General directions & approach

Ban Ki-moon’s address:

“The ancients saw no division between themselves and the natural world. They understood how to live in harmony with the world around them.
It is time to recover that sense of living harmoniously for our economies and our societies.
Not to go back to some imagined past, but to leap confidently into the future with cutting-edge technologies, the best science and entrepreneurship has to offer, to build a safer, cleaner, greener and more prosperous world for all.”

A first summary from the first third/quarter of the discussion:

• The economic model for survival would be a form of Capitalism with a conscience, based on:
• Ethos of humanity, capitalism with a conscience, based on “qualities”, a virtuous ethic (do things right)
• Free markets producing value that benefits the whole and the parts
• Externalities that are accounted for / “cost” of the commons
• Limitation of speculation on currencies, resources, food
• Emergence through disruptive new “ethos building” free markets, decoupled from the traditional, debt and growth based -vast systemic transformation flow
• Recognition of interdependence in relationships, increased local, bottom-up access to knowledge and power-to-act, channeling collective intelligence as a governing principle and framework, as a balancing power
• Independence in material flows and building local resilience: limitation of interdependence in transport/flows but providing for supply chains and local production disruptions.

Reform or revolution?

• What is revolutionary thinking and action? Is it an about face? A radical change? The overthrowing of the old to be replaced with the new? Which new?
  How to change when all current trends are aimed at achieving the opposite effect? Is there any trend that in the long run can reverse the main direction?
• A revolutionary thinking needs a new kind of logic deemed for some UTOPIAN, THEORETICAL, or NONSENSE. Need a phasal shift in perspective (quadrature rather than revolution): effective governance happens natively within the higher maturity-level cooperative rather than competitive milieu (right/left ideological).
• To finish the revolution everyone is capable of grabbing a bag of seeds, a shovel and broom to clean up the mess we have made of ourselves. That is being pragmatic owning our condition and situation and realizing we are face traumatic uncertainties in the days ahead. Together in solidarity we can succeed in designing a world for future generations and that requires rebuilding trust first person to person.
• Replace capitalism by a planned economy? Or something else, different, otherwise the system explodes, and prevent ecological catastrophe?
  Can you build a system – do a total radical redesign? No examples… things emerge… Better to find out emerging trends and re-enforce them with minimal efforts. Isn’t it what ST is about, e.g. positive feedback loops, leverage points etc.
• Need a “reform” or an “evolution” rather than a “revolution” to adapt the past system for present and future? Change the system from the inside
  Idea of tweaking and using the existing system is a good one as it is pragmatic….and could actually produce real change…
• There are many valuable initiatives, experiments, projects, that should be made known in a comprehensive way, encouraged, and whose experiences and results should be monitored and examined for lessons.
  Capture the swarm, the flow of micro initiatives keep track of it but we the need (or not) of some kind of big picture view of how the ideas and projects evolve in their formulation and adoption, and in what direction…
• Approach:
  1. Active development of Parallel Processes… Skunkworks…the knowledgebase exists…its just a matter of stitching it together in a framework and then doing something with it.
  2. A marketing campaign aimed at consumers, producers and politicians… to demonstrate a positive intent and possible outcomes.
  3. A near real time Intelligence network with feeds to all of the pro earth pro life organisations, existant groups and orgs that need better information and regardless of who is promoting a particular action real time data will be useful and empowering.
  4. Connectivity between communities and groups
• There is a significant move for “conscious capitalism”, and calls to action from scholars, CEOs, management consultants and other leaders based on shared or “sharable” rationale & principles. This needs to get to the grassroots.
• Interesting report from KPMG on sustainability: It has moved up the corporate agenda over the past three years, but translating it into action is not easy: http://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/corporate-sustainability-v2.pdf
  What is missing to accelerate take-up of sustainability:
  • Financial solutions for long term payback programs
  • Common measures and systems to analyze impacts
  • Clear and rigorous international framework of regulation within which companies can plan in confidence
• Get the top down and bottom up movement to meet/mesh.

A new economy: how will the change come about

• Catalyze new activities, intelligent consumption that does not deplete (story of stuff): a substitution for the current consumerism based economic model. All areas of economic activity (even across continents and national borders) have their part to play (and could responsibly control and be accountable for) transforming the economic model into a sustainable one.
• Re-engineer (?) our economies to tackle debt fuelled over-consumption, accelerating climatic instability and volatile energy prices underpinned by the approaching peak in global oil production
• Re-thinking how we bank, generate energy, travel, and grow the food we depend on. It is a massive task that needs lots of organizations and people working together. Bring banks/businesses closer to the needs and lives of everyday” people
• Emergence through disruptive new “ethos building” free markets, decoupled from the traditional, debt and growth based -vast systemic transformation flow
  Based on skunk works: new models that will outcompete the old. –the sharing economy, barter, social currencies-. A new economy on the edge that will take over/outcompete the old (creative disruption?)
• A new model that gives access to all, model gives participation and influence to the majority, that will “outcompete” the old. Tangible products produced in a morally responsible way and ethical representation of people and ideas… that capitalize on efficiencies inherent to a better use of resources and meets immediate needs.
• New activities:  beyond blaming “capitalism”,
  • Ex.1 Ilia’s proposal for a leverage point: an active new ideas broker http://bit.ly/dPEoZD .
  • Ex.2 Stephen: The internet and WWW as host for a new economic paradigm represent the most important tool and leverage point for this alternative economic model. A global bazaar of products, skills and ideas with physical in country presence are characteristics of this new model. I think the age old system of “Barter” could be combined to form a Global Humanity Exchange of information, ideas, products, skills and physical assets such as land, where this new market assigns valuations based upon participants demand similar to the way a stock exchange works. This new “Market Place” could be run with an applied Ethos and should represent an alternative venue for all to purchase and sell. Of course country and region specific domain filtering will be required to ensure that what is purchased and sold doesn’t not run afoul of local law…but this too over time would be a leverage point for promoting human rights, rule of law and protection of assets in countries that do not support this limit their own opportunities.
• The unity and big picture coming from intentionality and purpose, the strength and richness of the flow.
• Each according to talent and passion, in diversity of projects, actions.
• Middle class of developing countries need to access to riches. Trick is to not deny opportunities to others such as high achievers… while enhancing equal opportunities for the poor. Robbing the rich to give to the poor only works when the rich have riches unjustly otherwise its just plain and simple theft… In any society there will always be people who try harder than others…to deny that is to deny being human.
• Hans Rosling puts development and consumption in a quite interesting perspective – The magic washing machine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZoKfap4g4w
  Integrate the trends of variation in population growth, declining populations and migrations

New approaches to understanding problems

• Need to shift from a machine story to a living systems story. Concept of thrivability becomes a powerful force for change only when the full philosophy behind it is embraced. Adopt the cooperative theory of evolution. Make positive assumptions on human nature
• Achieving sustainability requires a new generation of engineers and scientists that are trained to adopt a holistic view of processes as embedded in larger systems that have never been seriously considered before.
• Engineering can no longer be performed in isolation, and must consider interactions among industrial processes and human and ecological systems. So the quest for sustainability requires research and educational innovation and advances not just in engineering, but also in many other disciplines, including management, economics, and sociology. Ultimately, this may be the most effective way of initiating the necessary long-term social, political, economic and technological changes.
• Our increased connectedness is giving us vehicles for the expression of the wisdom of the crowds, and showing signs of the turbulence produced by a massive shift of consciousness.
• Need a higher order of organization one of engagement with stakeholders, a shift from control centered organization to an influence centered organization which does not replace control but rather adds another larger more powerful dimension of organization. -finding means to connect with the whole affected by or affecting the organization beyond stakeholders.

Our approach – Difficulties – Now what next

• The big dilemma: what can be designed and what cannot?
• How to use the wealth of knowledge for solutions? “An immense, an ever-increasing wealth of knowledge is scattered about the world today, a wealth of knowledge and suggestion that – systematically ordered and generally disseminated – would probably give this giant vision and direction and suffice to solve all the mighty difficulties of our age, but the knowledge is still dispersed, unorganized, impotent in the face of adventurous violence and mass excitement” H.G. Wells in The Brain, Organization of the Modern World.
• “The Future of Knowledge” by Verna Allee who draws on the “Web of Life” by Capra.

• The questions is how do we architect the mechanism for collecting data, information, knowledge, and wisdom of people for coming up with the best collective understanding. What do we at each individual level and artificially homogeneous groups of people want to join the effort and be a pariticipant of the mechanism?

• The reason I mention churn is that the speed of change in the Internet era is likely to create obsolescence of models far faster than in the past. The economy is shape shifting incredibly fast. Even the models that have been proposed in the first decade of the 21st Century are getting outdated sooner than anyone can imagine. Recognising churning adds to that challenge, and no doubt is also understood by the UN. Measuring the Creative Economy suggests that such issues are being thought about.

• We need to support flexibility and growth through an “open” systems approach, yet place in steps of “closed” or semi closed concepts and terms (like “thick value”) to help us move in a particular direction.
• “defining several levels of boundaries within each of which the related (eco)system can flourish spontaneously”
• Set purpose for direction and meta-ethics/principles for stearing.

• I think after we develop the web site and wiki or equivalent I think active contact should be made with each and every community and the website should house all contact info as a resources for all. Secondly I want to see a resource matrix that lists what each community has in the way of physical and natural resources and a skills listing we all will inevitabley need something like this and in the meantime it would be a great way to get our individual needs met maybe on a barter basis and be ambassadors of goodwill and knowledge also more importantly a way for us to learn from those who walk the walk.

• Create a framework for practical understanding of sustainability that can be used to translate situations and issues to actions for progress. We are starting on that path to create understanding and we can look to some researchers that are trying to explain how countries/economies are creating growth for the society and its people.
• “Change through sharing and action” movement, with some modules of ready to use/to apply ideas/methodologies/projects that people can virally send to each other or ‘teach” to others. Kind of start kits of change initiatives, starting with how to get people around you aware and start adopting new mindsets.

• If a simple and attractive philosophy can be communicated that demonstrates real here and now advantage for main street..it can be adopted despite the range of opinion. One part education, one part real advantage, onepart action for change…is the formula..and the opportunity. Anything else most likely results in failure for us all.

• Approach: Earth Summit Agenda 21’s four main sections:
  • Section I: Social and Economic Dimensions.
    Deals with combating poverty, changing consumption patterns, promoting health, change population and sustainable settlement.
  • Section II: Conservation and Management of Resources for Development
    Includes atmospheric protection, combating deforestation, protecting fragile environments, conservation of biological diversity (biodiversity), and control of pollution.
  • Section III: Strengthening the Role of Major Groups
    Includes the roles of children and youth, women, NGOs, local authorities, business and workers.
  • Section IV: Means of Implementation
    Implementation includes science, technology transfer, education, international institutions and financial mechanisms.

• Proposed angles of entry for “pull” categories to determine vision, principles and direction and “hook” various models and pragmatic applications:
  • The Human perspective.
    Deals with humans as custodians, ethics and responsibility, mindsets and behavior, education and consciousness, cooperation and empowerment, power and legitimacy, institutions. All issues seen through this lense.
  • The Infrastructure & Network perspective
    Includes building resilience, independence in interdependence, relates to preparedness, networks, local/centralized, subsidiarity, waste(cycles)/transport(flows),  food/water/energy systems, all issues seen through this lense.
  • The Economic Perspective
    Encompasses sustainable value and growth, productivity in a finite resource environment. Addresses questions of tangible/intangible value, productivity, ownership, waste, product cycles, resources, GDP and economic indicators, criteria for thrivability, the issues of the commons and accounting of externalities, risks, measurements…

• Included in the wide mainframe:
  • Project proposed by Kent of a 15 page paper for the intention of the Secretary General around two main paths:  Food and Infrastructure with practical recommendations.
  • Project proposed by Dawna: a PPT presentation aggregating all her work of the past 10 years and streams of this conversation based on living systems and biomimicry, to be complemented by this group work.

• We have yet to find the ideal collaboration tool and open evolutionary platform that would enable us to continue to maintain the flow of knowledge, the direction and the referencing of examples and practical material, and continue to explore the edge while monitoring how the core transforms itself… A tough job of monitoring autopoiesis!

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Working on….

What we are looking at right now is:

• A conceptual and practical framework or platform to support -enable and empower- members to undertake any action in the direction of a sustainable economy, at any level. Encouraging the motto “want to change the world, start with yourself”. This would start with a recommendation and requirements for the design and implementation of such a framework built from a weaving of Thorbjoern’s proposal (see first comment below), the summary and further inputs to the discussion. A resulting platform could in a second step be implemented if it gets the proper fine tuning, support, funding etc…

• One or a few practical project that the group or subgroups would be able to complete, that can benefit from the thinking on (a) and help fine tune (a) at the same time, with a view to its implentation as a part or independently from the above platform. An example is Bill William’s project on water/energy/food systems. Thank you Bill for stepping in!

See UN call – Sustainability – Summary – Tools for Collaboration

Next section:  UN call – Sustainability – Summary 4 – The Human Perspective