Last week at the WEF (Davos) the Canadian Prime Minister gave an inspiring talk to the global elites (the hierarchy and its puppets). It was inspiring in how it envisioned a new kind of needed government. I believe that this vision from Mark Carney is indicative of how governments could be in the near future (within 20 years) but not now. The simple reality is that hierarchical financial systems control the planet not political figures, no matter how well intentioned. Over half the world lives in dire poverty (lacking basic needs we in the developed countries take for granted) and this is incapable of changing under the corrupt global market economic systems currently running the planet.
The whole global system itself has to transform, and we, the masses, are the only ones able to actually do that. We have to change our collective consciousness on what a better world will look like. Hence my 5 items on a path to follow as we develop a new worldview that embraces life in all its forms – a newer ecocentric worldview (not quite new, but a rekindling of an old ecological worldview humanity once had). We have to govern ourselves at the grassroots-level with Love and compassion, so we can feel Love and compassion for everything else. Anything less is to continue to live with fear and scarcity and under the thumb of the global hierarchies that want to control everything for their benefit only. Will we use technology to enhance human well-being or let it dominate us as slaves of a technocratic system? Technologies already exist that can make a big difference, but if they conflict with how global resources and finances already currently controlled, they get ‘black-shelved’ – that is they get buried.
I’m sure these black-shelved technologies will eventually come back in to the ‘public’ sphere, but for the immediate now, let’s talk about things that we already do with small scale sustainability projects, and consider how they can be expanded.
An Interesting and innovative site promoting sustainable technology is the The Venus Project. It is similar in many respects to Cradle-to-Cradle design by William McDonough. I love how both describe sustainable living ideas and promote them as part of an innovative worldview of technology and a fully circular economics (like natural economics) to meet the earth’s carrying capacity. In a world where any technology is free to everyone, I think it could work. It is working small-scale with to wealthy clients, but the global system is not capable of allowing these ideas to embrace all of humanity, especially those in dire poverty and even just poor economic developing countries. Those seriously big gaps in standards of living problems remain as a consequence of the global market economy. And the current material-consumer worldview is driven by profit-only focused market-economics.
The Venus project for instance touts, “this transition explores what becomes possible once basic needs are guaranteed for everyone.” And therein lies the rub. How do we guarantee food, water, housing, healthcare, education, and mobility for all of humanity in our current systems? Even developed countries no longer have that guarantee as current global financial systems are demonstrating their fickleness. As long as greed and corruption, from a control and power-hungry hierarchy, remain as acceptable social norms, then the dream of a sustainability world remains just that – a dream.
That is why I remain steadfast in my belief that a sustainable future requires a spiritual transformation that drives a moral transformation of how we view all biotic and abiotic aspects of this planet (Item 1 in my short list of steps).
There are several innovative systems touting a sustainable future, and they all espouse the development of new materials, energy, construction, and resource management for a humane and ecological planetary culture, organized around science, cooperation, and planetary well-being instead of money, markets, and power. Yet, all of them ignore how to get past the latter to create the former.
To recap quotes I used in my Hierarchy 2 post, “Very typically, when people question me about the future, they ask if I really believe people will be willing to give up the wonderful things we have for the mere privilege of avoiding extinction. When I speak… of another story to be in, they seem to imagine I’m touting a sort of miserable half-life of voluntary poverty, donning sackcloth and rags to do penance for our environmental sins. They’re sure that living in a sustainable way must be about giving up things. It doesn’t occur to them that living in an UNsustainable way is also about giving up things, very precious things like security, hope, light-heartedness, and freedom from anxiety, fear, and guilt” Daniel Quinn. No need for a revolution to put in place a new hierarchy, just a transformation of society from the bottom up. And: “Change never comes from the powerful and proud [the hierarchy] – they have too much to lose and too little to gain. Change always comes from the common and humble – we have little to lose and much to gain” John Ikerd
So, what is it we really want for our future? That is the key and only question. For me it is to live with a good standard of living in a healthy thriving world with incredible quality of life that promotes peace, happiness, and collaboration between all of humanity and all the planet.
My vision is not about ideology, labels, or controlling power. As McDonough and the Venus project emphasize, it’s about designing systems that actually work — for people and for the planet. “The question is no longer if change is coming, but whether we choose to guide it consciously” or have a Brave New World of continued scarcity and fear imposed on us by the Cabal. And the only way I can see us consciously creating a sustainable future is to begin locally and build it anew.
“Don’t Be Scared About the End of Capitalism [as we currently experience it] – Be Excited to Build What Comes Next. Instead of fixating on a fight between capitalism and socialism, imagine innovating a future economy that transcends old binaries” Jason Hickel and Martin Kirk.
Think of a fully circular economy that mimics the natural world, where waste is designed out of existence, materials are modular, reusable, and recyclable, and energy systems are renewable and regenerative and naturally evolve over time. If we ignore the hierarchies, we move past using war as a political tool and start working peacefully with each other. Instead of finding reasons to separate from each other using artificial constructs of race, color, and creed, we see diversity as a positive of strength and innovative capacity building. It’s not a perfect utopian future, but it is magnitudes better than what we currently survive within, and it heals humanity and the planet – everything thrives in a truly sustainable world.
Think of technologies that currently exist that can transform our world to make us sustainable and resilient. “Mushrooms, Hemp, and Bamboo can replace nearly all textile and building materials while sequestering more carbon that trees ever could… so what’s stopping us.” knowingfabric.com. Current renewable energy systems work well at local levels. Localized farming also works best at local levels, and the exotic foods we currently enjoy out of season through international shipping can be grown in next generation greenhouses. When we perceive things from a spiritual perspective, we move beyond being unconscious consumerism, we live well in a place, and create a sharing, caring society that expresses peace and joy and a spiritual connection to all life. We live in a way that as we care for the planet the planet cares for all of us with its regenerative systems.
So, I’ll wrap up this series of The Great Healing with a short reminder of my list of five items.
item number one: Mindfulness. We must start being mindful and conscious of every thought and action. A question to ask yourself every day,” What will the world look like when we are all enlightened, and practice mindfulness.”
Item number two: New Economics. Since the 1980s, the world has been caught in a whirlwind of economic transformation called ‘Globalization.’ While it has had many benefits, one major consequence has been the erosion of local economic systems, knowledge, and supply chains (e.g., The Walmart Effect) that promote greed, corruption and hierarchical power. What will a caring, sharing, circular economy look like?
Item number three: New Metrics: Redefine what success means for you and your community.
Item number four: Food resiliency. This is important since true resilience means creative thinking about how communities regenerate themselves for self-sufficiency.
Item number five: Energy resiliency. Our lives revolve around technology that uses energy, and we need to control it at the local level.
New Focus next week.
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