The Wilberforce Option

Book excerpt: Houston, we have a problem! Spaceship Earth is in trouble, but most of those traveling first class dont believe there is a problem. And the other passengers are either oblivious, confused, or at odds with one another about what the problem actually is and what, if anything, can be done about it. The dominant species on planet Earth, Homo sapiens, continues to eliminate other species and to gravely, perhaps irreversibly, damage the natural environment. There are also too many humans who prey on others of their own species. There are many concerned individuals and institutions, such as Thomas Piketty, Chrystia Freeland, and Oxfam, who have written about the problem from different perspectives and providing different views, contributing to my observations and insights. What has been conspicuous in its absence is a feasible and desirable solution to the apparently intractable predicament in which the global community finds itself. That is my unique contribution with this book. My solution is comprehensive, conceived for the new millennium, redefining money in a fundamentally new financial system, fostering a collaborative economic doctrine that optimises the production of utility and a truly democratic political system that will provide good governance in the best interest of the peopleat last. I also provide a peaceful, civilised road map for getting there within the laws of the day. My aim is to prevent the destructive revolution that may have already begun. My suggestion is that we begin in the USA. The war on poverty will unite the United States as never before, across all the lines and labels that currently divides it. This war to end all wars will soon extend globally. America will again lead the world, but this time without moral ambiguity, with total moral clarity.