Issues & Education

“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge

       among the people." - John Adams

Central to evarts' mission will be an agenda to educate citizens of important issues that affect their lives and their children's futures.  We aim to be not just a business, but a community gathering place and forum - in a real and virtual sense. 

As the shopping mall has replaced the town square, commercial consumerism has largely replaced interactive communities and open dialogue among neighbors.  evarts will provide a venue and resource center to restart the dialogue and empower citizens to reclaim a government "of, by, and for the people."

It is critical that we participate in our democracy; we must never assume that a wealthy ruling class will altruistically govern for the greater good of all, while no one, the mass media included, is keeping tabs on their actions, policies, and spending.

evarts will join a cast of millions who are actively involved in getting the truth out to the people at a time when media owners and sponsors seek to control all channels.  As we progress, we plan to develop an alternative news network, including internet, radio, and cable TV broadcasting.  An alternative voice for those weary of empty rhetoric devoid of context will be found here.

Naturally, as hard as we try, we won't be right 100% of the time.  However, our goal is simply to make more information available, stimulate dialogue, and bring ordinary people back into the process.  Only then are we able to make informed decisions on important issues that impact our lives.  This is how our democracy was supposed to function.

Social goals of the Evanston Artisan Cooperative 

evarts is committed to being a progressive force within the community with a strong commitment to advancing the following objectives:

     labor / fair pay

In 2004, the bottom 90% of American tax payers earn less than they did in 1973.  During the same period, the top .01% of the population have seen their annual income increase by 599%. The result is that the top 1% of Americans own as much wealth as the bottom 95% … 40% of the national wealth to each segment.  Though the American worker and workplace have become much more productive, the gains are not being equitably shared across the economic spectrum.

As stated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis:   “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.” 

      community

A strong, connected community is required if we are to have a meaningful democracy, true equality, and security.  evarts will seek to strengthen community ties and create more dialogue between people of all color, religion, and economic standing.  Critical issues that affect us all are much too important to leave to politicians and industry heads alone, as these people do not represent a diverse cross-section of the American populace.

“Civil society is the place where Americans make their home, sustain their marriages, raise their families, hang out with their friends, meet their neighbors, educate their children, worship their god. It is the churches, schools, fraternities, community centers, labor unions, synagogues, sports leagues, PTAs, libraries and barber shops. It is where opinions are expressed and refined, where views are exchanged and agreements made, where a sense of common purpose and consensus are forged. It lies apart from the realms of the market and the government, and possesses a different ethic.” Senator Bill Bradley, Congressional Record, vol. 142

     environment

Preserving the ecosystem for future generations is the most important responsibility and biggest challenge of the human race.  The neo-classical economic theory of constant growth is unsustainable. Nature has always placed restrictions on how large any system or body can grow.  We would be mistaken to believe that economic systems are somehow exempt.

"Sustainability occurs when a society can meet the needs of people today without compromising its ability to meet the needs of tomorrow. In a sustainable society, economic, social and environmental concerns are adequately addressed, in a way that does not ignore the interconnected, systemic, and often global nature of these concerns."  - Peter Nicholson, Foresight Design Initiative

     back to nature

The "nature" of evarts' projects will get people back to nature.  This will increase peoples' connection with the earth and respect for its resources.

     education

The evarts cooperative will educate the public on these important issues, raising awareness and helping bring them to the forefront of community discussion.  We will provide workshops, handouts, web links, and other information to advance our progressive objectives.

Philosophy

evarts  will focus on quality over quantity; ethics and fair pay over maximized profits.  Our business practices will be based on integrity; our projects will be unique and artistic.  Our image will be small, local and community-centered.  We will work to reverse the economic trend of increased wealth disparity of the past 30 years, providing an artisan community of carpenters, sculptors, and designers.  Local writers and journalists will be encouraged to visit our studio and learn about our mission so that they can advance the awareness of our unique model.

The primary objective of evarts’ social agenda is to benefit the workers and the community.  The marketing benefits of this approach are also undeniable as it will attract positive press, create an incredibly unique studio environment, and present many other marketing advantages.  Needless to say, commercial success is imperative as we cannot help our community unless we remain in business.

strategy

The landscape and architectural commissions taken by ehr-lüm/evarts will also provide an outlet for our products, as the furniture, artwork, and accessories will be incorporated into these projects.

There is a growing movement and concern in the areas of environmentalism, conservation, and fair pay (you won’t hear about this from the mainstream press, but it is definitely there, right below the current, and above the noise of corporate media).  There is also a growing interest and market for garden and outdoor projects.  ehr-lüm/evarts will gain tremendous traction by being positioned at the intersection of these issues, and will therefore be able to have significant impact.  We will spread word of our business model and social/environmental goals, first locally, and then to the businesses, towns and cities throughout the country.  We will use the power of the Web and alternate media to cheaply and efficiently broadcast our message.

social contract

Our nation is growing more diverse by the day – it is necessary that we achieve true equality among all people in order to progress, move towards a balanced society, develop stronger communities, and be truly secure.  Instead of writing tougher laws and spending our tax dollars building more prisons, we should be building stronger communities.   This, in the long run, is the best and cheapest solution.

evarts will seek to advance young workers and artisans in conjunction with organizations such as the Evanston Youth Job Center.  Compensation will be structured to share the wealth of the collective efforts of the team.  We will not allow a huge gulf between the top and bottom of the pay scales.  We will practice diversity, zero-discrimination and affirmative action ~ if there is a sense of promise, spirit, inherent artistic ability and/or initiative, we will extend special considerations to minority workers.  However, no one will be retained if not performing or showing marked improvement - continued participation in the program will be based solely on merit. 

political action

evarts will not be an overtly political organization, however, our values and actions will impact the political arena as issues are brought to the forefront, communication channels are created, and proactive efforts are made to promote the social/economic benefits our model.

   issues:

   4 economy & labor

   4 community

   4 environment

   related articles:

   4 mass media and democracy

“They seem to recognize what too many of our own leaders do not: If the people are denied maximum access to the currency of information, then democracy is not only devalued, it is damaged.” - Paul McMasters, Access and technology: Change as an excuse for closure

"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."  - Thomas Jefferson

“As knowledge becomes increasingly a source of power, the struggle regarding its accessibility and use becomes more and more central to democracy. The success of contemporary citizen activism in a variety of contexts depends upon the ability to ferret out key information, often against the efforts of powerful interests to restrict information access. From the parent who worries about local school dropout rates to the rancher fighting to preserve the open range from energy conglomerates, from community activists organizing around toxic waste to small businesspeople trying to increase the pool of resources available in their areas for entrepreneurial start-up projects, people need information to act. They also need “knowledge”—the organizational and communicative skills to organize. Studies of grass-roots leaders have found that the most successful have developed considerable talents at gaining access to information and to the organizing skills that facilitate action.” - Harry C. Boyte,  CommonWealth: A Return to Citizen Politics

“A democratic public forms when citizens gather together to deliberate and make public judgments about local and national issues that affect their lives. By associating together for public discussion, citizens learn the skills necessary for the health of a democratic public; listening, persuading, arguing, compromising, and seeking common ground. When these skills are nurtured within the institutions of a democratic public, citizens educate themselves in order to make informed political decisions.” - Kevin Mattson, Creating a Democratic Public: The Struggle for Urban participatory Democracy During the Progressive Era

“From these activists we can learn a crucial lesson: without citizens creating the institutions necessary for facilitating the growth of public deliberation, democracy will be a meaningless term. Without political leaders articulating this idea and acting upon it, public life and citizenship will continue to stagnate.” - Kevin Mattson, Creating a Democratic Public: The Struggle for Urban participatory Democracy During the Progressive Era

"Secrecy and a free, democratic government don’t mix." - Harry S. Truman

“The lesson I learned then was that if citizens are to make informed decisions in a democracy, and further, if they are to have the accurate needed to influence the decisions which affect their lives and those of others—to take advantage of their right to know—they need assistance through a maze of resources.” - Joan Durrance, Armed for Action.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy"  - Thomas Jefferson

“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.” - Robert Maynard Hutchins