5 fundamental principles  11 social and socio-economic principles  Existence  Leadership  Economic democracy  Democracy  
"State vs. private"  Neo-humanism

Toward A Common Future

by Roar Bjonnes
Humanity has reached a turning point, a defining moment in history. We stand at a crossroads, and the path we choose to follow will affect future generations at least as profoundly as the industrial revolution affected our lives. The main problems of modern planetary civilization can no longer be solved in isolation. Environmental destruction, cultural decay, and technological excesses, along with with increased poverty, even in the world's richest nations - are all systemic problems that cannot be changed with the fragmented approaches so far employed by politicians and scientists. We need bold, new, comprehensive concepts and visions.

But most of all, we need a change of heart. As playwright and former president of Czechoslovakia Vaclav Havel said before a Joint Session of the United States Congress in 1990: "Without a global revolution in the sphere of human consciousness a more human society will not emerge."

Through the lectures and writings of many leading edge thinkers, we have been urged to answer some fundamental questions: How can we steer our ecological society toward ecological balance? How can we create a more equitable world economy that does not devour the web of life on which it is based? How can we, amid a civilization of shopping malls and fast food restaurants, cultivate richness of culture and sacredness of soul? What is
the role of consciousness in the healing of people and nations?

To find the answers, we need to combine the urgency of the environmental and social justice movements with the wisdom of the indigenous elders, and the latest interdisciplinary research in science with the timeless intuition of the ancient mystics.

The voices of many dissenting experts echo the deep sentiments of millions of people all over the world. Most Americans, for example, identify themselves as environmentalists. More and more households recycle paper, glass and soda containers, buy energy-efficient light bulbs, and donate money to help save the whales and the rainforest. On Capitol Hill, in the courts, and in the streets, the environmental movement has enjoyed many victories. Yet, despite all these accomplishments, the environment is in serious trouble, and the problems are getting worse with each passing year.

Materialism versus fulfillment
Another tragic irony is that, while modern society has been highly effective in producing material goods, it has failed to provide us with a deeper sense of fulfillment. Consumer society's excessive use of throwaway food and beverage containers, for example, is as much an economic, cultural and spiritual issue as an environmental one. We can no longer afford to isolate our problems and our solutions, they are all interrelated. As the late futurist Willis Harman suggested, we need to address the "systemic failures" of industrial civilization head on. To heal consumer society's wounds - including its environmental damages, cultural decay, economic disparity, and spiritual shallowness - we must examine and treat it as a complete organism, much the same way holistic medicine attempts to restore the whole individual.

But environmental, political, economic or cultural changes are not enough. A truly holistic vision for both people and planet must include Cosmic Consciousness or God - the source from which everything originates and to which we all one day will return.

Sustainable capitalism?
Since the UN published its global report Our Common Future in 1987, a new concept called sustainable development has spurred a creative marriage between business and the environment. According to Maurice Strong, Secretary General of the UN's Conference on Environment and Devlopment (UNCED), and Anita Roddik, founder and managing director of the famous natural skin care company The Body Shop, sustainable development and socially responsible business ventures promise to hold some of the answers to creating a healthier planet.

The sustainable development movement, however, with its emphasis on ecology and economy, may fall short of its hailed promise to save the planet if it does not embrace culture and consciousness as important aspects of its planetary reformation program. Moreover, as Indian philosopher P. R. Sarkar observed, capitalism itself has inherent flaws which needs to be remedied. Sustainable capitalism is therefore a contradiction in terms. Hence, Sarkar advocated a new economic system primarily based on worker-owned, cooperative enterprises. Private capitalism, he argued, is best suited to the small scale only, since it can do little harm in creating disparity or environmental damages if not allowed to concentrate extreme amounts of wealth in the hands of a few corporate owners.

While seeking a better future, it is important not to forget the past. The present is a manifestation of past ideas and the future is a reservoir waiting to contain the outpouring of today's visions. The reductionist world view of modern scientism, with its lack of respect for both earth and spirit, has no kinship with the past or any deep concern for the future. Our new vision of wholeness - if it is to emerge as the true inspiration for a new economic and political order - must therefore be rooted in the deep, spiritual wisdom of the sages of the past while at the same time be open to technological innovation and change.

Existential and utility value
Ecology and economy, both from the Greek *oikos,* mean "house" in the broadest sense. Ecology (eco-logos) is about our understanding of the planet as our home and our search to find harmonious ways to work and live on it. Economy (eco-nomos) is about how to derive wealth from the cultivation and utilization of the environment and about how to distribute
this wealth appropriately among the members of our social family.

Both ecology and economy should be concerned with the existential and utility value of a being or an object. All inhabitants of nature, just like ourselves, have an existential right to live and co-exist with others. But since spirit or consciousness is more fully expressed in a cow than in a carrot, and since we do have to eat, we will create less harm, spiritually and ecologically, if we eat carrots rather than cows. Seen in this light, the issue is no longer - as it has been for so long in the forests of the Pacific Northwest - owls vs. jobs, but rather how jobs and owls can co-exist in sustainable harmony. So, for us dwellers in the earth household, spiritual ecology is the foundation on which the structure of a balanced economy is built.

The inner glue
Culture - from the Latin *cultura*, to cultivate, tend or worship - is about the intellectual and artistic expressions of humanity, the collective soul of society. Consciousness, or *conscius* in Latin, is about knowledge of others or oneself, the wisdom of that which is both seen and unseen. Since spirituality or consciousness is the one source that binds the diverse expressions of the universe together, it is also the inner glue which links all beings and activities on planet earth together. This happens whether we know it or not. But in order to change our current course towards global collapse, it is imperative that we start acting with conscious, spiritual intentions in all that we plan or do. Thus our hope and goal is a local and global spiritual culture through which the songs of healing and unity can be sung in harmony with the spirit of the Cosmic Creator.

In Western society, the material development of life has surpassed our cultural or spiritual achievements. And when material science becomes almighty, there remains no cultural sophistication. Satellite dishes and frozen microwave dinners are produced to a society of couch potatoes with few shared rituals to celebrate the joy of existence or to mark life's passages.

In Eastern societies like Bali or India, the transcendent intricacy of culture and spirituality has, as its shadow, created the rituals of widow burning and the dogmas of caste. In these societies, culture has surpassed science and created a need to balance the obsession of faith with a more rational outlook.

Nevertheless, the new global society is emerging. It is emerging through ascetic yogic monks working on laptop computers. It is emerging through American physicians practicing the ancient arts of Chinese acupuncture and Indian ayurvedic medicine. It is emerging through rainforest shamans from South America contributing their medicinal and ecological knowledge to scientists from Europe. It is emerging through indigenous peoples' protests against clearcutting in the Philippines. The cultures of East and West, North and South are coming closer day by day. Through the blending of science and intuition, ecology and economy, culture and consciousness, and through the radical changes forced upon us by the growing environmental and economic crisis, a new social paradigm is emerging. Through this resurgence we will discover new ground on which the foundations for our ancient future can be based. [END]

Copyrght The author 2003