Commit to a New
Social Compact

We believe our society is in need of articulating a New Social Compact, one that is based on a set of core inclusive values, one that builds on our past and embraces our future. This compact recognizes our fundamental belief that we are linked by our common humanity, that we are bound together in our work to secure a fair and inclusive democracy, and that we are united in our commitment to care for each other and the Earth. There are certain times in which we are called upon to rethink, reclaim, and boldly articulate what we stand for, and to act, and we believe we are in one of those times today.

We will not allow the normalization of hate, exclusion, racism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia in our society. These forces betray our values and if remain unchecked will overwhelmingly harm all people, our living planet, our future generations, and democracy itself. This compact recognizes that we may have many different strategies for achieving our goals, but we are united by common values that guide our actions. The values in this compact are nonpartisan and reflect our grounding in a morality that recognizes the worth of all people. We believe these values are central to any legitimate democratic government.

Core Values

We, the undersigned, believe in the following core values:

Core Practices

We, the undersigned, acknowledge that it is not enough to only state our values, we must also operationalize them. Below are some ways in which we will practice our core values.

Call to Action

We the undersigned, issue the following invitation to our political leaders, private and public agencies, communities, and all individuals who wish to show support for this compact through the following actions:

While this compact originates in the United States, we believe its values are global. We invite all people to join us in signing it, sharing it, and living it. We understand the values and practices in this list may not be comprehensive, so we invite all to take this as a base for creating an inclusive social compact for your own community, campaign, organization, school, house of worship, place of business, or any other effort that desires to operate based on these shared values. While we recognize there will be many different strategies to achieve our goals, the core values we hold are non-negotiable. A plain text version of this Social Compact can be found here.

We the People

    YES, I would like to sign onto this New Social Compact. Please type your name, title, and institutional affiliation or profession in the manner in which you would like for it to appear on the website.

    We invite all who believe in this social compact to freely use any of the visual assets on this website to operationalize these shared values in your practices and actions. Please post what you will #CommitTo on social media as part of this #NewSocialCompact.

    This New Social Compact is a collaborative effort produced by the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, along with the following coalition of partners who have signed on to support this effort. Design and website development donated in part by Column Five. If you would like your organization to join this effort, please email your agreement with these values and your logo here .

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