Graphic created for use by the Mutualist Party of Illinois
Designed by Joe Kopsick
The
Mutualist Party of Illinois was founded in June 2020 by Joseph W.
Kopsick, as part of his independent campaign for the United States
House of Representatives from Illinois’s 10th congressional
district.
Upon
the occasion of the foundation of the party, its founder Mr. Kopsick
- also the party's first candidate - had the following to say:
“American
states need mutualist parties because the sharper and deeper the
left-vs.-right divide grows, the more there will develop a need to
resolve the differences between - and moderate the extremes of - the
far-left and far-right.
Without
a party throwing itself between the others, to protect the many
factions of American voters from one another, the wealth gap will
deepen, and the effects on our society will be profoundly tribalizing
and isolating.
We
need a political philosophy based on mutual respect, to govern
Illinois and to govern America. Most importantly, respect for each
other’s human rights, and for alternative political and economic
viewpoints. We must build a political party that values freedom and
fairness equally, and sees human rights and natural liberties as one
and the same. If we build that party, it will be in a unique position
to resolve the social and economic conflicts of the day, and of the
future.
Americans
know all too well why we need a new party; the Democrats and
Republicans are no longer trustworthy. But what good will it do to
choose a new party, if it represents a biased form of government?
After all, handing all control over to either working people in a
socialist system, or to property owners in a capitalist system, could
present its own biases and prejudices. So why not choose a party
that’s fundamentally based on virtues like fairness, equality,
compromise, and moderation?
It’s
not that the other political parties don’t have anything valuable
to contribute; they do. It’s just that the Green Party, and
socialist and communist parties, represent explicitly left-wing
economic standpoints; while the Libertarian Party, Constitution
Party, the Conservative Party of Illinois, and others, represent
explicitly capitalist or right-wing standpoints. Well, not every
American is a student of economics! Not every voter knows whether
they are economically left-wing or right-wing! So give them a party
that is acutely aware of the growing left-vs.-right divide, and aims
to do something about it.
Mutualism
has implications in politics, ethics, money and credit, society, and
even biology.
Through
direct action and mutual aid - simply put, “helping each other” -
we can act directly to solve social and economic problems, without
asking the state for permission, or turning the solution to the
problem into a hyper-regulated, government-licensed job.
Most
Americans are still unfamiliar with what the Libertarian Party and
the libertarian movement want, but many know that they want
everything to be voluntary. The libertarians support voluntary
exchange, and so does the Mutualist Party. We just want to remind
libertarians that exchanges must be not only voluntary, but also
mutually beneficial. That is, everyone who is involved must benefit,
even third party actors who aren’t aware that they’re affected by
a decision.
The
Mutualist Party supports all mutually beneficial voluntary exchanges
and transactions in which no third party is harmed. We want to make
it known that no person should be expected to sacrifice in any
economic or social situation. A person should only sacrifice if they
truly and genuinely want to do it, and understand that they may not
“sacrifice others” without their permission; someone who
sacrifices must take the responsibility and consequences wholly upon
oneself. Also, no person may “volunteer others”; that is not true
volunteering.
In
addition to mutual aid and mutual exchange, mutual protection and
defense must occur. This really just means “protecting and
defending each other”. The purpose of the military sector of the
government is to provide an avenue through which the government and
the people may pledge mutual loyalty to one another. If the police
protect the residents, then the residents will want to become
citizens, and they will want to become police officers and volunteer
for the military. The public trust has been shattered, especially
over the last two decades, and it needs to be revived.
The
Mutualist Party will be the party to revive the public trust by
bringing reciprocity and trust back to the relationship between the
people, our political institutions, and those who administer the law.
The Mutualist Party will end the legitimization of violent force by
this police state, and it will do that by taking the force out of
enforcement.
We
will ensure that all police responses to reports and accusations of
non-violent crimes, are met with a non-violent administration of law
and a de-escalation of force, not a ramping-up of force and
escalation of violence in the name of establishing public order. That
is not order; that is violence, and the purpose of government is to
avoid violence, not use it to solve all of society’s problems.
Government
cannot be a “civilizing force” in people’s lives, by
legitimizing violence. We must respect the right of the accused, not
to be subjected to violence, unless they are proven guilty of a
violent crime with absolute certainty.
A
society in which each person respects the other person’s right to
agree to alternative political, social, and economic arrangements,
will be a voluntary society with mutual respect for each other’s
freedom to live differently (unless and until those freedoms start to
interfere with other people’s freedom).
The
Mutualist Party of Illinois wishes to promote the study of Mutualist
economics, occupancy and use norms (“O&U norms”, for short),
Proviso-Lockeanism, and the works of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and
Josiah Warren, as well as the similar fields of Georgism and market
socialism, and the hybrid Geo-Mutualist school of economics. We want
Mutualist and Georgist economics to be taught in schools, as
alternatives alongside socialism and capitalism.
Mutualists
want the prices of goods to be no higher than the cost of the labor
and capital it took to produce them; this is called the “cost
principle”. We want free competition and free cooperation at the
same time; we want total freedom of opportunity to compete against
anyone, even monopolists and the government.
We
want to recognize people’s right to keep whatever they produce on
top of the land, without having to pay taxes or rent. In a mutualist
economy, monopolies, wage theft, housing fraud, predatory lending,
excessive taxation and unnecessary fees, congressional insider
trading, and fractional-reserve banking (usury) will become things of
the past.
No
longer will the public be expected to foot the tax bill to protect
the property and wealth of corrupt companies, environmentally harmful
resource extraction operations, or unfinished construction projects
which serve no purpose to the public.
It
will be easier to start a family business, but it will also be easier
to start a cooperative enterprise. It will be easier to form a union
and strike and boycott, but it will also be easier to become an
independent contractor. It will be easier to file a patent, but the
patent won’t last so long that people are unable to afford the
product, or legally use alternatives to it. It will be easier to
produce consumer goods (as long as you do it in a healthy
environment), but we will know much more about the products we
consume.
There’s
something in Mutualism for everyone! All it takes is getting workers
and consumers to talk to each other directly, so they can make
decisions that benefit us all.
The
Mutualist Party of Illinois will be the party of free land, free
credit, free competition, and free cooperation. We want free and open
markets, moderated with the fairness provided through equal
protection under the law.
Mutualists
believe that freedom and fairness don’t have to be balanced;
society becomes totally free only when each of us treats others
fairly, and it becomes totally fair when each and every one of us is
afforded freedom over our own affairs.
If
those who have no property, also have no realistic way to ever fully
own property, then the American dream is no more. If those who have
done wrong and served their time, have no chance of ever having
meaningful participation in our civic institutions, then the phrase
“justice for all” (in the Pledge of Allegiance) means nothing.
The
Mutualist Party will restore the American dream, public trust in
government, and worker and consumer faith in our economy.
Join
my campaign for the U.S. House, and this effort to establish a
Mutualist Party in the State of Illinois. Together, we can build a
unique, grassroots movement that doesn’t fall prey to the biases of
so-called “normal politics” where all parties are in it for
themselves.
The
Mutualist Party is in it for the people of Illinois. The Mutualist
Party is in it for the American people. Mutualism is in it for the
people of the world. A world in which everyone has access to
opportunities, is a world in which nobody will tolerate being unfree,
and nobody will tolerate unfair treatment.
But
we can get there; through building a free society based on mutual
respect and trust, genuine volunteering, and reciprocity; delivering
on our promises. Not just because we want to make sure that people
get compensated for all the work they do (and we do); but because
humans are innately social creatures. We
care what happens to each other.
Our
ability to protect, defend, and care for one another, is what
determines the future of human survival on this planet, and whether
we live in harmony with the planet and other species living upon it.
A party that protects the environment, will itself receive the mutual
protection of the planet.
That
is why we need Mutualist and Georgist economics; one system focused
on a fair economy, and the other focused on the land itself.
Please
help the economy, the planet, and each other, by joining the
Mutualist Party today. We don’t want your money, we just want to
work with you to the extent that you want to work with us.
That’s
how you negotiate, and build coalitions, but it’s also how you know
when you’ve found something that is non-negotiable. Until that
happens, it’s how you make sure that everyone involved in a
transaction is comfortable, and can easily go their separate ways
when their interests diverge.
That
is how you foster an economy, and a society, in which both
individuals and groups can flourish, and in which nobody goes hungry
while others have much more than they need. Hardly any government
would be necessary, if it were not “necessary” to protect the
immense wealth of the rich against the bodies of the poor.
A
society in which nobody has to consider stealing - whether from a
store, or from their employee - will be a society in which openness,
respect, and trust will flourish. The Mutualist Party will get the
boot of taxation off of the throats of hard working employees as well
as small businessmen alike, instead of pillaging from both of them
while pitting them against each other.
It’s
time to knock some sense back into our government and our economy.”
To
join the Mutualist Party of Illinois, e-mail Joe Kopsick at
jwkopsick@gmail.com, or call him at 608-417-9395, and ask to sign the
petition to help establish the party (and also helps Kopsick get on
the ballot in 2020).
The
online e-petition to help Kopsick get on the ballot, is available at
the following links:
A Mutualist-Anarchist flag
Image not created by the author of this blog
Written
on June 30th, 2020
Edited
on July 1st and 3rd, 2020
Originally
Published to This Blog on July 3rd,
2020
