Here at Permanent Culture Now we are always interested in peoples insights, experiences and ideas as a way of fostering and developing community links through sharing knowledge and skills, this particular contribution was written by our friend Lasse Bresson Krøner.
Human Rights
Human rights as a concept is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful philosophies that ever sprang from the civilized world. However, it would appear that since the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 we have hardly come any closer to a world where all “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” In world where we still slaughter people for profit and gain, where thousands starve to death while others eat themselves to death, a world where money is priority and love is neglected, how could we possibly carry out the altruistic society that we have been seeking for so long? 
Only a world where “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and “act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood” can we truly hope to create such a society. This is what permaculture has inspired in me – the hope that human rights could one day prevail. A thought occurred to me slowly but surely as I was finishing my last year of bachelor (BA International Relations & Politics), where I had decided to take a module in Human Rights Theory (funny enough, a subject that is outside of the Government department, and never mentioned much in political theory). It was that the Western initiatives to eradicate poverty and corruption in the so-called ‘third world’ countries were mostly inefficient due to the pervasive greed and corruption within Western politics and economics. I’ve heard many personal accounts of how vast amounts of charity funds land in the hands of private individuals rather than the communities they are meant to reach. It is not a secret either that rape and violence is a continuing problem that the so-called ‘peace-keeping forces’ around the world do little to prevent from their own troops. The entire reason for me studying international politics was so as to pursue a career in diplomacy in the hope of helping restore peace to the world. By the time I graduated I had been entirely disillusioned. Politics and economics are two very dangerous games that are destroying any chance of a future for the human race.
Thus the line of thought occurred to me – instead of attempting to ‘play the game’ and become a politician, thus simply continuing the miseries bestowed upon the world every day, would it not be better to try and become independent from the system? Many people arrive at this point and become activists, like I did too. Having engaged in plenty of activist projects since graduating from university, it has to be my conclusion that such phenomena such the Occupy Movement can only do so much so as to enlighten people. Of course, we still need such movements to make people understand the severity of the problems we face today. However, in the end we still face the problems of a destructive and uncaring system. In that way I am a disillusioned revolutionary as well. So the conclusion was really that to become independent, one needs to become self-sufficient. A friend, who works writing human right reports for the UN, once pointed out that the people of the ‘third world’ countries do not really need anyone to build schools for them or teach them agriculture. They know perfectly well how to manage themselves, and so they did for many eons, before the arrival of the European colonialists. It is only within the context of the present socio-economic situation that these people are destitute and starving. 
Permaculture as a solution
The only reason that the ‘third world’ is held in this state of poverty is because of the greedy incentives of the economic systems. The only reason why this model continues today is because people do not believe in or are not aware of any other alternative. But if we were to truly realise that there are plenty of alternatives, which could serve us and mother nature better in every other way, and if we could actualise this, well, then there would be a hope for a brighter future. I see permaculture as a solution, not only to the immediate concerns of the world today such as poverty and hunger, but also a way to recover from the traumas we as a species have bestowed upon ourselves and the planet. To be free and equal also means to share in a collective responsibility, in this spirit of brother and sisterhood. Permaculture requires a collective responsibility because for it to work efficiently it needs people working together as local, autonomous communities. 
It will not work in any way if people continue to shun themselves into the mainstream lifestyle of the present-day, where a screen becomes the source of all leisure, where we are unaware of the existence of our neighbours, and money underlines all means of love. This is a conclusion reached by many people, almost as a collective awakening. Such movements as Occupy is proof of this. However, we need to step beyond the advocation of rebellion, and now actualize what we know in our hearts to be true.
A grassroots movement
For us to have any working model based on human rights, we need to build these rights from the ground up. And what better way than to plant seeds that will eventually one day grow to feed ourselves and the communities to which we belong, through sustainable and Eco-friendly methods and technology? Through this the excessive need and focus on money would slowly be abolished, and thus the need for an economic system that taxes nature and the human species through greed, violence and oppression, would cease to exist. As Jacque Fresco, has pointed out, “if we had grown up in a society where people do not stress material wealth, money would not have played an important part in our value structure.” It is time to build a new set of value structures, and claim our rights as human beings.
I think what he says about becoming independent from the system would be, from a selfish point of view a much more secure way of life. Having the skills, crafts and knowledge to provide for yourself and the community you are apart of not only gives you a dependence on something you have much more control over (unlike the monetary system) but I think it also means you know that your impact in the world is not destroying the environment or promoting the exploitation of 80% of the worlds population. If only the 20% in the developed world lived a life where there was a greater sense of community, food was sourced locally and people did as much for themselves as possible then this dependence on money would fade away and people would no longer live with this powerless fear that they have no control over the system they are entirely dependent upon. I think money acts like a tool that megalomaniac bankers and politicians across the world use to keep 99% of the worlds wealth and money in control of 1% of the worlds population. If people became less dependent on money and imports and more dependent on themselves and the communities they are apart of then this tool would no longer be available to that 1%, individual communities would become immune to events like a recession, the wealth of the world would be more equally shared out amongst its contributors, people would feel less threatened which statistically results in population growth leveling out, and the world would be a much better place.
I think that this is what this article is getting at, becoming independent as much as possible from the monetary system will mean that the exploitation of the vast majority will no longer be possible.