janroe

Let me write a small treatise on why the people of this planet will not be able to save it.

Hypothesis:

• Current societal organisational systems are destroying society and threaten medium-term human survival on this planet
• Current societal organisational systems are so entrenched, that they cannot be prevented from destroying society, human survival, and the planet

What are these societal organisational systems?

They are the government system, the economic system, the business system, the financial system, the technological system, the educational system, the national system, the belief system and people's current values and norms. Each of these systems can take any type of form. There are many forms of government, various economic, business and financial models, types of educational systems, many religions. Many different people hold different norms and values.

The problem is, that all these societal organisational systems, wherever they are in the world and in whichever form, are based on the same basic premises, while outwardly they appear different, and even appear to be in competition with each other.

What are their shared basic premises?

• Government systems: the concept of nations, models of national management, government forms such as democracies, oligopolies, dictatorships, each follows the same goals: growth, power, material wealth and national pride
• Economic systems: the concepts of managing economic resources, models such as capitalism, market economies and communism each follow the same goals: growth, power, material wealth, economic pride
• Belief systems: religions follow the same goals: growth, power, self-righteousness, and religious pride
• Interest groups: political parties and special interests follow the same goals: growth, power, material wealth, self-righteousness, personal pride
• Media: societal information systems, tv, cable, internet, newspapers, magazines, news and opinion providers follow the same goals: growth, power, material wealth, self-righteousness, personal pride

Where is the damage?

The societal systems, whatever their different internal ideologies are in different places, all operate on the same premise: growth, power, wealth, self-righteousness, and pride. Of course, different ideologies do distribute things differently internally.

Internally, there are many variations: Countries lose or gain resources. The poor or the rich get poorer or richer. The globe is round or square. Political parties follow the money or the actual issue. The media tells lies or opinions as facts. Whatever the internal distribution, the damage is being done externally, to society and natural resources.

Point 1: Societal systems' growth, power, wealth, self-righteousness and pride are gained at the expense of individuals, society as a whole, and the planet's resources.

Why is it a problem now?

It has always been a problem, but to lesser extent. Earlier these issues remained on local levels. Now they are critical on global level. World population has tripled. The world has become interconnected. More and more is consumed. Natural resources are dwindling. Humankind is changing the planet's eco-system. The space that societal systems operate in is getting constricted. Competing societal systems must become more competitive to sustain growth and wealth. They are becoming more determined, aggressive and abusive in following through on their goals.

Point 2: Societal systems' focus on growth, power, wealth, self-righteousness and pride is growing.

Both Points:

Prevailing societal organisational systems are ensuring that the well-being of individuals, society and the planet continue to deteriorate.

Why can't it be stopped?

Above we saw that the goals of societal organisational systems are growth, power, wealth, self-righteousness and pride. These goals are now threatening human survival and this planet.

The societal systems are built on these goals. There is no mechanism to change them on system level. These goals are also shared by a very large number of individuals. There is no mechanism to change these goals on individual level.

For those individuals who are spontaneously willing to forgo these goals, there is no effective societal organisational system that will effectively compete with the entrenched destructive systems. They have no organised peer structure.

As long as people are knowingly destructive to society and nature, and just continue on because its legal and everyone else is doing the same thing, society and the planet will not survive the medium term. The short term is already becoming unpleasant.

Then what?

A number of people are already taking precautions to survive an either slow or quick global societal melt-down, or an hitherto thought unlikely natural catastrophe. Guess what: it's back to nature - no more destructive growth, power, wealth, self-righteousness or pride. You might want to brush up on your grains - try to avoid the genetically engineered type. (I add this just for completeness.)

If it could be stopped, how?

The societal implosion might be stopped by a broad change in individual and organisational norms and values that combines no growth, no profit, no material gain and focuses on respect for all individuals, society and nature, with truth, honesty and integrity. And that, ladies and gentlemen, sad as it is, is not achievable.

The moment anyone seriously starts advocating anything similar to the first part, no growth, no profit, no material gain he or she is likely branded an extremist and excommunicated from established society.

Being an optimist, the second part respect for all individuals, society and nature, with truth, honesty and integrity may be easier to achieve. Yet the indivdual mostely overridden overridden by concepts of growth, power, wealth, self-righteousness and pride on system level, as prioritised by business systems, financial systems, economic systems and national systems. The individual simply doesn't get a chance.

Individuals can scarcely change make changes on their own, since current society is too interconnected. For example, if you individually opted out of the concept of "growth" and "more, more, more", you are likely to lose your job! You'd probably need to leave the city altogether and live quietly up-country, raise live-stock and do some farming. Hm, maybe not a bad idea...

Some further societal organisational systems

1. Where is the individual?

The individual is both unknowing subject and eager participant. Current societal organisational systems see the individual as the feeding ground to achieve growth: national, economic and business systems coerce individuals into continuous cycles of material accumulation. Economic, financial and business systems maintain standard calculations on how much to invest into not just spending but continuously increasing consumer spending, so that the system can continue to grow. The individuals who operate these systems view and treat the consuming individuals as gullible cash cows.

At the same time, individuals are co-opted into the system to make it work. The system rewards with highest wealth specifically those individuals who extract the most resources from consuming individuals, thus ensuring further system growth. As a matter of necessity, these individual may be said to reflect the systems' goals of growth, power, wealth, self-righteousness, and pride. In instances, easily coupled with norms and values reflecting dishonesty, greed and disrespect for humanity and nature.

However, individuals can affect change if they dare. And work together with like-minded individuals.

2. Where is the family?
It apparent that family is probably the closest long-term bond between individuals. This increases trust, responsibility and integrity between family members.

At the same time the principle of positive relationships applies. Negative relationships may break these positive principles.

Families can affect change if they dare. Each family is already a group. And work together with like-minded families.

3. Where is small business?
Depending on location about 76-95% of businesses are small businesses. A very large number of small businesses are family businesses. (Citation needed, but these are facts.) As such they are subject to risks of both positive and negative relationships. Yet small business does not necessarily depend on continuous growth, or increasing power and wealth. Small business more highly depends on individual customers and is apt to be more responsible to its customers in general, compared with large corporations, that have made customers depend on large coporation services and products. All individuals in small businesses are in a position to effect change within their system, and thus influence societal system change.

Small businesses can affect change if they dare. Each business is already a group. And work together with like-minded businesses.

Related:

Three questions

• Who was first, the organisational system or the individual?
• Who governs whom, the organisational system the individual or individuals the organisational system?
• Who can make a change, the organisational system or the individual?

Worth reading: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/beyond-religion-dalai-lam_n_112...
From this article:

"Similarly, in the fields of commerce and finance, the systems themselves may be sound, but if the people using them are unscrupulous and driven by self-serving greed, the benefits of those systems will be undermined. Unfortunately, we see this happening in many kinds of human activities: even in international sports, where corruption threatens the very notion of fair play."

"Ultimately, any system, any set of laws or procedures, can only be as effective as the individuals responsible for its implementation."

"Ultimately, the source of our problems lies at the level of the individual. If people lack moral values and integrity, no system of laws and regulations will be adequate. So long as people give priority to material values, then injustice, inequity, intolerance and greed -- all the outward manifestations of neglect of inner values -- will persist."

Rhiz Khan and Philosopher Slavoj Zizek
Current ways of thinking and current systems can't cope with current issues, with highly destructive results to life as we know it. It's right in front of us and we're in denial.

Rhiz Khan and Philosopher Slavoj Zizek on the collapse of society and the failure of capitalism