It’s Simpol !The Simultaneous Policy News • Spring 2005

ISPO • PO Box 26547 • London • SE3 7YT www.simpol.org

Government or private? Reform of ourunsustainable monetary system is long overdue

A candidate measure for global agreement within the Simultaneous Policy development process.

Report on Simpol-UK’s Policy Forum held in the House of Commons, London, on 2 March 2005.

Simpol-UK prepares for thegeneral election

plus all the latest news on theSimultaneous Policy campaign

Page 3

Monetary Reform -Making it Happen!

The first in a series of SP books,showing how the Simultaneous

Policy can address globalproblems.

Order details on page 12

Editorial

This issue for Spring 2005 is a notable one – and here are key reasonswhy.

There’s a report from Simpol-UK about its Policy Forum on monetaryreform held in the House of Commons early in March. This topic mightnot seem to merit top billing for international political action. But readthe lead contribution from the four speakers, and the campaigningfollow-up proposals, and you’ll see what a major issue for change itactually is.

Last October we heard how 59 candidates for the Australian federalelection decided they should sign their support for SP. Now, in the lead-up to the 2005 general election in the UK sitting MPs and candidatesare beginning to pledge their support in the same way, in response todirect-mailed letters from Adopters. These are developments thatdeserve to be followed with interest. Some candidates have madepowerful statements in support of SP, showing political buy-in to ISPO'sstrategy. And we are also seeing competition for SP Adopters' votes inconstituencies where more than one candidate has signed the pledge.

And Simpol-Italia is now on the international map. We learn howfocused discussion on The Corporation film and enthusiastic localleadership has added another active nation to SP’s global outreach.

Plus, of course, additional encouraging news items from a range ofcampaigning activities.

Contents

Page 3. Reform of our unsustainable monetary system is nowachievable through informed action by voters

Report on Simpol-UK's Policy Forum held in the House ofCommons, London, on 2 March

Page 7. UK local groups, policy fora and the National PolicyCommittee

Mike Brady reports on local group policy fora and the SPpolicy development process

Page 8. UK general election A list for voters’ attention in election year: politicians whohave signed the SP pledge.

Page 9. Campaigning: personal experience at the grass rootsJill Phillips tells us how SP events evolved when she wentto live in ItalyBarnaby Flynn shows how setting up a stall among shopperscan attract willing Adopters

Page 10. Campaigning updates: national and local group eventsSusan Crosio describes the establishment of the new SPgroup based in southern ItalyAdopters’ Group activities in the UK

Page 11. News BriefsInternational Open Space meeting held in LondonJoe Fleury offers SP a Mail Art projectDr Desmond Berghofer joins ISPO’s Advisory BoardSP in the blogosphere, with invitations from Chris Macrae

ISPO • PO Box 26547 • London • SE3 7YT www.simpol.org

The Simultaneous Policy

It’s Simpol !International

Simultaneous PolicyOrganisation

The International Simultaneous PolicyOrganisation (ISPO) is a growingassociation of citizens world-wide whouse their votes in a new, coordinatedand effective way to drive all nations tocooperate in solving our planetary crisis.Transnational citizen action is vitalbecause global markets andcorporations so comprehensivelyoverpower individual nations that nopolitician dares make the first move tosolve global problems for fear ofcompetitive disadvantage.

ISPO overcomes this by bringing allnations to support in principle - andthen to simultaneously implement – theSimultaneous Policy (SP), a range ofdemocratically selected regulations tobring about economic justice,environmental security and peacearound the world.

SP Adopters undertake to vote in futureelections for ANY political party orcandidate - within reason - that pledgesto implement SP, or to encourage theirpreferred party to support SP. As moreand more citizens act in this way,politicians will support SP if they wish toremain in office. Adopting SP involvesno risk because simultaneousimplementation removes everyone's fearof first-mover disadvantage. SP thustranscends party politics by providing apowerful tool for citizens to drivepoliticians and governments to deliverthe measures our world so desperatelyneeds. With SP, global citizens arereplacing destructive competition withfruitful co-operation. With SP, we aretogether taking humanity to the nextstage in our evolutionary future.

An occasional newsletter published for theINTERNATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS POLICYORGANISATION (ISPO : info@simpol.org)

by Simpol-UK (www.simpol.org.uk)

Edited by Brian Wills (brian.wills@wanadoo.fr)Production: Mike Brady

Exploring Simultaneous Policy measures in process 3

Reform of our unsustainablemonetary system is nowachievable through informedaction by voters

The following is a report on the Policy Forum of thesame name convened by Simpol-UK in the House ofCommons, London, UK, by kind invitation of NormanBaker MP on 2 Mar 2005 and chaired by DonaldMartin. The text of the lead presentation by JamesRobertson is unabridged. Synopses of the otherthree are followed by question-and-answerdiscussions and follow-up plans. This report islodged for continuing consultation in the Policy Zoneof www.simpol.org.uk

James Robertson (author with John Bunzl of MonetaryReform: Making it Happen!)(The presentation is based on Chapters 1 and 2 of thisbook. The text can be downloaded free fromhttp://www.jamesrobertson.com/books.htm. For detailsabout paperback copies, email info@simpol.org. Contact:james@jamesrobertson.com.)

Introduction and context

Rightly or wrongly increasing numbers of people aroundthe world are seeing the money system as a threat todemocracy and a major cause of the economicinefficiency, destructiveness and injustice that theyexperience under the present form of globalisation.Monetary reform will be one important response to that.

Monetary reform is about changing the way new money iscreated. And the first thing to remember is that whoevercreates new money makes money (unless they give itaway).

At the national level the money supply is now very largelycreated (over 90% in UK) by commercial banks. They areallowed to write electronic money out of thin air into thebank accounts of their customers – as profit-making loans.

The rest of the money supply is banknotes and coins(paper and metal money) created by agencies of the stateand put into circulation debt-free – a source of publicrevenue.

At the international level the main international currencynow is the US dollar. The US is estimated to receive over$400 bn a year from other countries, especially poorercountries, for using it.

To save time this evening I will not say more aboutinternational monetary reform. But note that theproposal in Monetary Reform - Making it Happen followsthe same general principles as the proposal for nationalmonetary reform.

The national monetary reform proposal

1. Central banks should create non-cash money (i.e.

bank-account money) out of thin air, as thecommercial banks do now. At regular intervals theyshould create as much as they decide is needed toincrease the money supply. They should transmit theseamounts to their governments as debt-free publicrevenue. Governments should then put the money intocirculation by spending it like other revenue – as theydecide.

2. It should be made illegal for anyone else, includingcommercial banks, to create new bank-account moneydenominated in the national currency, just as it isalready illegal to forge coins or counterfeit banknotes.

3. In order to regulate increases in the money supply thecentral bank will no longer need to manipulateinterest rates in order to influence the amount of newmoney created by commercial banks.

4. In order to lend money, commercial banks will have toborrow already existing money from elsewhere. Theywill become brokers, linking potential lenders topotential borrowers – as many people wrongly assumethey are now.

5. This reform will parallel what happened to banknotesin the 19th century. Banknotes, issued by the banks,were then recognised to have become real money andno longer merely "credit notes". When that wasaccepted, the central bank took over issuing them.Similarly now, electronic bank-account money isrecognised to have become real money, ready forimmediate spending – not just something called"credit". It is time to transfer responsibility to thecentral bank for creating it.

6. On the best available estimates this would mean about£45 bn a year in new public revenue, and loss of ahidden subsidy of over £20 bn now enjoyed by thebanks.

7. The reform will be evolutionary, not revolutionary.

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

Ideas cards are now available in the Campaign Zone ofwww.simpol.org.uk summarising the SP strategy on one sideand giving an overview of a possible policy area on the other.

4 Exploring Simultaneous Policy measures in process

Since nationalisation in 1946, the Bank of England hascontinued to evolve from being a commercial bankwith a special relationship to the government, towardsbecoming a straightforward agency of the state, ascentral monetary authority. Meanwhile, thecommercial banks have become somewhat lessmonopolistic, somewhat more competitive businesses,with fewer public service functions, subsidies andcontrols. For both the Bank of England and thecommercial banks, the proposed reform is clearly thenext evolutionary step.

8. Two things monetary reform does Not propose:a. Public spending. The reform will not affect thepower of elected government to decide how the newmoney, or any other public revenue, is spent. (It willnot give the Bank of England any power in thatrespect.)b. Borrowing and lending. It will not restrict theborrowing and lending of already existing money.

Benefits of monetary reform

1. Reductions in taxation and government debt andincreases in public spending, up to £45 bn a year.

2. The value of a common resource – the national moneysupply – will become a source of public revenue ratherthan private profit. That will remove an economicinjustice and a distortion of economic efficiency.

3. Withdrawing the present hidden subsidy to the bankswill result in a freer market for money and finance,and a more competitive banking industry. Therecently published huge bank profits, and DonCruickshank's recent outspoken criticisms of UKgovernment policies are very relevant.

4. A debt-free money supply will help to reduce presentlevels of public and private indebtedness. They arepartly caused by the fact that nearly all the money weuse has been created as debt, which has to be paidback and on which interest has to be paid.

5. The economy will become more stable. Banks want tolend more and their customers want to borrow moreat the peaks of the business cycle – and less in thetroughs. So, linking the creation of new money to thereadiness of banks to lend and of bank customers toborrow, automatically amplifies the booms and buststhat destabilise the economy.

6. The central bank will be better able to controlinflation. It now tries to control inflation indirectly, byraising interest rates (the costs of bank loans). Butraising those costs actually helps to cause inflation – aswell as bankrupting businesses and individuals.

7. Environmental destruction will be reduced. When, asnow, almost all the money we use started out as debt,people have to produce and sell more things in orderto repay the principal and interest of the debt thanthey would if all our money had started its life debt-free.

Obstacles and objections to the reform

The following are among the obstacles to national

monetary reform and the objections against it by Ministersand MPs. They are documented and, in most cases,refuted in Monetary Reform - Making it Happen, wherethe names of particular MPs and Ministers are given.

1. Powerful opposition from banking and financialinterests, and associates – official, professional,academic, corporate, political. The threat that evenraising the possibility of monetary reform will damagethe economy.

2. Public ignorance and confusion about how money isnow created.

3. Positive wish for public and political ignorance.

4. Misunderstanding and misrepresentation about whatthe monetary reform proposal actually is.

5. Fear, genuine and spurious, that monetary reform willinvolve further centralisation of state power.

6. Knee-jerk reaction that monetary reform will beinflationary.

7. Knee-jerk reaction that monetary reform will 'crowdout' investment in the private sector. This ignores (a)that there is no compelling reason why it should, and(b) that the Private Financial Initiative (PFI ) wasbrought in precisely in order to channel private sectorfinance into public sector investment!

8. Depriving banks of their hidden subsidy will increasethe costs of borrowing and payment services, andforce banks to cut costs, close branches and reducejobs. (But why should banks be subsidised any morethan other industries?)

9. It will damage the international competitiveness of UKbanks and therefore of the UK economy as a whole.

10. No other country has seriously considered it.

Relevance of the Simultaneous Policy

Logically, it should be possible to refute most of theobjections. Many of them are spurious. But, genuine orspurious, fears of losing international competitiveness arevery widespread and strong. An international citizens'movement for monetary reform can help to overcomethem.

The Simultaneous Policy movement can obviously help togive momentum to such a movement – provided it is clearthat SP does NOT mean: "Nothing can be done to promotemonetary reform until every country agrees to introduceit simultaneously".

An additional note about the power of the state. Tomake an agency of the state directly and transparentlyresponsible for controlling the public money supply, whichit now controls indirectly by manipulating interest rates,will not give excessive new power to the state – onlyclarify an existing responsibility.

Consider taxation – a parallel case. Agencies of the stateare directly responsible for taxation. Does anyoneseriously support "decentralising" the power of the state

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

Exploring Simultaneous Policy measures in process 5

by giving the Big Four banks responsibility for raising taxeson a profit-making basis?

John Bunzl (ISPO director and Simpol-UK trustee; authorof The Simultaneous Policy. Contact: jbunzl@simpol.org.)

My task is to focus on how, in a globalised world, we canget monetary reform and many other vital reformsimplemented, and counterbalance the power of vested-interest groups.

At one level politicians are right to maintain or enhancenational competitiveness. But at a higher level there is abig problem with this kind of thinking because every othergovernment in the global economy is playing exactly thesame game – pleading that “internationalcompetitiveness” necessitates the maintenance of thestatus quo. Thus there’s a vicious circle from which nonation can escape, creating a world that is becomingincreasingly unjust, unsafe and unsustainable.

A new role for voting citizens worldwide

So I suggest we as citizens now have to show politiciansand governments how to avoid this destructive situation,and move to a framework of global cooperation.

There is no point in starting a new political party, for theobvious reason that no party in government couldimplement reforms for fear that business would moveelsewhere. But the Simultaneous Policy movement (‘SP’)offers voting citizens worldwide the chance to help bringabout the degree of international cooperation required,simply by signing his or her personal adoption of SP. Andpoliticians, too, are invited to sign a pledge “toimplement the Simultaneous Policy alongside othergovernments when all, or sufficient, other governmentshave made the same pledge.”

[Editorial note: Here followed the description of SP asboth an innovative evolutionary political process and apolicy-in-the-making that is described elsewhere in thisnewsletter and in www.simpol.org.]

Politicians are pledging their support for SP’s risk-freestrategy

The welcome news is that many enlightened politicianshave already seen the good sense in this combinedstrategy. They know that signing the pledge is a risk-freeundertaking. And those in constituencies with marginalmajorities have understood that signing the SP pledge maymake all the difference between winning or losing a seat.

And this, my friends, is what SP is all about: it removesthe barriers of fear and distrust.

I believe passionately in the fundamental goodness ofhumanity. In its ability, in fact, to understand that thosewho are commonly regarded as being in control of “thesystem” are not in control and thus cannot be heldresponsible because they have no choice but to respond tomarket forces. And that, consequently, all of us are in thesame boat until we realise, if we want to survive, wehave to evolve as a species and then attain ourcooperative maturity.

It is, after all, through this level of consciousness, as theAmerican philosopher, Ken Wilber suggests, that “runs theblood of a common humanity and beats the single heart ofa very small planet struggling for its own survival, andyearning for its own release into a deeper and a truertomorrow.”

To this end I suggest SP is an entirely practical politicalstrategy that can help us move towards such a goal,addressing step by step the kind of achievable reform weare considering tonight.

Tarek El Diwany (author of The Problem with Interest.Contact: tarek@zestadvisory.com)

Today there are powerful forces in academia, politics andcommerce that want us to think that the present model ofsecular capitalism is a necessary basis for technological,social and economic development. The history of Islam,however, shows that this is not the case.

In the absence of interest and speculation, and in a worldwhere the profit motive was not elevated to a position ofgodhood, the Islamic Empire nevertheless experiencedeconomic growth and social stability for many centuries.One key, but by no means the only key, to this successwas an interest-free monetary system.

Avoiding unsustainable debt

Under the present monetary system, money is thecounterpart to debt on the economic balance sheet, andat any one point in time there is insufficient money torepay existing interest-bearing debt. Hence, in order torepay yesterday's debt, society must go into yet greaterdebt today.

The traditional Islamic monetary system adopted acommodity-based money supply, one where money wasissued at factor-cost through the process of miningprecious metal. Interest-bearing debt was not anecessary result of this money creation process.Furthermore, the profit-sharing principles built intoIslamic-based financing remove the incentive for thecreation of token money by the modern banking systemsince interest is a crucial device that makes this systemprofitable, and in Islam interest is prohibited.

The kind of reform proposals currently under discussion,intended to provide greater fairness in the financing ofthe public and private sectors, must be promoted at thepolitical level as well as through action among individualsand their communities. In this way, change may permeateboth upwards and downwards through society. But wemust not be naïve about the size of the task facing us.

Some Islamic bankers, for instance, faced withcompetition from conventional banks and lacking a properunderstanding of the true nature of the modern monetarysystem, have offered their clients financial services thatdiffer little in substance from the interest-basedalternatives. Only the labels have changed.

Counterbalancing commercial banks’ unjust privileges

And we should realise that the interest-based banking

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

6 Exploring Simultaneous Policy measures in process

industry is fully aware of the challenge that a genuineIslamic banking industry might offer. This is why theyhave worked hard to co-opt Islamic banking, to neutraliseits threat by promoting their own methodologies within it.

The interest-based financial establishment is also awareof the range of monetary reform proposals underdiscussion, from LETS (Local Exchange and TradingSystems) to debt-free public revenue systems, and theylikewise work, as we do, to further their long terminterests. For example, following clause 104 in theMaastricht Treaty, European governments may not instructtheir central banks to create money free of interest. Allsuch money creation must now be undertaken byborrowing from the banking sector at the market rate ofinterest.

There is no doubt that the privilege that commercialbanks enjoy to create money and lend it at interest is asignificant cause of economic injustice. And to correctthis, the Islamic commodity money proposal merits closeattention wherever monetary reform proposals are underconsideration. But for the present, the idea of confiningmoney creation to the state on an interest-free basis is anexcellent step forward.

Peter Challen (of the Christian Council for MonetaryJustice. Contact: peter@southwark.org.uk)

In this matter I present myself as an Amateur – a lover ofintrinsic value. And want to share with you the followingquotes that seem to me directly relevant to ourdiscussion:

• An anonymous announcement in a window of theWelcome Foundation: ‘Man's first chronicle was hisfootprint; it shows his comings, his goings and hisdoings'.

• To which could be added: 'Man's last chronicle maywell be his contemporary ecological footprint; itshows over these declining years a hubristic dominanceand wilful destruction that is untenable'.

• And this that appeared on a Tube hoarding: Go Getters- Go Get!, raising the question 'Why are you flyingabout everywhere?', plus my own question which is:'Why aren't we getting converts around the world foreconomic and financial sanity?'

What are the important issues?

So some issues that need to be debated are:

• Do we distinguish between creation of non-cash/bankmoney and its distribution ?

• Do we face up to the question of usury, raised by allthe great faith traditions, though conveniently largelyignored by all but the most faithful Muslims and oddindividuals in all faiths?

• In a culture of individuation do we need to develop apsyche the size of the universe and then find ourselvesin it?

That process will help us to discover our earth identity,acquire ecological humility, and the spiritual imperativethat declares that wholeness is the union of all oppositesand the bringer of dignity as structural justice to all

creatures. Only thus can we hold together key elementssuch as Land and Resources of the Commons; Money;Corporate Law; and a Universal Basic Income.

There are those who argue that most of our contemporaryassumptions are untenable. So we need the courage of afresh look and preparedness for radical change, focusingon common ground and avoiding swift judgement of otherpeople’s domains of interest. To this end there are thefollowing encouraging resources available.

Many supportive networks already exist

• A growing network of some 800 thinkers and activists,with 80 of whom I’m in active contact concerningMonetary Justice; new Ethically Responsible CorporateLaw; new Land Laws; and Distribution (Duchrow'sProperty).

• The similarly growing list of SP Adopters worldwide(www.simpol.org).

• The Monetary Justice Networks: Forum for StableCurrencies (www.monies.cc); Prosperity(www.prosperityuk.uk); News of the weekly LondonOpen Table on Monetary Reform(www.globaljusticemovement.net); Christian Councilfor Monetary Justice (www.ccmj.org). (To join the FSCand/or Open Table lists contactpeter@southwark.org.uk.)

• The UK MPs who have signed Early Day Motion 327‘Public Credit for Public Works’ (currently 28: seehttp://edm.ais.co.uk). Related EDMs are: Debtcancellation (no.519: 66 MPs); Domestic TradableQuotas (no.563: 17 MPs); Interest free money (no.743:22 MPs); Miscellaneous Bank Charges (no.829: 15 MPs).

• Access to these and other UK politicians via thewebsites www.writetothem.org, backed up by dataprovided on www.theyworkforyou.com andwww.publicwhip.org.uk.

• Academic grounding for the intellectual base ofparticular reforms, as provided, for example, by theInstitute of Comparative Political Economy in fouruniversities (http://faculty.uccb.ns.ca).

• The 20 questions issued by the Joseph RowntreeCharitable Trust used as a basis for auditing fundingapplications under the title: Visionaries for a world ofjustice and peace (copies available from me).

Summary of discussions and follow-up plans

Much of the discussion comprised clarifications of thepoints made in the four presentations. Of particularsignificance was the reported unwillingness of UKgovernment officials to respond to such a question as: Canyou confirm that, by depriving banks of their subsidy of£20 bn/year, about £45 bn/yr could be made available asnew public revenue, as per the best available estimates?The question appears to be unanswerable because thecontext is unthinkable!

Selected questions and answers

Q: As banks and the government are likely to be opposedto monetary reform, could it be brought in gradually?

A: A normal first step would be for an official‘announcement of intent’ to be made. After thatimplementation would take as long as it takes to writeoff existing debts: say more than 10 years.

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

Campaigning Updates 7

There then followed general agreement that everyeffort should be made, and quickly, to inform thepublic of the unfairness of our present monetarysystem.

Q: Assuming that such implementation were givengovernment backing, how long would it take forbenefits to reach the poor?

A: At least 5-10 years. But for this to happen monetaryreform would have to be accompanied by otherreforms as a planned package for economicdevelopment: WTO-based trade; internationaltaxation; land ownership; etc. This would of courseamount to a major exercise in global cooperationbetween governments. But if SP and similarorganisations were successful in igniting public opinionin favour of such action, changes might happensurprisingly rapidly because a groundswell ofdissatisfaction with current policies is already audiblein the corridors of power.

Q: Let’s be realistic! Such proposals seem all toointellectual. How can we simplify the message so thatit can be readily understood by everybody?

A: Read David Boyle’s The Little Money Book (AlistairSawday, 2000, £6.99: see resumé in www.fragile-earth.com.)

Donald Martin’s closing comments

“Within this House of Commons, and widely elsewhere, ahunger for change is becoming evident. Indeed, it ishappening already. And it’s up to us to take themovement forward. Speak to people. Raise questions.And spread the word that monetary reform is now part ofthe political agenda.”

Post-Forum follow-up

Members of Simpol-UK’s management board played asimple board game with Monopoly houses and money thatshowed within remarkably few minutes how moneyderived from an interest-bearing loan filtered its way backto the issuing bank which had originally created it ‘out ofthin air’.

Here, evidently, is potential for propagating a pocketgame, playable anywhere by SP campaigners, thatdemonstrates the exploitative injustice of the currentmonetary system. And some candidate slogans previouslysuggested by interested Adopters are listed below and onthe ideas card on page 3 (while doggerel verses, inreserve, await their slot for circulation).

So, for follow-up, readers are warmly invited to addshort, punchy additions to this list and to volunteer theirtime (or suggest others likely to be willing) as 'monetaryreform monitors' gathering proposals for further action viaSimpol-UK's management board. (Contact:brian.wills@wanadoo.fr.)

97% OF OUR MONEY DOESN’T REALLY EXIST!So voters and politicians are working togetherTo end unjust & avoidable bank-loan practices.SP WORKS FOR ME! : see WWW.SIMPOL.ORG

Stop the Scam! Your global vote can end centuries ofbank-loan exploitation

UK local groups, policy foraand the National PolicyCommitteeOne of the roles of local groups is to involve SP Adoptersin the policy development process. How this will work isstill evolving, but experiences in Cambridge SP Adopters'Groups (CAMSPAG) and in other grassroots democraticmovements suggest a possible model.

CAMSPAG has held several policy fora on topics such as'Making all trade Fair Trade', 'Food security for all' and'Achieving sustainable energy use'.

Holding corporations accountable

The most recent CAMSPAG policy forum was on 'HoldingCorporations Accountable' and, as with the others, a guestspeaker was invited to provide expert input and tostrengthen links between Simpol-UK and other networks.On this occasion it was Andy Higginbottom, NationalSecretary of the Colombia Solidarity Campaign, explainingabout trade-union busting activities by transnationalcorporations in Colombia, perpetrated by oil companiesand food companies, such as Nestlé and Coca-Cola.

A boycott of Coca-Cola was launched last year. This arosefrom meetings of Popular Public Tribunals conducted bycivil society organisations in Colombia. The Tribunals' callfor an international boycott was carried to the WorldSocial Forum in India in 2004, where it was endorsed. Nowglobal justice groups in many countries are promoting theboycott as a way to put pressure on Coca-Cola to change.This model of mass public involvement in policy setting issomething from which the SP campaign can learn. It isincreasingly commonplace in Asia and Latin America andthe SP campaign has the potential, perhaps theresponsibility, to make it a reality wherever we operate.At the same time, by networking with grassrootsdemocratic movements, we can help to promote SP to areceptive audience in other countries.

In parallel with the boycott, Colombian campaigners havelinked with trade unionists in the United States to bringlegal action against Coca-Cola. There are calls frompoliticians for the legislation under which the action wasbrought to be changed. It is a classic example of

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

Trade unionists inColombia have had to callan international boycottof Coca-Cola to drawattention to theirgrievances against thecompany and to putpressure on it to change.

Shouldn’t there be abetter system forregistering complaints ofhuman rights abuses andhaving them investigatedso effective action can betaken and enforced?

8 Campaigning Updates

competition between nations causing pressure to lowerstandards, as John Bunzl's analysis predicts: why shouldthe courts in the US hold their companies to account ifcompanies in other countries can escape unchallenged andso be more profitable?

In the UK, campaigning organisations have formed theCorporate Responsibility Coalition (CORE) to work fornational legislation to hold UK-based companies toaccount for their activities anywhere in the world.Information on this is provided in the discussion paperarising from the CAMSPAG policy forum, which, as alwayshad three aims: providing information on immediateaction to address a global problem (in this case the Coca-Cola boycott), information on a campaign for changethrough conventional campaigning (the CORE approach)and on SP as a way to achieve structural change toeffectively hold corporations to account. The actualpolicies that could be included in the Simultaneous Policypackage to this end were not discussed in any depth onthis occasion, but there are suggestions in the discussionpaper on 'Making all trade Fair Trade', a topic CAMSPAGhas re-visited and is championing within the growingnetwork of Adopters. CAMSPAG's public meeting on 6 April(see page 10) examines policy options in more depth.

Both discussion papers are available in the recently-launched Policy Zone on Simpol-UK’s website,www.simpol.org.uk

Development of policy proposals

As with all policy proposals at this stage, thesesuggestions have no official status within SP, but areoffered as possible areas SP could address. The ideas canbe taken forward by other local groups in the UK andother countries for their discussion and possibledevelopment. SP is perhaps unique in aiming to developpolicies with mass involvement across nationalboundaries, instead of pursuing policies thought up by theorganisation’s hierarchy.

As ideas develop they may gain support from otherAdopters and local groups, or they may wither and die.The challenge for Simpol-UK and the soon-to-be-formedNational Policy Committee is to manage this process, sothat, as the Founding Declaration says, SP's policy contentis "determined by all adopters, working together co-operatively." Providing expert analysis of proposals will bea valuable part of this, as will attempting to spot linksbetween proposals in one area with those in another tomake a coherent whole and gauging the level of supportfor each set of proposals.

There will be an open meeting for all Adopters to discussthe formation of the Policy Committee and the principlesof policy development in June 2005. Anyone interested inattending to shape the process should contact the Simpol-UK Policy Officer, Barnaby Flynn, atbarnawasp@hotmail.com or on 07951 905396. This will notrequire joining the Policy Committee, which willultimately be elected by Adopters.

For information on the policy development process,holding a policy forum and setting up a local group, seethe campaign pack or film, at www.simpol.org.uk

UK politicians who havesigned the SP pledge

In response to direct-mailing from Simpol-UK andcontacts with campaigning Adopters, Members ofParliament (MPs) listed below have so far signed thepledge to implement the Simultaneous Policyalongside other governments when all, or sufficient,other governments have made the same pledge. Ageneral election is expected and several candidateshave already signed. For updates see theconstituency section of www.simpol.org.uk

Cambridge : Anne Campbell MP, Labour.

Cannock Chase : Tony Wright MP, Labour.

Camarthen East & Dinefwr : Adam Price MP, PlaidCymru.

Finchley & Golders Green : Rudi Vis MP, Labour.

Greenwich & Woolwich : David Sharman, Green Partycandidate.

Hayes & Harlington : John McDonnell MP, Labour.

Portsmouth South : Mike Hancock CBE MP, LiberalDemocrat.

Slough : David T Wood Green Party candidate.

South Dorset : Jim Knight MP, Labour and GrahamOakes, Liberal Democrat candidate.

St Ives : Andrew George MP, Liberal Democrat.

Sunderland North : Bill Etherington MP, Labour.

Wantage : Andrew Crawford, Liberal Democratcandidate.

West Dorset : J Susan Greene, Green Party candidate

Adopters undertake to vote for any candidate, withinreason, who has signed the pledge, or to encourage theirpreferred party to support SP.

A suggested letter to send to candidates and a poster fordisplaying in your window is available in the campaignpack (see the order form on the back page or downloadfrom www.simpol.org.uk).

Although at the time of writing the general election hasnot officially been called, we are already starting to seerival candidates signing the pledge.

Statements of support provided by candidates aredisplayed on the website. This will help Adopters withouta party preference to decide how to vote when there is achoice. Or ask the candidates what action they are takingto encourage their colleagues to support SP. Adopters mayalso like to consider how long rival candidates have beensupporting SP.

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

Campaigning Updates 9

Campaigning: personalexperience at the grass roots

Jill Phillips tells us howSP events evolved whenshe went to live in Italy

How fascinating. Howrewarding. How verydifficult !

Having bought a fewlanguage courses, I moved(or was I moved?) into theheel of Italy in September2004. (It seems to me thatthose of us who are awaketoday are being used asessential tools of one sort oranother to shift the fragileearth and its creaturesthrough to the next chapterin the story of theuniverse.)

I brought with me my pro-creature and anti-war Smartcar, my cat, and a passion for the work being donethrough SP. I had to find somewhere we could all livetogether. It took just two days for Mirko to locate us andour future home and, willy nilly, to trigger the incrediblenetwork that is fast becoming Simpol-Italia (see page 10).

The strange pyramid that is currently at work here has me(backed and informed by Simpol-UK) filtering SP ideasthrough the English language and its associated cultures toa small and incredibly dedicated team of bilingualenthusiasts. From there it is slowly trickling its waythrough to becoming embedded in the Italian cultureand political system.

Transferring into Italy the work – even just the paperwork– that has been achieved by John Bunzl and his fabulousteam is a mammoth task. Susie Crosio (Coordinator) and Iare working as full-time volunteers, Mirko (website) isgiving hours of his time, and many others are beinggenerous with space, enquiries, cakes, child-minding … somany hearts and minds already engaged in this greatwork.

English-Italian translation is well under way. It has quicklybecome obvious that, out into the wilds of the Italianpolitical system – where, it seems, almost nobody trustsanybody to do anything they say they will except forpersonal gain – original tactics must also be translocatedinto indigenous terms.

I suggest that SP needs immediate offers of helppending future advances into new languages andcultures. I further suggest that SP Adopters everywhereclick on www.servas-international.org, where they willfind thousands of active and like-minded citizens of theworld with open doors, ready to jump onto the SP vehicleto work alongside them for peace and sanity to return toplanet earth. (Contact: jill4simpol@virgilio.it.)

Barnaby Flynn claims: “100 adopting Penzanceshoppers can’t be wrong!”

Doing a stall is really good fun. It's interesting, and agreat way to socialise.

It is also the best way to explain personally to otherswhat SP is about, and encourage them to sign theadoption form there and then. When these days there aretoo many flyers and an overload in public information,manning a stall is very effective in getting passers-by toactually stop and listen.

Admittedly, such campaigning is daunting at first. But theeffort can be lightened by working with a friend or fellowAdopter. And, once out there, one meets all kinds ofpeople who agree that SP makes real sense.

I normally do the stall for an hour or two over lunchwhen I get the time. And I've found it has becomesteadily more popular and effective. This reprieves me ofthe sense of urgency that we need to do something nowto improve our lot. For, even if no-one adopts on thespot, you know you will have effected some change.When people say: "It sounds good but it will never work”,or “You can’t change anything”, I then say “Well, howcome there is such a thing called history?"

Most people that I get to stop simply glance at the stall. Iask them if they would like a flyer and, handing it over, Isay “It’s called Simultaneous Policy, and it’s about gettinglaws passed that Governments cannot pass on their ownbecause they are at the behest of big business". Theyeither stay and listen, peruse the flyers and the list ofother Adopters and decide to sign on too because they areconvinced that SP makes good sense; or they reactcautiously and take the flyer home.

On the practical side I haven’t found I needed to apply tothe Council for a pitch. You could ask Council staff forguidance; or just go and do it, as I did. It is probably notsensible to place a stall outside someone’s shop though,ironically, outside a bank seems to be a good spot. Staffworking in health food, fair trade or charity shops arelikely to be supportive because of their shared interest inreducing global poverty. Don’t forget to tell your localnewspaper about your campaigning work; and your localMP and candidates, too, because you will be affectingtheir votes.

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

Jill sweeping up in France,for her SP Adopter daughter,Ruth; en-route to Italy.

10 Campaigning Updates

The equipment you need comprises: a light-weight table,preferably with a carry strap and wooden legs (so thatposters can be pinned to them); poster-size cardboardsheets and drawing pins; lengths of elastic for holdingbooks and flyers in place on windy days; a list of Adoptersfrom http://www.simpol.org.uk/pdfs/contact0904.pdf anda supply of Adopters’ forms. (A good sense of humourhelps, too, when drunks think an SP stall is good for alaugh!)

Posters are easily designed on a computer, or the text canbe written beneath the SP logo with a marker pen. Forselecting appropriate words refer to the www.simpol.orgor www.simpol.org.uk websites, or contact other SPcolleagues or website resource-persons. My current posterreads: Adopt SP—and you decide what gets Globalised.But the choice is yours.

You are most welcome to contact me for further advice,at barnawasp@hotmail.com or +44 079 5190 5396. Youcould come and stay around Penzance for a holiday andstall experience (I know cheap places to stay); or, timeand distance permitting, I could come and show you howin your home town.

Campaigning updates:national and local groupevents

Simpol-Italia

Susan Crosio, Coordinator, writes to tell us about the newgroup being established in southern Italy

Our first meeting, at Polignano, was a mix of Italian,English, Spanish and Somali speakers. At the second, nearOstuni, 40 interested individuals watched the film TheCorporation. After our discussion – over pizza, wine andcoffee – four people adopted. Others are taking time toconsider before doing so.

The third meeting was at my house, near Martina Franca,when we discussed the structure of our futureorganisation. Two more Adopters signed up. Meantime,from Antonio Rossin we received his useful reduction andtranslation of John Bunzl's book The Simultaneous Policy,and Mirko has undertaken the translation of the Englishlanguage website. Although adoption is slow, the interestand energy are positive and powerful.

At our fourth meeting, on 13 March, we began recruitingTrustees and a Management Board. Our task will be toengage at physical, emotional, intellectual and spirituallevels. We think it is important, therefore, besidesconsidering the necessary functions of communication andmoney matters, to engage the heart and to interest theyouth movement. These things will be discussed in termsof possible art activities, dramatic and musicalperformances (a song sung by an important singer is avery strong microphone to the world), and summer campsfor the young.

It's a big mess here in Italy, as it is everywhere. All that isgood is in standby, waiting, waiting for something to

happen. We feel we can tell folk to carry on waiting and,while they are waiting, they can become Adopters andspread the news to others, such that one day soon it willbecome clear that something very good is about tohappen, simultaneously, all over the world. (Contact:jill4simpol@virgilio.it.)

Adopters’ Group activities in the UK

Reading

Contact Mo Adshead for information on future events onmo@nkf-mt.org.uk or 018 950 2281.

Cambridge

Cambridge SP Adopters’ Group (CAMSPAG) had a display inthe city centre library for a week in February. The localWorld Development Movement group used CAMSPAG’s‘Making all trade Fair Trade’ discussion paper during FairTrade fortnight, also in February. The next policy forumwill re-examine this topic (see events box). In anticipationof the general election, Adopters have been deliveringleaflets door-to-door. Contact mikebrady@simpol.org.uk or07986 736179 for details.

Penzance

Contact Barnaby Flynn at barnawasp@hotmail.com or07951 905396 for details of future events and street stalls(see above).

Bristol

The group will have a stall at the ‘Don’t Agonise,Organise’ event in Bristol on 16 April (see events box).Coordinator Rob Wicke: rw3075@bristol.ac.uk

Hull and Humber

Coordinator Richard Speight: r_d_speight@hotmail.com

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

National and local group events

Cambridge Simultaneous Policy Adopters’ Group

6 April 19:30: Making all trade Fair Trade. Video andfurther discussion on possible policies for inclusion inSP. Top office, 34 Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB21QY.

Bristol Simultaneous Policy Adopters’ Group

16 April 10:00-17:00: Don’t Agonise, Organise. Anexcellent programme of talks and workshops organisedby African Initiatives at L-Shed, Princes Wharf,Dockside, Bristol (events are free, but you are advisedto book for workshops - for more information, contactAfrican Initiatives on 0117 9166452 ordont_agonise_organise@yahoo.co.uk). Bristol-SPAG willhave a stall and Simpol-UK Local Group NetworkCoordinator, Mike Brady, is conducting a workshop on‘How to hold transnational corporations to account’which will focus on Nestlé.

New Briefs 11

News Briefs

International Open Space meeting held in London

In January, Simpol-UK convened a 1-day Open Space meetingat Friends’ House in London, supported by internationalnetworks concerned with sustainability, the media crisis,and trade with Africa. We heard how the Swedish Olympicsheptathlon winner Carolina Kluft and other young peoplehave pledged their support for African causes, inspiring suchideas as http://universityofstars.blogspot.com/ We learnedhow traditional economics, including externalities anddestructive competition, is rapidly becoming every corporatebrand’s biggest liability in the eyes of many – ranging fromyouth leaders to an emerging worldwide network ofsustainability analysts. (Contact: Chris Macrae atwcnb007@easynet.co.uk.)

Joe Fleury offers SP a Mail-Art project

As I am involved in the art world as a musician, I happened torun across something called 'mail-art'. It is exactly that: Artsent by Mail. Anyone of any age can participate. There areno prizes or juries, but sometimes, depending on theorganiser, collected works are exhibited in public places.

All it takes besides a bit of talent, is some cardboard, someglue, a pair of scissors, photographs, drawings, paintings,lithographs, newspaper clippings, etc., and of course, ... atheme. Everyone follows the chosen theme.

So I would now like to use Mail-Art to help promote SP bycalling upon Adopters to participate in a project called: TheSimultaneous Policy and how my world simultaneouslychanged into yours.

For this, I invite you to send me an illustrated postcard(through B5) with the words 'Simultaneous Policy' mentionedon the front or the back. When there are enough cards,these will be made available as promotional material toanyone wishing to organise an SP public meeting. In thecontext of a coffee shop or a hall, they would be exhibitedon the walls. Musicians are also asked to participate bysending in a track on cassette tape or cd (wave) under thetheme 'simultaneous'.

A cd-rom will be issued which will contain both the artworkand the music received. Copies could be given away at thesemeetings.

Go on, give it a try! Send your postcards (or music) to:Simpol, c/o Invasion, PO Box 70, CH-1752 Villars 2,Switzerland. I'll be checking my mail every day. I hope tosee your message very soon! (Contact:joe.fleury@hispeed.ch.)

Dr Desmond Berghofer joins ISPO’s Advisory Board

Desmond Berghofer, PhD, is President of Creative LearningInternational (www.creative-learning.ca), a consulting firm inleadership and the creative management of change inVancouver, Canada. He is also the co-founder of the Institutefor Ethical Leadership and Chair of the Gulf Islands Centre forEcological Learning. He has represented Canadainternationally through the Council of Ministers of Education,Canada, and the United Nations Educational Scientific andCultural Organization (UNESCO).

As an author and speaker, Desmond displays a passionateconcern for the future of the planet and its citizens. His

powerful first book, The Visioneers: A Courage Story aboutBelief in the Future, overflows with his conviction thatpeople who understand the larger picture will care for theirearthly home. He developed this value growing up in afarming family in Queensland, Australia.

Desmond is a member of the Canadian Commission forUNESCO where he contributes to the sustainability agenda.His paper presented to the Commission’s Annual GeneralMeeting in May of 2004, entitled “Creating a KnowledgeSociety: The Building Blocks of a New TranscendentHumanity” (www.ethicalleadership.com), has receivedconsiderable international attention. (Contact:desgerri@direct.ca.)

SP in the blogosphere, with invitations from ChrisMacrae

On 15 Feb 2005 TimesOnLine published an article by Tim Reidentitled 'Citizen journalists relish their power to overthrowpress'. It's about a top CNN news executive being forced toresign over remarks about US soldiers killing journalists inIraq, which shows "the growing power of internet bloggers inAmerican public life", defined as "citizen journalists whopublish their own web logs".

From a recent poll the article suggests there are now some8 million blogs and that 4 million people view at least oneblog each day. And "analysts believe that there are only 100influential blogs, of which just 20 concentrate on news andpolitics. What blogs do," one commentator remarked, "iscreate a buzz."

Readers of It's Simpol! will be aware of Chris Macrae'sactivities in this area, and encouraged to know that anAdopter is making a serious bid to insert SP concepts into thisnew medium for exchanging news, views and ideas. Bringingus up to date, he writes:

In the context of my father’s precept “Know the big story youare living with”, SP seems to be asking: What if politiciansanywhere start representing the interests of big businessrather than those of the people? Similarly, individual bloggersare now asking: What if the internet's transparencyconcerning the topic I most care about were to be takenover by big business?

An example is "the day that water dies" – a globalsustainability issue that SP friends in Brazil interested me in.Systemically, we all need water protected as a human right,not just because our bodies are mainly made of it, but so ishealth, and so is keeping cancerous chemicals out of the foodchain, whether we eat vegetables or meat. Unlike manynatural resources, there is no substitute for fresh water. Youcan read about why Brazil is now becoming the test countryfor water living or dying on http://whynotfoz.blogspot.com/.

More broadly, through the bloghttp://sixbillionstars.blogspot.com/ I invite readers of It’sSimpol! to join in discovering which country or network or SPblogger is standing up for human rights, and who isaddressing the giant jigsaw puzzle: how can most of theworld’s 6 billion people connect with such beacons forhumanity? And I ask all those interested in preserving theintegrity of the BBC to come and co-edithttp://futureofbbc.blogspot.com/. This has particularurgency up to May, after which the people's consultancyperiod on the world's largest public broadcaster closes foranother decade. (Contact: wcbn007@easynet.co.uk; websites:www.simpol.org.uk / www.beyond-branding.com.)

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org

It’s free to Adopt!

I provisionally Adopt SP, and undertake to vote at elections (if I am eligible to vote) for any candidate, within reason, who pledges to implement SPalongside other governments when all, or sufficient, other governments have also pledged to do so. Alternatively, I will encourage politicians in mypreferred party to make the pledge.

I apply for membership of Simpol-UK and enclose my first annual payment of £25 (£10 unwaged/low-waged). Please send me a membership pack andSimpol-UK’s Founding Declaration (UK residents or people registered to vote in the UK only - otherwise see the website for details of your National SPOrganistion).

Please send me _____ copies of John Bunzl’s book: The Simultaneous Policy at £12.50 each and/or _____ copies of John Bunzl and James Robertson’sbook: Monetary Reform - Making it Happen! at £6.00 each, including postage and packing (UK delivery – contact ISPO for prices outside the UK).

Please send me _____ copies of the Simultaneous Policy campaign packat £12.00 including postage and packing (UK delivery – contact ISPO for pricesoutside the UK).

Please send me _____ copies of the 55-minute film Campaigning for SP as a DVD/video (VHS PAL format) at £10.00 including postage and packing (UKdelivery – contact ISPO for prices outside the UK).

Mr/Mrs/Ms:_________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________ Postcode: _____________

Tel: _______________________________________ Email: ______________________________________ Signature: ___________________________________

Return form to: ISPO, PO Box 26547, London, SE3 7YT. Alternatively sign-up on-line.

How can we the people get our leaders to listen tous and not just to the rich and powerful? How canwe make our values their values, values like:

• fair trade and decent livelihoods• respect for life, health and environmental

sustainability• true democracy – not "corporatocracy"• freedom, security and equal opportunity for all• zero tolerance for terror of all kinds – state terror

and domestic tyranny included• unity in diversity among peoples, nations and

cultures• an end to weapons of mass destruction and to

war itself as an obsolete means of conflictresolution

If we the people had a say, would we vote for "moneytalks" and "might makes right" or for the rule of just lawsand the rights of individuals and communities? Would wevote to share and conserve the planet’s resources, or tohoard and squander them?

Why aren’t governments taking action?

Today, global markets and corporations so comprehensivelyoverpower individual nations that no politician or politicalparty dares make the first move to solve global problemsfor fear of putting their own nation at a significanteconomic competitive disadvantage. Though legislatorsknow that serious world problems such as global warming,monopolistic corporate power, poverty and environmentaldestruction all demand decisive action, they are loath toimplement the policies needed to solve them. Theylegitimately fear that in today's liberalized globaleconomy, investors, corporations and jobs would simplypick up and leave for more congenial destinations.However good their intentions, governments feel bound toconform to a straitjacket of market– and business-friendly

policies. That's why, whoever we vote for in the presentsystem, little, if anything, changes.

The Simultaneous Policy

The Simultaneous Policy (SP) is our "people's globalisationpolicy": a work-in-progress that all citizens who "adopt" SPare designing with the help of independent expert policy-makers. SP is to be implemented when all or sufficientnations are ready to do likewise - simultaneously.Simultaneous implementation means no nation loses outand all the excuses for inaction evaporate.

Here’s how the SP strategy works

By adopting SP, we join with Adopters in our own and othercountries who undertake to vote in future elections forANY political party or candidate, within reason, that signsa pledge in principle to implement SP alongside othergovernments. Alternatively, if we still have a preferencefor a particular party, our adoption signifies our desire forour party to support SP.

For a politician, signing the pledge to implement SP doesnot require a change of policies until it is time toimplement SP, and so carries no risk. But by moving theworld a step nearer to implementation, the politicianhastens the day when global politics shifts fromcompetition to co-operation and global problems, aboutwhich many care deeply, can be addressed effectively. Onthe other hand, failure to sign the pledge could cost thepolitician their seat and hand it to someone who willsupport SP. With many seats decided by small majorities,the SP voting bloc could make all the difference.

SP is already gaining public and political support. It is notan alternative to other campaigns, but a parallel strategy,enabling us to look beyond fighting to change existingsystems to joining with people around the world andcollectively answering the question:

How do you want the world to be?

Imagine a world Where values matter – Where leaders listenWhere the strongest superpower is we the people The Simultaneous Policy

✄

The Simultaneous Policy www.simpol.org