To Be,or Not To Be.
From Shakespeare's most famous question—we took only the affirmative answer.
THE 2B DECLARATION
A Call to Restore Our Humanity to Humanity
When in the course of human events, a people must confront the truth that they have strayed—that the promise made to their children has been broken, that the gift bestowed upon them by the stars themselves is being squandered—they are compelled to declare the causes which impel them to act.
We hold these truths to be self-evident:
That life is an epic gift of the highest order—literally a miracle bestowed upon us by the very stars of our universe. That every human being, without exception, has been granted this hallowed gift. That in this sacred bestowal, we are all created equal.
That we are endowed with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
And that governments are instituted among people to secure these rights—deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
These truths were declared nearly 250 years ago.
They remain true today.
But look around you.
The shining city on the hill has dimmed. The government of the people, by the people, and for the people has become a government of the shareholders, by the shareholders, and for the shareholders. The promise that our children would inherit a better world than we did—a promise that animated the dreams of every generation for over a century—that promise has been betrayed.
Something changed. Something broke. And it has been breaking, slowly, steadily, for decades.
We must ask: What is the root cause?
The Indictment
We have been told a lie. We have been told that the sole purpose of human enterprise—of all our striving, all our creating, all our laboring—is to maximize the risk-adjusted returns of shareholders.
Not our communities. Not our planet. Not our children. Not our health. Not our democracy. Not the miracle of existence itself.
Shareholders.
This doctrine, elevated to the status of natural law over the past half-century, has metastasized into a cancer that consumes all competing values. It has transformed our economy from an engine of shared prosperity into a mechanism of extraction. It has hollowed out our middle class. It has poisoned our discourse. It has purchased our government.
When life itself becomes subordinate to quarterly earnings reports, something has gone terribly wrong.
When the dignity of labor is crushed so that returns on capital may flourish, something has gone terribly wrong.
When our communities crumble so that stock prices may soar, something has gone terribly wrong.
When our planet burns and our children's futures dim while executives celebrate record profits—something has gone terribly, catastrophically, unforgivably wrong.
This is not economics. This is a choice.
A choice made by human beings. A choice that can be unmade.
The Question
To be, or not to be?
This is not merely the question of a melancholy prince in a dusty play. This is THE question. The only question that matters.
To Be: To live our lives in a manner that honors the epic gift we have been given. To build. To create. To love. To leave things better than we found them.
Or To Have: To reduce the miracle of existence to a ledger. To measure our worth in portfolio balances. To worship at the altar of accumulation while our souls atrophy and our children despair.
We have chosen poorly. For fifty years, we have chosen To Have.
And what have we gotten for it? A nation where corporate profits surge while wages stagnate. Where fifty trillion dollars—fifty trillion—has been transferred from the many to the few. Where productivity rises and workers are discarded. Where the technology that should liberate us is wielded to impoverish us.
This is not the America that was promised. This is not the civilization that justifies the gift of life.
It is time to choose again.
The Declaration
We, the people of this community, hereby declare:
The meaning of life is to live—to embrace and honor the miraculous gift bestowed upon us. Any system that subordinates living to earning has lost its way.
Labor is not a cost to be minimized. Workers are not resources to be depleted. They are human beings—each one granted the same sacred gift as any CEO or hedge fund manager.
Our towns, our cities, our neighborhoods—these are not externalities to be ignored in pursuit of efficiency. They are where we live. They are where we raise our children. They are home.
We have one Earth. Our children will inherit what we leave them. No rate of return justifies poisoning their inheritance.
Government of the people, by the people, and for the people cannot coexist with government of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy. We must choose.
We choose democracy. We choose humanity. We choose to Be.
The Call
Being alive is literally a miracle of the highest order. So how is it that we are failing so colossally?
Because we accepted a lie. Because we let others define what matters. Because we forgot who we are.
No more.
We call upon every person who feels the wrongness in their bones—who knows that merely existing is not the same as living—who refuses to accept that their children's futures must be sacrificed on the altar of shareholder returns:
Wake up.Stand up.Speak up.
The Vow
We vow to bequeath to our children a world more enriched than the one we inherited—not despite the challenges we face, but through our response to them.
We vow to place humanity before profit, community before capital, democracy before plutocracy.
We vow to engage in honest discourse, to follow the evidence wherever it leads, to act with courage and compassion.
In the enduring story of our humanity, may hope forever be our guide. Our shield. And our eternal North Star.
The Choice
To be, or not to be.
To accept, or to resist.
To despair, or to act.
The question is before you. What is yours?
We know our answer.
To Be.
The Root Cause
Shareholder primacy is not a law of nature. It's a decision we made—and can unmake.
What Changed?
From 1945 to 1975, when productivity increased, everyone benefited. Workers got raises and shorter hours. Managers got bonuses. Shareholders got returns.
Then we decided—not through law, but through collective acceptance—that productivity gains belong only to shareholders.
The result? Fifty trillion dollars transferred from working Americans to the wealthiest few. Wages stagnated while profits soared. The middle class hollowed out.
This was a choice. We can choose differently.
Shared Prosperity Era
Productivity gains split between workers, management, and shareholders. Middle class expands.
Friedman Doctrine
"The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits." Shareholder primacy begins.
The Great Divergence
Productivity and wages decouple. $50+ trillion transferred from bottom 90% to top.
AI Inflection Point
30%+ productivity gains coming. Same choice: extract or share?
Our Credo
Ten principles that guide everything we do.
Life Is An Epic Gift
Being alive is a miracle bestowed upon us by the stars of our universe.
Created Equal
In the sanctity of our existence, we are all created equal.
Inalienable Rights
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are our birthright.
Pay It Forward
We bear a duty to bequeath an enriched legacy for future generations.
Life Transcends Returns
Life's essence transcends maximizing shareholder returns.
People Before Profits
It is imperative that people secure their rightful place at the table.
Communities Matter
Community vitality and safety far surpass shareholder returns.
Planet Over Profit
Preserving our climate and planet must take precedence.
Health Is Fundamental
Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right.
Democracy First
A government devoted to the people, not just the wealthy.
Our Network
Infrastructure for making our voice heard where it matters most.
Be Part of It.
Independent advocacy requires independent support. Join us in restoring our humanity to humanity.
The Conversation
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