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Abundance-based Reform
Abundance-based thinking looks for ways to innovate our way out of challenges. It sees barriers as opportunities to do things in new, better, sustainable ways. It puts no cap on our ability to create change that can meet community needs in ways that reflect our community values.
There is principle that unites every progressive policy and political aspiration. It's not mere equality, fairness, or shared values. That principle is abundance.
Scarcity
Scarcity is the myth of misguided, immature, and misleading protectors of the status quo.
- Big banks want us to think that there's not enough smart & sensible people in the world to decentralize control of our financial system; they are the only ones knowledgeable enough, so they should control everything and be accountable to no one.
- Racists want us to think that there's only one particular group of people worth caring about; all others are subhuman and can be ridiculed, raided, and removed our sight and minds.
- Cable news networks want us to think that their pundits are the only opinion makers, their views are the only ones of import; your views are nice, but not necessary. Just pay us and listen.
Abundance
Abundance-based thinking looks for ways to innovate our way out of challenges. It sees barriers as opportunities to do things in new, better, sustainable ways. It puts no cap on our ability to create change that can meet community needs in ways that reflect our community values.
Example: Comprehensive Immigration Reform
People who believe that immigration reform damages the job market for native-born workers see our economy as a black-and-white, zero-sum game. They mistakenly think there are only finite numbers of jobs, organizations, and industries. This world view views work as scarce, so it makes sense then that we must protect the precious few jobs we have and hoard them for ourselves.
This does not reflect reality.
Enabling more talent to thrive breeds innovation. Innovation breeds better products, better services, and more productivity. Highly productive people producing more, better products and services increases supply and demand. Increased demand leads to...more jobs for everyone.
This leap is neither indirect nor far-fetched. We've seen it in industry after industry, sector after sector. The automotive industry of the early 1900s. The information technology industry of the 1980s and 1990s.
Abundance-based Organizing
As we determine what issues to tackle next and what strategies to employ, consider framing our actions as choosing abundance over scarcity. To believe in scarcity is to let fear drive us. Believing in abundance embraces hope. Scarcity freezes us in despair and powerlessness. Abundance frees us to be creative, be effective, and be victorious in our endeavors.
Think big.
Photo credit: incurable_hippie on Flickr
