Achieving a Livable, Peaceful WorldSummary of main pointsCopyright 1998, 1999 by Richard K. Moore, All Rights Reserved Part I traces the origin of today's global system from the perspectives of national power, political elites, and the evolution of capitalism. The dynamics of capitalism are analyzed, revealing that periods of growth are punctuated by intentional changes in the societal regime, aimed at creating new investment vehicles and a new round of capital growth. The dynamics of capitalism thus lead to the rise of elites who, by necessity, regularly engage in societal engineering and hence drive societal evolution. National rivalries, expressed as competitive imperialism, have served to increase elite wealth while at the same time creating a de facto partnership between capitalism and popular nationalism. Post-1945 decolonization, I argue, was actually the collectivization of Western imperialism under an updated regime protected by the pax-Americana umbrella. This collectivization severed the nation-capital bond, led to the proliferation of transnational corporations, and established the foundations of globalization. Globalization is shown to be an elite project designed to jettison democracy (limited though it is), disempower Western societies, and consolidate elite power in a global regime. My analysis anticipates that unrestrained growth will be ultimately abandoned by the elite, leading to a more feudal form of elite tyranny. Part II begins with the premise that capitalism and elite power must be replaced before it is too late. A framework for a livable world is developed based on the fundamental principles of sustainability and stability, functional democracy, and a stable world order. Robust democracy and sustainable economics, I argue, must be based on models of localism, collaboration, and harmonization rather than centralization, competition, and factionalism. Chapter 6 investigates the question of post-capitalist world order. The origins of international conflict are analyzed historically and aggressive nationalism is shown to arise from non-democratic regimes and non-sustainable economics. Harmonious international collaboration, I argue, can be expected to arise naturally from democratic and sustainable nations. Strong world government is shown to be inherently unstable, counter-democratic, and prone to giving rise to power brokering and new forms of elite power.
Part III tackles the problem of how to bring about the global transformation of societies. I argue that the transformation must occur within Western societies and that the traditional avenue of party politics is both inaccessible and inappropriate for this purpose. The history of social movements is examined, and factors are identified which determine their success and failure. Resistance to globalization is widespread and these efforts are shown to be a sound basis for building a transformative mass movement. But factionalism must be overcome and the movement must be informed with a deeper understanding of democracy, sustainability, capitalism, and elite stratagems -- especially that of co-option. The movement must be based on localism, collaboration, and harmonization, and as it develops I argue that it will itself become the basis of a strong civil society and a robust democratic process. Chapter 9 deals with the implementation of societal transformation -- making a smooth transition from elite tyranny and capitalism to democracy and sustainability.
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