The Contribution Culture: Transforming Work, Business and Governance for Our Local Future with LEGS | Full Text Online

INTRODUCTION – WORK AS THE DOORWAY INTO A NEW WORLD

Every society has a centre of gravity – a place where its values, assumptions, and priorities become visible.

In the world we are leaving behind, that centre has been work. Not work as contribution, or work as purpose, or work as the expression of human ability, but work as a transaction. Work as the price of survival. Work as the mechanism through which people are controlled, measured, and divided.

If you want to understand why so many people feel exhausted, disconnected, or uncertain about the future, you only need to look at the way work has been structured.

It has become the lens through which we see ourselves, the measure by which society judges us, and the force that shapes our days, our relationships, and our sense of worth.

Yet the system that defines work today is not built around human needs. It is built around money — and money has become the organising principle of life in ways that have distorted everything else.

This paper begins with work because work is where the old world and the new world collide most clearly.

It is where the failures of the money‑centric system are most visible, and where the possibilities of a people‑centred system become most tangible.

Through the doorway of work, we can explore the entire Local Economy & Governance System (LEGS): the Basic Living Standard, the centrality of food, the redefinition of contribution, the reshaping of business, the pathways of learning, the shared responsibility of governance, and the ethical treatment of natural resources.

Each of these elements can be understood on its own, but together they form a coherent whole – a system designed not to extract value from people and the environment, but to support them. A system in which work becomes meaningful, communities become resilient, and the essentials of life are guaranteed for all.

This paper is written for those encountering these ideas for the first time. It is not a summary, nor a technical document, nor a chapter in a larger work. It is a stand‑alone introduction to a different way of seeing the world – one in which the future of work is not a threat, but an opportunity to rebuild society on foundations that are humane, sustainable, and grounded in the realities of life.

Work is the doorway.

What lies beyond it is a new way of living.

SECTION 1 – WHY WORK NO LONGER WORKS

If you want to understand why society feels as if it is coming apart at the seams, you only need to look at the way we work.

Work is the structure around which most people build their lives. It dictates where we live, how we spend our time, who we interact with, and what we believe we are worth.

Yet the system that defines work today is not built around people, community, or the environment. It is built around money – and money has become the measure of everything, even when it has nothing to do with what actually matters.

For most people, work is no longer a meaningful contribution to the world around them. It is a transaction. A trade of time, energy, and often wellbeing in exchange for the money required to survive.

The tragedy is that this transactional relationship has become so normalised that we rarely question it.

We accept it as the natural order of things, even though it is neither natural nor ordered. It is simply the result of a system that has placed money at the centre of life and pushed everything else to the margins.

Work has become disconnected from life

In the money‑centric system, the work most people do has little connection to the things that sustain life.

The majority of jobs today do not produce food, build shelter, care for people, or maintain the environment. They exist to support the machinery of the economy — administration, compliance, marketing, finance, logistics, and countless layers of abstraction that sit between people and the things they actually need.

This disconnection creates a profound sense of emptiness.

People spend their days performing tasks that feel meaningless, contributing to systems they do not believe in, and producing outcomes they cannot see.

The work may be busy, but it is not fulfilling. It may be demanding, but it is not purposeful. It may be paid, but it is not valued in any human sense.

Work has become disconnected from value

The most essential work in society – raising children, caring for elders, growing food, supporting neighbours, maintaining community life – is either unpaid or undervalued.

Meanwhile, work that extracts value, exploits people, or damages the environment is often rewarded the most.

This inversion of value is not accidental. It is the inevitable result of a system that measures worth in financial terms. If something does not generate profit, it is treated as worthless. If something generates profit, it is treated as valuable, even if it harms people or the planet.

The result is a society where the people doing the most important work are often the least secure, the least respected, and the least supported. And the people doing work that contributes little to human wellbeing are often the most rewarded.

Work has become disconnected from purpose

Human beings are wired for purpose. We need to feel that what we do matters. We need to feel that our efforts contribute to something larger than ourselves. We need to feel that our work has meaning.

But the money‑centric system does not care about purpose. It cares about productivity, efficiency, and profitability. It cares about outputs, not outcomes. It cares about metrics, not meaning.

This is why so many people feel lost.

They are working harder than ever, yet feeling less fulfilled.

They are achieving more, yet feeling less accomplished.

They are earning more, yet feeling less secure.

The system has taken the soul out of work, and people feel the loss deeply.

Work has become disconnected from community

Work used to be rooted in community. People worked where they lived, with people they knew, for the benefit of the community around them.

Work was a shared endeavour, a collective effort to meet shared needs.

Today, work is often the opposite. It pulls people away from their communities, isolates them from their neighbours, and pits them against one another in competition for jobs, promotions, and status.

The workplace has replaced the community as the centre of life, yet it offers none of the belonging, support, or meaning that true community provides.

This fragmentation is one of the greatest losses of the modern world.

When work becomes disconnected from community, people become disconnected from each other. And when people become disconnected from each other, society begins to unravel.

Work has become disconnected from the environment

Perhaps the most damaging disconnection is the one between work and the natural world.

Industrial systems of production – especially in food – have prioritised efficiency and profit over sustainability and stewardship.

The result is environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, soil depletion, pollution, and a food system that is fragile, unhealthy, and controlled by a few.

Work that harms the environment is rewarded.

Work that protects the environment is marginalised.

This is the logic of a system that values money above life.

Work has become disconnected from truth

We have been taught to believe that:

work must be hard to be valuable
work must be paid to be real
work must be competitive to be efficient
work must be controlled to be productive
work must be scarce to be meaningful

None of these things are true.

They are stories created by a system that uses work as a tool of control. A system that needs people to believe that their worth is tied to their productivity, that their survival depends on their employment, and that their value is measured in money.

Once you see through these stories, the entire structure of the old system becomes visible – and so does the possibility of something better.

SECTION 2 – THE REVALUATION: SEEING WORK CLEARLY FOR THE FIRST TIME

If the first section exposes the cracks in the world we are leaving behind, The Revaluation is the moment we finally stop pretending those cracks are normal.

It is the point at which we step back far enough from the system we grew up in to see it for what it really is – not a natural order, not an inevitable structure, but a human‑made design that can be unmade and rebuilt.

The Revaluation is not a single event. It is a process.

It is the gradual but irreversible shift in how we understand value, purpose, contribution, and the meaning of life itself. It is the moment when we stop measuring everything in money and begin measuring it in human terms.

And nowhere is this shift more important – or more transformative -than in the way we understand work.

The Revaluation begins with a simple question: What is work actually for?

In the money‑centric world, the answer is survival.

In LEGS, the answer is contribution.

This is not a philosophical difference. It is a structural one.

When survival depends on employment, work becomes a form of coercion.

When survival is guaranteed, work becomes a form of expression.

The Revaluation reveals that the old system did not value work – it valued profit.

It valued the outputs of work only when they could be monetised.

It valued people only when they could be used.

Once you see this clearly, the entire logic of the old system collapses.

The Revaluation exposes the illusion of “value” in the old system

In the world we are leaving behind, value is defined by price.

If something can be sold, it is valuable.

If something cannot be sold, it is worthless.

This is why:

caring for children is unpaid,
caring for elders is underpaid,
growing food is undervalued,
repairing goods is marginalised,
supporting neighbours is invisible,
and maintaining community life is treated as a hobby.

Meanwhile:

speculation is rewarded,
exploitation is profitable,
environmental destruction is incentivised,
and the most harmful industries are often the most lucrative.

The Revaluation forces us to confront the absurdity of this arrangement.

It asks us to look at the world not through the lens of money, but through the lens of life.

The Revaluation reveals that money has replaced meaning

Money was never meant to be the centre of life.

It was meant to be a tool – a medium of exchange, a convenience, a facilitator.

But over time, money became the measure of everything:

success,
status,
security,
worth,
and even identity.

People began to believe that their value was tied to their income.

That their purpose was tied to their job title.

That their security was tied to their employer.

That their future was tied to the market.

The Revaluation breaks this illusion.

It reveals that money has no inherent value – only the value we assign to it.

And once we stop assigning it the power to define our lives, everything changes.

The Revaluation reconnects work with life

When you remove money from the centre of the system, work returns to its natural place – as a human activity rooted in contribution, relationship, and purpose.

Work becomes:

the way we support each other,
the way we strengthen our communities,
the way we care for the environment,
the way we grow as individuals,
and the way we participate in the shared life of the community.

This is not idealism.

It is the practical reality of a system that no longer uses work as a tool of control.

The Revaluation reveals the true purpose of an economy

The old system taught us that the purpose of an economy is growth.

Growth for its own sake.
Growth measured in money.
Growth that benefits a few at the expense of many.

The Revaluation restores the true purpose of an economy:

To ensure that everyone has what they need to live a good life.

This is the foundation of LEGS.

This is the logic behind the Basic Living Standard.

This is the reason food becomes central.

This is the reason work is redefined.

This is the reason businesses are refocused.

This is the reason governance becomes participatory.

The Revaluation is the moment we stop asking:

“How do we make the economy grow?”

And start asking:

“How do we make life better for everyone?”

The Revaluation makes LEGS possible

Without The Revaluation, LEGS would make no sense

It would look like an alternative system trying to fit into the logic of the old one.

But once you see the old system clearly – once you understand how deeply it has distorted our relationship with work, community, and the environment – the logic of LEGS becomes obvious.

The Revaluation is the bridge between the world we are leaving and the world we are building.

It is the moment when we stop believing that:

work must be paid to be real,
businesses must exist to make profit,
food must be industrialised,
communities must be fragmented,
and people must compete to survive.

It is the moment when we begin to see that:

work is contribution,
businesses exist to meet needs,
food is the foundation of life,
communities are the natural structure of society,
and people thrive when they are secure, connected, and valued.

The Revaluation is not an idea.

It is a shift in consciousness.

It is the beginning of a new way of seeing the world – and a new way of living in it.

SECTION 3 – THE BASIC LIVING STANDARD: THE FOUNDATION THAT MAKES REAL WORK POSSIBLE

The Basic Living Standard is the point at which the entire logic of the old world gives way to the logic of the new.

It is the mechanism that breaks the link between survival and employment, and the foundation that allows work to become contribution rather than coercion.

Without the BLS, the Local Economy & Governance System could not function.

With it, everything else becomes possible.

The BLS as a Guarantee, Not a Reward

In the money‑centric system, support is conditional. People must prove their need, justify their circumstances, and demonstrate their worthiness.

The underlying assumption is that people cannot be trusted, and that help must be rationed to prevent dependency.

The Basic Living Standard rejects this worldview entirely.

It begins with the recognition that every person, by virtue of being part of the community, is entitled to the essentials of life.

Not because they have earned them, not because they have demonstrated need, but because a functioning society cannot exist when people are forced to live in fear of losing the basics required to survive.

The BLS is not a benefit.

It is not a safety net.

It is the foundation of a healthy society.

Security as the Starting Point of a Good Life

The BLS provides the essentials that no person should ever be without: a secure home, nutritious food, heat, water, clothing, healthcare, and the means to participate in community life.

These are not luxuries. They are the minimum requirements for a life lived with dignity.

When these essentials are guaranteed, something profound happens. The constant background noise of fear – fear of eviction, fear of hunger, fear of illness, fear of falling behind – disappears.

People who are no longer afraid are people who can think clearly, act freely, and make choices based on values rather than desperation.

This is the psychological liberation that the BLS creates. It is not simply about meeting physical needs. It is about removing the coercive power that the old system held over people’s lives.

Breaking the Link Between Work and Survival

In the old system, work is the gateway to survival.

Lose your job, and you risk losing everything.

This creates a relationship of dependency that allows employers, institutions, and systems to control people’s lives in ways that are often invisible but deeply felt.

The BLS breaks this link completely.

When survival is guaranteed, work becomes something else entirely. It becomes a choice. It becomes a contribution. It becomes an expression of ability, interest, and purpose.

People no longer stay in harmful jobs because they have no alternative.

They no longer accept exploitation because the consequences of leaving are too severe.

They no longer measure their worth in wages because their worth is no longer tied to their income.

The BLS frees people to work in ways that strengthen the community, support the environment, and develop themselves – not simply in ways that generate money.

The BLS Reshapes the Purpose of Business

Businesses in the old system are driven by profit because profit is the only way they can survive.

This pressure forces them to cut costs, reduce wages, and prioritise growth over quality, sustainability, or community wellbeing.

The BLS changes this dynamic.

When people’s essentials are guaranteed, businesses no longer need to underpay workers or chase growth at all costs.

They no longer need to compete aggressively or extract value from the community.

Instead, they can focus on their true purpose: meeting the needs of the people they serve.

The BLS removes the pressure that forces businesses to behave badly.

LEGS removes the ability to accumulate wealth or property beyond personal need.

Together, they create a business environment in which contribution, quality, and sustainability become the natural priorities.

Restoring the True Meaning of Contribution

One of the most damaging distortions of the money‑centric system is the belief that only paid work is valuable.

This belief has devalued the most essential forms of contribution: raising children, caring for elders, growing food, supporting neighbours, maintaining community life.

The BLS restores the true meaning of contribution by removing the idea that value must be measured in money.

When survival is guaranteed, people are free to contribute in ways that reflect their abilities, interests, and the needs of the community.

Contribution becomes visible again. It becomes recognised. It becomes central to the life of the community.

The BLS as the Engine of LEGS

Without the Basic Living Standard, the Local Economy & Governance System would collapse back into the logic of the old world. Work would remain tied to survival. Businesses would remain tied to profit. Food systems would remain vulnerable. Communities would remain fragmented. Governance would remain hierarchical.

With the BLS, everything changes.

Work becomes contribution.

Businesses become purpose‑driven.

Food becomes central.

Communities become resilient.

Governance becomes participatory.

People become free.

The BLS is not an economic policy. It is the ground on which the future of work – and the future of society – is built.

SECTION 4 – FOOD AS THE CENTRE OF WORK, COMMUNITY, AND LIFE

If the Basic Living Standard is the foundation of a people‑first society, food is the structure that rises from it.

Food is not simply one part of the Local Economy & Governance System. It is the centre of it – the organising principle around which work, community, environment, and governance all revolve.

Without understanding the centrality of food, it is impossible to understand the future of work in LEGS. And without understanding why food must be local, trustworthy, and produced sustainably, it is impossible to understand why the old system has failed so completely.

My parallel work Foods We Can Trust lays out this truth with clarity: food is the most essential of all essentials. It is the one thing every person needs every day. It is the one area where dependency on external systems creates immediate vulnerability. And it is the one domain where the consequences of industrialisation, globalisation, and profit‑driven decision‑making have been most destructive – not only to health, but to community resilience, environmental stability, and the integrity of work itself.

Food as the Anchor of a Local Economy

In the money‑centric system, food has been treated as a commodity.

It is grown wherever labour is cheapest, processed wherever margins are highest, transported across continents, and sold through supply chains designed to maximise profit rather than nourish people.

This has created a food system that is fragile, exploitative, environmentally damaging, and deeply disconnected from the communities it is supposed to serve.

LEGS reverses this entirely.

Food becomes local wherever possible.

Communities grow what their land and climate naturally support.

They trade with other communities not to chase profit, but to ensure diversity, resilience, and balance.

Food production becomes a shared responsibility, not a specialised industry hidden behind factory walls.

This shift is not ideological. It is practical.

When food is local, communities become resilient.

When food is trustworthy, health improves.

When food is produced sustainably, the environment regenerates.

And when food production is woven into the fabric of community life, work becomes meaningful again.

Food as the Root System of Work

Every form of work in LEGS can be traced back to food. Not because everyone becomes a farmer, but because food production creates the conditions in which all other forms of contribution can flourish.

Growing food requires knowledge, skill, labour, and care.

It requires people who understand soil, seasons, seeds, animals, orchards, and ecosystems.

It requires people who can build, repair, transport, preserve, and prepare.

It requires people who can teach, mentor, organise, and support.

It requires people who can steward land, manage water, and maintain biodiversity.

Food production is not a single job. It is a network of interdependent contributions that touch every part of community life.

In Foods We Can Trust, we discussed how traditional methods, regenerative practices, and community‑based food systems create work that is meaningful, skilled, and rooted in place.

This is not nostalgia. It is the recognition that food production, when done properly, is one of the most complex, collaborative, and socially valuable forms of work that exists.

Food as the Centre of Community Life

When food is local, it becomes a natural gathering point. Markets become places of exchange not only of goods, but of relationships. People know who grows their food, who bakes their bread, who tends their orchards, who raises their animals.

Trust is built through familiarity, transparency, and shared responsibility.

This is why the Local Market Exchange (LME) sits at the heart of LEGS.

It is not simply a place to buy and sell. It is the physical and social centre of the community – the place where work, governance, and daily life intersect.

It is where the principles of fairness, sustainability, and contribution are made visible.

It is where the Basic Living Standard becomes tangible.

Food brings people together. It creates rhythm, ritual, and connection. It anchors community identity.

And because everyone depends on it, everyone has a stake in its integrity.

Food as the Foundation of Environmental Stewardship

Industrial agriculture has treated soil as a resource to be exploited rather than a living organism to be cared for.

The result has been soil degradation, biodiversity loss, water pollution, and a food system that is fundamentally unsustainable.

LEGS restores the natural relationship between people and the land.

Food is grown using regenerative methods that work with nature rather than against it.

Soil is protected and enriched.

Water is managed responsibly.

Animals are raised humanely.

Orchards are tended with long‑term care.

Waste becomes compost.

Inputs are natural.

Machinery is used to support people, not replace them.

The LEGS system, building upon Foods We Can Trust, embraces the reality that historic technologies, working horses, simple mechanical tools, and precision agriculture can coexist – not to maximise output, but to maximise sustainability, resilience, and human involvement.

This is the essence of LEGS: technology supports people, but never replaces them.

Food as the Catalyst for Redefining Work

When food is central, work becomes grounded. It becomes visible. It becomes connected to life. It becomes something people can understand, participate in, and take pride in.

Food production creates work that is:

meaningful, because it sustains life
skilled, because it requires knowledge and care
communal, because it depends on cooperation
sustainable, because it aligns with natural systems
dignified, because it is essential

And because food production touches everything, it creates a ripple effect across the entire economy.

Repair work becomes essential.

Craft work becomes valued.

Teaching becomes integrated.

Governance becomes participatory.

Health becomes preventative.

Community becomes the natural structure of daily life.

Food is not just the centre of LEGS.

Food is the centre of the future of work.

Food as the Proof That LEGS Works

If you want to understand whether a system is healthy, look at its food.

If you want to understand whether a community is resilient, look at its food.

If you want to understand whether work is meaningful, look at its food.

If you want to understand whether governance is functioning, look at its food.

Food is the mirror that reflects the health of the entire system.

This is why Foods We Can Trust is not just a piece of writing about agriculture and food production. It is a blueprint for understanding how a people‑first society functions.

It shows how food production, when done properly, becomes the anchor of a local economy, the centre of community life, the foundation of environmental stewardship, and the catalyst for redefining work.

Food is where LEGS becomes real.

Food is where the Basic Living Standard becomes tangible.

Food is where contribution becomes visible.

Food is where community becomes strong.

Food is where the future of work begins.

SECTION 5 – WORK AS CONTRIBUTION: THE NEW DEFINITION OF WORK IN LEGS

Once the Basic Living Standard is in place and food is restored to its rightful position at the centre of community life, the meaning of work begins to change in ways that are both profound and surprisingly intuitive.

People often assume that redefining work requires a radical leap of imagination, but in reality, it is the old system that is unnatural.

The idea that work must be tied to wages, that contribution must be measured in money, and that survival must depend on employment is not a universal truth. It is a cultural invention – and a relatively recent one.

When the distortions of the money‑centric system fall away, work returns to what it has always been at its core: the way people contribute to the wellbeing of their community, the way they express their abilities, and the way they participate in the shared life of the place they belong to.

Work becomes contribution, and contribution becomes the organising principle of the local economy.

Work That Reflects What People Actually Need

In LEGS, work is defined not by job titles or employment contracts, but by the needs of the community.

These needs are practical, human, and grounded in daily life.

People need food, shelter, care, learning, safety, connection, and the countless small acts of maintenance and support that make a community function.

These needs do not disappear because a market cannot monetise them.

They are constant, and they are universal.

The old system often ignored these needs because they did not generate profit.

LEGS places them at the centre.

This means that the work people do is directly connected to the wellbeing of the community.

It is visible. It is meaningful. It is valued not because it is paid, but because it matters.

Work That Reflects People’s Abilities and Interests

When survival is no longer tied to employment, people are free to choose work that aligns with their abilities, interests, and stage of life.

A person who is naturally patient and empathetic may choose to support elders or mentor young people. Someone with a practical mind may gravitate toward repair work, building, or maintaining community infrastructure. A person with a love of nature may work in food production, land stewardship, or environmental care.

This is not idealism. It is the practical outcome of removing coercion from the equation.

When people are free to choose, they choose work that suits them. And when people do work that suits them, the quality of that work improves.

The community benefits.

The individual thrives.

The system becomes stronger.

Work That Is Integrated Into Community Life

In LEGS, work is not something that happens in isolation from the rest of life. It is woven into the fabric of the community.

People work where they live, with people they know, for the benefit of the place they belong to.

This creates a sense of ownership, responsibility, and connection that the old system could never replicate.

The Local Market Exchange becomes the natural hub of this activity. It is where food is traded, goods are exchanged, services are offered, and contributions are recognised. It is where the rhythms of work and community life intersect. It is where people see the impact of their efforts and the efforts of others. It is where work becomes visible, relational, and meaningful.

Work That Is Shared, Not Hoarded

One of the most damaging features of the old system is the way it concentrates work into rigid roles and hoards responsibility within narrow hierarchies.

This creates bottlenecks, burnout, and a sense of disconnection between those who make decisions and those who carry them out.

In LEGS, work is shared.

Governance is participatory.

Responsibility is distributed.

People contribute to local administration as part of their weekly rhythm, not as a career.

Decisions are made collectively, not imposed from above.

This creates a culture in which work is not something people compete for, but something they share ownership of.

Work That Includes Learning, Care, and Creativity

The old system treats learning as preparation for work, care as a private burden, and creativity as a luxury. LEGS treats all three as forms of contribution.

A young person learning a trade or developing a skill is contributing to the future capacity of the community.

A parent raising children is contributing to the next generation.

A person caring for an elder is contributing to the dignity and wellbeing of someone who has contributed before them.

A musician, writer, or craftsperson is contributing to the cultural life of the community.

These forms of work are not secondary. They are central. They are recognised. They are valued.

They are part of the shared responsibility of living in a community.

Work That Is Sustainable and Human‑Centred

Because food is central and the environment is treated as a living system rather than a resource to be exploited, work in LEGS is naturally aligned with sustainability.

People work with nature, not against it.

They use technology to support human effort, not replace it.

They prioritise long‑term wellbeing over short‑term gain.

This creates work that is healthier, more varied, and more fulfilling.

It also creates a community that is resilient, adaptable, and capable of meeting its own needs without relying on distant systems that do not share its interests.

Work That Reflects the True Value of Contribution

When work is defined as contribution, the distortions of the old system fall away.

The person who grows food, repairs tools, teaches children, or cares for elders is not “less valuable” than the person who manages a business or provides technical expertise.

They are contributing in different ways, but their contributions are equally essential.

This is the heart of the future of work in LEGS.

It is not about replacing one set of job titles with another.

It is about restoring the natural relationship between people, work, and community.

It is about recognising that contribution is the true measure of value.

It is about building a society in which everyone has a role, everyone has a place, and everyone has the opportunity to contribute in ways that are meaningful, sustainable, and aligned with the needs of the community.

Work becomes what it should always have been:

a shared responsibility to build a good life together.

SECTION 6 – BUSINESSES IN LEGS: PURPOSE, STRUCTURE, AND THE END OF PROFIT‑DRIVEN WORK

If redefining work is the emotional and cultural heart of LEGS, redefining business is its structural backbone.

The way businesses operate determines the shape of daily life: what goods are available, how services are delivered, how people interact with one another, and how the community’s needs are met.

In the money‑centric system, businesses have been shaped by a single overriding priority – profit – and everything else has been arranged around that goal.

In LEGS, this priority is replaced by something far more human:

purpose.

The Basic Living Standard removes the pressure that forces people to accept exploitative work, but it also removes the pressure that forces businesses to behave in exploitative ways.

When people’s essentials are guaranteed, businesses no longer need to underpay workers or chase growth to survive.

And when wealth accumulation is structurally limited, businesses no longer have the incentive to expand endlessly or dominate markets.

This creates a business environment that is calmer, more focused, and more aligned with the needs of the community.

Businesses Exist to Meet Needs, Not to Create Them

In the old system, businesses often survive by manufacturing demand – convincing people to buy things they don’t need, replacing goods that could have been repaired, or creating problems that only their products can solve.

This is not a flaw in the system; it is the system.

Profit requires growth, and growth requires consumption, even when that consumption is wasteful or harmful.

LEGS removes this dynamic entirely.

Because people’s essentials are guaranteed and money cannot accumulate beyond personal need, there is no incentive to create artificial demand.

Businesses exist because the community needs what they provide – not because they have found a way to monetise a desire or exploit a vulnerability.

A bakery exists because people need bread.

A workshop exists because tools and goods need repairing.

A childcare provider exists because families need support.

A grocer exists because food must be distributed fairly and reliably.

This shift may seem simple, but it changes everything.

When businesses exist to meet needs rather than create them, the entire economy becomes more grounded, more sustainable, and more humane.

Businesses Are Local by Design

One of the most damaging features of the old system is the way businesses expand far beyond the communities they serve.

This creates monopolies, erodes local identity, and concentrates power in the hands of a few.

It also disconnects businesses from the consequences of their actions. A corporation headquartered hundreds of miles away has no relationship with the people whose lives are shaped by its decisions.

In LEGS, privately owned businesses operate within a single community.

They are licensed by the Circumpunct, not to restrict enterprise, but to ensure that businesses remain rooted in the place they serve.

This prevents monopolies, protects local diversity, and ensures that businesses remain accountable to the people who rely on them.

If a business needs to operate across multiple communities – for example, because it provides a specialised service or manages a regional supply chain – it does so as a social enterprise.

These enterprises are governed collaboratively by representatives from the communities they serve, not owned privately for profit.

This ensures that scale never becomes a tool for exploitation.

Businesses Do Not Compete for Essentials

Competition is often celebrated as the engine of innovation, but in essential goods and services, competition creates instability.

When multiple businesses compete to provide the same essential service, they must cut costs, reduce quality, or chase volume to survive.

This leads to shortages, price fluctuations, and the erosion of trust.

LEGS removes competition from essential goods and services.

Prices for basic essentials are set by the Circumpunct, ensuring fairness and stability.

Multiple businesses offering the same essential service only exist when the community’s needs cannot be met by a single provider – and even then, they serve distinct geographical areas rather than competing for customers.

This creates a system in which essential goods are reliable, affordable, and consistent.

It also frees businesses from the pressure to undercut one another, allowing them to focus on quality, sustainability, and service.

Businesses Are Embedded in Community Life

In LEGS, businesses are not isolated entities operating behind closed doors.

They are part of the community’s daily rhythm.

They work with the Local Market Exchange to ensure that supply meets demand.

They collaborate with local administration to support community contributions.

They participate in governance through the Circumpunct.

They are visible, accountable, and integrated into the life of the community.

This integration creates a sense of shared responsibility.

A business owner is not simply running a private enterprise; they are contributing to the wellbeing of the community.

Their success is measured not in profit, but in the quality of the service they provide and the strength of the relationships they build.

Businesses Support, Rather Than Replace, Human Work

Technology plays a role in LEGS, but it is a supportive role.

Businesses use technology to improve working conditions, reduce unnecessary strain, and enhance quality – not to replace people or eliminate jobs.

This is particularly important in food production, where the goal is not to maximise output but to maintain sustainability, quality, and human involvement.

This approach creates workplaces that are healthier, more humane, and more fulfilling.

It also ensures that work remains varied, skilled, and connected to the community.

Businesses Reflect the Values of LEGS

When businesses are local, purpose‑driven, and accountable, they naturally reflect the values of the community.

They prioritise sustainability because they depend on the land and resources around them.

They prioritise fairness because they know the people they serve.

They prioritise quality because their reputation is built on trust, not marketing.

They prioritise contribution because they are part of a system that values contribution above profit.

In this environment, work becomes meaningful because businesses themselves are meaningful.

They are not engines of extraction.

They are pillars of community life.

SECTION 7 – LEARNING, APPRENTICESHIP, AND THE PATH TO CONTRIBUTION

One of the most damaging assumptions of the old system is the idea that learning is something young people do in preparation for work, rather than something all people do as part of life.

This assumption has shaped education into a narrow, competitive, exam‑driven process that treats young people as future workers rather than present members of a community.

It has also created a false divide between “academic” and “practical” people, as if the value of a person’s contribution can be predicted by their performance in a classroom.

In LEGS, learning is not preparation for contribution.

Learning is contribution.

It is one of the most important forms of work a person can do, because it builds the capacity of the community to meet its own needs, adapt to change, and maintain the skills and knowledge required for a good life.

Learning Begins with Belonging

The first shift in LEGS is that young people are not treated as outsiders waiting to enter adult life.

They are recognised as contributors from the moment they are ready to participate.

This usually begins around the age of fourteen, when young people naturally start to look outward – toward the community, toward responsibility, and toward the question of who they are becoming.

At this point, they enter the contribution pathway.

This is not a programme, not a curriculum, and not a rigid structure.

It is a recognition that learning happens best when it is connected to real life, real people, and real purpose.

Young people begin to take part in the rhythms of the community, supported by mentors, guided by experience, and encouraged to explore the areas where their abilities and interests naturally lead them.

Two Pathways, One Purpose

In the old system, education is a funnel. Everyone is pushed through the same narrow channel, judged by the same metrics, and sorted into categories that often have little to do with their actual abilities or potential.

LEGS replaces the funnel with two parallel pathways – both equally valued, both equally respected, and both essential to the health of the community.

The Academic Pathway is for those who thrive in structured learning, theory, and conceptual understanding.

These young people may go on to become teachers, healthcare practitioners, engineers, researchers, or specialists in fields that require deep study and technical knowledge.

The Experiential Pathway is for those who learn best through doing – through apprenticeship, hands‑on practice, and immersion in real‑world tasks.

These young people may become growers, makers, builders, carers, craftspeople, or any number of roles that require skill, intuition, and practical intelligence.

Neither pathway is superior.

Neither is a fallback.

Neither is a consolation prize.

They are simply different ways of learning, reflecting the diversity of human ability.

Learning Through Contribution

The most important difference between LEGS and the old system is that learning is not separated from contribution.

A young person learning to grow food is contributing to the community’s resilience.

A young person learning carpentry is contributing to the maintenance of homes and tools.

A young person learning social skills, communication, or emotional intelligence is contributing to the strength of relationships within the community.

This integration of learning and contribution creates a sense of purpose that the old system often fails to provide.

Young people see the impact of their efforts.

They understand why their learning matters.

They feel valued, not because they have achieved a grade, but because they have made a difference.

Mentorship as a Community Responsibility

In LEGS, mentorship is not a profession. It is a shared responsibility.

Every adult who has experience, skill, or wisdom to offer becomes a potential mentor.

This creates a rich, intergenerational learning environment in which young people are supported not only by teachers, but by growers, makers, carers, elders, and community contributors of all kinds.

This approach restores something that has been lost in the modern world: the natural transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next.

It also strengthens community bonds, because mentorship is not a transaction – it is a relationship.

Learning as a Lifelong Process

The contribution pathway does not end at twenty‑one. It simply becomes less formal.

Adults continue to learn new skills, adapt to new roles, and deepen their understanding throughout their lives.

This is not a requirement. It is a natural outcome of living in a community where work is varied, meaningful, and connected to real needs.

Because work is not tied to survival, people are free to change direction, explore new interests, and develop new abilities without fear.

This creates a community that is flexible, resilient, and capable of evolving as circumstances change.

The Path to Contribution Is the Path to Identity

Perhaps the most profound impact of this approach is the way it shapes identity.

In the old system, young people are often defined by their performance in school, their exam results, or their perceived economic potential.

In LEGS, young people are defined by their contribution – by the ways they help others, the skills they develop, the relationships they build, and the role they play in the life of the community.

This creates a sense of belonging, purpose, and self‑worth that cannot be manufactured through grades or qualifications.

It also creates a generation of adults who understand that their value lies not in what they earn, but in what they contribute.

Learning becomes the beginning of contribution.

Contribution becomes the expression of learning.

And together, they form the path to a meaningful life.

SECTION 8 – GOVERNANCE, RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE SHARED WORK OF COMMUNITY LIFE

One of the most striking differences between LEGS and the system we are leaving behind is the way governance is understood.

In the old world, governance is something done to people. It is distant, bureaucratic, and often unaccountable.

Decisions are made by individuals who may never meet the people affected by them.

Power is concentrated, responsibility is centralised, and the everyday running of community life is handled by institutions that feel increasingly disconnected from the realities of the people they are supposed to serve.

LEGS turns this arrangement on its head.

Governance becomes a shared responsibility – not a career, not a hierarchy, and not a mechanism for control.

It becomes a form of contribution, woven into the fabric of community life in the same way as food production, care, learning, and craft.

It is not something separate from work. It is work – one of the most important forms of work a community can undertake.

Governance as a Collective Duty

In LEGS, every able adult contributes a small portion of their time – typically around ten percent of their working week – to the shared tasks of local administration.

This is not a burden. It is not an obligation imposed from above. It is a recognition that a functioning community requires participation from everyone, not just a small group of professionals.

This contribution might take many forms: helping to run the Local Market Exchange, supporting community events, maintaining public spaces, assisting with local planning, or participating in the processes that ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability.

These tasks are not glamorous, but they are essential. They are the quiet, steady work that keeps a community healthy, organised, and resilient.

Because everyone participates, governance becomes something people understand intimately.

They see how decisions are made, how resources are allocated, and how challenges are addressed.

They see the consequences of their choices and the choices of others.

This creates a culture of responsibility, not blame, participation, not apathy.

No Career Bureaucrats, No Political Class

One of the most corrosive features of the old system is the existence of a political class – individuals who build careers out of governance, accumulate power through position, and often become insulated from the realities of the people they represent.

This creates a disconnect between decision‑makers and the community, and it fosters a culture in which governance becomes a game of influence rather than a service to the public.

LEGS eliminates this dynamic entirely.

There are no career administrators.

There are no permanent positions of authority.

There is no political class.

The only full‑time roles within local administration are those required to maintain continuity and structure – roles that ensure the system functions smoothly, not roles that confer power or status.

Strategic decisions are made collectively through the Circumpunct, where every voice has weight and no individual has disproportionate influence.

Operational decisions are carried out by those contributing their time as part of their weekly rhythm.

This separation of strategy and operation prevents the concentration of power and ensures that governance remains grounded in the lived experience of the community.

Governance as a Form of Learning and Connection

Because governance is shared, it becomes a natural part of the learning pathway for young people and adults alike.

People learn how decisions are made, how resources are managed, and how conflicts are resolved.

They learn the skills of communication, negotiation, and collaboration.

They learn to see the community as a whole, not just their own role within it.

This creates a population that is not only more informed, but more connected.

People understand the pressures and responsibilities of governance because they have experienced them firsthand.

They develop empathy for those who take on difficult tasks.

They appreciate the complexity of balancing competing needs.

And they become more invested in the wellbeing of the community because they have helped shape it.

Governance That Reflects the Values of LEGS

Because governance is participatory, it naturally reflects the values of the community.

Decisions are made with an understanding of local needs, local resources, and local priorities.

There is no distant authority imposing policies that do not fit the context.

There is no bureaucracy creating rules for the sake of rules.

There is no hierarchy protecting itself at the expense of the people it serves.

Instead, governance becomes an extension of the principles that define LEGS: fairness, sustainability, contribution, and respect for people, community, and environment.

It becomes a living expression of the idea that everyone has a role to play in building and maintaining a good life for all.

Governance That Strengthens Community Resilience

When governance is shared, communities become more resilient.

They are better able to respond to challenges because they have the structures, relationships, and habits of cooperation already in place.

They do not wait for external authorities to intervene.

They do not rely on distant systems that may not understand their needs.

They act together, drawing on the skills, knowledge, and commitment of the people who live there.

This resilience is not theoretical.

It is practical.

It is built through the daily work of maintaining the Local Market Exchange, coordinating food production, supporting vulnerable members of the community, and ensuring that the Basic Living Standard is upheld.

It is built through the relationships formed in the process of shared governance.

It is built through the understanding that the wellbeing of the community is a shared responsibility.

Governance as Work, Work as Governance

In LEGS, the boundary between work and governance dissolves.

Governance is not something separate from the economy.

It is part of the economy – part of the shared work of sustaining life, supporting one another, and caring for the environment.

It is not a burden placed on a few.

It is a contribution shared by many.

This integration creates a community in which people feel ownership, agency, and belonging.

They do not see governance as something done by others.

They see it as something they are part of.

They see themselves reflected in the decisions that shape their lives.

And they see the community not as a collection of individuals, but as a living system that they help to maintain.

Governance becomes work.
Work becomes contribution.
Contribution becomes community.
And community becomes the foundation of a good life.

SECTION 9 – TECHNOLOGY, TOOLS, AND THE HUMAN ROLE

One of the greatest misunderstandings of the modern age is the belief that technological progress must inevitably lead to the replacement of human beings.

This belief has shaped entire industries, influenced government policy, and created a culture in which people are constantly told that their jobs, skills, and contributions are temporary – that they will soon be made redundant by machines that can do the same work faster, cheaper, and more efficiently.

This narrative has been used to justify everything from the erosion of skilled trades to the consolidation of industries, the decline of local economies, and the devaluation of human labour.

It has created a world in which people are expected to adapt endlessly to systems that do not adapt to them.

And it has left many feeling anxious, replaceable, and disconnected from the work they do.

LEGS rejects this narrative entirely.

Technology has a place in the future of work, but it is not the place the old system has assigned to it.

In LEGS, technology is a tool – nothing more, nothing less.

It exists to support people, not replace them.

It exists to improve working conditions, not eliminate work.

It exists to enhance human contribution, not undermine it.

Technology as a Support, not a Substitute

In the money‑centric system, technology is often introduced with a single goal: reducing labour costs.

Machines replace workers.

Software replaces administrators.

Automation replaces entire industries.

The logic is simple: if a machine can do the work, the business can save money.

But this logic only makes sense in a system where profit is the primary measure of success.

In LEGS, the measure of success is contribution – not profit.

This changes the role of technology completely.

A tool that helps a person work more safely, more comfortably, or more effectively is valuable.

A tool that removes the need for human involvement in meaningful work is not.

This is particularly important in food production, where the goal is not to maximise output, but to maintain sustainability, quality, and human involvement.

Machines may be used to support heavy tasks, improve precision, or reduce strain, but they do not replace the grower, the maker, or the steward.

The relationship between people and land remains central.

Tools That Enhance Skill, Not Erase It

One of the tragedies of the old system is the way it has eroded skilled trades. Crafts that once required years of apprenticeship and mastery have been replaced by mass‑produced goods designed to be used briefly and discarded. This has not only reduced the quality of the goods we rely on; it has diminished the sense of pride and identity that comes from skilled work.

In LEGS, tools are used to enhance skill, not erase it.

A carpenter may use modern equipment to improve accuracy, but the craft remains in their hands.

A grower may use sensors to monitor soil moisture, but the understanding of the land remains in their experience.

A baker may use a modern oven, but the knowledge of fermentation, texture, and flavour remains in their judgement.

Technology becomes a partner in the work, not the master of it.

Technology That Strengthens Community, Not Replaces It

The old system has used technology to centralise power.

Online platforms replace local shops.

Automated systems replace local services.

Remote corporations replace local decision‑making.

This has created a world in which communities are increasingly dependent on distant systems that do not understand their needs and do not share their interests.

LEGS uses technology to strengthen community, not replace it.

Digital tools support the Local Market Exchange, making it easier to coordinate supply, manage contributions, and maintain fairness.

Communication tools help people stay connected, share knowledge, and organise community activities.

Educational tools support learning, mentorship, and skill development.

Technology becomes a way to enhance the relationships that already exist, not a way to bypass them.

Technology That Respects the Environment

Industrial technology has often been used to extract as much as possible from the environment with as little human involvement as possible.

This has led to soil degradation, pollution, biodiversity loss, and a food system that is fundamentally unsustainable.

In LEGS, technology is used to support regenerative practices.

Precision tools help growers understand the needs of the land.

Simple mechanical systems reduce waste and energy use.

Innovations in composting, water management, and soil care enhance natural processes rather than override them.

This approach reflects a deeper truth: the environment is not a resource to be exploited, but a living system to be cared for.

Technology must serve that system, not dominate it.

Technology That Keeps People at the Centre

The most important principle in LEGS is that people remain at the centre of work.

Technology does not replace human judgement, creativity, empathy, or connection.

It does not remove the need for skilled hands, thoughtful minds, or caring hearts.

It does not diminish the value of contribution.

Instead, it supports people in doing work that is meaningful, sustainable, and aligned with the needs of the community.

It reduces unnecessary strain, enhances safety, and expands the possibilities of what people can achieve together.

In this way, technology becomes what it was always meant to be: a tool that serves humanity, not a force that shapes it.

SECTION 10 – NATURAL RESOURCES, STEWARDSHIP, AND THE ETHICS OF A PEOPLE‑FIRST ECONOMY

If food is the centre of LEGS, natural resources are the ground it stands on – literally and figuratively.

The way a society treats its land, water, soil, and natural systems reveals everything about its values.

In the money‑centric world, natural resources have been treated as commodities: things to be owned, extracted, traded, and exploited for profit.

This approach has shaped not only the environment, but the structure of work, the behaviour of businesses, and the relationship between people and the places they live.

LEGS rejects this extractive logic entirely.

In a people‑first economy, natural resources are not assets to be monetised.

They are life‑support systems to be cared for.

They are shared responsibilities, not private property.

They are the foundation of community resilience, not the raw materials of corporate profit.

And because they are treated differently, the work associated with them changes too.

Land as a Living System, not a Commodity

In the old system, land ownership confers power. It determines who can grow food, who can build homes, who can extract resources, and who can profit from the labour of others.

This has created a world in which vast areas of land are controlled by a small number of individuals or corporations, while the people who depend on that land for food, shelter, and community life have little say in how it is used.

LEGS dismantles this dynamic.

Land is not something that can be owned in the traditional sense.

It is something that can be stewarded – cared for, worked with, and protected for the benefit of the community and future generations.

People may live on land, work on land, and take responsibility for land, but they do not own it as a commodity that can be bought, sold, or accumulated.

This shift changes the nature of work.

People who work the land are not labourers serving the interests of distant owners.

They are stewards serving the interests of the community.

Their work is not extractive. It is regenerative.

It is not about maximising yield. It is about maintaining balance.

It is not about profit. It is about life.

Soil as a Living Organism

One of the most important insights from Foods We Can Trust is the recognition that soil is not dirt. It is a living organism – a complex ecosystem that supports plant life, stores carbon, regulates water, and sustains the entire food system.

Industrial agriculture has treated soil as a medium for chemicals, stripping it of life and reducing it to a substrate for production.

LEGS restores the natural relationship between people and soil.

Work on the land is guided by the understanding that soil must be fed, protected, and nurtured.

Regenerative practices – crop rotation, composting, mulching, cover cropping, and minimal tilling – become the norm.

Animals are integrated into the system in ways that support soil health rather than degrade it.

Waste becomes a resource. Inputs are natural. Outputs are sustainable.

This approach creates work that is skilled, meaningful, and deeply connected to the rhythms of nature.

It also creates a food system that is resilient, nutritious, and trustworthy.

Water as a Shared Responsibility

Water is another resource that the old system has treated as a commodity.

It has been privatised, polluted, over‑extracted, and mismanaged in ways that have harmed communities and ecosystems alike.

In LEGS, water is recognised as a shared responsibility.

It is managed collectively, protected from contamination, and used in ways that reflect the needs of the community rather than the demands of industry.

This creates work in water stewardship – maintaining waterways, monitoring quality, managing irrigation, and ensuring that water use is sustainable.

It also reinforces the principle that essential resources cannot be controlled by private interests.

Forests, Wildlife, and Biodiversity

In the old system, forests are often valued for the timber they can produce or the land they can be cleared to create.

Wildlife is valued only when it can be monetised.

Biodiversity is treated as an afterthought.

LEGS takes a different view.

Forests are recognised as vital ecosystems that support air quality, water cycles, soil health, and biodiversity.

Wildlife is part of the natural balance.

Biodiversity is essential to the resilience of the entire system.

Work in these areas becomes work of care – maintaining habitats, restoring ecosystems, monitoring species, and ensuring that human activity supports rather than undermines the natural world.

Minerals and Materials: Use, Not Exploitation

Even in a localised economy, communities need materials – stone, clay, timber, metals.

But the extraction of these materials is guided by principles of necessity, sustainability, and stewardship.

Materials are used sparingly, recycled wherever possible, and extracted only when the community genuinely needs them.

This creates work that is careful, skilled, and grounded in responsibility.

The Ethics of a People‑First Economy

At the heart of LEGS is a simple ethical principle: natural resources exist to support life, not profit.

This principle shapes every aspect of work.

It means that people do not work to extract as much as possible from the environment.

They work to maintain the balance that allows life to flourish.

It means that businesses do not treat natural resources as assets to be exploited.

They treat them as responsibilities to be honoured.

It means that governance does not regulate resources from a distance.

It stewards them from within the community.

This ethical foundation creates a different kind of economy – one in which work is aligned with the long‑term wellbeing of people, community, and environment.

It creates a different kind of community – one that understands its dependence on the natural world and acts accordingly.

And it creates a different kind of future – one in which the health of the land is inseparable from the health of the people who live on it.

Natural resources are not commodities.

They are the living foundation of a good life.

And in LEGS, caring for them is one of the most important forms of work we do.

SECTION 11 – BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER: THE FUTURE OF WORK AS A WHOLE SYSTEM

By the time a reader reaches this point, they have encountered the individual components of LEGS – the Basic Living Standard, the centrality of food, the redefinition of work, the reshaping of business, the contribution pathways, the shared governance model, and the ethical treatment of natural resources.

Each of these elements can be understood on its own, but their true power emerges only when they are seen as parts of a single, coherent system.

The future of work in LEGS is not a reform of the old world.

It is the expression of a new one.

It is the natural outcome of a society that has re‑evaluated what it values, re‑centred what matters, and re‑designed its structures around people, community, and the environment rather than money, competition, and extraction.

A System Built on Security, Not Scarcity

The Basic Living Standard removes the fear that has shaped work for generations.

When people are no longer forced to work to survive, they are free to work in ways that reflect their abilities, interests, and values.

This single shift transforms the entire landscape of work.

It removes coercion. It restores dignity.

It allows contribution to become the organising principle of the economy.

Security is not a luxury. It is the foundation of a functioning society.

A System Rooted in Food, Not Finance

Food is the centre of LEGS because it is the centre of life.

When food is local, trustworthy, and sustainably produced, it anchors the entire economy in something real.

It creates meaningful work.

It strengthens community.

It protects the environment.

It ensures resilience.

It reconnects people with the land and with each other.

This is why Foods We Can Trust is not just a piece of project about agriculture and food production.

It is a blueprint for a society in which the most essential work is treated with the respect it deserves.

A System That Redefines Work as Contribution

When work is no longer tied to wages, it becomes something deeper.

It becomes the way people participate in the life of the community.

It becomes the way they express their abilities.

It becomes the way they support one another.

It becomes the way they grow.

Contribution is not a category of work.

It is the definition of work.

A System Where Businesses Serve People, Not Profit

Businesses in LEGS are not engines of wealth accumulation. They are tools for meeting community needs.

They are local, purpose‑driven, and accountable.

They do not compete for essentials.

They do not expand endlessly.

They do not extract value from the community.

They contribute to it.

This creates a business environment that is calmer, more sustainable, and more humane.

A System That Treats Learning as Part of Life

Young people do not prepare for work.

They begin contributing to the community through learning.

They follow pathways that reflect their abilities – academic or experiential – and both are valued equally.

They learn through doing, through mentorship, and through participation in real life.

Learning becomes contribution.

Contribution becomes identity.

Identity becomes belonging.

A System Where Governance Is Shared, Not Imposed

Governance in LEGS is not a hierarchy. It is a shared responsibility.

Every adult contributes a small portion of their time to the work of local administration.

Decisions are made collectively.

Power is distributed.

Strategy is separated from operation.

There is no political class.

There are no career bureaucrats.

Governance becomes part of community life, not something separate from it.

A System That Respects Natural Resources

Land is not a commodity.

Soil is not dirt.

Water is not a product.

Forests are not timber.

Minerals are not assets.

They are living systems, shared responsibilities, and the foundation of community resilience.

Work becomes stewardship.

Stewardship becomes contribution.

Contribution becomes the ethic of the entire economy.

A System That Puts People Back at the Centre

When you step back and look at LEGS as a whole, a simple truth emerges: the future of work is not about jobs. It is about people.

It is about creating a society in which people are secure, connected, valued, and able to contribute in ways that are meaningful and sustainable.

The old system treated people as units of labour.

LEGS treats people as members of a community.

The old system treated work as a transaction.

LEGS treats work as contribution.

The old system treated natural resources as commodities.

LEGS treats them as responsibilities.

The old system treated businesses as engines of profit.

LEGS treats them as tools for meeting needs.

The old system treated learning as preparation.

LEGS treats it as participation.

The old system treated governance as authority.

LEGS treats it as shared responsibility.

The Future of Work Is the Future of Community

The future of work in LEGS is not a vision of automation, efficiency, or endless growth.

It is a vision of community – of people working together to build a good life, grounded in the essentials that sustain them and the relationships that connect them.

It is a future in which:

work is meaningful.
food is trustworthy.
businesses are ethical.
learning is lifelong.
governance is participatory.
natural resources are protected.
and people are free.

This is not a utopia. It is a system built on practical realities, human needs, and the lessons of a world that has pushed its old logic to breaking point.

The future of work is not something we wait for.

It is something we build – together, through contribution, community, and care.

CLOSING STATEMENT – THE FUTURE OF WORK IS THE FUTURE OF US

When you step back from the details of LEGS – the Basic Living Standard, the food‑centred economy, the redefinition of work, the reshaping of business, the contribution pathways, the shared governance model, and the stewardship of natural resources – a simple truth emerges: this is not a system designed to fix the old world. It is a system designed to replace it.

The old world was built on scarcity, competition, and the belief that people must earn the right to survive.

It treated work as a transaction, communities as markets, and the environment as a resource to be exploited.

It created wealth for a few, insecurity for many, and instability for all.

LEGS offers a different foundation.

It begins with security, not fear.

It centres food, not finance.

It defines work as contribution, not employment.

It treats businesses as tools for meeting needs, not engines of profit.

It sees learning as participation, not preparation.

It understands governance as a shared responsibility, not a hierarchy.

And it treats natural resources as living systems to be cared for, not commodities to be extracted.

The future of work in LEGS is not a vision of automation, efficiency, or endless growth.

It is a vision of community – of people working together to build a good life, grounded in the essentials that sustain them and the relationships that connect them.

It is a future in which everyone has a role, everyone has a place, and everyone has the opportunity to contribute in ways that are meaningful, sustainable, and aligned with the needs of the community.

This paper has introduced the foundations of that future.

It has shown how the pieces fit together, how the logic holds, and how the world we are building differs from the world we are leaving behind.

But it is only a beginning.

The deeper exploration – of food systems, governance structures, contribution pathways, and the ethics of a people‑first economy – lies beyond this introduction.

The future of work is not something that happens to us.

It is something we create – through contribution, community, and care.

And the work of creating it begins now.

What I Write About

What I Really Write About – Beyond What AI Can Tell You

The rapid rise of AI, large language models, and the ever-expanding suite of digital tools has transformed how we create, share, and consume content.

These technologies are mesmerising, offering new possibilities for creativity and connection. Yet, their promise is often accompanied by myths and misconceptions about what AI can do, what it will become, and how it might shape our future.

As a content producer – primarily through books, blogs, and essays, and occasionally through video – I’ve invited AI to review my work and online presence.

What I’ve learned is that whilst these systems can provide interesting overviews, their perspective is inevitably limited. AI tends to focus on the most recent and visible outputs, missing the depth, context, and evolution that underpins a body of work. Its research dazzles with immediacy but rarely encourages deeper reflection or genuine understanding.

For example, when I asked an AI to summarise my advocacy for grassroots-driven change, it captured the headline but missed the substance: the ideas I’ve developed about new constitutions and governance systems for the UK, which are woven throughout my books. This highlights a broader truth – AI can surface patterns, but it cannot fully grasp the intentions, experiences, context and values that drive meaningful change.

My writing is rooted in exploring the challenges facing the UK: how we arrived here, what lies ahead without change, what transformation could look like, and why it must be shaped by people for the people.

Central to this is a critique of our money-centric value system, which influences not just our economy, but our politics, culture, and sense of possibility.

I believe that genuine progress requires reimagining these foundations, embracing accountability, and empowering communities to design their own futures.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with my solutions. My hope is simply that readers recognise the potential for a radically different way of doing things – one that is available to us now, if we are willing to engage, adapt, and take responsibility.

The Books about the system today; change and the system tomorrow (In chronological order, from early 2022)

The Books: Understanding the System Today and Shaping Tomorrow

The following books explore the challenges within our current system of governance, why meaningful change is necessary, and how a better future might be achieved.

Each title addresses different aspects of the journey – from identifying the problems in today’s structures, to proposing practical solutions and envisioning new models for society.

The majority of these works are available to buy and download for Kindle on Amazon, and many can also be read in full online.

Together, they offer a comprehensive look at the issues we face and the possibilities for genuine transformation.

Levelling Level

I had no plan to write a series of books that would collectively capture my interpretation of the different dynamics of everything that’s wrong with our system of governance and how it’s all playing out and impacting people like you and me.

In fact, I began writing Levelling Level in early 2022 – initially building the plan for a book upon the rather dark truth that the political right had been pushing the so-called ‘Levelling Up’ agenda, whilst the left is obsessed with levelling down.

I hoped to make some sense of the roles of the different influences that have created all the problems; what is likely to happen and how we can begin putting things right by “levelling level” so that a new people-centric system could begin.

Writing Levelling Level certainly lit a fuse for me. Aas I wrote, I found myself increasingly focused on the need for the Basic Living Standard, which after a short break away from the computer, I decided I should write about in more detail next.

Read Levelling Level Online HERE

The Basic Living Standard

The concept of the Basic Living Standard first emerged during the writing of Levelling Level, as I confronted the reality that financial independence is increasingly out of reach for many.

The fact that the minimum wage doesn’t provide genuine independence – yet is widely accepted as normal – reveals much about the deeper issues within our economic and monetary system.

Since introducing the Basic Living Standard, I have worked to refine and develop the accessibility and understanding of this concept. My aim has been to move beyond simply identifying the problem, and to offer a practical solution that prioritises the real reasons for working: enabling people to meet essential needs, and empowering businesses to serve people, communities and the environment – as they always should.

At its heart, the Basic Living Standard is about shifting our values from a money-centric system to a people-centric one – a theme that runs throughout my work and is explored further in One Rule Changes Everything. It challenges us to rethink what truly matters in our economy and society.

Key points of the Basic Living Standard:

Reframes the purpose of work: ensuring everyone can afford the essentials for a dignified, independent life.
Calls out the inadequacy of a minimum wage that doesn’t guarantee financial independence.
Advocates for businesses to focus on providing essential goods, services, and opportunities for people and their communities.
Emphasises reprioritising our value system, placing people and community above profit and monetary gain.

To make the concept clearer and more actionable, I created “The Basic Living Standard Explained,” which provides a detailed breakdown and practical guidance.

Read The Basic Living Standard Online HERE

Read The Basic Living Standard Explained HERE

From Here to There Through Now

Both Levelling Level and The Basic Living Standard hinge upon the need for system change or a paradigm shift.

I have to admit it would be much better if that kind of societal change were something we were all happy to embrace voluntarily, and do so because we have all realised that a world that works for everyone, rather than one that exploits and manipulates the masses for the benefit of the few, will be a much happier, healthier, and all round better place to be.

Voluntary change of this kind wouldn’t be easy. But being realistic about how bought-in we are to the money-centric way of life, where no reality beyond having enough and then more of the stuff is what we are obsessed with, means that many will only wake up and see the reality we are in for what it is, once we have experienced pain.

Many of us do understand this. These are often the people who in a capitulated fashion respond ‘That’s just the way things are’ or something similar, when you suggest and outline how things could be different. However, they are also comfortable with what they feel are the benefits to rejecting change too.

Unfortunately for all those who are comfortable with a status quo that is so destructive, many also take for granted or indeed feel entitled to continue living and developing themselves and their relationship with the world on the basis we have understood it to work up until now.

But things cannot continue the same way as they have been. Because in real terms, we have been living for decades and longer within a system that has developed around a giant con.

False realities inevitably lead to a wake-up moment

That con relies on unsustainable living in just about every sense the word unsustainable can be used or can mean.

As many are beginning to realise, the world is fast approaching a place called stop. Where we either change everything and return to a world built around values and putting people first. Or we sit, wait and accept the dystopian digital prison that the current Labour government, under the direction of the WEF, is falling over itself to help usher in.

Whatever we choose, and even if we don’t think we are choosing anything (as failing to act is also a choice), there are challenges, disruptions and probably horrors that lie ahead. Horrors that we would be much better able to deal with, if we are at least mindful of them, and at best prepared.

From Here to There Through Now covers this process. What we might expect, what we are likely to experience, and how we can choose to thrive and survive in real, practical terms.

Read From Here to There Through Now Online HERE

The Way of Awakened Politics for Good Government

I make no secret of my wish that we could just make better use of the system of government that we have now. Not because I think that the current system can be fixed, but because it’s broken and failing us in every conceivable sense today—specifically because of the way that generations of politicians and the people who work within and influence government and the public sector think and act, even though they are there to work and deliver on behalf of us all.

The idea of public service and what public services are about shouldn’t be a difficult concept for anyone to get their head around. Not least of all, because the biggest giveaway is in the name itself!

The Way of Awakened Politics for Good Government is the book I wrote that covers this rather thorny topic.

Thorny, because of the reality we face: when we can look at ourselves and understand the way that we ourselves are motivated and what makes us think the way that we do, we can also begin to see how easy it has become for us to repeatedly elect and appoint people into positions of public responsibility who are getting so much wrong, by doing the same things that we would probably do in those circumstances.

It’s not impossible for us to change things with the right people. But finding and electing the right people will not be straightforward with the system that we have, even if we were to fully utilise the approach I have suggested in my book Officially None of the Above which follows below.

Time is not on our side with this system, and it could collapse at any time. But getting politics and public representation right within a new one still requires much of the thinking that The Way of Awakened Politics for Good Government attempts to define.

Read The Way of Awakened Politics for Good Government Online HERE

The Grassroots Manifesto

Few people realise that one of the greatest problems and root causes of many of the other problems that are now reaching into every part of our culture and society have come about as the direct result of centralisation.

Centralisation is another word or term for hierarchy, or a system that operates top-down.

It just doesn’t sound like it.

When everything that has any real meaning in life has been steadily refocused and power and independence in so many things has been moved away from us – whilst we are continually told that it’s better for us, makes life cheaper and better in every possible sense – we have been losing sight and possession of our own value.

This travesty has led to all the societal and economic problems which suddenly seem to have come into sight.

Unfortunately, there are very few politicians who will give power and influence back to local communities once they have taken hold of it. And as history has time and again proven, most of them – once elected – will do whatever it takes to accumulate more.

Devolution is top-down centralisation with a different name

Whilst high level politicians will tell us they are devolving power and giving back, they are often taking what’s left of local power away from people and practicing regional centralisation to place what remains of local power in the hands of people they can control, rather than giving back to representatives who actually have good reason and motives that will give us much better lives.

The system of governance won’t change back from where it is now. Much like the Brexit process that never really happened as the starting point was deliberately seen as being an EU member, rather than as it should have been, which was to start anew or all over again.

The better future for all cannot and will not come from a centralised structure or anything top-down.

Genuine localisation is key

The future and change that delivers it for us must come from the neighbourhoods and communities we live and work in, and the real-life relationships and interactions that we have, in person, with the people we meet face to face each day.

The Grassroots Manifesto is a book version of what the first steps of a governance structure based and built from the grassroots-up will look like.

Read The Grassroots Manifesto Online HERE

A Community Route

Whilst every message the world pumps at us today (whether it’s direct or not) tells us that success and happiness is all about putting what we want and what we think is right first (as long as it correlates with the accepted narrative), the reality is that falling over ourselves to put our own interests first is very destructive. Particularly when most of us are doing the same thing.

Selfishness and self-interest have certainly been exploited to get the world into the mess that it’s in. And we certainly won’t and cannot change things for the better if we either insist on putting our own ideas first – no matter whether they are good for others or not, or by getting behind anyone else who is doing exactly that too.

The future is all about community. And local communities too.

But working together as a community requires a different mindset and way of thinking to what we are used to working with now.

A Community Route is the book I wrote with the intention of capturing the essence of working and collaborating with others, together, over what we share, really means and requires, if we want a world for the future that genuinely works and delivers for us all.

Read A Community Route Online HERE

Officially None of The Above

As I alluded to when I mentioned The Way of Awakened Politics for Good Government above, and also outlined in practice, in my How to Get Elected guide that I will come back to later, there are ways that we could make the existing electoral system work better for us – if we had the luxury of time to do so. (Which regrettably, we no longer do)

Officially None of the Above is a walk-through guide of how we could bypass and ignore the political parties that we have today. Working together as communities to identify, assess, select and appoint our own candidates to stand in all elections. So that we could be sure that the public representatives we elect are always going to put the needs of our people and communities first.

Refusing to vote is still a choice – as many of us have begun to realise at our cost.

However, not having candidates who we have chosen ourselves, rather than leaving that choice to the political parties and the agendas that they have, is a bigger problem. If not a lot worse.

With a collapse of some kind well on the way, the system will have to change, if we want to have power and influence over it ourselves.

In the meantime, Officially None of the Above shows us how we could work together, locally, to make the existing electoral system work democratically for us – as it always should have.

Read Officially None of The Above Online HERE

One Rule Changes Everything

Whilst the Basic Living Standard proposes a formula or focal point for a system of economy and governance that builds on financial independence for every working person, the reason we need a framework for life like this is because of the way that money has become the basis of our entire value set.

This values takeover was deliberate.

The weaknesses that make us all vulnerable to easy living and minimal effort in return for what seem to be great rewards have been exploited. Whilst the dazzling pay-off has meant we have failed repeatedly to question the true cost of what we have given up and what has really been involved.

One Rule Changes Everything is the most simplistic and straightforward formula for changing everything about the world we live in for the better.

It’s just the way we feel about the world today and what we mistakenly believe to be the things that benefit us from it that are hurting us, making the decision and steps necessary seem extremely hard!

Read One Rule Changes Everything Online HERE

Manifesto for a Good Dictator

Having been a frontline politician, elected member of 3 different local authorities and committee chair – including 4 years as a Licensing Authority Chair, I’ve spent a fair bit of time working with policy and policy frameworks. I also have a cross-sector background that has given me a reasonably good insight into how the way things get done works in real life too.

Being able to see why things are as they are and why they don’t work for the people they should – even when they are meant to – can be a bit of a two-edged sword. Especially when trying to explain to others why things don’t work as we have the right to expect them to.

As a councillor, some of the most challenging moments I ever experienced was trying to explain the unexplainable to local people, who had every right to expect things to have gone a very different way to that which they did.

However, doing the best for everyone in the circumstances also provided some good wins for everyone concerned. And I know from that experience that we could achieve much more than we do today – if everyone were open to and minded of doing things the right way.

In December 2019, as we raced towards the General Election that Boris won with the Conservatives, I wrote the Makeshift Manifesto – which I will come back to later.

Whilst the Makeshift Manifesto was a take on what a good government could do right across public policy – which of course Johnson’s Tory government never was – my return to the subject and possible updates made me realise that the problems have now gone too far for everything to be fixed.

Whilst we have heard chat about the need for a dictator – and young people are apparently particularly interested in this approach, the reality we face is that we are already the victims of a bad, tyrannical dictatorship that’s been dressed in a cosplay kit that those controlling everything have branded as democracy.

The idea of a good dictator sounds like an oxymoron to say the least. But it would be possible.

Not only that. A good dictator is also what we probably need. Because it may be the only way that what needs to get done can get done!

Manifesto for a Good Dictator is a policy list of all the things that a Good Dictator would need to do to change everything and oversee the process of bringing democracy back to local communities. Ultimately, placing power back in the hands of people like you and me.

Spoiler: this book was not written about and does not have any politician who is widely or publicly known in the U.K. today in mind!

Read Manifesto for a Good Dictator Online HERE

An Economy for the Common Good

During the summer of 2023, I was thinking more about the practical application of localised governance. How it would work, and what that would mean in terms of delivery of the essential or basic goods and services that we all need in and around our communities to make life work for us all each day.

As a business planner myself, writing out plans and even creating job specs for key employees, with pointers to the responsibilities linked to their roles seems normal. And I quickly found my pace creating what at the time I called the Gloucestershire Community Project.

I called it the Glos Community Project, because I used the areas that I know and understand to create a kind of real-life blueprint of a structure of social enterprise-based franchises or turnkey business outlines, that would provide the essential backdrop of how a new structure and system for society could work.

Importantly, the model included references to a new monetary and barter or exchange marketplace system. Very much linked to The Basic Living Standard that I have mentioned above.

It was the process of writing and realising how critical the role of food and food production should be within our communities, to ensure freedom and independence for everyone, that led to my more recent focus on Food; my time at the RAU where I did a PGCert in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, and the books I have since written and published such as Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future and Food From Farms Guaranteed.

Your Beliefs Today create Everyone’s Tomorrow

At the beginning of 2025, I was wrestling with a common theme.

We have an endemic problem with situational bias, or people refusing to see possibilities, perspectives or even the potential for outcomes that do not align with what they already accept to be normal within their own range of experiences.

It’s quite alarming how closed people can be to anything different than what they already accept. Especially if there isn’t an obvious progression from wherever their thoughts and experiences are, right now.

Unfortunately for all of us who learn this way and don’t look beyond, real-world problems may mean creating a completely new picture or starting all over again, rather than trying to keep hold of the things you are comfortable with about even a very bad situation or place.

Our beliefs are everything. They are what we are, and they are what makes us what we are.

So, it’s perfectly understandable that we get prickly when anything comes along which might question them.

The problem is – and it is increasingly a real problem – that what we already believe (our truth) and what is the truth, may be very different things.

This disparity is causing us all many problems. Because we refuse to be open to seeing life and learning from life about different ways of doing things and achieving the outcomes that we need.

Your Beliefs Today create Everyone’s Experiences Tomorrow focuses on the different things that people believe about the way everything works. Why they believe them, and why what we consider to be true today will inform not only our approach, responses and view of tomorrow, but what happens when we get there too.

In real terms, Your Beliefs Today create Everyone’s Experiences Tomorrow is an exploration of the real point of our power for any kind of change being right now, and why thinking (and believing) as we do, may be setting us all up for a very big fall.

Read Your Beliefs Today Create Everyone’s Experiences Tomorrow Online HERE

The Choice – A Waking Up Story

One of my most recent Books was written and published this summer and is called The Choice.

The Choice focuses in on what is happening; what we believe is happening; what isn’t really happening and what may or may not be happening out of sight behind the scenes.

The Book asks the fundamental questions ‘What do we believe’ and then ‘What are we going to do about it – if anything at all.

Yes, it sounds like a higgledy-piggledy mess. But that is reflective of what the UK faces; the behaviour of both the establishment and our politicians, and the rather difficult situation we all face where very few of us are in any way ready to accept how restricted our own views and understanding of the bigger picture might soon regrettably turn out to be.

Read The Choice Online HERE

Our Local Future

Our Local Future marked a turning point in my writing, bringing together insights from my previous works to outline a vision for governance and community that truly serves people, the environment, and the common good. This book was conceived as a springboard for discussion – a framework for rethinking how our systems could be rebuilt to deliver fairness, balance, and justice for everyone.

A central theme throughout Our Local Future is the importance of localism. I argue that a future which genuinely works for all must be rooted in local communities, structured to empower people where they live, and resilient against remote or purely online influences that can undermine local agency. This isn’t a rejection of technology or progress, but a call to ensure that technological advances support, rather than erode, the autonomy and wellbeing of local people and organizations.

Reflecting on over three years of writing and research, I see Our Local Future as a pivotal work—one that attempts to weave together diverse perspectives and experiences to envision a better life for all. It stands as a response to the chaos and disharmony that many experience today, and as a foundation for the next stage of my work.

Read Our Local Future Online HERE

Evolving Forward:
As my thinking and research have progressed, it became clear that the vision set out in Our Local Future needed to be developed into a practical, actionable framework. This realisation led to the creation of The Local Economy & Governance System, which builds directly on the principles of localism and community empowerment, offering concrete steps for implementation.

The Local Economy & Governance System: The Evolution of “Our Local Future”

As my writing and research have continued to develop, the ideas first outlined in Our Local Future have evolved into a more detailed and actionable framework: The Local Economy & Governance System. This new work builds directly on the foundation of localism, community empowerment, and the need for governance structures that truly serve people where they live.

Why this evolution?
While Our Local Future provided a vision for rethinking and restructuring governance to work for people, communities, and the environment, it became clear that a practical blueprint was needed – one that could guide real-world implementation. The Local Economy & Governance System is that blueprint. It offers a comprehensive model for how local economies can be structured, how governance can be genuinely democratic and accountable, and how communities can reclaim agency over their future.

What’s inside?

A step-by-step outline for building local economic systems that prioritise people over profit.
Practical guidance for establishing governance structures rooted in community needs and values.
Strategies for ensuring that essential goods, services, and opportunities are delivered locally, sustainably, and equitably.
Reflections on the lessons learned from recent years of political and economic upheaval, and how these inform the path forward.

Read The Local Economy & Governance System HERE

Foods We Can Trust

In April 2025, I launched the Foods We Can Trust website as a dedicated platform to explore and address the realities of food production, food security, and the vital role that food must play at the heart of our communities and local economies.

The website brings together practical resources, research, and commentary, all aimed at helping individuals, families, and communities reclaim agency over what they eat and how it’s produced. It’s a space for sharing knowledge, building resilience, and supporting the journey toward food systems that genuinely serve people.

Building on this foundation, December 2025 saw the publication of my book, Foods We Can Trust: A Blueprint for Food Security and Community Resilience in the UK.

This work brings together some of the key areas I’ve been writing about – food production, food security, and the urgent need to return food to the centre of life and community.

The book challenges the complacency that leaves households and communities vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and rising prices, and offers practical guidance for building local food resilience. It’s both a critique of current policy and a call to action for individuals, growers, and communities to take back control of their food future.

At the core of both the website and the book is the belief that food must be at the heart of any meaningful Local Economy & Governance System.

Food is not just a commodity – it is foundational to community wellbeing, economic independence, and the principles behind The Basic Living Standard.

By prioritising local food production and empowering communities, we can create systems that are more secure, nourishing, and sustainable for all.

Visit the website: foodswecantrust.org

Available on Amazon: Foods We Can Trust: A Blueprint for Food Security and Community Resilience in the UK

Read Foods We Can Trust: A Blueprint for Food Security and Community Resilience in the UK online HERE

Some of the other Books that I have written and published

How to Get Elected

The first book I wrote in 2018 was this one, How to Get Elected.

How to Get Elected, or what I sometimes call H2GE, leant heavily on my experience as a local councillor and the many different election campaigns that I ran in, won in, lost in and spent a lot of time supporting and helping with different campaigns focused on somebody else.

As I’d been out of politics for nearly 3 years when I wrote H2GE and had adopted my position of viewing and commenting from the outside looking in, I was under no illusion that what I was sharing is not the kind of how to guide that many of the candidates from established political parties would be interested in. Because How to Get Elected is all about putting people, rather than what the parties want from their candidates, first.

Read How to Get Elected HERE

Beating the Backstop

On the 24^th of July 2019, Boris Johnson became Prime Minister of the U.K. and immediately set to work building a rather questionable, ‘oven ready’ narrative of how his vision for Brexit was going to work, and what he was going to push the EU to do.

Like many who saw the opportunity that the Brexit vote really was, I greatly wished that the situation was being handled by adults who recognised that Brexit could and only would work in the way voters expected, if negotiations for the forward relationship between the U.K. and EU had been treated on the basis of a relationship that was completely brand new. Rather than how it was, which was little more than a half-arsed, self-serving attempt by Remainers masquerading as born-again Brexiteers to step outside while keeping hold of all the things they wanted to keep before they went.

It was therefore regrettably inevitable that whatever happened next was going to be more about bluff and bluster on the part of Boris. Rather than being anything that would be genuinely ‘new’, given that the then Conservative Leader hadn’t even decided which side of the European Referendum debate he was on until hours before he declared his intent.

That Boris really was the best alternative to predecessor Theresa May says more about the quality of the politicians and leaders that we have – and I regret that nothing so far appears to have changed.

However, no matter how we might feel about Boris, the other truth that we often miss about this period in British politics, is that as far as the existing ‘exit agreement’ with the EU was concerned, the UK had already been somewhat stitched up by the groundwork already done by Theresa May. A well-known Eu-phile who should never have followed David Cameron into No.10 when it seems to be the very reason that he himself stepped down.

Looking on from my perch in Gloucestershire, I found myself thinking about the best way to make what was on the table work in the most effective way that it could. Given all the different operational, strategic and political issues that were at work.

I may not have agreed any of what the then Government had been given to work with was either correct or necessary, but it was already becoming clear even then that Boris was not going to be able to disown even part of it without a) the will to do so and b) enough Brexit supporting MPs to back him – which at that moment was near impossible anyway, because the only real change in government was that he’d switched places with Theresa May.

I found myself, early that August, sat writing and putting a plan or strategy together about how making the Backstop work in very practical, operational terms could actually be done.

Beating the Backstop is my response and solution to dealing with the ridiculousness of the so-called Backstop and the invisible but nonetheless very real cross-border-trade-barrier that had been dropped down the middle of The Irish Sea.

Bearing the Backstop is the paper I published within a month of Boris’ arrival, which continues to be a popular online read and download. even now.

Read Beating the Backstop Online HERE

The Makeshift Manifesto

Mentioned above, I wrote the Makeshift Manifesto in early December 2019, in the run up to the General Election on the 12^th, that Boris Johnson comfortably won. Which the Tories then arguably squandered, by doing everything other than anything good, whilst insisting that Boris’ way of doing government really was the very best thing.

The Makeshift Manifesto is an alternative policy document.

It covers all the key areas of public policy that we would typically recognise today, making many different suggestions about what a good government not only could, but would do, when in power. Rather than following any one of any number of different agendas that have absolutely zero to do with anything about us or the lives and experiences of life that we are having.

One of my most popular downloads as a free-to-read PDF, the two big takeaways with the Makeshift Manifesto were and remain that the suggestions were applicable within the system and structure of government that we have now.

Whilst the Makeshift Manifesto provided a long and detailed list covering many different public policy areas, the document was published and shared, like everything that has followed – as a doorway or brainstorming board not to be cherry picked, but to be contextualized in the form of a comprehensive approach!

Read The Makeshift Manifesto Online HERE

Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words

I wrote Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words between some of the books that are listed above.

However, I have placed it here, as the subject of our relationship with AI isn’t strictly about governance and policy itself. Even if few of us can be in any doubt that one way or another it is set to have an important role.

AI is a difficult topic to discuss today.

Many myths have been created that serve the purposes of those who own, manage and are set to benefit from all forms of AI.

Yet AI and the ‘technical takeover’ can only work in the way that they want them to, if we all buy into and believe the stories that we are being sold.

Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words was my immediate take on the impact of both the older and newer forms of AI.

AI really isn’t going to be the fountain of all knowledge and thought that its being presented with the aim that we will believe it to be.

But it will nonetheless be used as a ‘legitimate’ excuse to end the need for many of our jobs, whilst teaching everyone and especially the younger and upcoming generations that the computer knows the answer to anything and everything, whilst what remains left of our ability to think, function and think critically for ourselves will be deliberately lost.

Perhaps a handbook for those who are awakening to the dangers that the use of tech to replace humans rather than genuinely help them are already proving to be, Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words is a shorter book, and it will make me very happy if you read it, get to the end and feel that it’s all stuff that you didn’t need to be told!

Read Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words Online HERE

Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future

By now, you may have realised that Food, Food Production and UK Food Security are issues that I feel passionate about.

I feel passionate about them because of the role that they should be playing for us all in the much better future that we all really should be working to have.

Following the very challenging times that UK Farmers are facing as I do; watching the rather cruel introduction of the Inheritance Tax last October, that will affect small and Family Farms in particular, left me wondering what the best way would be to share the knowledge and understanding I have. And do so in a way that might help make sense of what is really happening for anyone who has started to see that the reason for all this happening now, is that the theft of control and the removal of independence within the UK Food Chain fits into a much bigger picture and agenda that leaves our Farmers with no further role to play.

Everything in the Food Chain, including the role of Retailers, Processers, Manufacturers, the way foods are being developed, the messaging about cows and methane, seaweed in cow food and the introduction of more and more talk about alternative protein in public policy is shouting very loud messages about the direction of travel for Food Production across the UK, and what the future of our Food Supply will involve and how it will soon be controlled.

Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future focuses on the reality that control of the Food Supply is one of the most effective tools of control over the population itself.

The last thing the establishment and the politicians that it controls want, is for any kind of meaningful independence to exist across the UK Food Chain that would leave any kind of power to anyone else.

Difficult to believe, but a cold hard reality that we all must awaken to, if we want to have any chance of saving UK Agriculture and for People to have any choice over what they can eat in perhaps as soon as just a few years’ time.

Read Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future Online HERE

Is Poverty Invisible to those who don’t Experience it?

The Food Journey I often talk about took me to do a postgraduate certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security at the Royal Agricultural University in Autumn 2023.

Being back in full-time education brought some unexpected challenges that were very reflective of my experiences of the educational environment when I was a child. Only this time whilst coming at learning from a very different direction and experience-driven perspective.

Contrary to common misperceptions, the topic of Food Security and what Food Security really is, is a very broad topic that covers food poverty and the cost of living too.

Whilst at the RAU, I completed a module that required us to look at such issues and relate them to our own experience.

As I grew up in poverty, wearing all the societal badges that it has been given, and have a pretty good memory of what that was like to experience it in the 70’s and 80’s, I decided to research what it means to be in poverty today, and whether it feels and is treated any differently to how it was back then.

After spending time with a manager at a local foodbank, who answered every question and follow-up question that I gave them openly, I concluded that like so many of the other problems that we have across the UK today, people – and more importantly politicians – need to have experienced the real-life impact of those issues, before they can have even a chance of understanding what it is like to live with them.

My answer to the question, “Is Poverty Invisible to those who don’t Experience it?’ was a very clear yes.

This short e-book version of my original report and submission shares why.

Read Is Poverty Invisible to those who don’t Experience it Online HERE

Specific Interest Blogs

Alongside my books, I maintain an extensive archive of blogs at https://adamtugwell.blog that explore all the subjects covered in my published works—and often in greater detail.

For example, https://adamtugwell.blog/2025/12/18/adams-food-and-farming-portfolio-a-guide-to-books-blogs-and-solutions/ provides a curated list of blog posts and resources. It covers a wide range of topics, including:

Food production and supply chains
Food security and resilience
The challenges facing UK farmers
Community food initiatives
The role of food in local economies
Practical solutions for future systems and governance

These archives offer deeper dives, practical insights, and ongoing commentary on the issues at the heart of my work. Readers are encouraged to browse the full blog for further exploration of these and many other subjects.

What I Write About PDF_Vers4_19Dec25 Download

The Future of Work: Redefining Value, Meaning, and Human-Centric Employment in the Age of AI and Economic Change

AI’s Crossroads: Choosing a Human-Centric Future for Work and Society

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the world of work, automating roles created by money-driven systems and exposing the fragility of an economy built on profit and status rather than genuine human need.

Without a deliberate change in direction, society risks deepening inequality, eroding community, and reducing work to a function of control and dependency.

The current trajectory, shaped by decades of economic and technological planning, threatens to devalue essential contributions and undermine the foundations of freedom and dignity.

But this path is not inevitable. There is an alternative: a future where work is meaningful, communities are empowered, and the economy serves people – not the other way around.

This work challenges the prevailing narrative and introduces The Local Economy and Governance System (LEGS) – a model for a human economy built on the basic living standard.

LEGS offers a practical framework for restoring value to real work, strengthening local governance, and ensuring that technological progress enriches lives rather than diminishes them.

The choice is ours: continue down the AI-led road of exclusion and control, or embrace a system that prioritizes human well-being, fairness, and genuine prosperity for all.

Rethinking Work in a Human-Centric Future

Beyond Money-Driven Roles

The work and employment of a better, human‑centric future will be real, tangible, and deeply meaningful. Unlike many roles today that exist primarily to prioritise the flow of money, this future will focus on impact, purpose, and the enrichment of human life.

The Challenge of New Realities

The near future is poised to introduce truths, realities, and perspectives about our lives that many will find extremely difficult to accept.

This difficulty arises because true freedom – freedom to do, freedom to think, and freedom to be – requires us to revalue everything: how we see, how we interact, and how we set expectations.

These expectations will need to operate in a completely different, yet ultimately rewarding, way.

Shifting Perceptions of Good and Bad

In this transformation, what seems good today may quickly be seen as bad, while what appears deficient or undesirable now may suddenly reveal itself as profoundly valuable.

One of the most striking areas where this reversal will become evident is in our daily relationship with work – what we do, and how we define the very act of working.

The Distortion of Work by Money

The concept of work itself has become twisted by its association with money and the reward of money for labour.

Work is widely accepted as “work” only if it pays a wage.

Within this framework, society has conditioned us to undervalue technical, hands‑on, manual, and physically demanding forms of labour.

These roles, despite their essential contribution, are treated as if they hold little real value.

The Rise of Professional Roles

Meanwhile, a whole range of so‑called “professional” roles – many of which either had no necessity or no clear purpose until recently – have emerged and now dominate the employment landscape.

Some of these roles did not even exist a few decades ago, yet they are rewarded and elevated far above the practical, human‑centric work that sustains daily life.

The Devaluation of Real Work in a Money-Centric Culture

When Real Jobs Lost Their Value

Money‑centric culture has made “non‑jobs” real while rendering real jobs valueless in the eyes of society.

Historically, work was simply whatever it took to make life function. People played different roles – some paid, some unpaid – to sustain a household.

There was an unspoken recognition that it takes diverse contributions from everyone to enjoy life together, no matter what those contributions might be.

The Shift to Consumerism and Financial Systems

This balance changed with the rise of consumerism and the adoption of the moneocratic FIAT financial system, reinforced by GDP metrics and decades of law and regulatory changes.

These shifts progressively pushed households into a world where every member had to work for financial reward before the essential tasks of maintaining a home could even be addressed.

Even self‑sufficiency – achieved through both employment and domestic work – was no longer enough to live on if one was engaged in “real jobs.”

Such jobs now attract only ‘minimum wage’, a measure that has never represented the true benchmark of what it takes for a household to live independently and for its members to experience genuine financial freedom and the peace of mind that it facilitates.

The Mechanics of Wealth Transfer

With an economic system so fundamentally bogus, it should come as little surprise that its clever mechanics were designed to transfer wealth to those in control.

To achieve this, the system had to create a mindset that persuaded the masses to facilitate what is, in reality, a crime against humanity – not only against those they were conditioned to believe were ‘lesser’, but ultimately also against themselves.

This required that people be “bought in” to a value set where a select few and those who took every step necessary to be like them, could become disproportionately rich by doing ‘jobs’ that required little effort – or none at all.

The Creation of Jobs and Economies of Scale

Jobs were reshaped and split off from existing roles as money began to demand output.

Economies of scale, hailed as progress, destroyed local businesses and community systems that had worked perfectly well and had the ability to facilitate self-sustained models of family life.

These practices imposed a new slavery to money, progressively making it our master.

Careers as Money Machines

Jobs that supported the growth of money‑centric culture became the new measure of success.

Young people have shifted from more traditional aims of living a balanced, all‑round life to pursuing careers defined not by trade, service, or goods, but by the pursuit of money.

Careers have become all about making money, expanding the ways to make money, and protecting every part of the machinery involved.

Quality of customer experience and the delivery that brings it seldom now sit at any industry or profession’s heart.

Entitlement and the Multigenerational Workforce

The splitting of systems into job categories defined people not by the real work they did, but by the possessions and status attached to their roles.

This slowly created a culture of entitlement.

A multigenerational workforce has emerged that takes much in life for granted, including the myth that wealth can only grow while jobs become less like work.

The belief that “what one wants is what one deserves” has spread, with the expectation that such entitlement can be imposed upon everyone encountered without consequence – even in the digital, parallel world.

Sleight of Hand at Scale

Those in created jobs believe life can only get easier, while those performing the essential tasks that make life work for everyone cannot earn enough to escape the constraints of their labour.

These ideas and the narratives that underpin them are little more than a distraction – a sleight of hand on an epic scale – deliberately hiding what has truly been happening at the cost of everyone involved.

The Switch in Values

The shift from valuing people and the work required to live, to valuing money as the only important thing, has made society lazy, entitled, and ill‑prepared.

People now accept change passively, no matter how illogical or damaging, even when the same destructive process repeats with increasingly bizarre and counterintuitive outcomes.

These changes almost always come at a cost to people, communities, and the environment, whilst being presented as having the best interests of everyone at their heart.

The Direction of Travel that the World as we know it is on

The Difficulty of Belief

People often find it hard to accept that all of this was deliberately planned by others.

Yet money – and the possession of wealth, power, control, and influence – is an extraordinarily powerful motivator.

For those who become addicted to it, there is almost no limit to what they will attempt or achieve.

The Mechanics of Power

When such individuals hold power, or gain access to those who do, they can reshape systems so that authority itself works in their best interests.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, they change the structures of life so that everything begins to function in ways that serve them.

Long-Term Planning

The plans that have brought the world to its current state have not emerged overnight.

They have been underway for well over 150 years, steadily unfolding across generations.

This long trajectory has seen massive changes in the way international business is conducted. Changes that were only made possible through the upheaval of two world wars.

Unseen Problems Do Not Cease to Exist just because they are Unseen

The Hidden Nature of Change

Just because we cannot see or fully understand a problem does not mean it does not exist.

The adoption of a financial system that has created unprecedented wealth transfer – not only in the value of money itself, has also resulted in the ownership of business, property, and infrastructure, which has all steadily shifted into the hands of the few – at what could now be a disastrous cost to us all.

Technology as a Companion to Wealth Transfer

Alongside this financial transformation, technological progress has advanced in lockstep.

The chronology of events, from digital systems to information technology and hardware innovations, shows that these developments did not simply arrive at the moment we first experienced them.

They were planned, anticipated, and in many cases known to be possible for long periods of time.

Artificial Intelligence, and the AI takeover we now hear so much about, is not an isolated phenomenon. It is part of this broader strategy and plan, woven into the same trajectory that has shaped finance, ownership, and control.

The AI Takeover and Its First Victims

It is no accident that the first jobs to disappear in the AI takeover are those that are tied directly to the money project itself.

These roles, created and sustained by a system designed to prioritise financial mechanics and the transfer of wealth over human value, were always the most vulnerable to replacement.

Collective Choice and the Future of Work

The loss of other jobs, however, is not predetermined. It is our collective choice.

How we respond, adapt, and redefine the meaning of work in response to what is happening around us will ultimately determine the direction of the future.

Opening Ourselves to an Alternative Future

Awakening to a New Reality

Influencers are now beginning to ask the pressing question: “What happens to everyone whose job is taken by AI?”

At the same time, members of the elite openly declare that many jobs will no longer be needed within a decade.

People are slowly awakening to a new reality – one where the expectations we have been spoon‑fed and accepted so willingly, because life has seemed distractingly good, no longer add up.

This awakening is compounded by the fact that the economy itself sits on a knife edge.

Governments, behaving with illogical static rigidity, offer no meaningful response.

The contradictions are glaring, and the narrative no longer holds together.

The World Envisioned by the Few

The architects of this system – the people who designed and intend to run the world as they envisage it – have exploited and legitimised the theft of wealth, resources, and tools from the masses.

Through this process, they have been creating the foundations of a new world order built on control and deprivation.

Technology, ownership, and finance have been reshaped not to empower humanity, but to strip it of independence and place power firmly in the hands of the few.

The promise of “you will own nothing and be happy” is not a utopian vision. It is the culmination of a strategy that has taken from everyone to enrich the few, ensuring that the majority remain dependent while the architects consolidate control.

Systematic Devaluation of Real Work

It was purposefully engineered that people in manual, technical, and real jobs have been systematically devalued.

This devaluation has been reinforced by every institution and system.

Governments have deliberately abused their mechanisms to top up and subsidise wages, hiding the reality that the lowest paid wages are insufficient.

At best, this is exploitation; at worst, it is slavery – successfully concealed from view.

The True Value of Real Jobs

These real jobs are the ones that should be paying what it actually costs to live.

Yet the people in these roles – the very ones the new system will still need – will not willingly participate in servicing its demands if they are free to choose otherwise, especially when everyone else has been effectively cast aside.

Freedom as the Ultimate Threat

Freedom itself is the greatest threat to greed and to the furtherance of the moneycratic system.

Everything aligned with that system depends upon control.

True freedom undermines it, exposes it, and ultimately resists it.

Choosing Jobs That Make Life Work Rather Than Making Life Out of Work

The Dystopian System Already in Place

The dystopian system you may now be able to visualise is already baked in.

Within this dynamic, all the “non‑jobs” that the system has encouraged us to hero‑worship will inevitably disappear, replaced by AI.

The flow of money and wealth these roles facilitated has already reached its destination.

The elites are openly telling us this, and they are not trying to hide it.

The Fate of Technical Work

Yet not all jobs will vanish on the same timeline.

Technical roles – or at least a restricted number of them – will remain for longer than the created non jobs will.

This reality matters. It may be the knowledge of which jobs endure, and why, that provides people with the opportunity to resist and to choose a new direction, rather than surrendering to what otherwise appears to be a very dark fate.

All Jobs Must Have Meaning for People to Understand Their Value

The Illusion of a Life Without Work

Whilst we may like the idea of never working again and having every conceivable need met, there is nothing about this that is real.

The reality of being provided for in this way requires conformity and restricted behaviour.

No matter what toys or distractions we are given, such a life would resemble what we recognise today as being no different to that of a caged pet.

Activity as the Source of Value

Activity that contributes to a good life is not only necessary; it is fundamental to the value we each hold.

In the alternative future we must now consider seriously, contribution matters not because it is labelled as “work” or “employment,” but because it makes life good.

Any act that sustains or enriches life carries meaning, regardless of whether it fits the narrow definitions imposed by what the current system teaches us, or not.

The Irony of Non‑Jobs

It is ironic that people in high‑flying “non‑jobs” today often dream of simpler lives -baking cakes, crafting cheese, keeping animals, growing food, building with bricks and wood, or fabricating metal – rather than being controlled by the rules of a game and chained to a city desk.

The truth is that jobs with meaning are those that provide or support the provision of life’s essentials.

This is what every form of work, employment, or contribution should actually be about.

A Future That Serves People, Not Money

The future that serves people instead of money will be built upon direct relationships and locality.

In such a future, everything will be transparent, and people will work and provide only for the people, communities, and environments that directly touch their own lives.

This is the foundation of meaningful work: activity that sustains life, nurtures community, and strengthens the bonds between people and the world around them.

Quality of Customer Experience and Locality Will Define Business Sizes – Not the Myth That Bigger Is Best

Freedom Through Localised Business

To choose freedom from the unnecessary oppression and exclusion that serves the few – and exists only by design – requires that we create businesses and operations focused on people, community, the environment, and their genuine needs.

True freedom lies in resisting the structures that prioritise profit over humanity and in building enterprises that serve life directly.

Rethinking Work and Economy

Some question how a future can exist where everyone works and still has enough.

Yet when work is about life rather than money, the realisation emerges that there is indeed enough of everything for everyone – provided we focus on need rather than the want that money‑centric thinking encourages for the benefit of the few.

In such a system, the economy ceases to be about job titles and power; it becomes about what we all do and achieve together.

Enough for Everyone

Everyone can work. Everyone can have a job. And everyone can have their needs met if we accept that there is no legitimate reason for any person to accumulate more than what meets their own needs.

Exploiting even the smallest advantage to gain whatever one desires undermines fairness and perpetuates inequality.

Integrity, Fairness, and Justice

Balance, fairness, and justice require integrity.

Everyone must act with the awareness that their choices affect others.

Taking more than one needs – no matter the opportunity, no matter how easy it may seem – always results in others having less. Even when the outcome is invisible to the one who takes.

Work With Meaning, Not Slavery

Work is necessary for everyone. But fulfilling work – work that sustains life and community – is not the same as financial slavery, where greed and exploitation are the only measures of value.

The future must be built on meaningful contribution, not on the hollow pursuit of wealth which can never and was never intended to be made available to and shared by everyone.

Key Takeaways

Before moving on to further resources, here are the central messages and insights from this work.

AI is Transforming Work: Artificial intelligence is rapidly automating roles created by money-driven systems, exposing the weaknesses of an economy built on profit and status rather than genuine human need.
Current Trajectory is Unsustainable: Without a deliberate change, society risks deepening inequality, eroding communities, and reducing work to a function of control and dependency.
Devaluation of Real Work: Essential manual and technical roles have been systematically undervalued, while “nonjobs” and money-centric careers have been elevated, distorting the meaning and value of work.
Freedom and Dignity at Stake: The existing system undermines freedom and dignity, making people passive in the face of damaging change and reinforcing cycles of exploitation and dependency.
A Human-Centric Alternative Exists: The Local Economy and Governance System (LEGS) offers a practical, human-centred framework for restoring value to real work, strengthening local governance, and ensuring that technological progress enriches lives rather than diminishes them.
The Choice is Ours: Society can continue down the AI-led path of exclusion and control, or embrace a system that prioritises human well-being, fairness, and genuine prosperity for all.

The Local Economy & Governance System (LEGS): Escaping the AI Takeover and Building a Human Future

The Future Is No Longer Distant

There is growing disquiet, fear, and quiet concern about the turbulence we are experiencing in the world, alongside a deep, intrinsic sense that nothing is as it should be – and that it will never be the same again.

Yet at the heart of this unsettling feeling lies confusion. The prevailing narratives insist that with AI now here, and the technology it commands about to permeate every conceivable part of our lives, humanity should be grateful.

We are told we stand on the cusp of a new age, where surrendering to AI will deliver a dream life unlike anything mankind has ever known.

Some are already suspicious, beginning to question what the rollout of this digital revolution will truly mean.

Others believe the only way to progress – or to feel in control of either the real or digital worlds – is to recapture what they perceive as the “good times,” attempting to fix everything as if it were possible to freeze life and live forever in a single moment of the past.

Uncomfortable as it may be, the time has arrived for everyone to begin asking the hard questions: what happens next, and where will we find ourselves in a future that is no longer a distant shadow on the horizon, but already towering above us right now.

The Watershed Moment We Cannot Ignore

The Coming Crisis of Agency & Survival

The answer to the question so many wish to avoid is that, if we continue on our current path, ordinary people will be left with no means to provide for themselves. They will have no income to pay others to do so, and neither government nor business will exist with the resources or the intent to supply even the basic essentials necessary for the masses to survive.

Everything we know – whether or not we recognise its connection to our current reality – has been moving in this direction for as long as most of us have been alive.

There has been a steady erosion of agency, independence, and self‑resourcefulness for ordinary human beings, first through the transfer of all forms of wealth, and now, taking place through the progressive takeover of every aspect of working life and function by both existing and rapidly emerging forms of AI.

Whilst many today spend quiet moments fearing the apparent opening of immigration floodgates and the erasure of Western culture, society, and life as we know it, others, for reasons seemingly unknown, appear to have embraced a suicidal empathy that insists the only correct behaviour of Western society is to destroy itself in order to prioritise all others.

AI’s Encroachment on Everyday Life

Yet everyone fails to see that the impending and critical threat to everything we hold dear has already been welcomed into our governments, our businesses, our technology, and the very functionality of daily life, and is so deeply embedded that it now resides in our computers and our phones.

The Myth of Effortless Utopia

AI, along with the robotics and technology now emerging to support it, is becoming the option of choice for carrying out the majority – if not all – tasks across what we currently understand as life.

This development will soon mean that, for the majority of us, there will soon be no reason for work to continue to exist.

Exploitation and Systemic Transformation

Whilst many of us hear talk of the AI takeover, the reduction in new hiring and training opportunities across numerous professions and industries, and the replacement of jobs of all kinds, we fail to connect these developments with the rising welfare bill as people find themselves with no choice but to accept a life of unemployment.

The New Divide: Inclusion and Exclusion

Nor do we pause for a moment to consider the pressing question: What does it mean when there is no job left for you?

The Last Chance for Human Agency

Yes, many truly believe the stories openly shared by members of the elite community driving this change – that in no time at all, life will become cheap and effortless for everyone because AI and machines can do everything.

The Value of Effort and Contribution

People really do believe we are about to step into a new and previously unrecognisable utopia, where the system has eliminated the need for human industry, effort, and value in the form of contribution, and instead provides everything we can imagine, free of charge and experienced as if life were one giant, permanent holiday for us all.

Historic Patterns and Systemic Endgame

Such benevolence, hinted at in the form of words from these few, and the feeling it inspires about our future, is one that few can fail to imagine.

Indeed, the words and the ease with which life now comes at us makes it very easy to accept the disproportionate levels of wealth for the few that has been encouraged by the progress of this new technical revolution.

People are taking for granted that once the evolution of everything needed to perform every task that human beings carried out across all functions of life is complete, these are the very same few who will then happily smile and sit back while everything they own and have developed works and provides for all of us in return for absolutely nothing. All whilst we continually maintain an ever‑improving standard of life and receive a universal basic income that covers every requirement beyond the luxurious permanence of 24‑hour leisure, which is somehow ever present and that we somehow believe we would actually enjoy.

In truth, we do not need to understand how or why we arrived here to see the situation for what it really is. The fundamental truths are already available for us all to observe, consider, and comprehend, hiding in plain sight: the masses have been used and exploited to create the very means that will ultimately be implemented to destroy humanity as we know it.

As this has all progressed, we have all been fed and indoctrinated with stories, technology, forms of easy wealth, and advances convincing us that things can only ever improve along this path and that a golden age awaits.

At the same time, we have given our consent to puppet politicians who have willingly changed and enforced every rule necessary to facilitate this under the veil of progress -driven not by principle, but by submission to those with power and self‑serving agendas, lured by promises of glory and gain that appeal to their true, hidden selves.

Many struggle to believe that those we have elected, and those who have grown rich or benefitted so greatly from the rewards of leadership in a modern world and society, could truly be so cruel. Yet does it matter whether we – or even they – accept that as truth, when the outcome fast approaching, without a change in our direction, will inevitably be exactly the same?

Within the world and its structures – The System as it operates, functions, and controls every part of life today – the true divide of them and us lies between those whom the system will continue to carry and cater for once the concept of human independence no longer exists, and the masses who have no further use, whom the system will either choose to exclude or find some means to remove.

This is neither a horror story nor a work of fiction. The only uncertainty – without a change in direction – lies in when and how events will unfold that bring about the critical period of transition.

Today, humanity still possesses agency, choice, and the power to pursue an alternative pathway – even though so many of us are sleep‑running toward the end of freedom’s existence, actively embracing and welcoming the very tools that will soon replace the need for us within our own lives.

The fundamental truth of any life worth living is that there can be no reward without effort, and that effort itself is the pathway to reward when life is grounded in truth.

We hold no value to anyone or anything if we do not contribute or participate when we are able. There are no free rides for anyone or anything, unless they come in the form of charity – or unless we ourselves assume the role, if deemed desirable, of pets.

History repeats this truth time and again. We need only look further to see how power is abused by the powerful—how they seek to control everything they find useful, and how quickly they dispose of it when they do not.

Everything about the moneocratic, money‑centric, top‑down, centralised, hierarchical, and patriarchal system was ultimately designed to end this way.

The arrival of technology – and finally AI – has brought humanity to a genuine watershed moment, an endgame in which we must either abandon the unsustainable way of life to which we have become addicted and embrace one that restores balance, fairness, and justice for all, or continue living the lie created by those who profit from our subservience.

If we choose the latter, we will participate in it until the moment we realise we no longer hold any value, and the destiny imposed upon us by others has arrived.

The Alternative Pathway

The temptation for many, upon realising what has happened and what is happening, is to believe that all we need to do is step back a few years and remove the most corrosive technological advances that have entered our lives.

As simple as the removal of AI might seem – even if we were able to overhaul politics and replace politicians with those who agree – the real damage to society and culture has not come from technology or its advances themselves. It comes from the reasoning, motives, intent, and forms of control behind them.

These forces have long been at work, reshaping how everything functions across society – manipulating and redirecting life so that what we have already become is accepted as normal.

The way we live, work, conduct business, relate to others, and even relate to ourselves must return, rediscover, and recreate a way of being that transforms our system of values.

Our entire value set must shift so that we understand and expect meaning from life in ways that, by today’s standards, may seem counterintuitive or even alien.

The Human Value Imperative:

We must embrace the reality that everyone is equal, and that the only difference between us lies in our roles, functions, and contributions within society—roles that are always dynamic and open to change.
We all need to accept that differences do not make us different when it comes to what is ethically, morally, and fundamentally right.
We all need to accept, understand, and embrace that no person should be advantaged over another by circumstances beyond their own efforts or control.
We must accept that deviation or allowances beyond these principles will always lead to growing unfairness—even when special circumstances seem justified or privileges are believed not to be abused.
We must accept that hierarchies are not a natural system of order, even though the need for order in society means that some will naturally take the lead.
We all need to share responsibility and take part in collective choices that shape the aspects of life we share.
We all need to contribute to the community in whatever ways we can.
We all need to work and actively contribute to shared life whenever we are genuinely able.
We must live by the principle that the responsibility we have toward others is the same responsibility we owe to ourselves.
We all need to accept that once our needs are met, nothing is gained if any one of us seeks to have, take, or control more.
We must accept that true abundance means having as much as we need, not everything we want.
We must accept that people are the greatest source of value, and that real economics should be centred on that value.
We must embrace the reality that full employment is both natural and normal when employment is defined by all forms of contribution, not just financial return.
We must welcome and protect the truth that locality, and the transparency it brings to every kind of relationship, is key to maintaining and benefiting from a system we can trust to be fair, balanced, and just.
We must ensure that AI and all technologies are used only to support human life and enhance working practices—not to replace jobs or create circumstances in which any human being is considered useless.

When we commit to all of these principles, we can begin to envision a society and way of life that truly functions as it should with equity, equality and accountability for all – one that is transformed in almost every possible way.

The Turning Point: Choosing Freedom and a Better Future

For many of us, the uncomfortable reality we must face is that passive inaction – or continuing to accept life under the control of others, believing things will simply carry on as they are – poses an existential threat that is all too real. It is a danger that extends beyond the confines of Orwell’s 1984 and, for those who truly value their lives, could mean something far worse.

The choice – while we still have one- is to not only accept but to embrace an alternative path.

This path, though carrying forward some familiar aspects of the world around us, demands that every part of our lives be lived in a fundamentally different way: a way where people, community, and the environment come first; where power rests with the individual, their freedom, and their personal sovereignty; and where the whole experience of life unfolds in a completely new direction.

The Local Economy & Governance System Framework: A Path to Empowerment

Exploring the Local Economy & Governance System

Visualising a different world – how it operates, what it requires of us, what we must give, how we work together, and how frameworks of rules function (rather than laws that micromanage every part of life, as is increasingly the case today) – may sound simple. Yet their adoption, interpretation, and our response to them within a system centred on empowering every person, rather than controlling them in every conceivable way, will be fundamentally different.

This shift will inevitably provoke resistance, not least because we have become addicted to the unsustainable, money‑centric way of living that dominates our lives today.

The Local Economy & Governance System provides a detailed picture of these frameworks, showing how this new people‑centric model will look and how it can be implemented.

Perhaps the most important element of this new world is that it will be built upon direct, participatory democracy – a system entirely unlike the hollow or pretend democracy that defines the moneyocratic world we currently inhabit.

Participatory Democracy: Power in the Hands of People

Participatory democracy means that everyone takes part in the decision‑making processes that shape public policy.

It ensures that we all hold the power to change or remove the public representatives we choose and appoint.

This requires a level of accountability and participation that is not only regular and personal, but far greater than the limited choice we currently have – voting every four or five years for candidates selected by someone else.

There is much to consider about the processes that enable true participatory democracy and how it can work effectively and diligently.

One of the most striking differences between this future system and what we have today is that there will be no political parties.

Instead, public representatives will be chosen directly by the community – respected individuals with proven commitment to serving the best interests of everyone involved.

To learn more about The Local Economy & Governance System, please visit: The Local Economy & Governance System Online Text or support my work by purchasing the book for Kindle.

From Possibility to Reality: A System That Works for Everyone

The Local Economy & Governance System will work because it prioritises people, community, and the environment in ways that may seem inconceivable today.

It places value on personal sovereignty and the freedom that comes from living lives defined by who we truly are, rather than by external factors and reference points that remain under someone else’s control.

Yes, the practical mechanics of LEGS will work – and they will work well – if we choose to embrace them.

After all, the dysfunctional world we inhabit today has appeared to “work” only because we came to believe in it, even as it has harmed so many of us.

We must not underestimate the ability, ingenuity, and creativity of humankind to deliver and implement solutions that succeed under any circumstances, when motivated and convinced it is right to do so.

Together, we can reclaim power and value and build a new world and system that functions with equity, equality, and open accountability for everyone – just as a truly civilised society always should.

Together, we can turn possibility into reality and create a society that truly works for everyone.

The Choice Before Us

We stand at a decisive moment in human history.

The turbulence we feel, the erosion of agency, and the encroachment of systems that strip away our independence are not distant threats. They are realities already shaping our lives.

The arrival of AI and the technologies that support it has brought us to a genuine watershed: either we continue down the path of dependency and control, or we choose to reclaim balance, fairness, and justice through new systems built on empowerment, community, and sovereignty.

The Local Economy & Governance System, grounded in participatory democracy and people‑centric values, offers a practical and principled alternative.

It is not a utopia promised by elites, nor a nostalgic return to the past, but a framework for living that restores meaning to contribution, accountability, and shared responsibility.

Human ingenuity has always risen to meet the greatest challenges. If we believe it right to do so, we can build a society that works for everyone – where equity, equality, and open accountability are not ideals but lived realities.

The choice is ours. To continue sleepwalking into a future where humanity holds no value, or to awaken and embrace the possibility of a new civilisation. One that honours freedom, restores dignity, and ensures that life itself remains worth living.

AI won’t make life cheaper for those who cannot work and the mega rich would be using their money to help others right now if they were going to do it for everyone in the future

Technology and Artificial Intelligence Should Only Fill Jobs When No Humans Are Available

People need jobs more than AI and the Tech Revolution

The greatest benefit of AI today will be a new dark age of stupidity and ignorance that our surrender to it will bring

Just like AI, the tools, actions, rules and infrastructure of tomorrow will be good or bad for us depending upon who and what is in control

Do you believe that AI is about ‘Progress’? Think Profit. Think Greed. Then Think again.

Starmer’s Britcard isn’t just another Digital ID

Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words | Full Text

The Local Economy & Governance System | Online Text

The greatest benefit of AI today will be a new dark age of stupidity and ignorance that our surrender to it will bring

There’s something very wrong with the AI story that we are all being sold:

Nobody seems to have noticed that the script of man’s pathway to the pinnacle of human intelligence is about to come to its end, by handing our ability to think, over to machines.

As I write, I’m wondering if the name ‘Artificial Intelligence’ was a deliberate way to hide the truth in plain sight, all along.

Not because the technological breakthroughs that are coming at us thick and fast aren’t very clever.

But because just like the surrender of our value set to an artificial, valueless and damaging world dominated by money that manipulates everything about the way we think, we are about to give away our ability to even do that, to systems and technologies that cannot genuinely benefit any human being – other than those who own and run them.

In my eBook Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words, I talked about AI only having the ability to look back at history and the past. Even where back meant what had been published or ‘sensed’ by the Internet up to the very moment when the system was responding to a specific command.

This overlooked or deliberately whitewashed flaw of AI echoes one of the greater faults in the Human experience, where we inherently look backwards to our past experiences to provide guidance for the future.

This should be troubling enough.

But what wasn’t apparent even when I published that book in June 2023, was that as AI began filling everything across the web and digital sphere with its own responses, muses and anything else we can give AI-derived content as a name, it would then begin leveraging just as much and increasingly more of its own diluted content as a source, which is almost certain to increase as human input or creativity dries up.

And the contribution of human creativity and intelligence to the smorgasbord board of information and data that the AI engines feast on is most certainly drying up, as more and more of us surrender to the narrative we have been fed that tells us AI is now the only way, and jobs are threatened by the accompanying suggestion that AI can do things that we can never do!

Dictating our future by using the past as our point of reference certainly holds us back and creates all sorts of difficulties at all levels of life that we didn’t ever need to have.

However, the one thing that makes that experience manageable and, in some ways, arguably beneficial too, is that our human creativity and ability to look at every new situation and make sense of it and its context in ways that allow us to build bridges into the future, means that we are making progress all the time. Even if that progress is slower, whereas a machine that is limited only to reading what has already happened simply cannot.

People – and many of them too – genuinely accept the stories and myths that we have and are now being sold.

They believe and, in many cases, have become fearful that AI can already or very soon will take over every function that humans currently carry out within any business or organisation. Despite the reality that anyone using their common sense or daring to listen to their inner voice will recognise a very big question, ‘Where in this future does that leave any need for me?’

AI is very fast at what it does and is able to look at potentially all the information that is available to us in digital form at the very moment in time that a question is asked or an instruction is given.

That – and only that – is the real magic of AI.

It is the reason that we are all just accepting the idea that AI is already infinitely cleverer than Humans could ever be. Just as those who benefit from us believing this to be true intend us to believe.

However, our acceptance that we no longer need to be creative or think for ourselves, means that we will not only increasingly become dependent upon a pool of ‘knowledge’ outside of ourselves – albeit a very large one of everything that has been recorded, spoken, considered and then committed to the internet and digital platforms up to some point in history before. But this pool of knowledge that we will use for everything will become increasingly diluted by the growing amount of poor and corrupt information, data and ‘understanding’ that our already burgeoning use of AI with everything is now spaffing out into the digital ether.

As you read, Humanity is literally giving up the ability to think and create for itself, to a machine-driven world that is incapable of doing any more.

What is more, Humanity is surrendering these cornerstone abilities for survival voluntarily. Because someone who benefits from us believing we are inadequate without technology has told us this, when a change of the kind that overreliance on AI could be about to usher in would have needed something akin to an extinction-level event to take place at any time in world history before.

This uncomfortable truth will not stop those who stand to benefit from the AI takeover from pushing and promoting this path. They will continue peddling the myths that the AI takeover will be in our best interests and will be inevitable all the same. When it is nothing of the sort.

The Technology we have available to us today will not live up to its greatest potential. Because the greatest potential any technology that man invents will have, is to help improve the lives and experiences of all men, rather than to replace any one of them.

We know this to be true, as this has regrettably been the way that technological advancements have always impacted Humanity since the ending of the Agricultural Age.

Technology has always been employed to make money for those who own and control it since then.

The rise of new technology has always been at the cost of all others at some level. No matter who they are or what their connections might be.

The reality we face is that it may already be too late to save the world we recognise from a fate that we have all unwittingly chosen. Rather than there being any kind of event or catastrophe at the heart of future change that no one person could have been responsible for.

However, if we are to address the slide towards universal ignorance, with the accompanying potential to take us back into the dark ages once more, we must reassess, reimagine and regulate the uses of every kind of technology. So that technology’s master can only be the public good. Rather than profit and the disaster that is following hard in its footsteps right now.

If we value the Human experience and wish to improve it, it is time to learn, share and then live the truth that there is no need for any technology to replace jobs, other than so just a few can increase their profits and control.

The best way for everyone and everything to live well, is without the complications and diversions that misappropriated technology imposes upon us, and the technology we do embrace should always be used for the greater good and for the benefit of everyone involved.

Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words | Full Text

Just like AI, the tools, actions, rules and infrastructure of tomorrow will be good or bad for us depending upon who and what is in control

Technology and Artificial Intelligence Should Only Fill Jobs When No Humans Are Available

People need jobs more than AI and the Tech Revolution

AI won’t make life cheaper for those who cannot work and the mega rich would be using their money to help others right now if they were going to do it for everyone in the future

The Local Economy & Governance System | Online Text

The Local Economy & Governance System (LEGS): Escaping the AI Takeover and Building a Human Future

The Future of Work: Redefining Value, Meaning, and Human-Centric Employment in the Age of AI and Economic Change

The greatest benefit of AI 27Apr25 PDF_Vers1_11Dec25 Download

INTRODUCTION – WORK AS THE DOORWAY INTO A NEW WORLD

SECTION 1 – WHY WORK NO LONGER WORKS

SECTION 2 – THE REVALUATION: SEEING WORK CLEARLY FOR THE FIRST TIME

SECTION 3 – THE BASIC LIVING STANDARD: THE FOUNDATION THAT MAKES REAL WORK POSSIBLE

SECTION 4 – FOOD AS THE CENTRE OF WORK, COMMUNITY, AND LIFE

SECTION 5 – WORK AS CONTRIBUTION: THE NEW DEFINITION OF WORK IN LEGS

SECTION 6 – BUSINESSES IN LEGS: PURPOSE, STRUCTURE, AND THE END OF PROFIT‑DRIVEN WORK

SECTION 7 – LEARNING, APPRENTICESHIP, AND THE PATH TO CONTRIBUTION

SECTION 8 – GOVERNANCE, RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE SHARED WORK OF COMMUNITY LIFE

SECTION 9 – TECHNOLOGY, TOOLS, AND THE HUMAN ROLE

SECTION 11 – BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER: THE FUTURE OF WORK AS A WHOLE SYSTEM

CLOSING STATEMENT – THE FUTURE OF WORK IS THE FUTURE OF US

Further Reading: Deepening Your Understanding of the Contribution Culture and the LEGS ecosystem

Core Concepts of LEGS and the Basic Living Standard

Food, Security, and Community Resilience

LEGS in Practice: Governance, Community, and Local Economy

Manifestos and Systemic Change

How to Use This List

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What I Really Write About – Beyond What AI Can Tell You

The Books about the system today; change and the system tomorrow (In chronological order, from early 2022)

The Books: Understanding the System Today and Shaping Tomorrow

Levelling Level

The Basic Living Standard

From Here to There Through Now

The Way of Awakened Politics for Good Government

The Grassroots Manifesto

Devolution is top-down centralisation with a different name

Genuine localisation is key

A Community Route

Officially None of The Above

One Rule Changes Everything

Manifesto for a Good Dictator

An Economy for the Common Good

Your Beliefs Today create Everyone’s Tomorrow

The Choice – A Waking Up Story

Our Local Future

The Local Economy & Governance System: The Evolution of “Our Local Future”

Foods We Can Trust

Some of the other Books that I have written and published

How to Get Elected

Beating the Backstop

The Makeshift Manifesto

Actions Speak Louder than Digital Words

Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future

Is Poverty Invisible to those who don’t Experience it?

Specific Interest Blogs

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AI’s Crossroads: Choosing a Human-Centric Future for Work and Society

Rethinking Work in a Human-Centric Future

The Devaluation of Real Work in a Money-Centric Culture

The Direction of Travel that the World as we know it is on

Unseen Problems Do Not Cease to Exist just because they are Unseen

Opening Ourselves to an Alternative Future

Choosing Jobs That Make Life Work Rather Than Making Life Out of Work

All Jobs Must Have Meaning for People to Understand Their Value

Quality of Customer Experience and Locality Will Define Business Sizes – Not the Myth That Bigger Is Best

Key Takeaways

Further Reading

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The Future Is No Longer Distant

The Watershed Moment We Cannot Ignore

The Coming Crisis of Agency & Survival

AI’s Encroachment on Everyday Life

The Myth of Effortless Utopia

Exploitation and Systemic Transformation

The New Divide: Inclusion and Exclusion

The Last Chance for Human Agency

The Value of Effort and Contribution

Historic Patterns and Systemic Endgame

The Alternative Pathway

The Human Value Imperative:

The Turning Point: Choosing Freedom and a Better Future

The Local Economy & Governance System Framework: A Path to Empowerment

Exploring the Local Economy & Governance System

Participatory Democracy: Power in the Hands of People

From Possibility to Reality: A System That Works for Everyone

The Choice Before Us

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