
New Findhorn Community. If one was to design a community today, what would it look like? How would yours embody being
-
- ‘visionary, vital, viable and vibrant’ and
- functional, adaptable and regenerative (not just sustainable) and
- etc.?
How does Nature do it? Does Nature “do” anything, or is it boom&bust for her too, in the greater scheme of things? Is the answer simply mathematical or is there also a philosophical+ dimension? Can there be a right answer? And are today’s consumers — let alone citizens — educated enough* to preempt+resolve the massive issues produced by their desire for mostly outer/material easement?[mfn]both legal and literary senses of the word ‘easement’ seem appropriate…[/mfn] [vertical-spacer] [two-fifths-first style= “box-shadow: 0px 3px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.24); padding: 2em”]
Issues to resolve
in areas of eg.:
- Population ageing, Global warming, Conflict&Economic migration, Ideological hardening
- Inequality and corruption in among other things: human morality, justice and ownership (power=money+politics)
- Primacy of speculative financial/commodity markets and ineffective regulation
- huge Government debt and simultaneous Government-controlled money supply (printing)
- Complexity and opaqueness of agendas, interrelated processes…
Today’s ‘resolutions’
for example:
- Governments’ towering Debt; opaque interests and cooperation between public&private[mfn]a political satire that both provokes great laughs and hits home with some tragic truths on this subject is the 2018 movie “Vice“[/mfn] sector, seemingly nonexistent or downright incompetent forward planning (pensions, labour market needs, NHS income, biased corporate & individual taxation, inflation, and crazy economic theory[mfn] Gary’s Economics[/mfn])…
- Russia invading twice over without active pushback from the European or international community (Vs eg. the clear Falklands Conflict reaction); most important United Nations results being neutralised[mfn]through incomprehensible and incontravertable ‘own goals'[/mfn] by security-council member politics and inconceivable weirdness…
- AUSUK[mfn]far superior sounding acronym than UKAUS, UKUSAUS or AUKUS, though only marginally better than USAUSUK ( )[/mfn] collaboration on nuclear submarine development (!); globally increasing arms manufacture and sales during prolonged global banking, economic, health, and inequality crises*
- BRICS countries collaborating more on all continents to counter US and EU socioeconomic influence.
Polarisation, exemplified by the silo-ed reporting on eg. unpredicted inequality and financial market fluctuations & displacements, is growing in almost every area of society. Citizens’ fear of losing the semblance of control left over their own lives, is increasing as geopolitical causality becomes increasingly impossible to understand and clarified by the ‘spinning’ protagonists themselves. This is creating a viscous negative spiral. Through well consumed media and entertainment channels, it’s clear that easy stock and asset takeovers, and generous profits can be generated by exploiting the growing dichotomies of eg.: supply Vs demand; communal helplessness (▶️emotion) Vs private power; common sense Vs algorithms[mfn]How are these made? Step 1: Determine the goal of the algorithm. Step 2: Access historic and current data. Step 3: Choose the right models. Step 4: Fine tune. Step 5: Visualise your results. Step 6: Run your algorithm continuously. In a world filled with more content than we could ever possibly consume, algorithms are a necessary part of the internet. However, algorithmic systems, particularly modern Machine Learning (ML) approaches, can also pose significant risks if deployed and managed without due care, amplifying harmful biases that lead to discriminatory decisions or unfair outcomes that reinforce inequalities.[/mfn]; body/calculation Vs mind/spirit.
Migrate-ness is your greatness
Changing points of view, that elevate long cherished philosophical, political and economic concepts[mfn]like morality, justice and ownership[/mfn] to the next level of articulation and expression but now for the betterment of all, are vital to resolving human-created problems. In a manner of speaking, if the game of squash doesn’t satisfy anymore, simply take up racquetball or lacrosse instead. We’re invited today to display the courage to choose more developed ‘games’ with more effective results for more people, with rules that favour all stakeholders and the long-term delivery of crucial human rights and some commodities & goods & services. Like social rent, vibrant innovative economic opportunity, multigenerational care in physical practice, regenerative self-sufficiency, &c. (as is being created on one non-spiritual Hebridean island community). Thus consciously choosing innovative developments that redefine equitable benchmarks for simultaneous individual/communal/national/international success — starting with subjects like money, justice/ethics, meaningful economic development and peaceful coexistence.
Only when you and I can actually stop living in fear of personal loss caused by others’ shenanigans, can we demand common sense policies of our elected civic representatives.[mfn]the strangeness of Brexit was not (per se) the result, but the publicly accepted result threshold: any voter turnout plus 50.1% of cast votes. Thus of only 72% of registered British voters, 51.9% voted to leave the EU. Constitutional change, and important business and family decisions, generally require 2/3 of eligible voters giving a 2/3 majority mandate. The Swiss however, barter lower result thresholds for their citizens’ more direct and regular political participation. Is the UK as democratic as CH? [/mfn] Here are some down to earth, almost Gandhian VALUES in action today:
[vertical-spacer]Chosen changes of course never just affect our individual welfare, but though we often forget this, they clearly majorly affect the welfare of nextgen. As the saying goes: what sort of person would I be if I didn’t leave this Earth better than I found it?!
Do I choose the Golden Rule over the Monkey’s paw? What is the value of the greater good — we know what’s good for ourselves, our families, our work, but what about for our communities? We know the power of egotism as we’ve all experienced childhood, but human lives are intricately bound up one with the other, with other beings and with the Nature around us both visible and invisible. Does the world revolve just around my own needs?[mfn]Maslow level 1-3; Spiral Dynamics non-green, -teal, -turquoise[/mfn] Does our galaxy’s needs revolve just around those of the Earth?
Only “in the eating” lies the proof of any of the Philosophy Politics Economics puddings we’re being sold — ask any toffee toting Grandparent about real truth : lest we forget, Nothing good is born from lies. … Everything has a price. One I’m not willing to pay. Not anymore. This world was a beautiful place just as it was… and you cannot have it all. You can only have the truth. And the truth is enough. The truth is beautiful. So look at this world… and look at what your wish is costing it. … Because you’re not the only one who has suffered. Who wants more. Who wants lost ones back. Who doesn’t want to be afraid anymore. Or alone. Or frightened. Or powerless. Because you’re not the only one who imagined a world where everything was different. Better. Finally. A world where they were loved and seen, and appreciated. Finally. … But what is [your own wish] costing you? Do you see the Truth? — Wonder Woman.
ps. happy Easter! It’s resurrection time! Perhaps a consumption start could be made with Easter eggs?
pps. if you’re interested, here’s the abstract of “Political Economy of de-Growth” by Timothée Parrique PhD.
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Topic to be continued, no? Remember that destruction can only be created from conscious choices. Ditto life and genesis. — Universal Wisdom