[P2P-F] Fwd: [CommonGood] Starting the Common Good Newsgroup: International debate on the Common Good

Sun Mar 9 21:12:00 CET 2014

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Schepers, Norbert <schepers at rosalux.de>
Date: Sun, Mar 9, 2014 at 11:14 AM
Subject: [CommonGood] Starting the Common Good Newsgroup: International
debate on the Common Good
To: Common Good Newsgroup <commongood at listi.jpberlin.de>

 Dear Colleagues and Friends,

with this e-mail we invite you to participate in a newsgroup to discuss the
subject of *Common Good* and to inform about the debates and the ongoing
struggles on specific topics.

*Common Good Newsgroup: International mailing list for the debate on the
Common Good.*

The diversity is obvious: In Latin America the Common Good is discussed
within the context of the concept of Buen Vivir, in Europe the actual
struggles against austerity-led politics of privatization and the
dismantling of social standards are in the focus as well as positive
actions for water as common good - while in South-East Asia the Subject is *the
right to life and a life of dignity*.

The concept of the Common Good of Humanity respects the diversity of
struggles and debates and intends to develop a new post-capitalist
paradigm.

 *The various dimensions of the concept of Common Good* (by François
Houtart):

The notion of Common Good has known lately a new interest. For some it is
the renewal of an old idea and the opportunity of giving to conservative
forces of society the appearance of a modern approach. For others it is a
way of coming out of a stereotyped vocabulary used by revolutionary
movements and to propose a more acceptable way of expression. It may also
be related with a radical criticism of the concept of modernity transmitted
by capitalism and not challenged by real socialism. In order to develop
this late conception, it is important to indicate three levels of its
semantic utilization: Common Goods, Common Good and Common Good of Humanity.

The struggle for *Common Goods* is related with the history of capitalism.
In England, the "enclosure" of the common lands has been one of the main
origins of the capitalist system. To reduce the "commons" and to transform
them in private property was the beginning of a process of accumulation.
Common lands were considered as wasted lands. Land reforms like the ones of
China and Vietnam have restored this notion, with the socialization of land.

Today, neo-liberalism all over the world has reduced the social conquests
of more than a century, among them the organization of public services,
social security and popular education, creating new forms of poverty.
Struggles to restrain such a trend and to reorganize areas of solidarity,
have been developed among social movements: labour, peasants, women,
indigenous peoples. In Latin America post-neoliberal governments have
reestablished or increased programmes against poverty, better access to
health and education, social insurances, development of formal labour,
public investments.

One aspect of the action has been the claim for a universal allowance.
However two main philosophies are at the base of such a proposal. The first
one is individualistic: the right of any individual too chose to work or
not to work and still to exist. It is sometimes backed by a modern
capitalism, understanding that the reduction of poverty is an efficient  way
of increasing the base of the market and that too big social distances are
dangerous for the social order. Hence the notion of equity developed by
John Rawls. The second one has a social approach, based on solidarity and
aiming at reducing the inequalities, in order to promote the capacities of
all human beings to contribute to general well being. This perspective is
not compatible with an economic system giving priority to the exchange
value aimed at capital accumulation and acting in the short time. On the
contrary, it is based on the priority of use value, which includes other
aspects than the market profit and adopts a long term vision for the
relations between human beings and nature (equilibrium of metabolism).

The second dimension is the idea of *Common Good*. Developed already by
Aristotle, it covers all what is necessary for the collective live of a
society: norms of common living and social behaviours, inter-communication,
public spaces, peace and security, harmony, all what transcends the purely
individual interests. Thomas of Aquino, influenced by the Greek
philosopher, made of the concept of Common Good the base of the social
ethics for Christians living at the turn of the medieval societies and at
the early beginning of market's urban economies. It became the backbone of
the Social Doctrine of most of the Christian Churches, especially in the
Catholic Church, with Leo XIII (neo-thomism). This appeared as a good
answer to socialism and even more to marxism, while still condemning the
injustices of the capitalist economy ("salvage capitalism" as qualified by
John Paul II). Indeed the achievement of Common Good was envisaged on a
moral base, thanks to the collaboration of all social groups.

Such a position allowed an analysis of the capitalist societies, not in
terms of social classes structurally linked by contradictory interests, but
in terms of social strata called to build together the society. It had the
advantage of negating the notion of class struggle, as a tool of analysis
and as a means of action and it confirmed the role of the Church as a moral
instance. Politically it bought about Christian Democracy.

In the present situation of crisis, the concept of *Common Good* has known
a new life. It is used by the struggles to restore public services. It
became part of the discourse of neo-keynesians rightly afraid of the
consequences of the economic turmoil. Post-neoliberal Governments in Latin
America use the word to justify their political practices. International
organizations like UNCTAD speak about "global common good". Surely there is
nothing wrong in emphasizing this concept, and in a short time it may be
useful to alleviate the fate of million of people. However it should not
serve as an argument to reproduce the existing economic system, with some
improvements.

This is why the notion of *Common Good of Humanity* (Birgit Daiber and
François Houtart, *A postcapitalist paradigm: the Common Good of Humanity*,
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Brussels, 2012) is proposed as a new paradigm
(fundamental orientation) of the collective life of Humanity on the planet.
It means the possibility of creating, reproducing and bettering life on
earth. This is proposed not in an idealistic platonic view, neither in the
tradition of utopian socialism, but in response to a system destructing the
earth and having adopted a sacrificial economy able to eliminate entire
social groups in name of progress. It is a radical critic of the kind of
modernity transmitted by the logic of the market and not completely
abandoned by the socialist experiences.

Concretely, it means to transform the four "fundamentals" of any society:
relations with nature; production of the material base of all life,
physical, cultural, spiritual; collective social and political organization
and culture. For the first one the transformation means to pass from the
exploitation of nature as a natural resource (merchandize) to the respect
of nature as the source of life. For the second one: to privilege use value
rather than exchange value, with all the consequences on the concept of
property. The third one implies the generalization of democratic practices
in all social relations and all institutions and finally interculturality
means to put an end to the hegemony of Western culture for the reading of
the reality and the construction of the social ethics. Elements of this new
paradigm, post-capitalist, are already present all over the world, in many
social movements and popular initiatives. Theoretical developments are also
produced. So, it is not a "utopian vision" in the pejorative sense of the
word. But an aim is necessary to organize the convergences of action. It is
a long term process which will ask the adoption of transitions, facing the
strength of an economic system ready to destroy the world before
disappearing. It means also that the structural concept of class struggle
is not antiquated (fiscal heavens and bank secrecy are some of its
instruments). Social protests, resistances, building of new experiences are
sources of real hope.

The concept of Common Good of Humanity is not in opposition to the notions
of Common Goods or of Common Good. It helps to give an orientation to the
concrete actions of both of them and therefore it adds a meaning and a
coherence for a fundamental transformation.

 *Promoting the social commons *(by Francine Mestrum)

All major international development organisations, from the World Bank over
the ILO and the European Commission, plan to promote social protection in
all developing countries. This may seem bizarre, since, at the same time,
social protection mechanisms are being dismantled in the region where they
first came about: Western Europe and Scandinavia. It is important to know,
then, that words do not have the same meaning for all, and the 'social
protection' of the World Bank is not the same as 'social protection', let
us say in Sweden. In other words, there are no 'welfare states' emerging in
Africa. But these plans are now being implemented and social movements have
largely been absent from the debates. Where are the alternatives? What can
we do to avoid social protection being at the service of markets?

 In today's world, more than one billion people are extremely poor, almost
half of the world's population is just poor, and inequality is soaring. In
many parts of the world, wages and labour conditions are particularly bad,
and social services are hardly available. This means we do need social
protection, though we should be prepared to re-think the formulas that were
invented a century ago. Political, economic and social circumstances are
now very different from what they were after the second world war, and no
country can find solutions and implement them efficiently on its own.
Popular demands have also changed.

We should be looking, then, for a new paradigm that offers economic and
social security for all. We may think in the direction of 'social commons',
since the needs of people, wherever they live and in whatever political or
economic regime, are all the same. We might find divergent solutions, but
there will always be common characteristics. 'Social commons' aim at
achieving a common good, a situation in which people are free, equal and
emancipated, in a world based on human rights and solidarity.

 *Read more :*

François Houtart, The Common Good of Humanity - Basic Text in six
languages:
http://rosalux-europa.info/publications/articles/common_good_of_humanity

Francine Mestrum, Promoting the Social Commons :
http://www.globaljustice.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=463:promoting-the-social-commons&catid=10:research&Itemid=13

Tommaso Fattori, The European Citizens' Initiative on Water and
'Austeritarian' Post-Democracy :
www.transform-network.net/journal/issue-122013.html

With very best wishes,

Yours

Birgit Daiber,  François Houtart,  Francine Mestrum,  Norbert Schepers

Brussels, Quito, Ginostra, Bremen, March 9, 2014

PS.

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              --
               *Norbert Schepers *
 Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung | Leiter des Regionalbüros Bremen |
Geschäftsführer der Rosa-Luxemburg-Initiative e.V.
Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Bremen | Breitenweg 25 | 28195 Bremen | Germany
         Telefon: +49 421 3909620 | Fax: +49 421 3909621
Mail: schepers at rosalux.de | Mobil: +49 172 4048640
              Web: www.rosalux.de | www.rosa-luxemburg.com |
twitter.com/rli_bremen
  Öffnungszeiten Büro: Dienstag bis Donnerstag, 10 bis 13 Uhr

                 *The Drone Wars - Die Drohnenkriege*
Lecture - Veranstaltung: http://norbert.schepers.info/p/the-drone-wars.html

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