The First Cornerstone: Childhood Relations
Critical behavioral developments such as empathy or insensitivity, creativity or conformity, and aggression or nonviolence are not predetermined characteristics at birth. They are largely determined during the childhood years through cultural socialization. This was confirmed by the Seville Statement, an international co-created document put together by leading scientists of the world and is strongly confirmed by findings from neuroscience.
The Second Cornerstone: Gender Relations
How society constructs the roles and relations of women and men is central to the construction of every social institution, from the family to religion to politics and economics as well as to the society’s guiding systems of values.
The Third Cornerstone: Economic Relations
The real wealth of nations consists of the contribution of its people and from the natural environment; it is not solely financial. Our current economic policies and systems are endangering our natural life-support systems; Earth’s ability to sustain itself. We need to create economic indicators, policies, and practices that give visibility and value to the most important human work; that of caring for people, beginning in childhood, and caring for natural environment. We need a caring economics.
The Fourth Cornerstone: Stories, Beliefs and Spirituality
We humans live by stories, beliefs, and spirituality. Many of the stories we inherited from earlier times teach that domination is the only option. Fortunately, there are stories today that offer a partnership alternative of relations built on mutual benefit, mutual respect, and mutual accountability.
Join Us in Building these Four Cornerstones
Only if we consciously and concertedly build these four foundations for a partnership way of living can we move from a violent dominator culture to a more equitable, peaceful, and sustainable future for ourselves, our children, and generations still to come.
