When power is used for material gain only, it becomes a force of corruption, enslavement, exploitation and oppression. In a system guided by reason and love, power may therefore only be used to acquire knowledge and wisdom and to promote human progress. In the system envisioned by the students of Port Huron, the common people would participate in the decision-making process of the government via public groupings formed for this purpose and thus share in social decisions determining the quality and direction of their life. The students of Port Huron also envisioned an economic system based on the principles «that work should involve incentives worthier than money or survival. It should be educative, not stultifying; creative, not mechanical; self-directed, not manipulated, encouraging independence, a respect for others, a sense of dignity, and a willingness to accept social responsibility, since it is this experience that has crucial influence on habits, perceptions and individual ethics.»
In contrast to today’s economic principles of global market expansion and profit maximization, through which employees are often reduced to the status of production or service machines that may be used and discarded at will, the above principles promote the development of well-rounded, creative and socially responsible citizens, who in turn promote the development of a healthy economy and a humanitarian society. In keeping with the spirit of these principles, let’s imagine a society based on humanism and the cultivation of universal human values such as knowledge, wisdom, truth, love, logic and justice. Imagine a society whose greatest priority is to fulfill the needs of its people and promote human progress while maintaining a balance with nature – a society, in which the individual voluntarily takes over and fulfills various tasks, according to his abilities, for a given number of hours each day. In return, the individual receives everything he needs to live as compensation for his work: food, clothing, housing, energy, education, medical care, transportation and all other life necessities. This way, every individual would receive equal compensation for an equal number of hours worked, and all people would have enough to lead a fulfilling life. This type of social equality can only be achieved, however, when humanity lives in balance with nature. Only then would it be possible to provide equal education and meaningful work for all citizens of earth, through which our economy would naturally blossom and grow. Such a system is admittedly far from being realized today, but it is nonetheless achievable and well worth striving for.
Our current system, which is based on the illogical concept of endless economic growth and the hoarding of material wealth by a small fraction of our global population, has caused the economic stagnation and social disintegration that we suffer from today and is no longer sustainable.