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At Occupy London, at Labour Action for Peace and at Bromley Co-op Party we invite everyone to join with us in promoting, to implementation, audit and celebration the living plan for Co-operative Socialism.

And, thus, help create a Co-operative Commonwealth here in the UK. And thus help create the Co-operative Commonweal: The Wellness of All, in The Wellness of All.

So:  We invite all to examine, debate, adopt and promote thIs living plan for Co-operative Socialism.  Please invite us to answer your questions on the living plan for Co-operative Socialism. Just as Plaistow North Branch Labour Party in East Ham, and two Positive Money local branches (in Greenwich and Lewisham and in Tower Hamlets have already done).

To reply to this message, please go to Contact Us.

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This page needs updating......

 Co-operative Socialism - Updated Petition to UK Parliament.

Requesting a debate on the plan for Co-operative Socialism

From John Courtneidge

Refined Petition text: 6 February 2018

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Could you click the link to indicate your support for this *refined* petition text?

Click this link to sign the petition:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/207516/sponsors/new?token=Ou6LSq64dfIc7Fpu7Qu

Thanks!

John

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Ps: please, if you supported the earlier versions, please do so again.

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And remember that, if you do sign, you have then to confirm that: by clicking on a 'Confirm this' e-mail that you'll subsequently find in your e-mail Inbox.

Thanks!

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Here are the Petition details:

I’ve made a petition – will you sign it?

Click this link to sign the petition:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/207516/sponsors/new?token=Ou6LSq64dfIc7Fpu7Qu

My petition:

We request that the Government implement the plan for Co-operative Socialism.

A radically-different economic system, rather than capitalism, is needed to create a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. This Petition, therefore, invites all Members to debate the plan for Co-operative Socialism, details of which are collected at a relevant Occupy London web-page.

More can be found in the papers' section at www.interestfreemoney.org - Including the 'CCPA Reader on Co-operative Socialism'. For this Petition, we have created a new web-site, www.co-operativesocialism.org to cover five policy areas: Why and How Land Issues Workplace Issues Money, Finance and Banking Issues Income Issues A definition of 'Co-operative Socialism: a set of policies to help create the co-operative commonwealth: a world of human and ecological co-operative relationships.'

Click this link to sign the petition:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/207516/sponsors/new?token=Ou6LSq64dfIc7Fpu7Qu

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What Co-operative Socialism is:  My friend, Jyoti Pradhan, asks me to explain what Co-operative Socialism is. Here's my attempt: Well, it's quite straightforward: inequality of incomes is bad for everyone (see www.equalitytrust.org).
So Co-operative Socialism replaces these inequality-creating mechanisms!
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Capitalism increases inequality (the board game of 'Monopoly' was designed to show this). But Monopoly uses only two of the five mechanisms that capitalism uses. Those in Monopoly are Theft of economic resources and Rent (the thieves call Theft ' Ownership': in this case, Theft of Land and of 'frozen land', buildings).
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The other three mechanisms that capitalism uses are: Interest (from the Theft of the Law, by making usury /interest-charging legal); Profit (from the Theft of knowledge/ data/ information), and; Unequal Pay for work (from the Theft of Position: paid-work 'jobs' that pay higher-than-average incomes and pensions and which protect the uber-theives who have stolen Land, the Law and Knowledge/ data/ information. The acronym TRIP-UP helps to remember this (Theft, Rent, Interest, Profit, Unequal-Pay).
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CO-OPERATIVE SOCIALISM simply replaces these five mechanisms, as follows:
1) Co-operative Careship: rather than Theft ('Ownership') of economic resources
2) Fully-repairing 'leases'/time-limited, non-transferable contracts for Co-operative Careship: rather than rent
3) Interest-free, not-for-profit money/banking/finance systems, rather than debt+usury banking as at present
4) Appropriate Co-operatives as wealth-creating units, rather than for-profit capitalist firms and charities
5) Socially-determined income spread: based on a guaranteed 'Living Income For Everyone' (LIFE) as a base income for all and, if paid work is done, payment only up to a socially-determined maximum multiplier of the LIFE payment.
6) And necessary 'responsible neighbour' international economic arrangements.
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All this is in the plan and Reader on Co-operative Socialism in the papers' section at www.interestfreemoney.org  As to how this might come about: education, politics, kegislation, annual audit and celebration! All by Tuesday! Hope this helps!

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We know from social epidemiology eg The Spirit Level book and The Equality Trust - www.equalitytrust.org.uk -  that the amount of violence in a society increases as economic /income inequality increases. And that inequality has increased/ been increased since 1979. Put simply: happy people are, generally, not violent. And, as inequality increases, happiness decreases, so violence increases. We've been here before...

Before the First World War was declared in 1914, 'The Politics of The Act' was a feature of political life: bombs were thrown, and 'elite' individuals were shot and assassinated.

Barbara Tuchman's book, 'The Proud Tower', describes those events. As a result, inequality was decreased from the end of that war: from about 1920 onwards. Danny Dorling's books - www.dannydorling.org - display a U-shaped curve from 1900 to 2000: increased equality until 1979 then 'the counter revolution' of, first, neo-liberal capitalism and, now, neo-conservative capitalism. Both designed ' to make the 'rich' richer and the 'poor' poorer'. Which they did.

Now, just as the earlier era of  'The Politics of The Act', political acts of violence ('War as Regime Change' and 'Terrorism' as kick-back) are an *inevitable* consequence. The bombing in Manchester, and subsequent events in London, were not a matter of 'if': more a matter of 'when'. The responses of the frightened 'elites' will be/ are predictable. First Militarised Martial law. And the suspension of democracy.

Second, an (even greater) restriction on free speech (including public democratic politics: such as the suspension of General Election campaigning, as has happened, today and last Tuesday) and so on. For now I leave the question open as to whether the acts of Terrorism in the UK were coordinated. But, rather, turn to a positive response. So, as outlined in the first few sentences above:

1. If you wish for peace, you have to work for economic- and income-equality.
2. Capitalism cannot do that.

As the history of the last hundred years has shown, managed capitalism (fascism/Nazism on the political 'right' and 'Social Democracy' on the 'left'), both created more and more inequality. And thus more and more violence. So, what of 'not-caplitalism' . . . ? Or, rather, what of other 'Not-capitalism*s*'?

Well, first of all, the hierarchical, usually Marxism-inspired, Not-capitalisms have ended in tears (in the cases of Cuba, Noth Korea and China, time will tell). Which leaves us with Co-operative Socialism: a plan *specifically designed* to create (greater) equality and equity. And thus peace. Along with ecological responsibility and sustainability. Therefore: All that's now needed, is the implementation of the Plan for Co-operative Socialism. A Labour and Co-operative government at Westminster could do that. Hence the importance of the UK General Election, this coming Thursday 8th June 2017.

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The most direct action, it seems, is to wriite to your MP, or other elected representative, and ask if they support the present Plan for Co-operative Socialism.

Something like: Dear MP,
I'm writing to you as one of your Constituents to ask if you support the present Plan for Co-operative Socialism?

Details of which can be found by web-searching the term "Co-operative Socialism" or by visiting the papers' page at www.interestfreemoney.org or, with explanatory videos at http://occupylondon.org.uk/co-operative-socialism-by-john-courtneidge/

If YES you do support this plan for Co-operative Socialism, are you promoting it?  - to = for example - your Parliamentary colleagues and Constituency electors?

If, NO, you do not support this plan for Co-operative Socialism, could you please write to let me know why not - I will be sharing your reply with other people and groups.

Thank-you!

Don't forget to add your name, address and Post code. A letter through the post is much more likely to get a reply: a hand-written letter even more so. Ps you can find out who your MP in the UK is at www.theyworkforyou.com