From: fayez <fayezaam@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, Feb 13, 2010 at 12:53 PM
Subject: [bangla-vision] Appeal on the Copenhagen (Denmark) 2009-UN World Summit On global Warming Or
To: bangla-vision@yahoogroups.com
To
Hon'ble Secretary General
United Nations Organization
New York.
Dear Sir.
The enclosed Appeal on the Copenhagen (Denmark) 2009-UN World Summit On global Warming Or
Climate Change is being sent to you for your kind perusal. The central idea of this Appeal emphasises
That the Human Community is facing the most threatening life or death challenge of climate change in its history. The basic cause of this crisis, in our view, rests with the prevailing unjust and irrational Corporate Social System, while the immediate one lies in its Anti-environment and Anti-human Corporate Policies --with the sociological reason residing in Adam Smith's irrational economic principle that "man is selfish by nature"--- a proposition contrary to the reality of Man's bio-social character. A realistic answer to this crisis, in our view, can only come from a Nature-Human Centric Agenda. Your goodself is requested that a copy of the enclosed Appeal be kindly provided to each Hon'ble Head of the Govt for his study and necessary disposal.
With highest regards and best wishes and thanking you in anticipation. Please Acknowledge.
Yours Truly
Sd/
Sajjan Kumar
Senior Member,
Editorial Board
Nature-Human Centric Viewpoint
E-mail:--sajjan_nhcpm@reddiffmail.com
An Appeal
Submitted Through UNO's Secretary General
To
2009-UN World Summit Of The Heads Of National Govts
On The Question Of Responding To The Challenge
Of Global Warming Or Climate Change
* * *
The Writing On The Wall Is Very Clear
`Existence Or Extinction'
Choose Whichever You Like
Reality Does Not Provide Any Third Choice
National Govts Practice Of Past 37 Years (1972-2009)
Had Gone In Favour Of Second Option
* * * *
The Present Copenhagen (Denmark) Summit Provides Us The Last Chance
Please Donot Lose This Opportunity
And Try To Make This Summit A Turning Point
In Securing Our Future
* * * * *
There Is Still Some Possibility Of Saving The Planet Earth And Its Bio-Life
Provided The Human Community Immediately Adopts
A Realistic And Relevant Nature-Human Centric Agenda
* * * * * *
1. A Fatal Challenge Of Global Warming Or Climate Change
On Our Planet Earth
This appeal is being addressed to you at a time when the human community along with other bio-phenomena on this earth is confronted with the most serious Challenge Of Global Warming Or Climate Change in its existential history. Broadly, it is a two-dimensional crisis, i. e., the crisis of environmental degradation in general, and each of its components in particular, on the one hand, and the crisis of dehumanization of the present human society (called a "free and open democracy" with its over 2.5 centuries old theory and practice) in general and each of its social aspects [i. e., sociological or ideological or theoretical) vision or standpoint ;peoples belief and motivation; human reproductive process or the problem of human population ; human gender relations and proportion of sexes ; political performance (covering its international, national and local aspects) ; economic progress dealing with its international, national and local features and cultural ethics relating to all its components, i.e., education, science and technology, language, art, (music, dance, drama, architecture, sculpture ,painting, crafts, etc.), manner of speech, dress, behaviour pattern showing its positive and negative sides, etc.], on the other.
The Challenge is so serious and furious that, if humankind failed to defuse it in the shortest possible time, the former will turn the entire bio-phenomena on the earth upside down.
The United Nations Inter-Governmental Panel On Climate Change (UNIPCC) in its (Nov 12-17,2007) meeting has issued its strongest warning yet on climate change that world governments only have a few years left to avert the worst impacts of the challenge of Global Warming Or Climate Change, which is further repeated by WWF.
Since its origin, human community has come across innumerable crises. And it has always succeeded in overcoming them through its rationality, ingenuity and practical common sense.
It is well –known that every crisis presents a threat as well as an opportunity. Human community had always seized upon the opportunity, countered the threat and thus overcome all crises.
The reason why human community had been able to overcome all the past crises and to seize upon the opportunity in every crisis rests with the fact that the former had always followed the scientific formula of managing them by first analyzing the respective character and the cause of each one (i.e., the crisis). The whole human historical experience concerning every problem demonstrates that, only after identifying the nature and cause, one can handle it properly.
- Issue Of Global Warming
Or Climate Change (Environmental Degradation)
The issue 0f Global warming or climate change denotes that our globe is becoming warmer and our climate is undergoing change towards warmness. This is happening due to a rapidly increasing change in our climate. Climate means condition of a place or body with regard to temperature (i. e., heat or cold). Air is a fluid which we breath. It is a mixture of gases, such as Oxygen, Nitrogen, Argon, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitro-Oxides, etc. When a change occurs in the combination of gases, it results in change first in temperature and then in climate. If climate becomes warmer or colder beyond a given point, no bio-life can exist in that condition. Now, due to the increase in greenhouses gases (i. e., carbon-dioxide, Methane and Nitro-oxides), our climate is constantly becoming warmer and we are fastly heading towards a situation where the existence of any form of bio-life on our planet would become impossible.
This deadly challenge to all bio-life, including human, on our planet earth, is now staring the human community in the face. The 4 reports made by the UNIPCC on global warming, while identifying its basic cause in the world govts' energy generating technology, have said that either the human community, by uniting itself as one entity, smashes this challenge and saves itself and other bio-phenomena or by keeping itself divided and half-hearted goes deep down the drain and gets itself along with other bio-life smashed for ever. There is no other way out.
i. The Deadly Challenge Of Climate Change
Began To Arise Only 250 Years Before
The UNIPCC report clearly states that the planet earth was pollution-free before the advent of capitalism some 300 years back. By1750, pollution began to appear. The expert reports point out that increase in Green Houses Gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitro-oxides) concentration, was primarily because of fossil fuel use and land use change. While the increase in carbon dioxide was due to fossil fuel use, the methane and nitro-oxides concentration was because of agriculture. In particular, the increase in carbon dioxide concentration from 280 ppm( part per million) in 1750 to 379 ppm in 2007 is far greater than the natural increase ( from 180ppm to 300ppm) over the last 650,000 years.
According to the scenario for the lowest stabilisation level assessed by the IPCC, a long term goal in line with the latest science would include a peak in emissions in the next 10- 15 years and a decline of the emissions by 50% over 2000 levels by 2050. this would stabilise emissions at around 450 PPM Co2 in the atmosphere and correspond to a 2- 2.4C rise in temperature
Some scientists believe a 2C increase in the global mean temperature above pre-industrial levels is a threshold beyond which the threat of major and irreversible damage becomes more plausible.
The average global temperature has risen by 0.8 during the last century, the largest and the fastest warming trend in the history of the earth that scientists have been able to discern.
Some green house gases may persist in the atmosphere for up to 50000 years.
It was only some 50 year back that the scientific experts began to feel that something wrong is happening to our environment. The result was that the far-sighted people in the world began emphasizing that human community should take an approach of sustainable living, growth and development.
Over the past 4 decades, a number of high level conferences on sustainable development have been held to chalk out workable strategies to counteract the impending catastrophes, but till date all these conclaves have proved to be zero sum exercises.
Beginning from 1972 ( the Stockholm Conference), followed sequentially by Helsinki (1989), London ( (1992), Rio-Summit ( 1992), Kyoto Summit (1997), World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg ( 2002), the conventions / summits in 2004 and 2005 in Stockholm , Montreal , Berlin and Bali UN summit in 2007 followed by meetings/conventions in Bonn, Mexico City, Bangkok, Port-Of-Spain and Barcelona in 2008 and 2009 have in unison attributed nothing fruitful. .
Obviously, the above-said strategy projected by the ruling corporate political and business circles has neither limited nor decreased the emission of GHGs and neither made the people conscious nor organized them on the "life or death" issue of climate change. By keeping the people uninformed and unorganized in all these high get-togethers, the US had played the chief criminal role to disrupt and undermine all these high-level get-togethers by refusing to accept their respective basic decisions , thus confusing the people all over the world and harming the human cause.
From the above, it follows that the ruling and leading corporate thinkers, experts, politicians, economists and cultural elite have not and can not properly respond to the life and death question of the eco-bio crisis which is in fact a product of their past anti-environment and anti-human practice. Hence, the only objective necessity of this planet's existence and existing bio-life is that all the different brands of humanitarian and environmental forces come forward and unite themselves on the basis of a common agenda and organize the people on a single platform for saving our environment and combating global warming.
ii. Reason Underlying Environmental Degradation
And Its Manifestation By All The Components Of Our Environment
The environmental degradation is mainly caused by GHGs pollution which arises from the existing chemical-based thermal power-driven capitalist technology (relating to manufacturing, agriculture, information industry, etc.). It is now being manifested by all the components, comprising our environment, i. e., air, water, land and bio-diversity (including forests). These may be briefly stated as under.
Air :-- Air pollution today constitutes the chief threat to the bio-life on our planet. It has become the major killer with 4 million people dying of it every year.
(b) The emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, methane, Nitro-oxides, etc.) have been trebled during the past 3 decades, creating global warming or climatic change as a serious threat to all bio-life.
(c) U S alone creates 1/3rd of green-house gas emissions, standing as the chief polluter of the world.
Water :-- (a) Over 50% of world population now faces chronic shortage of fresh water for daily needs.
(b) Over 60% of the world's wetlands have been lost and 1/4th of the 10000 fresh water species is extinct.
(c) The contaminated water kills around 4 million people every year.
Land :-- (a) So far half of world's forests have been destroyed. The rate of loss was 90000 sq kms every year. But loss of 2.5 million ha of forest in Brazil ( Global Lungs) every year ( TOI :-1.Dec.09) is too alarming. These may become extinct in the next few decades..
"A United Nations Secretary-General's report prepared for the Forum reveals that, despite substantial progress in the formulation and implementation of national forest policies, deforestation and forest degradation continue at an alarming rate. The deforestation rate in the 1990s was estimated at 14.6 million hectares per year; since 5.2 million hectares were gained through afforestation (i.e. establishing a forest on previously unforested land) and natural expansion of forests, the rate of net deforestation was 9.4 million hectares per year. Most of the losses occur in the tropics, while in the non-tropical regions forests are expanding either naturally (for example on large areas of abandoned agricultural land) or as a result of afforestation programmes, the report adds. (Document E/CN.18/2005/7)"
(b) Now 2/3rd of the world's farmlands suffer from soil degradation.
( c ) Over half of the world's grasslands are overgrazed. India is now 1/3rd short of its fodder needs.
Wild Life: -- (a) Over 1100 species have become extinct and 12000 more are in the threatened list.
(b) Almost 75% of the world's marine captures is over fished or fully utilized. In North America, 10 fish species went extinct in the 1990.
(c) Of the 9946 known bird species, 70% has declined in numbers.
People: -- (a) The world added about 4 billion people since 1930. In 2000, world population was 6 billion up from 2 billion in 1930.
(b) In 10 years, the world will have to feed and house another billion.
About 40 percent of deaths worldwide are caused by water, air and soil pollution. Such environmental degradation, coupled with the growth in world population, are major causes behind the rapid increase in human diseases, which the World Health Organization has recently reported. (Science Daily:-18-8-07) Both factors contribute to the malnourishment and disease susceptibility of 3.7 billion people, report says.
iii. Effects On Spheres Of The Earth
Further, the environmental degradation has also affected the 5 main spheres of our planet earth. These are:
1. Bio-sphere (i.e., the part of the earth's surface and atmosphere inhabited by living beings (including forests).
2. Hydrosphere : i. e., the part of the earth's surface covered by water.
3. Lithosphere, i.e., the crust of the earth and the solid upper part of the mantle.
4. Geo- sphere, i.e., the whole geological structure of the earth minus its crust.
5. Atmosphere, i.e., the gaseous envelop surrounding the earth, consisting of the five below- noted layers:
(a) Troposphere, i.e., the lowest atmospheric layer about 18 Km (11miles) thick at the equator , to about 6km (4 miles) at the poles, in which air temperature decreases normally with height at about 6.5*c per km.
(b) Stratosphere, i.e., the atmospheric layer lying between the Troposphere and the Mesosphere.
Ozonosphere, i.e., the region of the stratosphere with the highest concentration of ozone. Here, the ozone layer has been destroyed more than 1/3rd of its size by the ultra-virus rays trapped by the greenhouse gases.
© Mesosphere, i.e., the atmospheric layer lying between the Stratosphere and the Thermosphere.
(d) Thermosphere, i.e., the atmospheric layer lying between the Mesosphere and the Exosphere.
(e) Exosphere,i.e., the outermost layer of the earth's atmosphere. It extends from about 400 Kms above the earth's surface.
The four spheres ( i. e., the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere) have got directly affected, while the fifth one (i. e., the geosphere) has been influenced in regard to the movement of its mass and energy (resulting in the frequency of earth-quakes) through the interaction with the other four spheres.
The past few years have been a sort of record for natural disasters around the world. From the boxing-day tsunami, which wrecked the coasts of Sumatra, India and Sri Lanka; to the pacific ocean typhoons in Japan, Taiwan, China and SE Asia; to the super-hurricanes in the gulf of Mexico, devastating the coasts of Cuba, Caribbean Islands, Mexico and United States; to the deadly mud-slides and flooding of Mumbai, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico cyclones in Andhra and Tamil Nadu, unreleased stresses along the Himalayan fault line and onto the Muzaffrarabad earthquake in Kashmir 2005, all are super disasters, killing hundreds of thousands and destroying everything in their wake. That is nature's fury. The man has also chipped-in with his indigenous disasters during this period such as the second set of Bali blasts of October, 2005 and the London bombing 7/7).
Well that's not all. The world is in danger of the spread of new pollution-based diseases in addition to the already prevailing maladies, like cancer, HIV/AIDS, etc. Pollution has been linked to about 200 different diseases, ranging from cerebral palsy to testicular atrophy, as well as more than 37 kinds of cancer, startling US research. (The Independent 14.Nov 2007). Hoping for the best may not be enough to prevent this potential catastrophe. it is another disaster in the making.
(B)Challenge Of Dehumanization
Of The Present Human Society In General
And Each Of Its Social Aspects In Particular
This is the other side of the fatal eco-bio challenge facing the human society today. It (i.e., the dehumanization of the human society in general and each of its social aspects in particular) is so dangerous that, if not mended within the shortest possible time, it would provide further impetus to the raging environmental threat that would inevitably lead to the destruction of all bio-life, including human, on this earth.
Obviously, the foregoing para raises 3 searching questions. The first is : what does dehumanization imply. The other is : which are the facts that denote the dehumanization of the ongoing human society. And the third one is: how would the process of dehumanization provide further impetus to the violent environmental crisis, resulting in the devastation of the existing human society.
Taking up the first question, dehumanization means the deprivation or reversal of human qualities, values or characteristics present in human phenomenon. Here, the chief feature is that man, given his mental thinking and practical action, is a rational being and has developed by adopting, corresponding to the given ground reality, the technique of distinguishing right from wrong. No doubt, there have been many and even grave lapses in the long historical human march but so far, despite serious deviations, he has always returned to the proper course. We expect that the same thing may repeat this time also.
Then, what are the main dehumanized features of the present human society or the so called "free and open democracy" now operating in all the countries of the world.
To begin with, its main feature is that, while its founder and builder, i.e., western corporate capitalist class calls it a free and open democracy, it is in fact and practice the most brutal and savage social formation that has ever existed on our planet.
It is the one that has for the first time used the inhuman atomic bombs against the common people (of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan), killing thousands and disabling for life lakhs of them in order to terrorise the whole of the world population. This event relates to the period, i.e., 1945, when the Japanese side was giving clear signals of its surrender and when the US was the only nuclear power in the world and among the economically most developed and militarily highly powerful corporate capitalist countries. Now the 5 super-powers (China, Russia, Britain and France with US at the top), possess such a huge pile of nuclear weapons that can smash even our planet earth into smithereens.
Here, a natural question arises as to why a free and open democracy needs the manufacturing of such a huge stock of N-weapons. The simple reason is that our present society styled as a free and open democracy by the corporate capitalist class is in fact an inhuman, unjust and unfair order where the powerful dominate the weak and the haves ride over the have-nots –with money, might and privilege constituting the accepted norms of justice and truth, both on the global as well as the national levels.
This fact is, firstly, obvious from the theory and the functioning of all the world bodies. For instance, the UN and its agencies are regulated by the 1945-charter which gives veto-powers and permanent membership of the elective security council to the militarily most powerful 5 states of the world –i.e., the US, China, Britain, France and Russia. Obviously, such a privilege-based rule is totally discriminatory and unjust because it reduces the role of the remaining 192-UN members to nullity. Morally and legally, it negates the world-accepted principle of political equality, the one entity-one vote norm of the universal suffrage and the human right of every nation-state. When the UN has been interfering in the affairs of different states on the basis of human rights violations, why should not it restructure itself on a rational basis in order to make itself relevant to the new era.
Secondly, the same irrational and undemocratic style prevails in the 2 international financial institutions ---the IMF and the World Bank – in which the economic weightage determines the voting-strength of each member. Thus, these institutions are definitely governed by the financially developed countries, especially the US, having 26% of the total voting strength.
Thirdly, the newly-created unjust CTBT regime gives virtual N-weapons monopoly to the 5 big nuclear powers ---thus making them the invincible overlords of the world.
Fourthly, a handful of the developed countries, with hardly 15% of the world population, today controls over 80% of the worlds material and financial resources, leaving less than 20% for 85% of the world people, living in over 175 developing countries.
Fifthly, one-half of the world population, constituting the female part of the human community, continues to be the victim of ill-treatment and misbehaviour the world-over.
Sixthly, the national situation in every country is not different from the prevailing global order. Despite variations among the 190-plus countries due to their different physical setting, historical backgrounds and socio-economic conditions, there is a great deal of similarity in the quality of social life, especially among the developing countries. For instance, the political process in almost every country (whether developed or developing) remains dominated by money power which, in case of the developing countries, is also compounded by muscle-power and primordial norms. The economic process in general operates through cut-throat competition, speculation and black money. The unscrupulous norms constitute the common behavioural forms everywhere.
Seventhly,in almost every country, a few are more privileged than the overwhelming majority. Everywhere, the legislators enjoy certain immunity from common laws under the law providing special parliamentary privileges. In the developing countries, the ruling groups often abuse the law with impunity. Nowhere in the world, the judiciary is accountable to the people. Instead, the universally prevailing contempt of courts law empowers it to silence every critic. The official secrets law, existing in nearly all countries, authorizes the bureaucracy to cover up all of its dirty deals and thus ride roughshod over the people. The law-enforcement agencies enjoy wide-ranging powers the worldover. In the 3rd world, they behave as law unto themselves. Everywhere the law favours the rich and the law-breakers and is biased against the poor and the deprived.
Eighthly, the US today stands as the unchallenged policeman of the world. After its initial military successes in Afghanistan and Iraq, it has become more unilateralist and belligerent. Now, it has declared a perpetual war against its own alleged or supposed enemy, i.e., World Terrorism, so far defined neither by the UN nor some other UN member. The first targets of its offensive include those smaller states which refuse to accept its supremacy and deny to carry out its dictatorial orders, i. e., its so-called "rogue states" which are UN members and cannot by any logic be characterized as terrorists. There is worldwide disapproval, including that from China, Russia and EC, of the newly declared US offensive plan. But, the US has so far not relented on the launching of its new war projects.
Ninthly, the US-led world corporate sector is in a serious trouble. Many top corporate companies, especially in the US, have been found involved in big frauds and scandals. The corporate claim of its being a social institution of wealth-creation and of prosperity and progress-generation has got exposed with the melting of big corporate financial giants like G M, A I G, Lehman Bank etc etc.
Tenthly, the corporate-based global development process is facing an unheard of crisis, posing a very serious challenge to mankind. Rich/poor divide is increasing at on unprecedented scale. Poverty and unemployment are spreading fast. Military budgets ---a drain on sustainable development--- are sharply rising, while spendings on social development are declining. Area of corruption, crime, violence and suicides in the world is vastly expanding, taking political and economic spheres and their executives in its fold. Human rights violations, discrimination against minorities and other weaker sections and atrocities against women are on the increase. Ethnic tensions are heightening. Various types of fundamentalist concepts, both new and old, are misleading and dividing the people.
Today, we are in a world where unscrupulous corporate politics, black-money and yes-sir conduct have become the most profitable professions, signifying the parameters of the prevailing free and open democracy and its "rule of law".
All the afore-mentioned serious challenges and dangerous threats reflect disharmonies within human society and between the latter and the nature. Essentially, they indicate the dehumanised state of the human community.
Obviously, such a dehumanized state of human society, led by a few superpowers and their respective accomplices, ruling in various countries, provide an opportunity to the corporate forces to push, while pursuing their corporate priority of money-maximisation and power-monopolisation, the people by all means at their command towards corporate divisive agenda which everywhere generates mafia encounters, civilisational wars, religious clashes, racial hostilities, caste-conflicts, ethnic tensions, national disputes, etc., in order to divide the people.
The above-stated facts put a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of all nature-human oriented people to deepen their understanding of the fatal implications of the ongoing crisis, try to find out its real cause and do everything in their power to answer it with a realistic agenda.
II. Basic Cause Of Environmental Degradation
And Social Dehumanization
The whole lot of corporate institutions in the world, i.e., UN, WB, IMF, WTO, Nation States and prominent social scientists, thinkers and planners are one in declaring that the ongoing Eco-bio crisis is the outcome of public activity. But none of them has ever defined the concept of public activity. Neither the world summits –i.e., 1972- Stockholm World Conference on environment and development, 1992-Rio UN Summit on earth, 2002-Johannesburg UN summit on Sustainable Development and 2007-Bali UN summit on climate change ------have touched this question. While adopting the agenda of sustainable development, they have made only a passing reference to the unsustainable human ways and life-style, but shirked to pinpoint the specific structural form in which humanity, in given conditions, operates in various modes, shapes or appearances. Obviously, all the above-mentioned chief social actors have left this essential point quite vague by putting an equal blame on every human. According to this high flown theory, every human is a polluter but every one knows this fact that the responsibility of producing pollution rests with those who own pollutant-producing factories and farms and not the workers engaged in those enterprises.
Historical experience shows that humankind, his life-style or way of life or any other activity has always existed in an organized social form, i.e., society. Clan, tribe, feudal monarchy and industrial social forms have been various type of societies in human history. Each social form is distinguished by its social system (comprising constitutional and legal principles), which forms the bed-rock or the distinguishing feature of that society.
Today human community is living within a global corporate system, operating through a multiple organization of nation state. All of them follow the same corporate principles in their thinking, functioning and organization. The only difference between them pertains to their respective variations in territorial and population sizes. On the social level, they follow the same ideology, politics, economics, culture and security mode. There is no human activity, life-style or way of life independent of or apart from the concerned corporate social system.
Going by the above facts, it can be said that the existing corporate system constitutes the basis of the present furious crisis now shaking the world. The faults of this basis require to be properly studied in all the four dimensions of this system---i.e., sociological concepts systemic principles, operational norms and historical experience.
i. Sociological fault
The fundamental sociological fault lies in the one-sided philosophical understanding of the Adam Smithean and the Marxian development Models (both of which have functioned as two standard development modes of the ongoing, but now retreating, nation state system in various parts of the world). This one-sided understanding is that Man constitutes the supreme phenomenon in the Universe. Obviously, it projects people as the sole builder of human society and everything in it, disregarding the social truth that the change and development in human society takes place due to a 2-sided interaction---that between nature and society, on the one hand, and within human society itself, on the other.
The second fundamental sociological mistake arises from the one-sided understanding of the Adam Smithean and the Marxian development models about the human nature. The Adam Smithean economic model holds that humankind is selfish by nature. The Marxian economic theory takes a confusing stand on the question of human nature. Firstly, it emphasizes that mankind is social by nature. The next moment it transfers the quality of being absolutely social to the industrial proletariat (who is according to it, destined to be the liberator of humankind). And, finally, it passes the entire monopoly of this social characteristic on to the communist party which alone, in its view, has the capacity to bring a social transformation in human society.
In reality, however, humankind bears a 2-sided character: biological, on the one hand, and social, on the other. The biological aspect reflects the individual physical living of mankind, while the social side denotes its social living, functioning and organizing.
ii. Systemic flaw
The basic systemic flaw emerges from the corporate system's aim which sorts out money (or capital) and its maximisation as the sole aim of its development model. Both the Liberal and the Marxian versions accept the growth-rate as the single criterion of judging social prosperity and progress. In their search for achieving the highest growth rate, both have been running havoc with the environmental and the human development factors.
The second, but a highly damaging, systemic flaw lies in the universal acceptance of the rule of monetary growth as the sole standard of measuring social prosperity and progress. The projection of money as the defining feature of social advancement has highly ignited the human ambition of money-making which has, as is obvious from the facts today, become the main motivational factor of near about every human being, determining his perspective, mindset, aim, priority and means and norms.
Since the attainment of money and power represents the maximisation of one's (or self) interest, the whole world is now chasing after these 2 "life-extending elixirs". The money and power-hunting business (by bringing in the most unsustainable human system) has now led the world to the brink of a serious environmental and human disaster.
In fact, self-interest is the basic instinct of the animal sphere, while man has, since his evolution as homo-sapien, become bio-social by nature. The characteristic of being half-social is the only quality that distinguishes human species from the animal ones. When man becomes devoid of social aspect, he turns out just like an animal in his life-style.
iii. Operational defect
The principal operational defect is related to corporate system's operational agency or the govt. Oriented solely by self-perpetuation, the leaders of the national govts (based on the party system in every country) are mainly concerned with the amassing of their own wealth and the holding of an ever-lasting power, by fair means or foul, with no consideration to the mass interests or any enviro-bio issue. Their pet life-style is "to say one thing, but do the other". They always shed tears for the poor and the deprived, but at all times serve the rich and the dominant.
From the foregoing facts, it is apparent that unless the present corporate system and its development paradigm is restructured (or updated) on a sustainable, just and equitable model, there is no possibility of giving an effective response to the highly dangerous social challenge of inequality and poverty.
iv. Historical Experience Of The World Corporate System
How the world corporate system constitutes the root of the present challenge of climate change can be seen from its over 300 year old past and present history (which began with the industrial revolution, passed through various phases of development ----industrial, competitive, colonial, post-colonial ---and has now entered the global phase).
Firstly, it (i. e., the corporate history) shows the unsustainable working of the corporate development model –which misused and wasted the environmental resources, on the one hand, and inhumanly treated the human resources, on the other. This has today resulted in the depletion of environmental resources and the impoverishment of human resources –thus causing the deadly challenge of climate change on our planet.
Secondly, it brings forth its sociology of self-interest as the motive force in human society. This has generated the motivation of selfishness all around ---thus maximizing the tendency of personal greed and gain and negating the other human instinct of social interest.
Thirdly, it displays its politics of "might is right" as the only social principle of maintaining stability, security and order in society at all times and places. Thus, it conditions the mindset of power-seeking at all costs, by means foul or fair, finally leading to the criminalization of the political process. Further, the politics of "might as right" boosts confrontationist, quarrelsome and war-mongering attitude among individuals as well as in society. It creates a social environment of the domination of powerful over the weak ---thus preparing the ground for the establishment of its world hegemony.
Fourthly, it projects its basic economic principle of profit-optimisation as the only determinant of social interests and concerns, including those relating to environment, social justice, fairness, equality, generosity, etc. Further, the sole objective of profit-optimisation, combined with the sociological principle of self-interest, has set in motion the race for money-making all over the world, mainly through corrupt and depraved means. The role of corporate sector in the money- laundering business can be seen from the increasing number of cases of corporate frauds and scandals in the world's top most MNCs, especially the US-based.
Fifthly, it approves of all double-dealing values, like "saying one thing and doing another", justifying them in the name of market rules and exigencies of power-structure.
Sixthly, it makes use of all sorts of fundamentalist concepts and techniques which, while contributing in strengthening its economic and political objectives, divide the people on sectarian and extremist lines.
Lastly, but more importantly, the corporate- based sustainable development model undermines the multi-lateral process of sustainable development, provides a handle to the corporations to manipulate and exploit the world environment and human resources ---thus carrying the climate change crisis to a dangerous point.
III. Way Out Of The Challenge Of Global Warming Or Climate Change
The foregoing account makes it quite clear that the human community at this historical juncture is faced with a life or death challenge. There is near about unanimity among the world people that it is the most dangerous, lethal and deadly challenge, never faced by mankind in its history. But, as to the cause of this challenge and its solution, fundamental differences exist between the overwhelming majoritarian viewpoint and a small minoritarian group.
The overwhelming majoritarian viewpoint, influenced by the 300year old prevailing market-led capitalist (now in its corporate stage) outlook, holds that the cause of this challenge (i. e., the increase in the size of the greenhouse gases, i. e., GHGs lies in public activity –an idea propounded in the brief summary of IPCC's 4 reports submitted to the UNO and all the national govts which, on the one hand, says that the increase in the size of the greenhouse gases (i.e., carbon-dioxide, methane and nitro-oxides) lies in public activity and, on the other, appeals to all major energy-generating states to stop the generation of thermal energy which in fact produces 95% of the greenhouse gases.
In contrast to the above-stated double-dealing overwhelming majoritarian corporate viewpoint, a small minoritarian "Nature- Human Centric Viewpoint", upheld by a highly motivated group which is based in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, firmly states that the monopoly corporate sector, and it alone, whether nation state govts-led or managed by corporate big business, is the sole generator of all GHGs. According to its version, the corporate energy sector will never stop or reduce its thermal power generation until it succeeds in obtaining the clean energy-generation technology from renewable natural resources i. e., solar, wind, hydel, etc., at the cheapest rates. And in the meanwhile the challenge of global warming or climate change on our planet earth will reach an irreversible stage. In fact, the profit-based market-led corporate approach which has been the only cause of creating this deadly crisis can never be its solution. The real solution can only come from the reality-base Nature- Human Centric Viewpoint. Hence, we are, hereunder, presenting full version of this approach.
A. Basic Principles Of Nature-Human Centric Outlook
1. Nature-Human centric sociology holds that Man and Nature are the two most important factors on our earth and within the human society. They constitute the capital of society and without them nothing has any value. The prevailing capital is only a medium of exchange whether operating in the form of money or commodity. It exists in the form of big concentration of money, large accumulation of commodities or stock-market shares.
2. The change and development in human society takes place due to a two-sided interaction –that between Nature and human society, on the one hand, and that between human society itself, on the other. These two interactions show that human resources and environmental resources constitute the highest valuable thing or the capital of society. The prevailing theory of capital as the accumulation of money or wealth is only a false theory, because money or wealth constitutes only a medium of exchange.
3. Establishing of a strong bond of global brotherhood among the people.
4. Empowerment of the people in place of corporate capital supported corrupt political parties and business circles.
5. Social security to every deprived and needy person.
6. The rationalization of irrational income differences in the proportion of 1: 5.
7. Step by step democratic change in the power-structure and the functioning of UN and other International organizations and nation-states.
B. Nature-Human Centric Immediate Agenda
Nature–human centric peoples movement (NHCPM) maintains that, given an all-embracing dreadful environmental-humanitarian global crisis, the world needs an immediate agenda corresponding to its existing ground realities.
The first ground reality of the world is the prevalence of a life or death challenge of climate change to all bio-phenomena on the earth.
Here, naturally the problem is as to who should organize the repairing work to climate damage. Since corporate sector is the creator of the climate change crisis and since all major corporate powers have so far failed to make a proper response to the environmental changes occurring in the past, it will be more appropriate that the present climate repairing task be handed over to the U N General Assembly instead of entrusting it over to the Security Council or G8 group or G-20 or big Corporate Business Circles –all of which are dominated by corporate vested interests --- the real creators of the challenge of global warming or climate change. In the General Assembly, where the decisions are taken on the majority basis, there is little likelihood of the superpowers or rich nations domination. Each meeting of the UN General Assembly will elect its chairman from among its members and the UN Secretary General will act as the spokesman of the General Assembly.
The second ground reality of the world is the existence of various tension-points among different countries of the world. Here, the UN General Assembly should take the following steps.
The forging of a treaty of peace and friendship among all countries of the world, declaring that they will resolve all conflicts, big or small, between them through peaceful means.
The third ground reality of the world is the prevalence of various divisive and differentiated approaches and standpoints among different countries of the world, especially among the big powers, on the issues facing the world.
Here the task is to resolve all disputes in a peaceful way to establish a firm peace in the world, because world peace is the basic requirement to the challenge of climate change.
Further, every effort should be made to persuade countries to follow a foreign policy based on peace and friendship.
Here, the UN General Assembly should undertake to establish a firm peace in the world by taking the following steps: Peaceful resolution of all disputes in the world, particularly Jammu-Kashmir , Palestine, Sri Lanka, Dyfore, etc. In case of a just solution to Jammu-Kashmir problem, a joint Indo-Pak Condominium be entrusted to handle its (JK's) defence, foreign affairs and currency. In all other matters, the different ethno-cultural and linguistic regions of Jammu Kashmir, including Pak-Administered Jammu-Kashmir, should have full-fledged self- rule. A similar type of just arrangement be worked out in the case of, Palestine, Dyfore, Sri lanka, etc.
The fourth ground reality of the world is the accumulated vast stock of nuclear weapons with the nuclear powers.
Here, the UN general Assembly should undertake to demand from the existing nuclear powers that, taking into consideration the life or death challenge of global warming, they should destroy all their nuclear stockpiles and other dangerous weapons of mass destruction immediately. And, in future, they should undertake not to produce any weapon of mass destruction.
The fifth ground reality of the world is the existence of large number of country-wise powerful armed forces who have no role to play in today's world. Hence, the UN General Assembly should undertake to resolve all inter-country disputes existing in the world within a period of six months. Following the completion of the fore-going task, the UN General Assembly should ask all countries to stop spending on their military budgets.
Again, all countries should stop 50% of their defence expenditure within two years and the next 50% within 5 years.
All demobilized defence personnel be provided equivalent jobs on the pay scales they were previously having in the defence department.
The sixth ground reality is the existence of a national development model specific to each country. Here, the UN General Assembly should set up a high-powered UN Sustainable Development Council to act as global authority by integrating all the national development models for combating global warming and conservation and promotion of the environmental resources, on the one hand, and the development of human resources, on the other. The council should enact fundamental international reforms in regard to environment and human advancement. The finance for the council will come from global taxation, such as global trade, use of natural resources like oil, coal, communication satellites, air travel, Antarctica mining, sea-bed mining, oceanic transportation, etc; the UN General Assembly will devise the scheme for the distribution of the said global revenues between the UN and the member states in which the least developed countries will be given special consideration.
The seventh ground reality is the prevalence of an unfair trade between the developed and the under-developed countries. Here, the WTO should act as a centre to see that the trade between rich and poor countries is conducted on a fair basis.
The eighth ground reality is the requirement of finance by the less developed countries. Here, the IMF and the world Bank should be on guard that there is a fair distribution of finance among various categories of countries.
The ninth ground reality is the developing water crisis in various parts of the world. Here, a new World Water Commission be set up by the UN to arrange the supply of minimum needed water to the people in the various water scarcity areas.
The tenth ground reality is that, taking into consideration the possibility of decreasing food production, the UN should request the FAO to formulate a food policy that takes practical steps to provide foodstuffs to all food deficit areas.
The eleventh ground reality is to improve and update agriculture to meet the food requirements of the world people. Here, the whole farming community in different countries be motivated to organize agriculture on the co-operative basis.
The twelfth ground reality is the worsening state of poverty in various countries, especially the under-developed ones. Here, there is need to take practical steps to deal with the poverty problem as a priority issue.
The thirteenth ground reality is that all countries must focus to eradicate the ever-increasing social evils like, crime, corruption, lack of sanitation, housing, old-age security, etc., on a just basis.
The fourteenth ground reality is to pay serious attention to the issue of human rights violations in almost all countries of the world.
The fifteenth ground reality is that the educational system should aim at developing the humanitarian-cum-environmental values among the students and not concentrate on developing the instinct of individualistic personality-cult among them as is being done today.
The sixteenth ground reality is the worsening state of human health. Here, a proper response is the acceptance of human health as a fundamental right by all countries.
The seventeenth ground reality is the existence of a threat from religious fundamentalism or terrorism which, in our view, should be countered not through military means but with humanitarian and environmental values.
The eighteenth ground reality is that unemployment problem in every region, whether it is developed or underdeveloped, is increasing fastly. The slow pace of job creation even in countries with relatively high growth rates has left 500 million unemployed or underemployed in a region with a total labour force of 1.7 billion. In the 1980s, the ADB study calculates, it took a 3% growth rate in China to induce 1% increase in employment, compared to the 8% growth rate that was required to achieve the same result the following decade. This demands that new working avenues be explored in the vast domain of worsening environmental sector.
The nineteenth ground reality is the persistent continuation of the problem of burgeoning world population which is as threatening as the challenge of climate change. According to expert reports, the present growth-rate of population will result in a situation where the entire land area of the world will be required to accommodate 9.2 billion people by the year 2050. The solution lies in establishing a rational and just society which ensures social security to all, weakening the motivation of having blood descendants as a guarantee against old age or some other insecurity.
Last, but the most important, ground reality is that people on our planet are the singlemost force and the only source to bring any change on our planet and to save bio-life on this earth. And the people can play a positive role only if they are properly organized on the basis of a clear, just, fair and rational model. Such a needed model, in our view, may be found in the NHCPM (Nature-Human Centric Peoples Movement) agenda comprising, in brief, the following
Firstly, the most important thing in society is the people and natural resources and nothing else. While the corporate capitalism falsifies that only capital is the most precious thing in society.
Secondly, it is first of all necessary to uphold the fundamental human task of environmental (i.e., air, water, land, forest, bio-diversity, etc) sustainability at all times and places
Thirdly, our next principle is the all-round constitutional empowerment of the people.
A) Economic Empowerment : the people should be empowered economically by ensuring social security to every one as a fundamental right with regard to clean air , pure-drinking water, nutritious food, housing, clothing and free health facilities and education, etc.
Fair equality based on 1:5 income difference in order to bring economic harmony among the extremely divided categories of a handful of rich and the vast majority of poor people.
B) Political Empowerment: Political process be headed by the people and conducted through the dedicated social workers ( or their front); the election be entirely free where every one has the right to participate as a candidate and as a voter.
Ending of state power monopoly of the corrupt and money and power hungry political parties by introducing the rule of the state funding of elections to each individual candidate.
All development funds to be spent through elected peoples development committees (including the Gram Sabhas and not above that), abrogating the current rule of allotting crores of rupees to each MP and lakhs of rupees to each M L A for development spending in their constituencies.
People should be empowered to recall any assembly or Parliament member if 1/5th of voters demand in writing. The political parties should get their candidates sponsored from the people before contesting any election. People's sponsored candidate can be one who gets one thousand signatures of his electors in t5he assembly and five thousands in the parliamentary elections.
C) Cultural Empowerment stands for a way of life (life-style) which is embedded in basic human and environmental values and promotes rational humanist and environmentalist thinking, behaviour and organization among the people.
D) Empowerment Of Women by giving them 50% reservations in the parliament, assemblies and administration, plus jobs in the organized big industry. Gradually. this principle should become a rule to be applied in all social, economic and cultural spheres.
E) Workers Empowerment: in the organized sector, concerned workers organizations, united within a single workers front, to have 1/3rd representation in the management board of all types of big industry, institutions, projects and factories. In small and medium industries, concerned workers elected forums should be entitled to act as consultation boards to the each concerned management.
F) Empowerment Of Informal Labour: in the retail sector, all workers engaged in small scale private trade should be organized into unions at all places ( i.e., cities, towns and countryside) and provided cheap credit, all types of free market facilities, free trawlers to move from one place to another or free of rent small shops in big city markets.
G) Empowerment Of Farmers: in the rural sector, the entire peasantry, the rich farmers as well as the landless peasants be organized on the basis of co-operative farming as the fundamental policy of the state. Each such co-operative be provided necessary govt help to develop its own market mechanism, procure its required agricultural inputs at cheap rates and build its credit system with the help of loans from the co-operative credit agencies.
Promoting the fundamental human task of justice, equality and fairness in all walks of life.
I.) Democratization of all industrial and services sectors by ending their corporate and state monopoly control and managing them through ordinary share-holders (2/3rd representation) and workers, (with 1/3rd representation).
j.) Finance management: while the corporate sector upholds the monopoly corporate management and control and the state sector supports the monopoly bureaucratic management and control, the nature-human centric development model stands for democratic management and control of public companies by elected joint committees, each comprising 2/3rd elected members from ordinary share-holders and 1/3rd elected workers representatives in place of permanent corporators. All promoters shares purchased at cheaper rates (than market rates) and owned by corporate management be ended.
k). Jurisprudence to be based on the fundamental principle of safe- guarding and protecting the interests of environmental and human resources. Any disregard of the foregoing principle to be dealt with the aim of reforming the offender, while prescribing punishment according to the severity of the offence. Punishment may include all human forms that have existed in history except the sentence to death.
© Nature-Human Centric Short Term Agenda
The Nature-Human Centric Peoples Movement (NHCPM) holds that the human community at the present juncture is confronted with a highly dangerous environmental –humanitarian crisis. The challenge is so serious that, if it is not answered by a realistic agenda, the consequences can be very very harmful for the humanitarian cause. Such a grave situation, first of all, needs a complete unity among the different segments of humankind. And the factor of unity demands the ending of all types of conflicts within the human community. The only way to achieve human unity and the ending of all types of conflicts within the human community lies in eliminating all sorts of existing injustice in the world.
The NHCPM is of the view that a justice-based world is quite possible on the foundation of an all-inclusive social justice and this requires the restructuring of the existing unjust corporate system.
To restructure the existing unjust corporate system on a just basis, the NHCPM puts forth the following 15 points for public information, association and action. It requests all those who accept the rationality of these points to propagate them determinedly, steadfastly and wholeheartedly before the people
Whenever and wherever elections become due in any region or the country as a whole, it appeals to the voters to make these 15 principles as yardstick to ascertain the genuineness of their contesting candidates by requesting them to put their signatures in support of these just points. Those who sign deserve the voters support, while anyone shirking to do so is obviously devoid of a just and rational approach.
1) Upholding the fundamental human task of environmental (i.e., air, water, land, forest, bio-diversity, etc) sustainability at all times and places.
2) Human right of existence ensured through social security as a fundamental right with regard to clean air, pure-drinking water, nutritious food, housing, clothing and free health facilities and education
3) Human right of fair equality based on 1:5 income-difference.
4) Peaceful resolution of all disputes in the world, particularly Jammu Kashmir and Palestine, Sri Lanka, etc. In case of a just solution to Jammu Kashmir problem, a joint Indo-Pak Condominium be entrusted to handle its (J K's) defence and foreign affairs. In all other matters ( except defence and foreign affairs), J K should have independence, while each of its 9 ethnic regions be given maximum-possible autonomy. A similar type of just arrangement be worked out in case of Israel, Palestine and Sri Lanka also.
5) Restructuring of the world order by ending the veto-powers of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council and by giving absolute power of deciding any issue to the UN general assembly on the basis of a simple majority vote.
6) Restructuring of WTO, WB and IMF on the basis of substituting their free market perspective by nature-human centric perspective and their development strategy favouring money and money-owners by the nature-human centric development strategy, comprising two top priorities, i.e., Man and Environment and Nature-Human Centric 5 principles, i. e., environmental sustainability, equity, productivity, people-led democracy and all-sided transparency.
7) Women's empowerment, ensuring their 50% representation in all social institutions at all levels.
8) Co-operative farming, ensuring the livelihood security of all concerned.
9) Labour-both physical (or blue collar) and mental (or white collar) –empowerment, ensuring workers 1/3rd elected representation in the management of all institutions, projects and factories.
10) Democratization of all industrial and services sectors by ending their corporate and state monopoly control and managing them through ordinary share-holders (2/3rd representation) and workers, (with 1/3rd representation).
11) Finance management: while the corporate sector upholds the monopoly corporate management and control and the state sector supports the monopoly bureaucratic management and control, the nature-human centric development model stands for democratic management and control of public companies by elected joint committees, each composing 2/3rd elected members from ordinary share-holders and 1/3rd elected workers representatives in place of permanent corporators. All promoters shares be purchased at cheaper rates (than market rates) and owned by corporate management be ended.
12) Political process be headed by the people and conducted through the dedicated social workers ( or their front); the election be entirely free where every one has the right to participate as candidate and as a voter.
13) Ending of state power monopoly of the corrupt and money and power hungry political parties by introducing the rule of the state funding of elections to each individual candidate ( who is required to produce one thousand signatures of his electors in assembly and five thousand in Parliament elections), without any consideration to his party affiliation. Concerned voters right to recall any assembly or Parliament member if 1/5th of voters demand in writing a re-poll on the ground that the afore-mentioned member has lost the confidence of his electorate.
14) All development funds to be spent through elected peoples development committees ( including the village committees and not above that), abrogating the current rule of allotting crores of rupees to each MP and lakhs of rupees to each M L A for development spending in his constituency.
15) Jurisprudence to be based on the fundamental principle of safe-guarding and protecting the interests of environmental and human resources. Any disregard of the foregoing principle to be dealt with the aim of reforming the offender, while prescribing punishment according to the severity of the offence. Punishment may include all human forms that have existed in history except the sentence to death.
(D) Nature-Human Centric Long Term Agenda
The Nature-Human Centric Peoples Movement is of the view that the basic solution to the ongoing deadly crisis resides in the replacement of present Corporate Capitalist System by the Nature-human Centric System whose objective, principles, styles and organization stands for two top priorities, i.e., environment and man and which follows five basic principles: i.e., environmental promotion, fair equality (i.e., social security to every deprived and needy person and the rationalization of irrational income differences in the proportion of 1:5), productivity (or growth-rate), peoples-led democracy ( i. e., empowerment of the people in place of corporate capital supported political parties and business circles) and all-sided transparency. The main points of Nature-Human Centric System comprise as under.
1. Nature-Human Centric Model of human society holds environment and humankind as the 2 most precious phenomena in human society, considers the two as its social capital (supreme thing in human society) whose (i.e., environmental-human resources) growth brings development, prosperity and progress and maintains them as its guiding principle in thinking, saying, doing and organizing.
2.It strongly advocates the fundamental task of environment (i.e., air. water. Land, forests, bio-Diversity, etc.) promotion at all times and places
3. It maintains the fundamental right of every human to bio-social existence, ensured through a network of social security with regard to clean air, pure-drinking water, nutritious food, housing, clothing, free health facilities and education.
4. It stands for fundamental human right of fair equality, based on 1:5 income differences.
5. It firmly upholds the principle of world peace and steadfastly follows the path of peaceful resolution of all disputes in the world, particularly Jammu-Kashmir, Palestine and Sri Lanka, etc. In the case of a just solution of Jammu-Kashmir problem, it advocates that a joint Indo-Pak Condominium be entrusted to handle its (JKs) defence, foreign affair and currency, in all other matters, JK should have independence, while each of its 9 ethnic regions be given maximum-possible autonomy. A similar type of just arrangement be worked out in case of Israel, Palestine and Dyfore also.
6. It demands the restructuring of the world order by ending the veto-powers now enjoyed by the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council and by giving the absolute power of deciding any issue to the UN General Assembly on the basis of a simple majority vote. In due course, UN be restructured on the basis of a constitution framed by a constituent assembly elected by the people from various constituencies in the world.
7. It argues for the restructuring of WTO, WB and IMF on the basis of substituting their free market economic perspective by Nature-Human Centric Perspective and their (i.e., WTO, WB and IMF) development strategy favouring money and money-owners by a Nature-Human Centric development strategy, comprising two top priorities, i.e., human and environmental, and 5 principles. i.e., environmental promotion, fair equality, productivity, peoples-led democracy and all-sided transparency.
8. It champions the women's cause and demands their empowerment, ensuring them 50% representation in all social institutions at all levels.
9. It promotes the organizing of agriculture on co-operative basis, ensuring the livelihood security of all concerned.
10. It forcefully speaks for labour (both physical and mental) empowerment, ensuring workers 1/3rd elected representation in the management of all institutions, projects and factories.
11. It pleads for the decentralization of all industrial and services sectors by ending their corporate and state monopoly control and managing them through ordinary shareholders (with 2/3rd representation) and workers (with 1 /3rd representation).
12. It proposes for a democratic management and control of finance. While the corporate sector upholds the monopoly corporate management and control and the state sector supports the monopoly bureaucratic management and control, the Nature-Human Centric Development Model stands for democratic management and control of public companies by elected joint committees, each comprising 2/3rd elected members from ordinary share-holders and 1/3rd elected workers representatives in place of permanent corporators. All promoters' shares purchased at cheaper rates (than the market rates) and owned by the corporate management be ended.
13. It encourages the spending of all development funds through elected peoples development committees (including the village committees and not above that), abrogating the current rule of allotting crores of rupees to each MP and lakhs of rupees to each MLA for development spending in their respective constituencies.
14. It proposes the restructuring of corporate capitalist oriented constitution and jurisprudence in each country on the basis of Nature-Human Centric Outlook.
15. It strongly favours the fundamental principle of safeguarding and protecting the interests of environmental and human resources. Any disregard of the foregoing principle to be dealt with the aim of reforming the offender, while prescribing punishment according to the severity of the offence. Punishment may include all humane forms that have existed in history except the sentence to death and human cruelty.
16. It firmly believes that all the constituent processes of human society, i.e., environmental, human and scientific-technological be controlled and conducted by the people.
17. It propounds the empowerment of people (or people-led governance) at five levels from the village/ward to national scale, with block, district and state categories in between, each enjoying powers to manage the three basic facets of social life – political, economic and cultural in its respective domain.
18. The process of empowerment be decided through the method of elections which will be entirely free where everyone has the right to participate as a candidate and to express his opinion as a voter. It urges for ending the state power monopoly of the corrupt and money and power-hungry political parties by introducing the rules of the state funding of elections of each individual candidate (who is required to produce one thousand signatures of his electors in state assembly and five thousand in central assembly elections), without any consideration to his party affiliation. Concerned voters right to recall any assembly member if 1/5th of voters demand in writing a repoll on the ground that the afore-mentioned member has lost the confidence of his electorate.
19. Political aspect demands the establishment of Political Assembly at 5 levels: (i.e., national, state (or regional), district, block and village) which stands for a democratic order and is based on fully democratic principles, functioning and structure. Such a model necessitates the introducing of the principles of the maximum-possible empowerment of the people in decision-making.
20. Economic aspect needs the establishment of development assembly at 5 levels for a rational and realistic economics whose concepts, laws and rules are required to be framed in the light of former's 2 top priorities (i.e., humankind and environment) and 5 guiding principles (i.e., environmental promotion. Fair equality, productivity. Peoples-led democracy and all sided transparency). In view of human's bio-social nature, both Adam smith's basic economic principle of "self-interest" and Marxian basic economic principle of "state nationalization of every thing" are one-sided. But. Ironically both measure development, prosperity and progress in terms of monetary growth and not in the context of human and environmental development.
21. Cultural aspect requires establishment of cultural assembly at 5 levels that calls for a way of life (or life-style) that is embedded in basic human and environmental values and promotes rational humanist and environmentalist thinking, behaviour and organization among the people.
22. The political, development and cultural Assemblies at 5 levels elect their respective political, development and cultural commissions of specialists to implement the agendas and policies framed by them (i.e., Assemblies). The commission of political specialists may deal with political issues like law and order, crime prevention, judicial working; the commission of development specialists may handle economic-financial matters like development planning, agriculture, industry, services. Finances and budget and the Commission of cultural specialists attend to education, science, technology, health, moral ethical-values and other cultural subjects, like languages, music, dancing, cine-industry, etc.
23. Every elected body, whether at the lower or the higher level will be sovereign within its respective domain. If at any time there is a difference of opinion between the two elected bodies or public institutions, the concerned units' will appoint their respective representative groups to settle the concerned question through talks. If the matter is mutually settled, that will be accepted as a valid decision. In case the two cannot agree on a common decision, the matter will be got resolved through a referendum of the concerned people.
24 It maintains that the question of internal security of any territorial unit will be handled by the people concerned. The issue of border defence of different territorial units will be conducted by the defence agency formed by the concerned people according to the rules approved by the UN.
25 It will forbid every polluting technology, however productive capacity it may have, to operate in society.
4. Immediate tasks
The fundamental reality of the fatal climate change crisis, now shaking our earth, urgently demands the raising of peoples awareness about the fact that a deadly challenge –existence or non –existence ---- now faces the humankind and all other bio-phenomena.
Next, it requires the making of people conscious about the fact that the cause of the above said "life and death" challenge lies in the ongoing dehumanized corporate capitalist system and its inhuman operators who are motivated by only their self-interest and nothing else.
Thirdly, it necessitates the awakening of people about the fact that a realistic solution to this dangerous challenge rests with the short-term and long-term Nature-human Oriented Agenda.
Fourthly, it asks for the organizing of all those, who agree with the above stated three points, as part of the Nature-human Centric Peoples Movement.
Fifthly, it needs the forging of fraternal relations with all those who are involved in environmental and humanitarian movements and those who have grass-root connections in India and other countries in the world. ( 6th Dec 2009)
Prepared by
Late Sh RP Saraf,
Updated by Editorial Board
Nature – Human Centric Viewpoint
E-mail:--sajjan_nhcpm@reddiffmail.com
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Some Facts Showing The Actual State Of Affairs Existing In The
Ongoing Corporate Based Market –Led International Institutions And Nation States.
1. Which areas of activity in the world are most corrupt? Sectors and institutions most affected by corruption
(1= not at all corrupt ; 5= extremely corrupt)
political parties =4.0, parliament/legislature =3.7
police =3.6 (source, New Internationalist Dec 2006 issue 396)
2. according to Jamaica Gleaner News (Sunday /April 15,2007) World Bank Chief in corruption scandal.
3. Director of international affair at the World Bank Mr Vinay Barghava admits the World Bank has been labeled as corrupt for having unfair policies and practices. (Source, Gauntlet News)
4. According to Transparency International's corruption perceptions index of 2006, India's rank among countries is 70.
5. The black economy in the Indian economy is really mind-boggling; on a conservative estimate black money component in the Indian economy is estimated at 50% to 60% of the GNP. (Source, HT, 13-03-2007.
6. Black money, corruption fuel each other: Mr. N. Vittal (The central vigilance commissioner) has mooted strategies to eliminate black money which is at the root of corruption in politics, business and bureaucracy. (Source, Hindu, Aug 8, 2001)
7. Currently, the richest 1% of people in the world receives as much as the bottom 57%.
8. The "Twin Peaks" of Rich and Poor: In 1997, one pole represents the 2.4 billion people whose mean income is less than $1000/year and includes people living in India, Indonesia and rural China. With 42% of the world's population. This group received just 9% of the world PPP income. The other pole is the group of 500 million people whose income exceeds $11,500. This group includes the US, Japan, Germany, France and the UK. Combined, they account for 13% of the world's population yet garner 45% of the world PPP income. (Source, UNDP, 2002)
9. United States Crime Rates 1960-2006: The US Crime Index Rates per 100,000 Inhabitants went from 1,887.2 in 1960 to 5,897.8 in 1991. By 1991 the crime rate was 313% the 1960 crime rate. In 1996 your risk of being a victim of a crime in the United States was 5.079% and of a violent crime 0.634%. In 1960 these rates were 1.89% of being a victim of a crime and 0.161% of becoming victim of a violent crime. (US:Uniform Crime Report)
10. Poverty: The world Bank's definition of the poverty line, for under developed counties, like India, is US $1/day/person or US $365 per year. As per this definition, more than 75% of all Indians are, probably, below the poverty line. (Source, India Watch-2006)
11. World as a whole the share of the top 10 percent was 85%. (Source, networkides.org)
12. Richest 2% hold half the world's Assets while the poorest half hold only 1 percent wealth. (Source, News-centre, Oct 18, 2007)
13. While North America has 6 percent of the world's adult population, it accounts for 34 percent of household wealth. (Source, News-centre, Oct 18, 2007)
14. So much of the world's wealth is concentrated in few hands that if all the world's was distributed evenly, each person would have $20,500 of assets to use. (Source, New-centre Oct 18, 2007)
15. In South Africa at least 5 million jobless. The official unemployment rate is 30%, but in some locations, unemployment is near 80%. (Source, Financial Times, Apr 28, 2006)
16. The slow pace of job creation even in countries with relatively high growth rates has left 500 m unemployed or underemployed in a region with a total labour force of 1.7 billion.
In the 1980's, the ADB study calculates, it took a 3 percent growth rate in China to induce a 1 percent increase in employment, compared to the 8 percent growth rate that was required to achieve the same result the following decade. (Source, Financial Times, Apr 28, 2006)
17. More die from suicide than wars and murders. Some 20 million to 60 million people try to kill themselves each year and about a million of them succeed. In the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide. (Source, Swissinfo, 10-09-2006)
18. Population: World Population will reach 9.2 billion in 2050 while in 2006, it is 6.7 b.
World Population Milestones: There is 1 b. population in 1804, where after 123 years later it became 2 b. in 1927, after 33 years (in 1960) it raise upto 3 b, after next 14 years (in 1974) it is 4 b, in next 13 years (in 1987) it reach 5 b, while in 1999 (after next 12 years) it come upto 6 b. (Source: UN Population Division)
19. World Wide Military Expenditures $1100 billion in 2007. Non-US (i.e. the whole world accept America) aggregate real expenditure on military worldwide in 2007 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about half a trillion (i.e., 500 million) dollars. US spending increased from about $280 billion to about $ 625 billion. And more than $150 billion to continue the fight in the "Global War on Terrer (GWOT)". While China spend $65 billion on military.
20. Water Problem: Since 1980, in West Asia, available fresh water has fallen from 1,700 cubic meters per person per year to 907 cubic meters, largely due to pollution and demand. By the middle of the century, this is likely to fall still further to 420 cubic meters/person/year. While the world's population tripled in 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold. Within the next fifty years, the world population will increase by another 40 to 50%. This population growth-coupled with industrialization and urbanization will result in an increasing demand for water and will have serious consequences on the environment. (Source, unesco.org/water resource)
21. Of the world's major rivers, 10 percent fail to reach the sea for part of each year because of irrigation demand. (Source, UNEP, Oct 2007)
22. The lack of clean, safe drinking water is estimated to kill almost 4,500 children per day.
A third of the Earth's population lives in "water stressed" countries and that number is expected to rise dramatically over the next two decades. The crisis is worst in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. (Source, unesco.org/water resources)
23. The world health report-2007: It shows how the world is at increasing risk of disease outbreaks, epidemics, industrial accidents, natural disasters and other health emergencies which can rapidly become threats to global public health security.
24. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in world is 4 crore, 2 lakh and 74 thousand in 2005. (Source, UNAIDS, AIDS Epidemic update, Dec 2005)
25. World Watch Report says war on terror diverting attention from poverty, disease, environment.
26. Biodiversity: Current biodiversity changes are the fastest in human history. Species are becoming extinct a hundred times faster than the rate shown in the fossil record. Over 30 percent of amphibians,23 percent of mammals and 12 percent of birds are threatened. A sixth major extinction is underway, this time caused by human behaviour. Yet to meet our growing demand for food will mean either intensified agriculture (using more chemicals, energy and water, and more efficient breeds and crops) or cultivating more land. Either way, biodiversity suffers.
The intrusion of invasive alien species is a growing problem. The Comb jellyfish, accidentally introduced in 1982 by US ships, has taken over the entire marine ecosystem of the Black Sea, and had destroyed 26 commercial fisheries by 1992.
Fish: Consumption more than tripled from 1961 to 2001. Catches have stagnated or slowly declined since the 1980s. Subsidies have created excess fishing capacity, estimated at 250 percent more that is needed to catch the oceans' sustainable production. (Source, UNEP, Oct 2007)
27. Environment: Global Warming or Climate Change approaching towards a risk that environmental damage could pass unknown points of no return. According to UN Secretary General has termed "the defining issue of our era". (Source, UNFCCC report)
Sea-level rise caused by thermal expansion of water and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets will continue for the foreseeable future, with potentially huge consequences: over 60% of the population worldwide lives within 100 kilometers of the coast.
Growing ocean acidification and warmer temperatures will probably also affect global food security. Diarrhoea and malaria will become more widespread. Acid rain is now more challenging in countries like Maxico, India and China. (Source, UNEP, Oct 2007)
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Palash Biswas
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http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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