We´re reproducing an item from William Shanley´s blog, explaining the rationale behind the Give Get Nation initiative.

The story starts by describing the increasing rich-poor gap in the U.S., then describes an initiative that could be part of a set of solutions to reverse the trend.

Excerpt:

“Evolution Solutions, a young, New Haven, Connecticut-based Internet start-up, is stepping into the breach to help bridge the chasm by organizing and circulating the enormous untapped wealth via a peer-to-peer gifts and wishes pool called GiveGet Nation. The non-profit social enterprise has launched its beta 1.0 application and its founders are welcoming the public to take the system for a test drive (www.givegetnation.net).

”If we can attract a mere 1% of what people in Connecticut have stored in lockers, attics, closets and basements, for example–a 1% that they will likely never use again–we can begin to wright the course and provide promise and possibility to the weakest among us here in the richest state,” said founder William Shanley. “Everyone, no matter how rich or poor, has needs and resources. We provide a level playing field for everyone to participate in the infinite game of life through sharing.”

“By beginning to circulate the limitless human product, labor, intelligence and spiritual capital of the world, we can transform it a little bit at a time,” said Timothy Wilken, MD, a Carmel, California-based general practitioner and synergy scientist. Dr. Wilken is William’s partner in the initiative and is the inventor of Giftegrity, a give and get synergy engine used in GiveGet Nation based on the work of the late genius Buckminster Fuller. “We not only provide a means to circulate lumpy items like goods, but our application also organizes and circulates work, intelligence and spiritual power to build, solve and heal. If you are retired and need a volunteer to rake your lawn, we can provide it. The same is true with professional counseling, engineering, medical and legal services. If you have artistic and spiritual interests and pursuits, you can post gifts and wishes in those domains, as well.”

“To make a difference, it’s crucial that we get the message out and alert givers and getters to the opportunities and efficiencies afforded by participating in our person-to-person world of sharing,” William continued. “Unlike many other non-profits that use a condescending top-down model with large staffs and overhead, we’re are the action that makes the rubber meets the road, without having to go through a cadre of social practitioners to meet peoples needs.”

“HurricaneHousing.org housed 30,000 victims of Katrina in six weeks, and we will create success in this area, too, by connecting needs and resources,” said Timothy Wilken, MD. “Everyone has a story, some wisdom to impart and a contribution to make to society. It’s important that we give everyone a chance. At GiveGet Nation, we can stimulate the flow of abundance between islands of scarcity in society in myriad ways. Give, get, share. Goods, actions, knowing, spirit. We’re a human values economy that runs on the primary sources of human capital that underlie all money and goods and services.”

“We are only as secure as the weakest among us. Increase the level of suffering anywhere, and you increase the level of suffering everywhere. And vice-versa,” said William Shanley. “Everything affects everything else. There are no closed systems in nature.” That’s 21st century quantum science. “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” That’s classical physics from the 9th grade. These are laws of the universe, and it’s in our own self-interest to do the right thing or we end up bloodying ourselves. This message is not about laying a guilt trip on people, but alerting our neighbors to a daily crisis for 1 in 5 Americans–diminished dreams for at least one, possibly two or even three, in the lower and middle classes –who cannot make ends meet.”

“No matter how rich or poor everyone has gifts and wishes and genius to share. That’s our motto,” remarked Timothy. “In so doing, we provide an even playing field for everyone to participate in the infinite game of life. ‘As you sow, so shall ye reap.’ ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ These are principles to be found in all spiritual paths, of all people, places and times. And they are also indicative of the nature of nature. We must make these principles come alive again in our communities or our future will most certainly be lost and the promise of America soon forgotten.”

“As you can see, we’re quite passionate about the subject. Many people believe because they are rich and powerful, or because they were born in affluent families, that this is the natural order. ‘Survival of the fittest’ does not explain a Mozart born in Darfur. Nor does it recognize the value of the scores of generations who have come before us who have given us the gifts of language, math, invention, science, technology, the arts, and literature. It’s time for us to give back. ‘No man is an island” and can live in isolation from the air we breathe, the light of the day, the weather and the seasons in the life we share. Everyone needs to give and take. Everyone has gifts and wishes. Giving and receiving are the eternal process of exchange we call nature and the universe. All the great mystics and philosophers have taught the value of giving and receiving. It is not only the right thing to do, it is also what we do as living organisms. All we need to do is awaken to this fact, to project ourselves into the process of give and take, and come alive.”

For more information, contact William Shanley at [email protected]