"New political parties such as the Citizens Party have formed in the United States. ... [A] more visionary, global movement ... has now been incorporated as the New World Alliance." -- Hazel Henderson, The Politics of the Solar Age, Doubleday, 1981
New World Alliance: Introductory Brochure
In the late 1970s -- long before national political commentators like John Avlon and Joe Klein began writing about the “radical middle” (see 50 Thinkers and Activists Try to Describe the Radical Middle elsewhere on this website) -- a radical middle / transpartisan perspective began taking shape in the U.S.
Its first political vehicle may have been the New World Alliance (1979 - 1983). The Alliance's introductory brochure, "A Different Kind of Political Organization," is reproduced below.
To view the Alliance's main web page - which includes its political platform, multiple print-media mentions, and comments from 15 former members - just click HERE.
SECTIONS OF THE BROCHURE:
1. What Is Politics?
2. What Is the New World Alliance?
3. New World Policy Goals
4. Some Projects of the Alliance
5. Symbol of the Alliance
6. Origins of the Alliance
7. Governing Council of the Alliance
[Extra: Some Other Alliance People]
A Different Kind of Political Organization
Governing Council of the New World Alliance meets at a lodge near Phoenicia NY, September 1980.
What Is Politics?
Politics is the way we live our lives.
It is not just running for office. It is the way we treat each other, as individuals, as groups, as governments. It is the way we treat our environment. It is the way we treat our selves.
Politics has to do with where we shop, what we eat, how we maintain our health. It has to do with the kinds of schools we create, the energy we use, the neighborhood organizations we build, the work we do.
Politics involves our way of seeing the world, of developing our consciousness, of awakening our whole selves. It has to do with our attitudes, our values, our innermost dimensions.
What Is the New World Alliance?
The New World Alliance is a gathering of people from all areas of the country, from all walks of life, and from all parts of the social and economic spectrum, who have come together around a new vision of politics.
We know that millions of people today have come to believe, as we have, that the traditional political parties and organizations -- whether of the left or right -- do not have solutions to our problems.
We know that millions of people today are moving, as we are, toward new forms of politics inside and outside the traditional structures, building new organizations in their communities and regions, thinking for themselves, discovering their own solutions and their power to make a difference in the world.
The New World Alliance seeks to identify these creative new forces around the country -- to help draw them together in a larger and more effective network -- to encourage others to join in taking these new paths -- and to transform the agenda of American politics during the decade ahead.
[TEN BROAD GOALS]
Specifically, the New World Alliance is working to foster:
A POLITICS OF HOPE that treats the problems and scarcities before us as opportunities to clarify our sense of what is truly important in life;
A POLITICS OF HEALING that goes beyond traditional polarities of left-against-right and us-against-them and in all matters promotes cooperation and community, understanding and mutual aid;
A POLITICS OF REDISCOVERY that rekindles such traditional values as self-reliance, wholesome living, thrift, generosity, neighborliness, community, and the honoring of excellence;
A POLITICS OF HUMAN GROWTH that fosters the fullest development of each person’s potential by working to improve our birthing and parenting, our nutrition, our health and fitness, our family and community life, our education, our arts and sciences, our way of growing old, and our way of dying -- all the things that make us more fully human;
A POLITICS OF ECOLOGY which understands that we are only one part of a seamless web of life, that damage to any part is damage to the whole, and that we are responsible for life on earth;
A POLITICS OF PARTICIPATION that provides every member of society with a full and equal opportunity to influence the political and economic institutions affecting their lives, and that fosters personal responsibility to fulfill that task;
A POLITICS OF APPROPRIATE SCALE that eliminates needless bureaucracy, removes the special privileges which maintain unnecessarily large concentrations of wealth and power, and wherever feasible encourages smaller industries, businesses, cities, and farms;
A POLITICS OF GLOBALISM that recognizes we are all citizens of an emerging planetary civilization, in which we must observe the rights and needs of people everywhere as fully as our own;
A POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CREATIVITY that develops the fullest potential of contemporary science by putting it in service to constructive activity, and guiding it by humanistic and ecological -- rather than technocratic -- values;
A POLITICS OF SPIRITUALITY which understands that we are at one with all creation, that each human being possesses a core of infinite worth, and that the way we do things is as important as the things we do.
[FOUR BROAD TASKS]
Those of us who have come together in the New World Alliance have been involved in a wide variety of activities for personal growth, social change, and ecological awareness. We have experienced this new kind of politics in operation, and we know that it works, here and now, in everyday life.
Therefore, we are creating the New World Alliance as a force which will help in the coming years to:
link and reinforce the individuals, groups, and organizations that are developing a New World politics . . .
clarify and communicate a broad view of what is going on throughout the country among these [people and] organizations . . .
stimulate an ongoing dialogue among people from every social and economic and political grouping about the best directions for America’s future . . .
initiate projects that translate the ideas of New World politics into practical and effective action.
We are not a political party, nor another special interest lobby, but rather something far more fundamental: An Alliance of individuals to encourage ALL of us to look deeply and questioningly at our attitudes and values, our institutions, and the way we live . . . and, together, to create a New -- and better -- World.
New World Policy Goals [abridged]
[For an elaboration of these goals and many more, see the pdf of our political platform HERE.]
GLOBAL SECURITY
-- Advance a new global vision that rejects the inevitability of war, permanent enemies and permanent crisis;
-- Replace the demands of narrow nationalism with concern for the interests of people everywhere;
-- Promote the self-determination of all nations, and an end to political, cultural, and economic repression of the small and weak by the strong and powerful;
ECONOMY
-- Reduce centralized control of the economy, whether by government, corporations, labor, or finance capital;
-- Recognize the existence and the importance of informal, non-market economic activity;
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
-- Transform our present wasteful, resource-depleting society into a high-efficiency society based on renewable resources;
-- Preserve ecological diversity and provide a clean, safe, and healthy environment for all life;
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
-- Emphasize the importance of scientific development of technologies that are appropriate for use in everyday life;
-- Involve ordinary citizens in the assessment of science and technology;
HEALTH
-- Promote a holistic approach to wellness rather than crisis-oriented responses to illness.
Some Projects of the Alliance
Local Chapters [at one point there were chapters in many major cities - ed.]
“Living” Political Platform [A Transformation Platform: The Dialogue Begins, 98 pp., 1981]
“Consultations with Government Officials”
“Political Awareness Seminars”
“Bill of Responsibilities”
Political Action Committee
Speakers Bureau
Resource Center
Renewal Newsletter
Symbol of the Alliance
The White Eagle is a traditional Native American symbol of spiritual transformation, sacredness, watchfulness for the well-being of the coming generations. It is also found in many other cultures.
Origins of the Alliance
The New World Alliance was born from a conviction that our nation is at a crossroads where our ideas and institutions must advance to meet the problems and opportunities before us.
The Alliance originated from a process of cross-country networking by Mark Satin, and a 21-page questionnaire answered by over 350 people [from across the U.S. who were involved] in a variety of personal growth and social change activities. The questionnaire asked what specific policies, programs, and processes could be fostered by a new transformation-oriented political organization.
The first Governing Council, selected by questionnaire respondents, met in 1979 to found the New World Alliance.
Governing Council of the Alliance
[There were 39 seats (excluding staff seats) on the GC. People rotated in and out; this list consists of those GCers whom I feel made the most positive practical or moral contributions to the organization. Their identifiers are almost always from the brochure. - ed.]
James Benson Institute for Ecological Policies, VA
Clement Bezold Institute for Alternative Futures, DC
Robert Buxbaum Office of the New York City Council President, NY
Rene F. Cardenas Development Associates Inc., DC
Nancy Cosper Networker, OR
Jeff Cox Organic Gardening Magazine, PA
Gordon Davidson Sirius Community, MA
Leonard Duhl, M.D. School of Public Health, University of California-Berkeley, CA
Bob Dunsmore San Luis Valley Energy Center, CO
Gordon Feller Planetary Citizens, NY
Mel Gurtov Department of Political Science, Portland State University, OR
Bethe Hagens Department of Anthropology, Governors State University, IL
Alanna Hartzok Henry George School of Social Science, CA
Lex Hixon WBAI-FM, NY
Norie Huddle Center for New National Security, DC
Miller Hudson State Legislature, CO
Neal H. Hurwitz Development and fundraising consultant, NY
Donald F. Keys Planetary Citizens, NY
Martha Keys Planetary Citizens, NY
Arnold Klassen Gay Health Collective, MA
Betsy Lehrfeld Attorney, DC
Brian Livingston Events coordinator, OR
Leslie Lowery Public school teacher, NY
John McClaughry Senior Domestic Policy Advisor, The White House, DC
Michael Marien Future Survey newsletter, NY
Mark Mawrence Networker and policy analyst, Sweden
Corinne McLaughlin Sirius Community, MA
Patricia Mische Global Education Associates, NJ
Wendy Mogey Institute for the New Age, NY
Jay Ogilvy SRI International, CA
Robert Olson Office of Technology Assessment, DC
Richard B. Perl Peace activist, NY
Donna Price Financial consultant, CO
Rarihokwats School of Living, PA
Kirkpatrick Sale Author, NY
Marc Sarkady Another Place Community, NH
James S. Turner Food Safety Council, DC
Eric Utne Wilson Learning Corporation, MN
Gail Whitty Southeast Michigan Transportation Authority, MI
Malon Wilkus Federation of Egalitarian Communities, MO
Stephen Woolpert Department of Political Science, University of Maryland, MD
ALLIANCE LEGAL COUNSEL; AUTOMATICALLY GC
Gerald Goldfarb Attorney, CA
FULL-TIME ALLIANCE STAFF MEMBERS; AUTOMATICALLY GC
Sarah James New World Alliance (staff), DC
Mark Satin New World Alliance (staff), VA
Robert Thompson New World Alliance (staff), VA
EXTRA: Some Other Alliance People Who Deserve Mention Here
[Added by M.S. for this website.]
SUBSEQUENT STAFF MEMBERS
Paul Bundick New World Alliance (staff), DC
Kathleen Hennessy New World Alliance (staff), DC
FLAGSHIP CHAPTERS AND THEIR CONTACTS
Washington, DC Jim Easterly
New York City Michael Blinick and Wendy Mogey
Milwaukee Mary Kopac
Dallas Susan Walton
Greater Los Angeles Gerald Goldfarb and Joe Simonetta (L,A.) Mel Gurtov and Laura Klure (Riverside)
San Francisco Bay Area Alanna Hartzok
SOME SOURCES OF CRUCIAL EARLY ASSISTANCE AND / OR ADVICE
Diane Brown Institute of Noetic Sciences, CA
Elizabeth Campbell Association for Humanistic Psychology, CA
Jerry Fletcher U.S. Dept. of Education policy analyst, DC
Guy Gran World Bank consultant, DC
Mildred Loomis School of Living, PA
Clear and True Marks Decentralist activists, CA
John D. Marks Former U.S. State Dept. official, DC
Lou Mobley Former IBM executive, MD
Virginia Senders Psychologist and group facilitator, MA
Robert Theobald Futurist, WA
“FOUNDUING SPONSORS” OF THE ALLIANCE’S NEWSLETTER, RENEWAL
[Twenty-six issues were published and mailed to members. Most of these sponsors became advisors to Renewal’s successor newsletter, New Options (1984-1992).]
Ernest Callenbach Author of Ecotopia and Ecotopia Emerging, CA
Willis Harman Consciousness-change advocate, CA
Hazel Henderson Futurist and “anti-economist,” NJ
Karl Hess Decentralist author and activist, WV
Patricia Mische World-order author and activist, NJ
Jeremy Rifkin Holistic and ecological thinker, DC
James Robertson Critic of the job-centered economy, Britain
Carl Rogers Co-creator of “humanistic psychology,” CA
John Vasconcellos State legislator focusing on self-esteem issues, CA
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