Editing New World Alliance (section)

=== Projects ===
The Alliance sustained four principal projects.

==== Political platform ====
{{quote box|width=35%|quote="The Transformation Platform of the New World Alliance is different from conventional political platforms in fundamental ways. ...  It is an attempt to ''go beyond the polarity of left-against-right'' by integrating the highest values in our nation's conservative and liberal heritage with the learning that has taken place in recent social movements. ...  It begins – but only ''just'' begins – a reconceptualization or paradigm change ''regarding the very nature of politics''.  We recognize that public policy is only one "face" of politics.  Equally important political work takes place in the community, the workplace, and in personal development and interpersonal relationships."|source=– New World Alliance, introduction to ''A Transformation Platform: The Dialogue Begins'', 1981.<ref>Paulson, ''Odyssey'', p.&nbsp;501 (quoting the Alliance's platform, emphases in Paulson's quoted text).</ref>|style=padding:8px}}

The Alliance produced a 98-page political platform that achieved what one commentator claimed was wide circulation.<ref name=Paulson />  ''A Transformation Platform: The Dialogue Begins'' discussed crime and justice, economics, science and technology, health, the environment, global affairs, and more.<ref name=Lipnack />  It made about 300 specific policy proposals.<ref name=Stein />  But it sought to do more than provide good ideas.  Bob Olson, chair of the Alliance, tried to explain to the [[Association for Humanistic Psychology]] why he felt the platform was unique:

<blockquote> ... we call [it] a ''Living Platform''.  The platform offers concrete political proposals, but doesn't purport to offer final answers.  It includes commentary and dissenting opinion, and it asks readers to criticize it and help improve it, so that over the years ahead it can serve as a focus for thousands of people to cooperate in thinking through the changes we need to make.<ref>Olson, "The New," p.&nbsp;15.</ref></blockquote>

==== "Political Awareness Seminars" ====
These were day-long or weekend experiences designed to make participants more deeply aware of the political process and their own potential for using it to heal society.<ref name=Olson />  To some observers, the seminars functioned primarily to build self-confidence.<ref name=Lipnack />  To Olson, they helped participants discover and merge their visions of a better society, and explore how to implement them.<ref name=Olson />  To the authors of ''Spiritual Politics'', the key part came when participants were asked to act out their feelings toward their political adversaries – and were then told to reverse roles.  "Many deep insights resulted," the authors wrote, "with participants discovering [they] often had problems similar to the ones they accused their adversaries of having."<ref>McLaughlin, ''Spiritual'', p.&nbsp;109.</ref>

==== "Consultations with Elected Officials" ====
[[File:JohnVasconcellosJI1.jpg|thumb |upright=1.0 |right |alt=Head shot of middle-aged man with moustache |California legislator [[John Vasconcellos]] invited people to the Alliance's first "Consultation with Elected Officials" and was a featured speaker there.]]

These were national conferences of "transformation-oriented" politicians,<ref name=Olson /> Alliance GC members, and other interested parties.  Political science professor Belden Paulson, who helped coordinate the first one, in Milwaukee, says he recruited California state legislator [[John Vasconcellos]] and Colorado state legislator [[Miller Hudson]] to invite people to the weekend event and be speakers there.  Sixteen elected officials ended up attending.  There were also eight Alliance GC members, six academics, spiritual writer [[David Spangler]], and some residents of [[Intentional community|intentional communities]].<ref name=Paulson />  According to a letter Paulson quotes from one of the intentional-community residents, there was great tension at the consultation between pragmatists and visionaries – until the last day, when "it all came together, starting with the politicians who, one by one, spoke of how this opened whole new horizons for them."<ref>Paulson, ''Odyssey'', p.&nbsp;502 (quoting letter).</ref>

==== National political newsletter ====
''Renewal'' newsletter attempted to report on current affairs from a transformational perspective.<ref name=Olson />  It also attempted to critically assess relevant groups and books and serve as a forum for activists.<ref name=Stein />  It boasted nine founding sponsors – [[Ernest Callenbach]], [[Willis Harman]], [[Hazel Henderson]], [[Karl Hess]], Patricia Mische (co-author of ''Toward a Human World Order''<ref>Gerald Mische and Patricia Mische, ''Toward a Human World Order: Beyond the National Security Straitjacket'', Paulist Press, 1977.  {{ISBN|978-0-8091-0216-7}}.</ref>), [[Jeremy Rifkin]], [[James Robertson (activist)|James Robertson]], [[Carl Rogers]], and [[John Vasconcellos]].<ref name=Stein />  The newsletter's annual "Transformational Book Award" was voted upon by 70 hand-picked academics and [[think tank]] staffers from across the U.S.<ref name=Sale />