SENTIENT TIMES February/March 2008

Editor's Note

By Deborah Mokma

Despite the current crisis in the global economy, there are many people who believe in the possibility of a more hopeful future. In the possibility that the economic meltdown caused by the greed of US and world financial institutions will help expose the so-called “free market” for what it really is—a market which is manipulated by banks, hedge funds, and international financiers. I won’t pretend to understand the complete workings of the global corporate economy, but what I do understand is that choosing the needs of the market over the needs of the majority of the people is not an economics issue, it is a social justice issue.

In his most recent book The Great Turning, economist David Korten draws on evidence from evolutionary theory, developmental psychology and religious teachings to make the case for a return to the natural of order of things, what he refers to as a cooperative “Earth Community”—a situation quite different from the control by monarchies, bureaucracies and transnational institutions that has existed for the past 5,000 years. He explains “Our conventional understanding of living systems is the Darwinian theory of ruthless competition. Modern biologists, however … have discovered that living systems are fundamentally cooperative. Obviously there are competitive dimensions; Darwin didn’t make that part up. But life can exist only in cooperative, sharing relationships with other life. Energy is constantly flowing back and forth among organisms, just as it is among the cells of a single organism … instead of demanding growth, we need to strengthen community and consider everyone’s needs. The question is: How can we allocate our resources to meet these needs efficiently and equitably? Increasingly, our need is less for growth than for reallocation: shifting resources from war and the military to housing, food, clothing, and so on. There is an enormous misallocation of resources in almost every sphere of society. Too much of our wealth goes to maintaining the systems of domination and providing obscene luxuries for a tiny percentage of the population.”

In an interview which begins on Page 5 Arnie Cooper and David Korten discuss a grassroots strategy which has the potential to begin the kind of momentous turning needed to direct us towards a future where as-yet-unrealized human potential and Earth’s resources create a world where healthy human communities and a healthy planet coexist. It is quite clear at this point in time that, as David Korten says, “We either transform our social relationships in the direction of community and partnership or we continue on a basically suicidal path of social and environmental disintegration.”

We have quite a few additional articles in this issue which provide more food for thought on this topic, including an excerpt from the book Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World is Possible on Page 9 which shares some ideas for localizing our economies to help communities become healthier. The authors explain that “A return to the local—a reinvigoration of the conditions by which local communities regain the power to determine and control their preferred economic and political paths” is essential in addressing the problems resulting from globalization as it exists today.

Bill Plotkin, a research psychologist and the author of Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World, discusses a model for cultural transformation based upon our being able to achieve a lifelong journey to wholeness and maturity. In an interview on Page 12 he explains “A society that has embraced true adulthood is, among other things, sustainable, just, and compassionate. It is sustainable because it is expressly organized as an integral component of the greater community of Earth; it establishes a niche for itself that benefits both its people and the greater geobiological community of which it is a member. It is a just society because it provides equal opportunities and benefits for all persons. It is compassionate because it shares its wealth with all other societies and with the greater web of life; it does not exploit other peoples or species.”

When we create the changes we wish to see in ourselves, our families and our communities, and make sure our locally and nationally elected officials are aware of the direction we seek for the future, worldwide change will happen. With enough of us coming together with love and respect for each other, and the planet, a better world is possible.

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