Yes, We Signed! Campaign
One Declaration. One simple action. Millions united in purpose.
The world appears to be caught in a downward spiral of civil unrest, economic turmoil and rising violence — in the home, in the community and, at the personal level, through self-harm and suicide.
Despite substantial efforts by governments and institutions, these problems persist. Political leaders, representatives and elected officials increasingly face abuse, intimidation and threats to their personal safety imperiling democracy itself.
It is time to confront a deeper problem: the consequences of trying to model society on market principles of competition and self-interest, at the expense of human values such as cooperation, trust, responsibility and care for others.
The dangers of subordinating society to market principles were highlighted more than 80 years ago by political economist Karl Polanyi in his landmark book The Great Transformation, in which he warned: To allow the market mechanism to be the sole director of the fate of human beings and their natural environment ... would result in the demolition of society.
Polanyi argued that allowing markets to operate without adequate social protections could undermine the cultural and institutional foundations of society, exposing people to poverty, insecurity, social dislocation and the breakdown of community life.
Over the past 50 years, the growing influence of market principles has extended well beyond the economy, increasingly shaping how we live, work and relate to one another.
Without fully realising it, or consciously consenting to it, we have become participants in a social experiment whose consequences are increasingly difficult to ignore.
The video below, Toxic Social Experiment: Where and Why It All Went Wrong, explains how we arrived at this point and what we can do about it.
Restoring Human Values
The challenge today is how to restore human values to the core of civil society.
Unless we address this fundamental challenge, there will never be enough money to support victims, enough police to protect the public, enough courtrooms to prosecute offenders or enough prison cells to contain them.
In the past, addressing such a challenge might have required enormous social upheaval — mass protests, the overthrow of governments or even violent revolutions in desperate attempts to bring about change.
Today, we don't have to burn the place down to start again.
We have the opportunity to begin a peaceful transformation of society with something as simple as the click of a mouse.
The starting point is recognising that while competition and self-interest have their place in economic life, human relationships and civil society must be grounded in something more enduring.
This is the purpose of the Yes, We Signed! campaign.
It invites people to take a moment to read the Freedom Declaration for Peace, which sets out the basic values and principles that have enabled humans to create and live in societies based on trust, cooperation and mutual aid since the earliest of times.
Civilizations thrive when citizens adhere to these values and principles, and they fall when the same principles and values are forgotten or neglected.
Information Age Double Movement
Polanyi also argued that the expansion of market forces would provoke a "double movement" — a protective counter-movement through which society seeks to defend itself against the destructive consequences of unrestrained markets, including through government intervention, labour laws, environmental protections and social safety nets.
Today, modern technology offers the possibility of a new kind of double movement — one driven not primarily by government intervention, but by individuals voluntarily cooperating to restore human values to the core of civil society.
This is our opportunity to begin ending the social experiment we never signed up for.
Take a stand for the return of the traditional principles of civilization by reading and signing the Freedom Declaration for Peace.
Signing the Declaration is more than showing support — it is a personal commitment to practise its values in everyday life and encourage others through example.
Rebuilding the Foundations of Civil Society
It is this commitment at the individual level that can begin rebuilding the foundations of civil society weakened by the growing dominance of competition and self-interest.
Importantly, this commitment also extends to the choices we make as citizens and voters.
Making your Vote Count
The quality of civil society is ultimately reflected in the people it entrusts with power and influence.
The Declaration provides a common standard against which political and institutional leadership can be judged — not simply by political allegiance, ideology or promises, but by conduct.
When enough people begin applying that standard to the choices they make — as citizens, voters, employees, consumers and business leaders — something fundamental begins to change.
Human values begin to influence political and economic power.
Instead of power shaping society primarily from the top down, individuals can collectively begin influencing the institutions that shape their lives.
That is the extraordinary opportunity modern technology now provides.
Modern technology gives us the means to bring millions of people together around a common commitment, make that commitment visible and track its adoption across society.
This is the promise of The Great Signing — a peaceful, voluntary transformation of society from within.
In many ways, this
And it all begins with a simple decision each of us can make.
A moment is all it takes
Take a moment to consider where you stand.
What kind of society do you want to live in — one governed primarily by competition and self-interest, or one guided by cooperation, trust, responsibility and care for others?
If you believe human values should once again be at the core of civil society, take the first step.
Read and sign the Freedom Declaration for Peace.
Make the commitment to live by its values and encourage others to do the same.
The Next Great Social Reform
This one action, multiplied millions of times and honoured through everyday choices, has the potential to trigger the next great social reform — one that could rival the economic reforms of the last century in significance.
The economic reforms of the last century were about how we work together. The social reforms of this century must be about how we live together.
The Role of PByT
Developed in Australia, PByT — Powered by Trust — provides the concept and enabling technology for this proposed public-private-community partnership.
PByT enables potentially millions of people to participate around a common vision, while providing online feedback that is verifiable, analysable and therefore actionable. In the Yes, We Signed! campaign, the platform provides the infrastructure for people and organisations to participate, reinforce positive behaviour and measure the response.
PByT operates as a social enterprise, which means it does not rely on donations, philanthropy or government funding to maintain commercial viability. All costs, including infrastructure, promotions and administration are covered by a small membership fee.
Additional Information
For additional information check out our Media Release.