Why Other Worlds?
The mission of Other Worlds is to document and educate about alternative models of social and economic relations. But alternatives to what? And why?
Between unprecedented levels of income inequality, devastating poverty, profound financial crisis, seemingly endless wars, torture financed by our tax dollars, and climate change, it is hard for most of us to believe that there is a fundamentally better way, much less a clear path to that better way. We can imagine more humane policies, maybe, but profound transformation?
It is no surprise that folks have a hard time seeing other worlds, other ways of organizing ourselves, other paths of turning hope into reality. In school, in the media, and in most of our institutions, we are told that - as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher famously said - “there is no alternative.” Conventional wisdom has it that the systems we have in place are the best, the most evolved and the natural way of the world. To want anything different is to be naïve, or dangerously deluded, or worse.
At Other Worlds, we don’t believe the hype – and we do believe that a better world is possible. Why? Because we’ve seen it. We’ve seen it bursting forth in popular movements worldwide, in communities both small and large. We’ve seen it in the factories of Argentina and the fields of Senegal. We’ve seen it in the victories for indigenous sovereignty in Ecuador and Bolivia and and for AIDS medicines in South Africa. We’ve seen glimpses of it in the U.S., from suffrage, to the birth of the modern labor movement, to civil rights. We’ve seen it in more equitable health care systems in Canada and throughout parts of Europe. We’ve seen it powered by wind and solar electricity, in the fair exchange of goods and services outside of the ‘free’ market, in farmers saving seeds, and forest stewards protecting watersheds. These experiences of sharing bounty and of honoring the earth have always existed, with greater or lesser impact, with greater or lesser longevity. With the failure of the current global system to create economic security for all but a very few, new alternative visions – and in some cases, practices - are now emerging. Together, they create a world where all worlds fit, where humanity can live in abundance, dignity, and happiness.
As one of our contemporary sheroes, Arundhati Roy, has said, “Not only is another world possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
In order to better hear her breathing… in order to know where to look and to distinguish between a system that truly challenges injustice, oppression, and poverty, and one that merely shines the shoes of the Old World Order… we need to understand the characteristics of the system we hope to see. There are a lot of ways to do this, and our favorite is to tell stories. We at Other Worlds are writing, tape recording, photographing, and publicizing some of these stories for sharing, and you’ll read a few of them in this booklet. But right here, we’ll give it to you as straight as we can. The emerging systems we are bringing to light have, or strive to have, some or all of these features:
1) Participatory Democracy. Everyone participates in constructing our new worlds without leaving others behind. We make decisions and policies through informed and active participation of all, instead of through the non-representative will of the few.
2) Self-determination. Every people has the right to define its own path. Decisions regarding governance, political priorities, and the use of resources are in the control of local, representative bodies.
3) Sharing. As opposed to impoverishment of the many and the enrichment of the few, everyone’s material needs are met. Excess goods are distributed to those in need. Basic resources such as water, land, and food are within everyone’s reach.
4) Diversity. Diverse cultures, ecosystems, and people are valued as important in and of themselves, and as crucial to sustaining a healthy society and planet. There is no one right way or society to which everyone should conform. Looking around us, we indeed see many worlds co-existing.
5) Collective social relations. Power pyramids are flattened as much as possible to allow the participation and voice of all. What leadership exists is accountable to the rest. Different people play different roles according to the capacity of each, but none is valued above others.
6) Equality. No person’s well-being is sacrificed for the benefit of others. Instead of living with race, class and gender privilege, people live in relationships based on equal rights and collective responsibilities. All have equal rights, opportunities, and input.
7) Ecological sustainability. We respect nature and do our best to live in harmony with it. We share sustainable stewardship and use of natural resources. We work with nature, rather than against it, through practices such as sustainable farming, protection of aquifers, and reduced consumption.
8) Peace. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, peace is not the mere absence of armed conflict. It is the elimination of institutionalized violence through transformative justice.
9) Telling our own stories. An African proverb says, “Until the lion tells his own story, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." Much of what is destructive in the world lives on in our language, in our received histories, and in the narratives in which these histories are embedded. The stories we tell, and the words we use to tell them, help us to define our past and envision our future. Part and parcel of building another world is the need to continuously and collectively evolve new language and new stories to narrate this world into existence.
10) Human rights. Everyone has a right to health, adequate food, dignity, shelter, and freedom from violence and coercion; one’s own language, culture, and religion; civil liberties; meaningful input in the governance of our societies; employment; and a share of the abundance and resources of our land and communities.
In order to get there, we need to protect the full range of political, economic, and social rights of everyone. We believe it’s important to recognize that elements of all of these principles are already evident in our everyday lives and relationships. At the same time, we recognize that it’s daunting to envision such a radically different society, let alone to bring it into being. But by participating in and supporting the movements of people in our own localities and around the world; by sharing others’ stories and knowing that we are a part of them; and by recognizing that our hopes for transformation are bound up with the work of people everywhere for hope, dignity, and justice; we infuse life into these other worlds, one breath at a time.
