I wanted to start a discussion and hopefully get some feedback on a project I feel we urgently need. I don't have a clear idea of what the finished project will look like or how we can get from here to there, but I wanted to share some of my ideas and hopefully have the community start to hash it out. Or hopefull point to a similar project that is already in the works.
What I think we need is a short concise guide to what we as citizens see as the most important and urgent issues we face. The guide should identify the key issues and show how they are interelated without a lot of jargon or history. My intuition is all the disparate issues from the environment, animal rights, women's rights, child labour, poverty, corporate dominance etc. eventually find their origin in a few key issues.
Our blessing and our curse is that most of us live relatively comfortable lives in which we can choose to be busy. This means that time for activism is limited. But the primary form of activism should not be taking time out of your day to participate in a march, wearing a button or attending a benefit concet. The primary form of activism should be how we live, where we work and most importantly how and where we spend our money.
In order for this form of activism to be effective it needs co-ordination and consensus. This will mean compromise. Focusing our collective weight on a few points of leverage is far more effective than the current state of small seperate movements. The left at the moment feels extremely disconnected. Which is sad because there are thousands of people working their asses off, to only marginal success.
I don't want to make this post too long, so I'll end with some starting questions:
What are the primary issues that should unite the left?
How do we create a process of building consensus? I like the idea of a wiki in which a document is continually updated.
Which issues are urgent and important, not urgent but important?
