There is no question that greed and competitiveness are components of human nature, but so too are caring and cooperation. For several generations we have been cultivating self-interest and competition as engines for economic growth. All around we can see the consequences of these values becoming entrenched in our belief system. The impact they are having on families and communities is sufficient to question their encouragement. For hundreds of years people have worked and organized to assert their right to participate in decisions effecting society.
Democracy is established in principle.
It is time to try it out on a question of basic direction. Following the invisible hand may have worked before mass persuasion technology and the appearance of ecological limits. Today, however it is increasingly difficult to justify decisions on the faith that if it makes money it is good. The coexistence of people in need and people who have nothing to do is evidence of bad management. The disappearance of fish stocks, destabilization of the atmosphere, diminishing soil fertility and the expanding gap between the rich and the desperate speaks of more than just misguided notions of order.