“Our economic system and our planetary system are now at war. Or, more accurately, our economic system is at war with most forms of life on earth, including human life. What the [earth] needs to avoid collapse is a contraction in humanity’s use of resources; what our economic model demands to avoid collapse is unfettered expansion. Only one of these sets of rules can be changed, and it’s not the laws of nature” Naomi Klein.
I was out watching fireworks (amazing really since a lot of Colorado seems to be ablaze in Forest fires) last night celebrating the 250th anniversary of the ‘American Experiment’ – the USA’s declaration of Independence from the rule of monarchy – the first modern democracy. Was this experiment in democracy a success? That is a complex answer I will not go into in this blog. I am sure that I will have lengthy discussions about it with local friends, but to be fair I would say ‘sort of successful’ depending on what your definition of successful means that hinges on your worldview!
As I have said several times about hierarchies, the U.S. (American colonies) traded in being governed by the power of a monarchy to be governed by a collection of very rich white men – one kind of patriarchal hierarchy for another. The founding fathers (clue) were a unique group that tried to envisage a better society, but those men were complex individuals living in a Patriarchal barbaric, cruel and meanness framed era where violence was, and still is, the norm. Maybe that is a hint of the core problem – leaving men in charge. It not that men are always wrong or cruel, but they need the calming influence of the feminine. I believe that simple statement is what separates the new and better world from just another patriarchal neo-feudal future where violence and meanness are the norm. Yes, there were powerful women through history, e.g., Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, Elizabeth the First, but they had to maneuver through an unyielding patriarchal world.
The history of the USA (like all modern democracies) is truly complex and never a clean a story as the textbooks and social mythology give us. Many of my friends feel discouraged about the state of the world, and those in the USA especially so. While I have neighbors who feel financially secure and happily support the materialist market economy, overall, there is a deep feeling of being disenfranchised, with a desire for something better. Many of my global friends may feel that their governments are as corrupt and most want a sustainable world. My sense of all that is happening in the world is that we are entering a new period of global citizenship where everyone is becoming more engaged in how their local and regional communities are run. More locally rather than from centralized patriarchal hierarchical structures, and a time where androgyny is becoming the norm (see my recent discussions).
I do think that the polarization and insensitivity of governments everywhere to the plights of the common person, especially here in the U.S., is causing disruption to the global status quo that has dominated for so long. This is part of a larger awakening that is getting humanity to want something different. I would not be surprised to see people everywhere getting more vocal and involved, but in a kinder way without the need for any violence. Imagine people who never voted, or considered much beyond the boundaries of their country, stepping up and seeing everything in a different light, becoming more globally aware. This kind of action will be essential if we are to build the new world without all the crappola of the old getting in the way. We all have to take some kind of action. Apathy cannot happen if we all are to move forward for what benefits us and the planet.
In the last post I talked about taking back the commons. We do so locally and then regionally as communities start working with each other. It is unlikely to start as a large-scale undertaking as resistance from corporate systems will be expected. But by starting at the edges and working towards regional community control we will find what works easiest and what needs more solidarity from multiple communities working together. Remember we are changing the world from 6000 years of hierarchal dominance and control – just remember why we need to do this. We learn to live withing the world instead of trying to subdue it – the laws of nature dictate what can thrive, not misguided economic politics.
Remaking the world is no small feat. It will take time, persistence, and a broad shared vision from all of society. This is not an adorable hippy commune, but a global resetting of the human experience itself. “The world needs people from every field to combine professional expertise with community purpose. Whether you work in law, finance, design, technology, research, media, or policy, your skills can play a crucial role in helping develop, launch, sustain, and grow successful projects. What matters is reorienting the tools you already use—contracts, code, policies, or stories—in service of the Commons” Michel Rauchs.
It is crucial to understand that this is no quick fix. We are in it for the long haul – we are after all transforming the world and humanities place within it. There is no bulleted list to follow. I have submitted my humble list of five items in this blog – principles to follow for action. “The change that our world so desperately needs is thus not decreed or engineered. It is a self-reinforcing, bottom-up process that gradually transforms the center from the periphery. As these examples ripple outward through local networks, they start to connect. Over time, these initiatives interlink, forming what might be called archipelagos of the Commons: small islands of shared wealth and collective governance that demonstrate their benefits through lived proof. In moments of crisis, they may serve as critical fallback systems; in moments of stability, they show what a regenerative and collaborative economy looks like in practice” Michel Rauch.
The Dutch designer Thomas Lommée once said: “The next big thing will be a lot of small things.” That is important to grasp. The changes we need to make are local not global, so expect to see myriad localized systems growing combining into regional systems, and then larger regional systems. But don’t expect it to all happen quickly. We are entering a whole new kind of living where technology with wisdom, the best of the old ways that worked in our current world (not all is bad) and the best of the indigenous ways will lead us to a transformation of humanity within a sustainable world where we will reconnect with each other. We will become global humanity again but with a totally different worldview that embraces diversity and life. Whether that takes 25 years of 125 years will be up to us. There is no set timeline. But it must occur. There is no sticking with the current economic or social worldview systems that currently and negatively dominate our world. Many of you may not readily see it, but this transformation is already underway. It’s up to each of us to see how each of us can take part in reclaiming the commons and our birthright as sovereign beings. Michale Rauch’s has a lot more to say about the commons and how we choose to engage more actively (see link for more information and action items about the commons).
Personally, I find this an exciting time to be alive. When we all make the decision to rebuild this better world, think about the legacy we will leave behind for future generations. Will they thank us for breaking millennia old patterns of suffering and having the courage and fortitude to find our sovereignty and create a sustainable world? Or will they curse us for failing to act when we could have made the difference. That is simply a projection of this time in history. How do you want to be remembered?
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