Where a user of a social or retail business model or platform has provided a verified Unique Internet License Number (UILN), they will not be obligated to provide any further personal or identifying data under any circumstances, unless they voluntarily wish to do so.
Companies providing social or retail business model platforms will not incentivise or use deception of any kind to coerce users into surrendering personal data or information beyond their Unique Internet License Number (UILN)
Upon the Reestablishment, all Companies providing social, or retail business model platforms will be required to destroy the data and information held of all historic users, without any information relating to any ongoing user being stored or held over.
Banks may only operate online within their Community Assembly area and will provide physically accessible banking service during the working week within no less than 50% (Fifty Percent) of the corresponding Local Assembly areas.
Internet Framework Charter (IFC)
A Framework Charter shall be created that recognises the need for the internet and all online activity to be governed by and treated the same as everything offline.
The Internet Framework Charter (IFC) shall also recognise the need for all online relationships to provide recognisable parallels with offline relationships that keep such relationships ‘human’ and fully respectful of the requirement that every user of the Internet treat all others in the same way that they would that same person through direct contact, offline.
The Internet Framework Charter (IFC) shall provide the umbrella or universal requirement that no form of Artificial Intelligence shall be used under any circumstances to provide therapy or personalised advice, coaching or otherwise to any person seeking or requiring support for any mental health, cognitive or mind-related issue, or any physical activity that a healthy human body would be required to do.
The Metaverse, Virtual Reality Ecosystems or other ‘Online Worlds’
Where any company that provides a social or retail business model or platform provides access to ‘The Metaverse’ a ‘Virtual Reality Ecosystem’ or an alternative ‘Online World’ of any kind, they will charge for entry to and continued access to that Metaverse, Virtual Reality Ecosystem, Online World or service provided only.
Rules created and implemented within or for any Metaverse, a Virtual Reality Ecosystem or Online World shall at no time become applicable to or carried across to the ‘Offline World’ or become the liability of the account holder in their ‘real life’.
Unique users will access The Metaverse, a ‘Virtual Reality Ecosystem’ or any ‘Online World’ for no more than 3 hours daily at any time.
Assets owned, created or awarded within The Metaverse, a ‘Virtual Reality Ecosystem’ or any ‘Online World’ shall have no transferable value offline.
Grassroots Policy 6: Caring for Our Environment, for our today and for everyone’s tomorrow.
The old world has taught and conditioned us to believe that there would be no consequence for quick, cheap and easy living.
Whilst ridicule of the so-called ‘Global Warming’ debate became a dead cat argument that cynically buried the damage that ‘free markets’, ‘globalisation’ and a world driven by consumerism is and has inflicted upon the world and our environment, with a focus on feeding greed and without any care for the wasteland these processes are leaving behind.
The Reestablishment asks that we all look at ourselves. That we become consciously aware of our behaviours and the impact that we have all had on the world and the people around us. It requires change and with it the acceptance that we leave all forms of unsustainable living behind.
Net Zero
Net Zero and all references to it will end.
The changes in behaviours necessary to support, enhance and respect the environment will be delivered by the lifestyle and business changes that will be brought into being by The Reestablishment and the resulting changes to our behaviours.
Planning & Environment
There will be a moratorium on all house building until such time as all alternative legislative devices have been agreed, implemented and the new system has had sufficient time to find its maintenance point.
Building on flood plains and restructured or built-up land will end.
Both Fluvial and Pluvial flood modelling will become a basic standard in all development planning and priority will always be given to the risk to existing infrastructure and property, over ‘additional’ need.
All river systems will be regularly dredged and cleared.
Water Companies will be prohibited from discharging untreated effluent into the sea or any water course and any treated discharge will not impact the environment in any way.
Soil restoration will be a priority in all areas, with both responsive and proactive measures implemented to restore and manage all forms of productive land.
The need for efficient growing will be balanced with the need to reduce and phase out chemical-based interventions that have had or are having an impact on long term sustainability, wildlife, insect numbers, wild plants and trees.
Additional reservoirs will be commissioned, making best use of natural features where doing so will not impact or harm Communities or irreplaceable infrastructure.
There will be a National and Community Assembly level focus upon water capture, desalinisation and micro storage technologies, where possible ensuring a crossover with green or free energy production
Business
Planned Obsolescence will be prohibited. Any individual or company convicted of either directly or indirectly engaging in the design, manufacture, sale or marketing of any product that has deliberately had its lifetime shortened to create a false marketplace will be fined the equivalent value of what they were projected to gain and be banned from the industry for life.
A Packaging Tax will be applied to all disposable or non-recyclable packaging on a per-unit basis that will be added to the value of basic essentials and will not be included within.
A Framework Covenant of UK / Great Britain Environmental Standards for all foods, products, goods, services, manufacturing and other items will be agreed and implemented within 3 years of The Establishment.
Ban on all non-UK based Companies moving into UK Marketplace which do not meet UK Environmental Standards
Roads & Transport
All forms of public transport shall be returned to ‘public’ ownership under the management and operation of Public Interest Companies, with strategic direction set by Local and Community Assemblies.
Public transport will be prioritised as the accepted form of transport for everyone who has access to it and will be improved to meet expectations as well as need.
Each commuter using Public Transport will receive no less than 50 free journeys on one form of public transport per commuter per year.
Further development of air and seaports will end.
HS2 and all other planned or incomplete transport projects will be discontinued.
The existing railway network will be enhanced, with management, the use of smart technology, the revival of infrastructure closed under the Beeching Axe, additional stations/platforms and basic trust in staff prioritised above all other solutions and remedies.
Improvement to existing transport systems and infrastructure will always be prioritised over being replaced.
Commuter and journeys to educational establishments taken by car, where sufficient and appropriate public transport is available, will be taxed at the rate of 100% the cost of all equivalent fares.
Multiple car households will be prohibited.
Households will be limited to the ownership of no more than 1 (one) car per household, where that ownership is deemed essential.
Additional cars (2 or more) will only be necessary where more than one member of that household can demonstrate that car ownership is essential to their employment and that no alternative is available for that location.
All Local Assemblies shall own and operate a car sharing pool and battery powered bike lending hub that will be run on a not-for-profit basis.
Recycle, Repair, Reuse
The throw-away culture will end with the Reestablishment.
Everyone will be expected to prioritise the recycling, repair and reuse of clothing, materials, equipment and technology, in whole or in part, where damage or use has not rendered them unusable.
All manufacturing, assembly and packaging processes will be required to use materials that can be reused easily by the end user. Where this is not possible, all the recycling of any product must be possible locally and without extensive transport or mechanical processes.
Make do and Mend
Single use clothing and essential goods will be prohibited.
There will be an expectation that clothing and essential goods will be used until they are worn out, or have been recycled, repaired and reused.
Local Assemblies shall run Community workshops and training to provide Community members of all ages with repair and restoration skills as a minimum.
Local Lending Libraries (LLL)
Each Local Assembly shall establish and manage Local Lending Libraries and goods exchanges that are made available online and offline to all members of the Community.
Lending Libraries and Goods Exchanges shall have their own workshops where members of the Community can access repair and revitalisation services for the goods they own.
Grassroots Policy 7: Foreign Policy
The UK / Great Britain shall have and exercise a non-interventionist Foreign Policy, unless a) a legitimate foreign government, democratically elected by the majority of its people has requested such intervention and/or b) that to not do so, will place the UK / Great Britain or any dependency and the freedoms of the resident population thereof, at unacceptable levels of risk.
The UK / Great Britain Foreign Policy shall be to not be involved in Foreign Electoral or Democratic processes of any kind.
No form of foreign aid shall be allocated whilst residents of the UK / Great Britain remain under involuntary need or need that has been created involuntarily through the actions of others.
No form of foreign aid shall be allocated unless the UK / Great Britain economy/economies are in surplus.
Where overseas aid is given, it will only be given to provide direct and meaningful support to residents within that country, rather than just funds or contracts to private companies.
Contracts awarded to private companies as part of Foreign Aid will only be given to businesses that are indigenous to that specific Country, with a focus on supporting local economies as part of that Foreign Aid effort.
A non-military foreign aid logistics and development service will be created and directed strategically by The National Assembly, with Community Assembly oversight.
Defence
Defence management and strategy shall be one of the few areas of Public Policy that will be the responsibility of the National Assembly.
Emergency Defence management decisions shall be taken by the National Assembly Facilitator / Chairperson with the relevant Community Representatives.
Emergency Defence Decisions shall be ratified or rescinded by the next session of The National Assembly during normal periods of business and shall be considered by a specially convened meeting of the National Assembly in no less than 3 (three) days at all other times.
National Service will be reinstated to ensure that all eligible young people have qualified academically, complete parallel apprenticeships or undertake military training as a key part of their professional development and steps towards the workplace by the age of 21.
Military hardware and software development and manufacturing will be returned to the UK /Great Britain with outsourcing to companies outside of the UK / Great Britain only where no other options are available.
All non-UK / Great Britain military operations, with the exception of the provision of The Nuclear Deterrent shall end as early as possible following the Reestablishment and in no less than 12 months in any case.
The UK / Great Britain International Military Policy shall be non-interventionist and non-aggressive.
The UK / Great Britain Military shall not engage in any foreign campaign unless directly attacked or there is a requirement to maintain an appropriate military presence overseas either to support UK / Great Britain Foreign Aid activities or as part of commitments to international collaborations (NATO, UN etc)
The legality of any civil prosecution against alleged military ‘crime’ of any kind – whether current, recent or historic shall end.
A New Naval Ship Building programme will include adequate ‘at sea’ Fisheries Protection for all UK Waters
The Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army will be rearmed, equipped and restored in size to ensure that combined forces are able to cover all domestic and possible/likely overseas requirements at all times.
All Community Assembly Areas shall have a military presence that will include a minimum of 1x Army Depot, 1x Military Airport (which may be shared), and 1x Naval Station or Port where Community Assembly areas are on the coast or exposed to an estuary which carried shipping.
Immigration
Immigration shall be on a qualified basis only, with the exception of genuine refugees who shall be awarded temporary sanctuary and residency until it is safe for them to return to their home Country.
Qualified Entry Status shall only exist where a need for skills has been identified by Local Assemblies / Community Assemblies / The National Assembly, which cannot be provided in any other way.
Where there is a temporary need for skills, Qualified Entry Status shall only be awarded for the period of need and up to but not exceeding 6 months thereafter.
Economic refugees and their dependents shall be provided with temporary sanctuary with only the essential basics provided to meet their immediate needs.
There shall be no obligation upon Local Assemblies, Community Assemblies or the National Assembly to provide the essential basics on an individual or definable family unit basis beyond basic privacy.
Where refugees have travelled beyond the ‘first safe country’, they shall not be granted special rights and shall be treated as economic migrants.
The UK / Great Britain shall be obligated to prioritise any Foreign Aid available to those countries where the greatest numbers of residents have become refugees and/or are arriving at UK / Great Britain seeking entry to stay.
Any person seeking refuge of any kind who has been convicted of any crime against the person or a freedom thereof, either in the UK / Great Britain or any other Country, shall have relinquished their Community rights and/or human rights. They shall be denied entry, with any stay necessary in the UK / Great Britain being custodial until such time as they can be returned to their home Country.
The UK / Great Britain Relationship with The EU & other ‘Trading Partners’
All obligations made to The EU or any of its forebears by any government of the UK / Great Britain, shall end in full at The Reestablishment.
All obligations made to any other foreign entity, Country or Trade Bloc by any government of the UK / Great Britain, shall end in full at The Reestablishment, unless that relationship carries a net benefit for the UK / Great Britain, when it shall continue for the duration of that time.
Sovereign Power for all matters shall be that of Local Assemblies, then Community Assemblies, then The National Assembly. The National Assembly will not engage in relationships of any kind with The EU without the consent and democratic directives of the Local and Community Assemblies.
No form of EU derived law or legislation of any kind shall remain in force or be enforceable from The Reestablishment, with the exception of the production and/or provision of any goods to be exported to the EU, which it will remain the obligation of the supplying company to maintain.
Any post Reestablishment relationship with The EU shall be trade based only and will be negotiated from the point that no relationship between the UK / Great Britain and The EU already exists or has historically existed at any time.
The UK / Great Britain will not relinquish any form of power or Governance to any Foreign Power as part of a trade or political arrangement, agreement or contract of any kind.
The UK / Great Britain shall make no payments or provide any subsidy to any Foreign Country or Trading Bloc as part of any Trade arrangement.
The UK / Great Britain must maintain trade neutrality or experience net gain within all trade partnerships for basic essentials.
Protection orders will immediately be made at The Reestablishment to safeguard food security through British Farming, Fisheries and all areas of production at risk from foreign imports.
At The Reestablishment a temporary protectionist policy will be imposed upon all trade with the EU where the products, goods, foods and services are already available and/or can be produced within the UK / Great Britain and will remain in place until those industries can self-sustain.
At The Reestablishment, there will be an immediate ban on the import of all EU derived products, goods, foods and services that are subsidised and therefore underwritten by the EU, unless they are not available or cannot be produced within the UK / Great Britain.
Grassroots Policy 8: Freedoms, The Courts & The Legal System
It is essential that every part of the Court, Legal system and Profession be motivated and driven by the requirement for impartial delivery at all levels that will ensure balance, fairness and justice for all.
No financial, emotional or other form of influence shall interfere with the right of every person to enjoy their freedom, and no person convicted or directed by a court shall have their own rights to freedom compromised beyond the requirements of any punishment or the requirements of any directive that a Community court may lay down.
The existing Magistrates Court & Local Circuit or County Court system shall end at The Establishment.
The role of Volunteer Magistrates will end at The Reestablishment.
All Criminal matters shall be determined by new Local Assembly Courts, convened with 7 Community Members randomly selected from a different Local Assembly Area within the same Community Area.
Assembly Courts shall be convened and sit for 1 (one) week and shall be overseen by a qualified Court facilitator.
All Civil and deferred Criminal matters shall be determined by Community Assembly Courts, convened with qualified Community judges.
The automatic pathway of all Civil and Family matters shall be mediation, following the initial assessment of all cases by a Community Judge to remove or reject spurious cases.
A criminal charge of obstructing the rightful process of the Community Court will be applied to any party who refuses or fails to participate in the automatic pathway.
‘Ambulance chasing’ or ‘where there’s blame, there’s a claim’ court applications initiated specifically for commercial gain by legal professionals shall be prohibited with an immediate lifetime ban from practice for any legal professional directly or indirectly involved.
The right of appeal shall be limited to the next Assembly Level, and where appeals or more serious cases are passed to The National Assembly, they shall be determined by 7 randomly selected members of The National Assembly and determined under the advice of a senior Community Judge.
No court may use financial incentives or disincentives to discourage or encourage the pursuit of justice of any kind. Impartial justice must be available to all UK / Great Britain residents at all times.
It will be the obligation of the Local and Community Assembly Courts to ensure that all cases are objectively led, factually driven and not motivated by material gain or emotional prejudice of any kind and in any way.
Law & Order
All Policing targets will be discontinued at The Reestablishment. A happy Community is one which has no requirement to be policed.
Any person arrested will be prosecuted by the arresting Police Officer(s) in front of the Local Assembly Community Court for any decision over immediate conviction, bail or release, within 24 hours of their arrest.
Any person under the age of 21 who is convicted in a Local Assembly Community Court of any crime which is not against the person or freedom of the person shall, upon conviction, be enrolled to complete National Service of no less than completion of the full apprenticeship period plus an additional 3 (three) years.
Policing
The role of the College of Policing shall undergo immediate review with any rights of the college to influence operational policing policy rescinded.
The weight of value in policing shall be returned to frontline Police Constables, whose priority will be the provision of visible, Community policing and with the burden of bureaucratic targets removed.
A Policing Apprenticeship shall be available for applicants at 14 years.
Other applicants for Police Constable Training shall be no less than 21 years of age with a minimum of 3 years post-apprenticeship work experience.
The weight of Police Constable Training shall be experiential and ‘on the job’.
All Senior Police Officers must have served a minimum of 3 years, qualified, within the preceding role.
The role of Police Community Support Officer shall end at The Reestablishment, with all existing PCSOs expected to complete Police Constable Training within 18 months.
The area of each Police Force or Constabulary shall correspond with the local Community Assembly area.
Each Local Assembly area shall have a manned Police Station.
Terrorism
All terrorism shall be treated as treason and an attack upon freedom.
All convicted Terrorists will receive whole-life tariffs, which may be upgraded by The National Assembly to a capital tariff at any time, will a majority vote within all Local Assemblies restore the Death Penalty.
Licensing (Gambling & Sale of Alcohol)
The gambling industry shall be required to have new system of Governance mirroring alcohol licensing where ‘point of transaction’ must be managed by a responsible, appropriately qualified and upstanding person who will be held accountable for the safety of all customers on the basis of legally backed right to refuse.
All Internet and/or app gambling will be regulated to reflect the same or banned if the Gambling industry cannot present workable solutions to support gambling supervision on remote basis.
A system of Alcohol Taxation will be introduced to encourage the use of Pubs, Restaurants and Social Clubs for any/all alcohol consumption, actively discouraging drinking in the home or an ‘unsupervised’ environment.
Religion, Freedom of Thought and Freedom of Speech
True freedom of the individual is the ability to think freely, and to act accordingly unless such an act will restrict the acts or ability to think freely of another, with the only exception being when they have been convicted of a crime and have had such freedom restricted by law.
Any person shall be free to believe whatever they wish, unless that belief becomes an action or behaviour that then calls into question the ability of any other person to do the same.
No religion shall have the right to impose any law, framework for living, or any type of behaviour upon any person who objects to doing so or has not voluntarily agreed to do so without solicitation or coercion.
It will be recognised in Law that there is no discernible hierarchy of man between any man and his or her relationship with God, Source, A Supreme Being or The Universe, other than which is man made, and that Faith is itself an exercise in freedom.
No organisation or individual – whether ‘religious’, ‘spiritual’, or following another doctrine or philosophy which requires changes upon freedom of the person, shall impose or force their doctrine on any person without their consent.
The act of ‘cancellation’ shall be a criminal offence, whether committed directly or in part.
The spiritual independence and individual value of every individual, their soul or ‘mind’ shall be respected at all times.
No man shall have the right to compromise the right of any individual to unassisted human function, unless the individual has knowingly and in full understanding given their consent for them to do so.
Where such rights have been surrendered, they will only be surrendered on a temporary basis, with the cognitive ability of the individual maintained to have their self-sufficiency restored at any time upon demand.
There will be a recognition that the decision making by the majority of former politicians and senior public figures has been based upon self-interest and reasoning based on the stupidity and ignorance that goes with it.
The most appropriate punishment for stupid and ignorant people is to remove them from their responsibilities and relieve them of any material gain they have made directly from the decisions they have made. Any such person will forfeit their right to continue to hold their position and any future benefit that may have previously been intended from it.
Where individuals have been proven to design, impose and maintain any public policy that has been knowingly used to compromise the physical health, mental health and freedom of any individual or the public at large, for reasons that are not in the best interests of the majority, they will be appropriately tried in a court of their peers.
Appropriate punishment shall be decided by the same court.
In any circumstances, punishments will be humane and not in any way applied in such way that the method of achieving the outcome is arguably ‘fitting’ the crime. I.e., any person convicted of a political crime may indeed receive a custodial sentence, but the removal of their liberty and any non-essentials for the period of the sentence duly given shall be punishment enough.
In the event that a court will impose a capital sentence upon any individual, the sentence shall be carried out in the most efficient, painless and humane manner possible, without an audience or public celebration of any kind.
Any persons appointed to oversee the administration of a court’s punishment will be appropriately qualified and trusted to respect the requirement for humanity to be shown and applied to any person, no matter who they are or what they have done.
Bankers and Financiers tried and convicted of playing any part in profiteering, excessive interest raising, usury, market manipulation, betting on the markets, creating deceptive financial devices or any other activity that has either involuntarily compromised others or risked/damaged any economy in any way shall, at a minimum, be banned from engaging in any financial industry or financially related activity for life, and shall forfeit any wealth attributed from such activity to their Community Assembly.
Grassroots Policy 9: Transport
Public Transport is an essential public service and will be provided on a not-for-profit basis.
All Public Transport provision will be made by Public Interest Companies
The technological development of Hydrogen, Battery and free energy powered vehicles shall be supported and prioritised at all Assembly Levels.
Road Transport
EU Legislation requiring Professional Drivers to do stepped tests for different vehicle sizes in same class (e.g., HGV 3 and then HGV1 only afterwards following a qualification period) will end at The Reestablishment.
The requirement for Driver CPCs shall end and be replaced with short online course and tests as part of first Licensing, with regular refresher courses and tests online thereafter to be provided and managed by the Vehicle Licensing Authority for UK ONLY commercial drivers.
Visiting or transiting professional Foreign Drivers will be required to undertake the same short online courses and driving tests before accessing UK / Great Britain roads.
Roads
All road building plans and projects will be halted where the cost of continuing will be higher than to cease and restore the previous infrastructure.
Utility companies to be made liable for all road repairs where they have devalued the structural integrity of a road surface.
Any Utility companies leaving temporary roadworks without work taking place at weekends and during business hours shall be fined for the value of expense to the Community.
Investment will be made in new road surface technology research to extend the lifetime and durability of all roads.
Shipping
A new scheme of public sponsorship or loans to create new shipbuilding enterprises shall be established with the aim that all Community Assembly areas with access to the UK / Great Britain coastline or a ship going estuary shall have appropriate and accessible ship building and repair facilities.
Cycling
A new system of Bicycle & Rider Licensing shall be created for all bicycles, scooters and mobility carts.
A Word to The Wise
You may only be here to ‘borrow’ a few ideas to write an article. You could well be here on behalf of a political master or party, to pocket a solution you will use as something akin to a sticking plaster or plug to fill a black hole, so that when the next set of awkward questions are asked of you or them, you have something that will get you through.
You’re welcome. It really doesn’t matter. There are no shortcuts that will see us through.
Contrary to what today’s political class believes, solutions for the public that will help and benefit the public are not any persons to own. They belong to us all, because they are for us all.
But if you are already here or there and cherry-picking ideas and suggestions like these, you would do yourself and potentially many other people a great favour if you were to stop, look at the much bigger picture and then begin to work your role in all of this through.
An approach to public policy for the future that involves or incorporates anything less than wholesale, comprehensive or universal change – and not least of all in the direction of the values that drive ALL of us – will do.
It will remain possible for anyone and everyone to change the way they think, until the very moment that it isn’t. That will be the time when there is no longer any choice.
Dare to be different. Dare to think Differently. Dare to be a leader of change, NOW!
Comments, Questions or Get in Touch
If you have any genuine thoughts, questions or ideas that you would like to share, I would be very happy to hear them, especially if they will help us to help others.
The Grassroots Manifesto wasn’t written in isolation and is part of a series that I began writing about three years ago in early 2022.
Each of the following list of Books is a variation on a theme, but works very much under the principle that it is not only possible but actually healthy to be able to understand, value and even hold different views or perspectives of the same situation or set of circumstances at the same time, whether that be in the Past, Present or Future tense.
Equally, it is also important to be able to consider different pathways for the future that sit beyond what many consider to be the obvious, simply because the obvious itself is usually inextricably linked with what has already been done and what sits in the past.
All of the following titles are available to purchase as complete eBooks for Kindle from Amazon using the links provided.
Where indicated, titles may also be available to download FREE as PDF Copies from my Blogsite in different forms, using the links provided.
If you would like to discuss any of the works listed, please get in touch.
Change is underway. Change must happen and it is no longer a choice. But we do all have a choice over what that change will be.
Many now recognise the reality that we are already within The Great Reset. But what just as many of us still don’t realise, understand or accept, is the direction that the Establishment and the World Elites want us all to go is only their aim. It’s not ours or what is best for us in any way.
The risk that we all face for our future, is that the apathy of the many, and the lack of direction suffered by the few who have already awoken will end the opportunity for all people to take back control of our future, before any real fight to do so has even began.
However, we have the choice to take back control and decide what we, as people and as a Community, wish the outcome of this period of unavoidable change to be.
The Grassroots Manifesto provides the reader with an outline and direction of what real people-centric change will look and feel like, and what for us all personally and as members of the Community, meaningful change that will benefit everyone will mean.
The book focuses on the pathway to a genuine Reestablishment through changes and transformation to our system of Governance and includes:
Establishing a New Democratic & Electoral System.
The use of Universal Frameworks that provide equity for all forms of Governance
A series of suggested Public Policies that provide a guide to what legislation will look like when created by the people, for the people and implemented from the Grassroots-Up.
Whether you are looking for answers or have already committed yourself to being the change, The Grassroots Manifesto will open a door for you and is a must read, whether you are resident in the UK or not.
Whilst I may not be following or even have spoken to as many of them as I might like, I have been watching the problems that UK Farmers are now experiencing as they have unfolded, since way before the first openly anti-UK Farming Budget in October 2024.
Whilst the fear, frustration and anger within the community is becoming clear for most from outside farming and its allied industries who understand the real value of traditional food production within the food chain, I find myself feeling numb.
Not because of any indifference to what the Farmers are experiencing. But because there is a direction of travel at work within what is now a growing crisis for British Agriculture that many Farmers still refuse to accept and open their minds to working around. Despite the growing trail of evidence and the most recent list of events that have now broken into the open, after everything previously having been manipulatively hidden in plain sight.
Many people, including business leaders and politicians, as well as farmers themselves, genuinely believe that government and the public sector are there to serve the public interest. That they will always deliver against the requirements of what most of us would recognise as being the public good.
But the government and the public sector aren’t there for the public good. Anymore.
Government and the public sector haven’t been there for the public good, for a very long time. And certainly not since the early 1970’s, when at least some will be able to recognise the beginning of a chronology of events that has slowly but surely caused havoc across communities and industries alike – and particularly for UK farmers.
If you can step back, see the history and impact of the European Union and the role that it has played in supporting globalisation; then consider the added political dimensions, set against the practical implementation of neoliberal economic policy across the West, which basically meant that the existence of money and the value that we attribute to it all boils down to what politicians’ and bankers say (or rather agree behind closed doors), you may be able to begin picking out at least some of the milestones that are leading towards an imminent fall or collapse. Not just for UK farming, but everything that the UK or Great Britain once was.
A general appreciation or overview of the wider context under which politicians are now operating is necessary to understand what successive governments have been doing and what the next ones will almost certainly do. Up to the point where the system they have been steadily destroying breathes its last breath and everything we know could be in an inescapable mess. Whenever that might be.
Regrettably, it’s much more than just being a case of managed decline. We all need to recognise that whatever the establishment has in mind, farms and independent food production do not have a place within the agenda they are working with.
When we can also then accept that the advocacy organisations that we have believed to be there to serve the best interests of the industries and sectors that they supposedly represent, have instead become no better than being licensed franchises of the establishment, because they work on the basis that the relationship with public officials and politicians is more important than anything else, it can be seen that farmers are today, effectively on their own.
Over a year ago, when the Red Tractor question came into daylight for what now feels like a very short period of time, I wrote and published Food From Farms Guaranteed (3FG).
Food From Farms Guaranteed is a suggestion or proposal for how farmers across the UK could begin to rethink, reimagine and rework the question of quality standards within the UK food chain and use it as the doorway of opportunity to reclaim control of everything that UK Agriculture should never EVER have lost control of. Whilst at the same time taking steps towards giving the UK population back the genuine levels of Food Security that an island nation like ours ALWAYS needs.
To read a copy of Food From Farms Guaranteed, please click and follow the links below.
Adam Tugwell 