About Us

The World We Want is the stunning title of a book in the making edited by Peter Karoff, the founder of The Philanthropic Initiative. It is also the title of a Tuesday at TPI Webcast.

I (Phil Cubeta) moderate this site as a private citizen, but also as a friend of Peter Karoff's and one the many people whose views he has canvassed on The World We Want. (I am the token loser. The others are mostly funders and "persons of substance in every sense of that word.")

My personal hope is that the book and webcast(s) will be widely discussed not only by "funders" (aka rich people and those who control foundation dollars), but also by the rest of us, from all walks of life.

The World We Want - where "we" is not the royal plural, or the "we" of noblesse oblige, standing in for what some funder or politician wants for us, but what we the people want, rich and poor alike in what is, after all, a democracy.

But democracy is not much good if we the people are just passive participants in a conversation going on among the rich and powerful over our heads, so that what we get is propaganda, soundbites, staged media events, and a request for our political contributions, vote, or purchase of branded consumer items.

What We Want is democracy - yes? (Probably at no cost, since democracy is often strenuous and risky. Safer to leave it in the hands of professionals?)

By tracking the development of Peter's project and amplifying the signals heard on the web, and by encouraging many people, from around the political spectrum and up and down the demographic pyramid to comment here, "we" hope to get the buzz of democracy going again online and off. By "we" I mean me, myself and I, plus the many, many other people who are invited to join in, sound off, and get active.

Please, if you come across related links or ideas, either email them to me, or add them in a comment. Folks, this is not an opinion poll, or a hype job for a book, nor an effort at pushing a partisan agenda (though I am personally very opinionated, sometimes cantankerous,  and generally misquided).  Rather, let us hope this little site becomes a rallying point for an open and exhilarating discussion among those who can learn from one another precisely because our slants are different, and because we both disagree and listen, thereby learning, thereby becoming better people adapted to our life together in a free society.

So - what do you think? What is the world you want?

Comments

[Julie Caldwell]

Phil, this is my first visit here... wow! And, thank you for taking your pen into battle with all of us.