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Click here to subscribe to the monthly FLOW newsletter.
Dear
FLOW members,
In this edition…
Congratulations to GlobalGiving
We congratulate our friends at GlobalGiving, the online marketplace for international
philanthropy, on being chosen as the Leo Burnett Agency's long-term,
pro bono, non-profit partner. While GlobalGiving brings to
life the stories of social entrepreneurs around the world and
facilitates direct funding of their projects, the GlobalGiving
story is as inspiring as any other.
We will regularly feature stories about GlobalGiving projects
on our home page (as well as inspirational stories from other
sources). We encourage you to visit GlobalGiving for hundreds
of inspiring stories of entrepreneurs improving life in their
communities through creative approaches to significant challenges,
pursued with courage, passion, and intention.
March Member Platform: James Peron
For another “extension” of our understandings of “social responsibility,” please
read this month’s Member Platform entitled "Let the
Children be Children," a heart-wrenching story by
Jim Peron that shows what
the alternative
to child labor is in many nations – from the perspective
of a young girl.
Upcoming FLOW Gatherings
FLOW advisor Susan Neiderhoffer continues to host monthly FLOW gatherings in
New York City. Stay tuned for details on the April
gathering.
FLOW friend Charlie Frohman, in collaboration with
other friends of FLOW, has catalyzed monthly gatherings
in Washington, DC under the banner of “Conscious & Creative Entrepreneurs.” The next gathering will be Saturday April 8th at 7
pm at Spiral Flight Yoga Studio., and will feature
a short talk by Capitol Creativity Network founder
Michelle James, an art exhibit by Diana Boros, and
good food and drink from local establishments. For
more information contact Charlie.
FLOW, Inc. receives 501 (c) 3 status from the IRS
We are happy to announce that we have received our 501 (c) 3 status from the
IRS, which means that contributions to FLOW are tax
deductible. Thank you to Phyllis Blees for guiding
us in the application process.
Michael Strong’s Reflections on February FLOW
Because FLOW is dedicated to “liberating the entrepreneurial spirit for good,”
our work is sometimes identified with that of the
socially responsible investing movement. Like them,
we are committed to doing good by means of business.
But our vision, goals, and understanding of what
“socially responsible” means are much larger, less
restrictive, and, we believe, potentially more effective
at achieving peace and well-being.
One of the most inspiring communications I received
in the last month was a newsletter Gary Hoover
sent to me from Zawya.com,
“Live and comprehensive
coverage of business, finance and stock markets
in the Middle East and the Arab world.” It was filled
with prosaic deal-making and business news, a spirited
entrepreneurial community to be sure, but of no
more
interest to most in the “socially responsible investment”
community than would an issue of Forbes. But the
fact that it was based in the Islamic world, and
that it included evidence that the entrepreneurial
spirit was spreading from Dubai throughout the
region, was worth celebrating.
Thomas Barnett is the author of The Pentagon’s
New Map, an influential book outlining U.S. military
strategy for the 21st century. Barnett divides
the
world into “the functioning core” and “the non-integrating
gap.” His map provides a visual representation
of these global boundaries and shows the extent to
which U.S.
military operations are focused on the “the non-integrated
gap.”
Although Barnett advocates a global military
role for the U.S. in a manner that makes me
uncomfortable, he also acknowledges that if we can
integrate
the
non-integrated gap into the “functioning core”
through integration into the global economy
then the military
activity that he advocates will be unnecessary.
One way to conceptualize a peace movement is
as a movement that fights and protests the
use of
military
force. But even if one is against the use
of military force in principle, one must acknowledge
that horrible
events were taking place in Somalia, Rwanda,
Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere
in
the non-integrating
gap. As successful market economies replace
impoverished dictatorships we will create
a more peaceful
world. From this perspective, Barnett’s map
is a useful
visual representation of those locations
where we most urgently need to work towards successful
global
integration.
Dubai and its entrepreneurial spirit (deliberately
liberated by means of free zones) is key
to this enterprise. Dubai has been described
as
“Las
Vegas on steroids.” From a symbolic perspective,
Las
Vegas is at the other end of the spectrum
from, say, Whole
Foods Market. And yet if the other monarchies
of the United Arab Emirates imitate Dubai,
and capitalism
spreads throughout the Arab peninsula,
and acts of terrorism decrease, then support
for Dubai-style
capitalism in the Middle East is support
for peace.
The most terrifying possibility in the
coming years is a catastrophic terrorist
event such
as the nuclear
annihilation of one or more major cities.
If New York or D.C. is vaporized, then,
beyond the immediate,
unthinkable horrors of loss of life,
we will enter an age of war unlike anything
we have
seen in the
past. There will be no more civil liberties;
Homeland Security will monitor and control
our every action
at a level of detail beyond what we can
imagine. This is likely to happen regardless
of the
party in office, and if not after the
first major city
is vaporized then surely after it happens
the
second time. Moreover, again regardless
of which party
is in office, the U.S. will attack perceived
enemies with a ruthlessness that makes
Abu Ghraib and the
lives lost in Iraq seem minor. The possibility
exists
that life, for those of us who remain
alive, could be much, much worse in the years
ahead.
This is why I feel a sense of urgency
to disseminate a successful, positive
model
of capitalism
and democracy around the world. This
is why, from
a FLOW perspective,
“socially responsible investing” should
include investment in a wide range
of capitalist enterprises in the
Islamic worlds, more with an eye to
their commitment to democracy and classical
liberalism rather
than to an eye to whether or not they
are despoiling their natural resources
or use
animal products.
In the long run, we certainly support
those organizations that are working
to create
an ever more positive
standard of life in the developed
world. The long-term goal is certainly not
an entire planet
consisting
merely of “Las Vegas on steroids.”
Indeed, as I have written elsewhere,
I regard
the Las Vegas
propensities
of the U.S. to be, in part, the result
of the fact
that we have legalized markets in
gambling and pornography but outlawed markets
in happiness and well-being.
(Click here for more on markets in happiness and well-being). Insofar as we are
acting as a
cultural leader for the world, we
have an obligation to
legalize markets in happiness and
well-being so that we provide
more morally honorable cultural leadership
to the world.
We need to work towards peace and
prosperity for all; spreading Dubais
around the
world is one of
the fastest means of achieving
this goal. We need to work towards sustainable
happiness
and well-being
for all; legalizing markets in
happiness and
well-being in the U.S. is a pre-requisite
for achieving this
goal. By liberating the entrepreneurial
spirit both inside and outside
the U.S. we can create
a world
in which nine billion human beings
can experience sustainable peace,
prosperity, and happiness.
Peace,
Michael
Michael Strong, CEO & Chief Visionary Officer
P.S. FLOW is above all a forum of free exchange for
its members in the quest for sustainable peace,
prosperity, and happiness. We welcome your feedback
to the content
of this newsletter and all FLOW activities and
publications. Please send your thoughts to contact@flowidealism.org.
P.P.S. Please join one of our five themed discussion
groups, and participate in our active and growing
community, at www.flowrealism.org or www.flowidealism.org (FLOW, where idealism and realism both lead to
the same place).
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JOIN FLOW to
"Criticize
by
Creating"
~Michelangelo
Would you like to join us to liberate
the entrepreneurial spirit for good?
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us for printed copies of the FLOW brochure.
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