Citizens in the Netherlands and Flanders have come together to demand change. They drew up a declaration that outlined the kind of future they wanted. Here are some extracts:
“We, civilians of the Netherlands, Flanders, and of Europe, call upon a radical re-orientation of our economies. This call is motivated by the fast-growing urgency of global issues, such as climate change, resource depletion, the persistence of wide-spread poverty and increasing global inequality.
The first necessary steps can be summarised in the main themes of:
- socio-cultural;
- structural;
- institutional;
- income reduction;
- taxation.
We urge for a radical change of our economies, a change that – in a relatively short period of time – will substantially intervene in the scope and form of our production and trading systems, and money generation and consumption patterns. This change is only possible if supported by a broad alliance of social forces. We invite everyone, in particular political parties, trade unions, businesses, academia and social movements, to take a part in this alliance and take responsibility for the transition towards a truly sustainable economy based on solidarity.”
