Posts Tagged ‘capitalism’

REPORT FROM THE FIELD – SRI LANKA

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

[This is my first report from this visit to Sri Lanka. The situation over here has become very dangerous – people are being attacked and killed for speaking out. Because of what is in this report, I want to make it clear that the thoughts expressed herein are MINE and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of Sarvodaya and/or its leadership.]

Howdy –

In a recent article, the fair and objective “International Crisis Group” (ICG) laid out the problem of the continuing war in Sri Lanka and its devastating consequences for civilians trapped by both sides in the fighting. (Please review this article by Lakhdar Brahimi at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6013&l=1. For a recent “Conflict Risk Alert” on the Sri Lanka humanitarian crisis by ICG, click here: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5974&l=1.)

However, calling on the parties that have been so committed to violence to end their mutually destructive campaigns is a plea that will fall upon deaf ears. It will not be heard.

Both the Government and the Tamil Tigers have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to injure or kill civilians in order to achieve short-sighted aims. I see no evidence that this will change. The over 70,000 war dead in Sri Lanka were not killed by accident – they were killed by INTENTION. That intention to commit acts of violence, on both sides, continues.

BLOOD-LUST – AMERICA AND SRI LANKA

The Southern part of Sri Lanka is currently gripped by blood-lust. The drums of war drown out all reason. This is similar to what gripped America at the start of the Iraq War. And, like the Americans, once the blood-lust wears off and the Sinhalese people see the true cost of this war, they will question whether what was gained was worth our young men and women, our treasury and our souls.

The war in Iraq bankrupted America. It is the leading cause of our catastrophic economic free-fall to the bottom. We are seeing a tidal wave of soldiers returning from Iraq with broken bodies, broken spirits and broken souls. Drug abuse, suicide, broken families, post-traumatic stress — we are paying the price for our arrogance. This is the price of yielding to the blood-lust. After the orgy comes the hangover.

The war in Sri Lanka is bankrupting this country, financially and spiritually.

The blood-lust of the South is mirrored by maniacal martyrdom in the North. Sitting on ever-shrinking territory in the North, the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) appear gripped with a fanatical fatalism – a willingness to not only martyr themselves, but also sacrifice up to 150,000 of their fellow Tamils. Under the guise of “protection”, they imprison these trapped innocents, turning them into unwilling pawns, negotiating points and human shields.

THE PROBLEM OF POWER

Unfortunately, this situation is not unique. The deplorable situation for civilians here in the Sri Lanka War Zone is played out all around the world. On every continent, governments have shown themselves to be at odds with the people they allegedly govern. People like Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Al-Bashir in the Sudan or Kim Jong-il in North Korea are but three examples among many, examples of leaders willing to sacrifice their own citizens as pawns in a mad chess game. Increasingly, government is the problem, not the solution.

THE PARADOX OF “AID”

In this context, international helping agencies often become the enablers of government violence, greed and waste. Here in Sri Lanka, the government attempts to borrow over a billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), after spending over a billion dollars on war and violence.

For their part, the LTTE has collected hundreds of millions of dollars from the worldwide Tamil diaspora. Instead of investing these funds for the uplift of the Tamil people, they invested in ever-increasing war and violence.

Both government and insurgent share the same attitude:

“We’ll buy what we want (war, violence, corruption), and beg for what we need (food, water, shelter and education for our citizens).”

The reason I call this a “paradox” is this: what does a compassionate person do, when faced with human need? Yes, governments in Zimbabwe, Sudan, Sri Lanka and elsewhere OUGHT to feed their people, but DON’T. It falls upon strangers to do so. And, these same compassionate groups become targets of criticism and violence when they point out that they are doing what the governments will not. (The Sri Lankan Defense Minister recently lashed out at international aid groups. For his comments, click here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7961088.stm.)

THIS MUST CHANGE.

But how? How do you change a government (or an insurgency) that has no intention to change? How do you change more than the personalities – how do you change the SYSTEM of governance itself?

In the past, the answer to this question was simple: get guns and wage a violent revolution, a struggle for “liberation”. History teaches that the violent insurgents become the next violent government, willing to oppress its own citizens.

Something that I state often in my conflict resolution classes: “Whatever tool you are willing to use against your “enemy” is the same tool you will eventually use against your “friend”.”

If asking government to change doesn’t work, and violence is out of the question (for spiritual, moral and practical reasons), what do we do?

CRAFTING A WORLDWIDE SOLUTION – BUILDING THE RELATIONAL SOCIETY

The basic problem is that our “leaders” act as though they are not in RELATIONSHIP with their citizens. They act out of EXCLUSIVITY.

We can ask them to change. (The success rate on that is not high.) Or, WE CAN CHANGE OURSELVES.

Right now, people around the world are creating a new, alternative governing and economic structures. Rather than relying on our past “-isms” (either “capitalism” or “communism”), people are waking up to the need to create NEW, human scale institutions, grounded in universal principles of love, compassion, sharing, humility and inclusivity. These new forms are not threats to the existing forms of governance – they are supplements.

Around the world, people are looking for ways to deepen democracy by including previously excluded voices (including ethnic and religious minorities, as well as socially/culturally unpopular groups). People are learning that exclusion and domination of others is the recipe for violent reaction. People are learning that, by coming together, we can harness the power most overlooked by traditional governments – the power of the human spirit.

Around the world, people are building new institutions of economic relationship. We are learning that practicing a “relational economics” yields results that are not only economically fair but also spiritually satisfying. People are learning that there is more to life than money.

My job, here in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, is to observe, strengthen and catalyze these transformations.

We humans are awakening to some fundamental realities:

  • Our “Motherland” is the entire Earth, not one little tiny corner of it.
  • Our “Family” is the entire human species, and all other species, combined. There are no “Others”.
  • Our “task” is to carry out the teachings of our wisdom teachers (including Jesus and the Buddha), to NOT CAUSE HARM TO ANY SENTIENT BEING, ESPECIALLY HUMAN BEINGS. Our wisdom teachers have told us that there are ALWAYS alternatives to violence. But, it is hard to hear this when the blood-lust is ringing in our collective ears.

The Commonway approach focuses on the long term. In the current context, we are reduced to asking the parties not to do what’s right, but to do the least amount of harm as they follow their own selfish interests.

Twenty years ago, we watched the collapse of Communism as a political and economic entity. Now, we watch the collapse of Capitalism. I firmly believe that the Commonway approach represents the next evolutionary step in human governance and represents a deepening of democracy and the creation of a relational form of economics.

LOST HORIZON

In closing, I quote “Father Bero”, the mythical “high lama” from the 1930’s classic movie “Lost Horizon”. (If you haven’t seen the restored version of this film, it’s time to update your Netflix cue!) I quoted this text in a message from Sri Lanka two or three years ago – it’s still relevant.

“What madness there is, what blindness, what unintelligent leadership! A scurrying mass of bewildered humanity, crashing headlong against each other, propelled by an orgy of greed and brutality.

A time must come when this orgy will spend itself, when brutality and the lust for power will perish by its own sword.

When that day comes, the world must look for a new life, a way of life based on one simple rule: be kind.

When the strong have devoured each other, the Christian ethic may at last be fulfilled, and the meek shall inherit the earth.”

(Father Bero, the High Lama in “Lost Horizon”.)

[Reminder: the “Christian” ethic is also the “Buddhist” ethic, the “Muslim” ethic…]

THE NEED FOR MORAL LEADERSHIP

Just as America is emerging from its orgy of violence in Iraq, finding itself depleted and soul-scarred, Sri Lanka one day will do so.

Americans turned to Barack Obama as a leader who was not tainted by the blood-lust, who had the courage to speak out, even when it was not popular to do so. Similarly, Sri Lankans will be searching for such leadership, once the blood-lust fades.

Once people start seeing clearly again, I believe that the people themselves, Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim together, will create a Society of the Spirit, for a world that works for all.

Peace,

Dr. Sharif Abdullah

Executive Director

Commonway Institute

PS: What’s the “Dr.” all about? No, I haven’t been taking courses from a “university” I found on a matchbook cover. I am resolving a conundrum that has been with me throughout my international travels.

In America, recipients of the juris doctor degree are generally referred to as “attorney”, not “doctor”. However, since I no longer practice law, referring to me as “attorney” is misleading.

In other parts of the world, a person with a doctorate (which I have) who teaches at the graduate level at a university (which I do) is referred to as “doctor”. And, I have it on the highest authority (Wikipedia!) that even in the US, holders of the “terminal” degree of juris doctor can and do refer to themselves as “doctor” when they are teaching.

Here in Sri Lanka, as in most of the world, referring to someone by their professional title is both respectful and clarifying. (It takes a lot of explaining as to why I have a doctorate and I teach, but I don’t refer to myself as “Dr. Sharif”.)

So, I’m doing this for clarity, not for ego. Those of you who know me personally can still refer to me as… Your Highness. (Don’t forget to genuflect…)

If you want to check out the Wikipedia article on the subject, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juris_Doctor.

PPS: As usual, please feel free to re-post this as you see appropriate.

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Obama Voters: The Task is Not Yet Done

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

MEMORANDUM

TO: THOSE WHO VOTED FOR BARACK OBAMA
FR: SHARIF ABDULLAH
DT: TODAY
RE: CREATING AN “OBAMA MOVEMENT”: THE TASK IS NOT YET DONE.

Congratulations. With your vote, you have achieved something that has never been done before in history (on multiple levels). Next week, on January 20th, take a moment to savor this truly transformative moment in history.

Then, on January 21st, stop savoring. You’ve got more work to do.

I believe that you voted for Barack Obama because you truly wanted change in our society. I believe Obama when he said that YOU, that each of us, is responsible for making this change happen.

So, let’s get started.

We can wait for Obama to get around to thinking about societal transformation, or we can act on our own collective vision. (I personally think that “The Boss” is going to have his hands full for a long while. I think the financial collapse/ transformation is going to take up a lot more of his attention than most of us realize right now. I believe this crisis is MUCH WORSE than anyone is letting on right now.)

So, it’s time to act on our vision. But, first, we need to HAVE a collective vision.

What is the vision of our society, as we enter the 21st Century? Where will that vision come from? The Left? The Right? Or, will the vision be forged in a heart-felt dialog of the whole?

Most of us haven’t taken the time to think about a vision and comprehensive, sustainable strategy. We rely on outmoded concepts of decades (or even centuries) ago. We get all worked up over concepts like “Progressive” or “Conservative” – the men (!) who came up with those concepts never experienced life in the 21st Century.

Narrow Issues or Broad Vision?
I am frankly disappointed by what some Obama supporters have been putting up on the Obama website (www.change.gov). He has been asking for ideas and input to the “Citizen’s Briefing Book”. Some of the ideas are “good”, many are “mediocre” and almost none are “visionary” or “transformative”. Going through scores of comments, most of them were about “gay marriage” or “legalizing marijuana”. Regardless of my personal feelings on either subject, neither of these narrow issues will get us to a society that works for all.

I am also less than interested in supporting or opposing any particular legislative agenda or bill. Congress is not going to solve our problems… we are. I am not concerned about “Health Care” or “Transportation” or “Social Security”. I am concerned about the values, vision and direction of our society.

We’re not going to LEGISLATE our way to a transformed society. We are not going to float to safety on a raft woven together out of narrow “Progressive” (or “Conservative”) issues. We need a broad, inclusive vision. In the words of Lincoln: “As our cause is new, we must now think anew and act anew”.

Our Beginning…
It’s time for us to develop a vision for our future. It’s time for some follow-through. In this time of new beginnings, it is time for YOU to begin.

So, what do you do, starting on 21 January? Here are three steps (a nice easy number to start with).

1. Let Go
2. Search for a Common Vision
3. Dialogs for a Common Future

1. LET GO.
You can’t reach the far shore by holding on to the familiar. Letting go of the familiar can feel frightening, but it can also feel exhilarating. Not letting go means that you are trapped within the bars of your own prison.

In some tropical societies, people eat monkeys. They trap them by cutting a small hole into a gourd, dropping in a piece of fruit, staking the gourd to the ground, and waiting. A monkey will come by, stick its hand in for the fruit and try to withdraw both its hand and the fruit. The trapper simply walks up, sticks the squealing, struggling monkey into a bag, then off to the stew-pot. At any time, the monkey can escape by simply letting go of the piece of fruit. It is not trapped by the gourd – it is trapped by its greed and desires. The monkey is trapped by its inability to let go.

What traps you? Where do you need to “let go”? Here are 2 suggestions:

a. Let go of “Progressive” and “Conservative” labels
b. Let go of “Normal”

a. Let go of “Progressive” and “Conservative” labels.
These labels represent old thinking that Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson would be comfortable with. These figments of our imagination used to carry meaning and weight – now, they are just lazy ways of thinking. These labels of separation provide a false identity and an equally false sense of community. They get in the way of us figuring out what we need to do, together, as we face this turbulent 21st Century. Having a nice sounding, convenient “lazy” label means that you don’t have to answer the difficult questions:

• What the key values that you hold in common?
• What is your common vision of a sustainable future that works for all (including people who don’t like you)?
• What are you willing to sacrifice to realize this envisioned future?

I am neither “Progressive” nor “Conservative”. (I’m also not a Whig, nor a Tory, nor any other outmoded conceptual label.) I am a MENDER. What does that mean? It means that I am committed to catalyzing a society with INCLUSIVITY as our highest value. I am committed to working with EVERYONE ELSE who shares this value. I am committed to working FOR all other beings – whether or not they share my values or my vision. I am committed to fixing this Mess – regardless of who created it.

I am committed to a world that works for all.

The Lifeboat:
Assume that you are in a life boat with 50 people. There’s enough food and water on board for about half that number. It’s leaking. Ten of the folks on the boat are committed “Progressives”. Ten are committed “Conservatives”. And 30 are just watching television, or wondering when someone is going to come along and feed them.

How would you organize the lifeboat for the good of all? What tools will you use? Do your labels of “Progressive” or “Conservative” mean anything in the context of a leaky lifeboat?

If you are sitting in a leaky lifeboat without enough food or water for all the inhabitants, the first thing you work on is NOT “gay marriage” or a “flat tax”. Note: I am not saying that either gay marriage or a flat tax are inherently bad ideas. I’m just saying that, if your house is on fire, you don’t worry about vacuuming the rugs. And, if you are vacuuming the rugs, it’s because you don’t believe that the house is on fire.

b. Let go of “Normal”.
We must let go of concepts like “emergency” and “crisis”. These concepts imply that there is a “normal” we are trying to get back to, once our “emergency” is over. For example: our present financial crisis is not a problem that we need to “fix” and then we can go back to “normal”. We need to see this for what it is: a major collapse and restructuring of our basic economy, a restructuring of how we choose to relate to each other.

Twenty years ago, “Communism” collapsed. It went from being the second most powerful political economy to being an historical footnote. And good riddance.

Now, it’s “Capitalism’s” turn. And good riddance. These man-made structures, based on fundamentally flawed consciousness (“I am separate”) must pass away, if we are to achieve a world that works for all. It’s time for a NEW POLITICAL ECONOMY.

We saw what happened to Communism. We could have spent our time preparing. We had 20 years to put a new economy together, test-drive it, put together seeding experiments… we had 20 years to prepare for a soft landing. We squandered that time. ALL OF US squandered our lead. Many of us wasted time in an orgy of financial gluttony. Others wasted time pointing fingers, blaming others, various conspiracy theories, feeding the fires of fear. And now, we still have the task in front of us… with only a few months to spare.

For the past decade, I have had the honor of working toward a new political economy with Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne and the rest of the Sarvodaya Movement in Sri Lanka. We’ve been working to blend the VISIONARY with the PRACTICAL, for a new direction – beyond war and violence (“Progressive” values) and toward small government and personal/community responsibility (“Conservative” values). (More on this in a subsequent blog.)

2. Search for a Common Vision.

Our Founders articulated a simple but immense Vision: out of the shadows of monarchy and feudalism, the Founders envisioned a society where all humans were equal, and had rights that no human could alienate, because no human provided them. I still find the boldness and straightforwardness of this vision truly amazing.

However, because of their personal shortcomings and weaknesses, the Founders never enacted that vision. Instead, they created a world where the “rights” of humans with different colored skin or different genitalia could be alienated on a whim. A democracy of, by and for privileged white males. The turbulent and often tragic history of the United States has been scarred by their inability to enact their vision.

It’s time to move a collective vision forward again. All of us, together, must start the task of articulating our common vision, common values and common goals. All of us, as humans on this planet, must start the task of articulating a common vision for humanity.

A Vision of the Spirit
Our common vision must be infused with Spirit. (No, I am NOT talking about “religion”, or who gets to utter what prayer at which Inaugural function.)

As an Obama supporter, I know you’ve felt that Spirit. I know you felt the promise of our times in the weeks preceding the election. I know you felt that Spirit on Election Day itself, as we witnessed spontaneous outpourings of joy all across the country and across the world.

And… I know that the last few weeks have been a bit of a let-down, as we watch Obama being slowly gobbled up by the Beltway Bureaucracy. On Tuesday, 20 January, Obama stops being a free agent and starts exercising his Constitutionally mandated (and limited) role. But, remember: WE ARE STILL FREE AGENTS! We can, we must, and we will envision and enact a collective, Spirit driven future. As Obama is the SYMBOL of change; we shall be the AGENTS of change.

3. Dialogs for a Common Future
The dialog movement in America is alive and well. Dialogic processes at the local level are how people have begun to reach out to their neighbors. The role that government, the Church and social organizations played in the past, the dialog movement performs now. Its how people have begun to clarify what is important. Its how people have revived the lost arts of conversation, discourse and finding common ground.

And no, I’m not talking about “talk radio”, the equivalent to shouting into a darkened room.

Now, it’s time we started “dialogs with teeth”. Dialogs with meaning. Dialogs as though our future depended on each other. I see dialogs on:

• Food, Water & Energy Security
• Forging a Common Vision (the precursor to a long overdue Constitutional Convention)
• Elements of a New Economy
• Our universal moral/spiritual principles.

It’s our country. It’s our moment. We sit in the potential of a movement. Let’s get to work! Starting on January 21st, 2009, let’s work to make that potential real!!

Peace,

Sharif

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America’s Financial Crisis: A Real Solution

Monday, October 6th, 2008

Howdy–

We are unable to grasp the magnitude of the problem.  In America’s financial tsunami, the real wave hasn’t even hit us yet.

Several years ago, in the prelude to the horrific tsunami in Sri Lanka, the water went OUT, instead of coming in.  People were startled by seeing the shore line recede, sometimes hundreds of yards, and were delighted that they could walk out into the now dry ocean floor and pick up fish.  People were standing there, amused, amazed and bewildered at this site, when the water returned — with a vengeance.

We are similarly stunned by the news of financial turmoil on Wall Street and elsewhere.  So much is happening, so fast, that the collapse of two major banks just in the past few days barely registers in our consciousness.  Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, last week Washington Mutual and a short while ago, Wachovia.  Americans watch this carnage, but don’t react.  This is because we don’t know HOW to react.  It’s like being in a redwood forest, watching the giant trees crashing all around you.  But, so far, they’re not crashing on you.  So, what do you do?  Do you run for cover?  Do you stay put?  Do you make some popcorn, get a lawn chair, and enjoy the spectacle?

What is the real problem? (You may not like my answer.)

The problem is NOT mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps, collateral debt obligations, or any of the other gobbledygook cobbled together by Wall St. whiz kids.  Yes, they have created a wall of opacity compounded by incomprehensibility.  But, that’s not the problem.  The problem is not even “greedy” corporate CEO’s with golden parachutes.

The real problem is… you and me.  I say this for 3 reasons:

1.  We have created a society that profits from greed and waste.  Wall St. didn’t create it, we ALL are complicit in its creation.  (Yes, some of us are more complicit than others, but that does not change the fact that almost all of us participated in this orgy.)  Every one of us who bought a bigger than needed car or house (“We just needed a little more room”), who lingered over those advertisements for the $80,000 car or the $10,000 watch (even if you didn’t BUY it, your lingering created the ALLURE, the DESIRE of the unattainable) contributed to the “you can have it all” mentality.  We look at these huge Wall St. hogs, all lined up at the trough.  Although we are just little piglets, we are lined up at the same trough.

2.  We have created a nation of debt.  We ALL created it.  Our political and economic leaders have mortgaged our children’s future to pay for their addiction-induced wild partying.  (In my book, “Creating a World That Works for All”, I talk about money addiction as the only form of addiction where the supply of the addicting substance is completely controlled by the addicts themselves.)  But, our leaders are US.  Don’t you run your household on a debt basis?  Don’t your credit cards, car bills and mortgage greatly exceed your fixed assets?  That bubble had to pop at some point in time.  What you’re seeing is simply the check that has finally come due.

3.  We maintained the silly belief that we could grow forever, without any consequences.  In Nature, the only entity that grows forever is cancer.  And that is only until it kills its host.  But, we said, “We’re different.”  Now, as it turns out, we’re not.

The real problem is not an economic or financial crisis.  Our real problem is a moral and spiritual crisis that has manifested itself, this time, in the financial arena.  And, in these troubling times, we lack the moral and spiritual leaders and institutions to even address it – most of our “religious” institutions are just as complicit in this crisis as we are.  Our “religious” leaders looked the other way as the collection plates filled up and the “churches” get larger, fancier — and richer.  It’s hard to denounce greed and money addiction when you are the direct beneficiary of it.

It is time for confession, repentance and forgiveness.  All of us.

As a pre-condition of any bailout or rescue, the CEO and senior officers of each troubled institution should go before the public and confess their addiction.  Confess how greed, the quest for power, the addiction of having MORE drove them to make risky and foolish gambles.  Promise that, if given another chance, they won’t do it again.  (And no, this public confession shouldn’t be used in a lawsuit – that’s just more of the same old mindset.)  If they aren’t willing to admit their addiction… don’t bail them out.

Without confession and a sincere request for forgiveness, the responsible actors will simply do the same thing all over again.  They are ADDICTED.  Addicted to money, addicted to power, addicted to “more is better”, addicted to “having it all”, with no consequences.

People who are drug addicted will do anything for the next fix.  They will jeopardize their health, their family, even their lives for the sake of their “high”.  Addicts lie, cheat, steal, even sell their own children to satisfy their addiction.  The money addicts go one step further – they are willing to sacrifice the health of their entire country for their money fix.

The addiction of the Wall St. players has just been exposed.  They have nowhere to hide.  So, what do we do?  The “bailout” offers the drug addicts all the heroin they can shoot, no (few) strings attached.  That’s what the bailout is… a free supply of highly addictive drugs.

There must be an answer.  This crisis is too important to do nothing.  But, the “bailout” is worse than doing nothing.  With our collective house on fire, Congress shows up with a tanker truck filled with gasoline.

After the confession, what comes next?

The Democrats talk about “re-regulation”.  The Republican mantra is “de-regulation”.  Both miss the point.  Instead of taking over the “toxic” debts, leaving them free to screw up again, the answer is to take over the BANKS.  The answer is to turn our nation’s banking system into a “Mondragon” type system, where the banks are owned by the people, managed by the people, and exist to start small, human-scale businesses.  (If the CEO’s of these financial institutions were people like you and me, they wouldn’t have any multi-million dollar salaries in the first place.)

Think this sounds too much like “socialism”?  Well, get over it.  “Socialism” is just fine when it is the rich and powerful who receive the benefits of state welfare.  Here in the 21st Century, it’s time for us to move beyond the “Breaker” concepts of “capitalism” and “communism”.  (Even the Communists aren’t communist anymore!)

Creating a “Mondragon” style banking system would mean a complete restructuring of our economic system, converting down to a system that works by and for the people, and is understood by regular human beings.  This will mean a lot fewer millionaires – and a lot fewer bankruptcies.

Our economy, every part of it, must be re-oriented away from greed and material acquisition.  Our entire society must be re-oriented toward the most pressing problems of our times: ending violence in all its forms, and healing the harm that humans have done to this planet.  With all of us pulling in the same direction, with all of us providing leadership and a high moral example for the rest of the world, we can achieve truly great things.

If, though, we keep up our current delusional excesses, we will be a different kind of example to the world: what NOT to do.  What we do, at this time, is our choice.  Let’s choose wisely…

Peace,

Sharif

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