Everything at this time is in a transformative phase of transition. Our economic system is also in transition from a failing casino capitalism to a new economic system. While I can outline what it could eventually look like, the very fact that it is in transition means it is full of unknowns. We like to believe that the past was merely a less-technological version of what is now, but in the past, we thought very differently than we do today. Indigenous peoples have always known this kind of thinking and know their histories, but in a rush to modernity we have forgotten our own histories and hence the roots of our own stories. We need to redefine many terms we assume describe our world.
The whole of life is predicated on cycles. Just as there are cycles of life and death followed by rebirth, so our technology, economics, and socio-cultural systems exist in a similar way. The coming chaos is just an end of life as we know it, but it is not the end of life, it is the opening-up of ourselves to a new kind of living. One that is better is every way than the violent, distrusting, anxiety-ridden, fear-filled world occasionally punctuated with short periods of happiness that give us glimpses into what a better world ought to be.
I’ve said it many times in this blog but reiterating it in another way will help elucidate how we make this transition obvious and easier. We don’t need to overthrow any hierarchy, convince anyone of the need for harmony, or even begin endless peace talks to create a new peaceful future. We need to do just one thing and do it as a collective. Start insisting that we measure what is important in our lives and not some illusionary construct called money. Of course, that means breaking apart the belief that money is what makes the world go around. It only seems to because the hierarchical system has convinced us of that belief.
In part 3 of this current series (January 2024) I argue (yet again) for a need to measure ‘Quality of Life (QOL)’ as a primary measure of success and disconnecting it from economics and Standard of Living (SOL). There are several instruments currently used to measure QOL (see link) and one country trying (Bhutan) to do it within the existing economic system. It is the economic domain that holds us back from making the choice we must make. Despite the Bhutanese measuring ‘Gross National Happiness’ the country does not rate high on global Happiness scale. This is predicated on the observation that the country still lags behind in material-consumption that is linked to SOL. QOL values a spiritual outlook, while SOL favors a materialistic one.
The conceptual domains used at present to understand QOL are material and physical well-being, relationships with other people, social, community and civic activities, personal development and fulfillment, and recreation. Note how these domains do not need to be connected to money. Money buys a lot of ‘stuff’ and in an economically focused world some peace of mind concerning safety from being destitute. But indigenous peoples were not materialistically endowed with lots of stuff, but most had no word for being poor or destitute. While they lived within the ancestral ways, they had plenty of abundance. And if they didn’t (e.g., droughts, natural disasters, etc.) then everyone suffered the same problem. So let’s get to the true definition of abundance – a perfusion of everything needed to live a high QOL.
Sadly, it seems that either we get a more spiritual outlook now, or some economic collapse forces us into choosing a new kind of mindset. It’s not that QOL doesn’t value comfort and luxury, it does, but only as one measure out of many. SOL links comfort and luxury as primary within a materialistic system.
The egoic left-brained mind is good to set course and maneuvering through life using ego to analyze situations, but the right brain best supplies unconditional Love, connection, and to fathom links to a spiritual focus with happiness, joy and life satisfaction as goals for living. When I read about rich people and those with lots of stuff suffering from endless dissatisfaction, depression, severely dysfunctional relationships, loneliness, and fear of crime, it strikes me they are poster children for what’s wrong with the consumer-materialistic system, yet this same system uses these people to sell itself. Curiously, suicide rates are highest for those who are poorest and those who are wealthiest. Those who see no hope of SOL improvement and those who have it all materialistically and no hope of psychological improvement in their humdrum lives?! An old song by Simon & Garfunkel describes this conundrum nicely.
We live in a culture that equates stuff with satisfaction, and that is a lie promoted by advertisers for well over a century. Once companies promoted the virtues of their products, but now we have a consumer culture of hundreds of millions of people that buy pointless stuff to chase away dissatisfaction. This is reminiscent of the analogy of our culture as ‘hungry ghosts’ (A culture of people who constantly want and need, but are never satisfied). Let’s face it, companies in all kinds of industries that measure money (e.g., profit only) only gain if their ‘customers spend frivolously on all manner of ‘stuff.’ In the film documentary ‘The Corporation,’ a marketing psychologist shows how sales can be increased when targeting children by the effect ‘nagging’ has on their parents’ spending – ‘The Nag Factor.’
When we look at the psychological ‘needs’ models most have a satisfaction-dissatisfaction domain associated with them (e.g., see my earlier post Personal Sovereignty 3 {Nov 2018}). The world Happiness Report, which apparently correlates happiness with satisfaction, uses a model that has six domains Social Support, Income, Health, Freedom, Generosity, and Absence of Corruption. Note how much of this has a focus on materialism. If you had to answer a survey on multiple levels of your life about ‘life satisfaction,’ how many aspects of your life would score very high and how many score very low? Think about a future sustainable world where everything would score high. It’s one thing me saying this, but another trying to prove it to you. Are thing getting better or are things deteriorating in your personal and societal world? (see link). At what point do things have to be so bad you would grasp at any straw to move past the growing problems?
How economically secure is your future? That alone is a major worry for most people, even those with good financial portfolios. Imagine a world where such portfolios are no longer needed. The things you need to live a secure life will be provided through the community in which you live. Cradle to Grave security as Philosopher Daniel Quinn expounds in his ‘Ishmael’ ideas about new tribalism. I think the words ‘neo-tribalism’ have too negative a connotation with them that people like to pick apart, but it’s the best of old indigenous tribalism coupled with the best of modern living, without all the negative connotations of each. A new kind of civilization in which everyone thrives, not just survives.
To Be Continued ……………..
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