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Tuesday, May 26th 2009
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Viral campaigns, income security, and stuff

Income security for all will solve many social and political problems, including improving health care and saving rainforests.

If anyone still doubts the power of viral social marketing, there’s a nice example in today’s New York Times, and it relates directly to several aspects of income security for all. The Times story is about a video that was released on the Internet in December 2007, and is now being used in classrooms around the country and elsewhere, and stirring up lots of controversy.

The video is called “The Story of Stuff,” and I first watched it many months ago. Here’s the Times story. Here’s a direct link to the video.

The Times piece discusses the political aspects of the video, and notes that it does not engage in any specific issue advocacy. The video is not calling for political change, though it is clearly seeking to educate, inspire, and motivate social and cultural transformation. Currently, however, major obstacles to that transformation are the paralysis of our political system and the power of the special interests that profit from the status quo.

When the basic “stuff” for survival, an income for food and shelter at least, is guaranteed and provided to everyone, it will be a lot easier for everyone to be more responsible for our social, economic, and political acts. We can do that while preserving and strengthening free markets and individual liberties.

What we need to achieve all this, it seems, is a good viral video that presents income security for all.

Consider this a call for volunteers, suggestions, and contributions.

To learn more about these ideas, visit the home page and other material on this web site, www.IncomeSecurityForAll.org.

You can read the complete plan, the idea and how we can implement it, in Peaceful, Positive Revolution, which is available from Tendril Press.

I hope you’ll also comment on this blog. And please help spread the word.

Steven Shafarman

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 10:21 am and is filed under environment, popular support.
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One Response to “Viral campaigns, income security, and stuff”

  1. Loren Says:
    May 11th, 2009 at 5:48 pm

    Hello Steven Shafarman,

    I’m taking you up on the challenge to produce the video that goes viral for the Guaranteed Income Plan. Here’s a link to my first attempt, which hasn’t caught fire, but who knows, maybe next time ….

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r85wWFC0pDc

    Loren