A Declaration for a People‑Centred Future
We stand at the end of an age defined by fear, scarcity, and the quiet belief that life must be harder than it needs to be.
For too long, society has been shaped by a system that places money at the centre of everything – a system that measures worth in wages, success in accumulation, and freedom in purchasing power.
This system has failed us.
It has divided communities, exhausted workers, devalued essential roles, and placed the environment under relentless strain.
It has taught us to compete instead of cooperate, to endure instead of thrive, and to accept insecurity as the price of survival.
We refuse to accept this any longer.
We believe in a future where People, Community, and the Environment are placed at the centre of life – not at the margins.
We believe in a future where work is contribution, not coercion.
Where survival is guaranteed, not earned.
Where governance is local, not distant.
Where value is human, not financial.
Where freedom is real, not conditional.
This is the future offered by the Local Economy & Governance System (LEGS).
1. People Are the Value of the Economy
The economy does not exist without people.
Value does not come from markets, speculation, or profit.
Value comes from human contribution – from growing food, caring for others, repairing what we depend on, teaching, creating, and sustaining the life of the community.
Every person has value.
Every contribution matters.
No one is disposable.
2. Essentials Must Be Guaranteed for All
A good society begins with security.
Food, shelter, heat, water, clothing, healthcare, communication, and the ability to participate in community life are not luxuries. They are the foundations of dignity.
The Basic Living Standard (BLS) ensures that every person has what they need to live – not as charity, not as welfare, but as a universal right.
When survival is guaranteed, fear dissolves.
When fear dissolves, freedom begins.
3. Work Must Be Human, Local, and Meaningful
Work should not be the price of survival.
Work should be the expression of contribution.
In LEGS:
- everyone contributes 30 hours per week
- roles are chosen, not imposed
- work is matched to ability and interest
- contribution is shared fairly
- no one is exploited
- no one is left behind
Work becomes visible, valued, and connected to real life.
Work becomes human again.
4. Food Is the Centre of Community Life
Food is the foundation of security, health, and resilience.
It must be local, trustworthy, and produced in ways that regenerate the land.
Communities grow what they can, trade what they cannot, and treat food as a public good – not a commodity.
When food is local, communities thrive.
When food is trustworthy, people thrive.
When food is central, life becomes grounded.
5. Governance Must Be Local, Transparent, and Participatory
Power must return to the people it affects.
The Circumpunct replaces hierarchy with shared responsibility.
Decisions are made openly, locally, and with accountability.
Leadership is service, not status.
Authority is earned through contribution, not granted through position.
A community that governs itself is a community that cannot be captured.
6. Money Must Serve People – Not Control Them
Money is a tool, not a treasure.
It must circulate, not accumulate.
It must reflect real value, not distort it.
The LEGS Coin, the annual money cycle, and the expiry of currency ensure that money cannot be hoarded, weaponised, or used to create inequality.
Money supports life.
It does not define it.
7. Community Is the Natural Structure of Society
Human beings are not meant to live in isolation.
We are meant to live in connection – with each other, with the land, and with the rhythms of life.
LEGS restores community as the centre of daily life:
- shared work
- shared spaces
- shared responsibility
- shared celebrations
- shared governance
A strong community is the greatest source of security.
8. The Environment Is Not a Resource – It Is a Relationship
We are part of the natural world, not separate from it.
The land, water, soil, and ecosystems that sustain us must be treated with respect, care, and stewardship.
Regenerative practices replace extraction.
Local production replaces global exploitation.
Sustainability becomes the default, not the exception.
A healthy environment is the foundation of a healthy society.
9. Freedom Comes From Security, Not Scarcity
Real freedom is not the ability to buy more.
Real freedom is the ability to live without fear.
When essentials are guaranteed, when work is meaningful, when community is strong, and when governance is local, people gain the freedom to:
- think
- create
- learn
- contribute
- rest
- grow
- be themselves
Freedom is not a privilege.
It is a birthright.
10. A Better Future Is Not Only Possible – It Is Necessary
The old money-centric system cannot be repaired.
It was built on the wrong foundations.
LEGS is not an alternative economy.
It is a new way of living – one that restores balance, dignity, and humanity to daily life.
We do not need to wait for permission.
We do not need to wait for collapse.
We do not need to wait for leaders who will never come.
We can begin now – in our communities, in our relationships, in our choices, in our understanding.
The future belongs to those who build it.
This is LEGS: A Manifesto.
This is our declaration.
This is our invitation.
A world built on People, Community, and the Environment is not a dream.
It is a design.
It is a choice.
It is a path.
And it begins with us.
Adam Tugwell 