LET’S ACT TOGETHER !

From climatic crisis to humanitarian crisis, from economic war to war for raw material resources, for food, for water, etc. ; from demographic crisis to migratory crisis, from health crisis to financial crisis, humanity is struggling… 

Is it possible to solve all these problems at their root ?

Here is a radical and yet so simple and natural proposal: share the world's surplus resources among nations. More precisely, it is a barter at a global level.

The time has come to move from a paradigm of competition to a paradigm of cooperation! (1) Let's listen to that little voice in our heart: it tells us "YES it is possible".

--> To defend this project, 
       Sign the petition to the UN

Why are there these repeated crises ?

The causes are complex ; nevertheless, we can identify some factors:  

• The hyper concentration of wealth for the benefit of a small minority. (2)
• The wild speculation without any regulation, at the detriment of the living.
• The organization of the artificial scarcity of resources in order to increase prices and maximize profits.
• Inequality in the geographical distribution of resources: food, water, raw materials.
• The sum of the geopolitical interests of nations in complete disconnection with the common good of humanity and the planet.
• Companies or individuals are now richer and more powerful than States.
• The generalized commodification of natural resources – everything has now a price - even water.

More than ever, the question of sharing of the world's resources arises.

Here is how it could be organized:

First of all, each country would be asked to make known precisely what it produces, what it cultivates, what it imports. Thus, the whole of the needs and the products existing on Earth would be known.

Then, each country would donate to a common fund its surplus of resources.

The rich and powerful nations would, of course, give more because they have considerable surpluses, and the poorest would give less: each nation would give away the surpluses it has.

Through this common fund, based on global goodwill, the needs of all would be met. (3)

In fact, it is a question of implementing a new economy of sharing articulated around a new system of exchange and redistribution of surpluses.

What resources are we talking about ? In priority : the essential for the survival of human beings, i.e., food, water, medicines, raw materials, energy. But also the intangible resources such as knowledge, efficient and innovative agricultural techniques, good practices of sustainable development, software, patents...  

What do we mean by surpluses ? Everything that a nation has in abundance and in surplus, and that meets quality standards.

We can cite the surplus of food resources that is wasted in certain parts of the world while millions of people go hungry. For example, in Canada, in 2022, 96% of surplus food is wasted (4).

For intangible resources, good will is enough. With the internet, everything can be shared right now.

The situation of humanity has reached a critical point ; the survival of all of us is at stake. It is urgent to consider ourselves as one family by establishing fair relationships in order to achieve a fair redistribution of resources.

--> For the sharing of the world's resource surplus                                                       Do not hesitate to sign this petition 

Do you think we are dreamers ?

Think of it again, a project dealing with issues involving global economic interdependence has already been outlined forty years ago by the Brandt Commission (5) under the aegis of the UN. This Commission gave rise to the only North-South Summit (6) in history. This summit was unanimously supported by the developing countries and nearly all the rich countries, with    the notable exception of the United States under Mr. Reagan and the United Kingdom under Thatcher.

But without the support of an enlightened public opinion, this first opportunity was missed. We know what happened next: neoliberalism triumphed and its dramatic consequences are still with us today. We are reaching the end of this dysfunctional system in which we have exhausted all options

This is a call to share resources and to the unity of humanity.

For without sharing, there is no justice,

Without justice there is no peace,

And without peace there is no future. (7)

We are witnessing the collapse of the world we know ; humanity has a new window of opportunity to reorient its priorities and change direction.

And at the same time, we are all witnessing the development of a new global consciousness carried by the voice of the people.

Let's act now : let's seize this new opportunity to get out of the dead end in which humanity finds itself.

With this petition, together, we give ourselves the means to put pressure on the world's leaders in order to favorize sharing and a fair distribution of resource surpluses. 

Each one of us is essential, let‘s all participate in this dynamic :

--> Let's be an actor of this changing world

Let's take a moment to visualize this new world based on sharing

When the needs for all in food, water, raw materials will be satisfied, let’s imagine how great the liberation of the human being will be, thus allowing the influx of creativity and innovation in the world.

With sharing, we will live in a peaceful, resilient world, a world of cooperation with Life at the center of priorities, not money.

Sharing being based on right human relations, it will naturally lead us towards a new art of living.

--> Let's mobilize for this promising future

Who are the recipients of the petition ?

When enough people are mobilized, we will send the petition and its signatures to the Secretary General of the UN (Antonio Guterres) and the President of the UN General Assembly (Csaba Kőrösi) to request the creation of a commission for the establishment of a common fund of surplus resources and their fair redistribution according to the needs of the nations. The petition is part of the debate at the 77th session of the United Nations Assembly: "A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges" (8).

Who are we ?

We are a group of citizens sensitive to the inequalities in the world, gathered in the collective Sharing-resources (9) in order to promote constructive responses to the current crises and challenges of humanity. We hope to shake up inertia and stimulate an emerging global consciousness oriented towards the common good.

_______________________________________________________________

References:

(1): Examples of some recent initiatives on the sharing of material and immaterial resources or on promoting cooperative actions focused on the common good :

P2P FOUNDATION : (peer -to peer)   https://p2pfoundation.net/ 
https://www.nouvelledonne.fr [In French]
Ouishare.net/our-dna 
www.colibris-lemouvement.org/ [In French]
….
Note : these sites are independent and are given for information purposes only and do not necessarily adhere to the statements of the present collective. On the other hand, we are not responsible for the content of the sites mentioned.

(2): Mega-rich recoup COVID-losses in record-time yet billions will live in poverty for at least a decade  Oxfam mega rich during Covid

(3) (7) Loosely based on various sources  https://stwr.org/ , the Share international magazine 

(4): See the website : https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2022/04/12/au-canada-96-des-surplus-alimentaires-sont-gaspilles-que-doit-on-faire [In French]

(5) Willy Brandt, former German social-democrat chancellor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate initiated and led this independent commission on international development (Brandt Commission). This initiative has been updated by various personalities, notably James Quilligan

(6) See North-South Report  

(8) See News from the UN in September 2022

(9) This petition is supported by the Sharing-Resources collective, which brings together citizens of the world involved in the sharing of global resources. http://sharing.resources.blog.free.fr/ [In English, French and Spanish]