David Korten argues that corporate consolidation of power is merely a contemporary manifestation of what he calls "Empire": the organization of society by hierarchies of domination grounded in violent chauvinisms of race, gender, religion, nationality, language, and class. The result has been the same for 5,000 years: fortune for the few and misery for the many. Increasingly destructive of children, family, community, and nature, the way of Empire is leading to environmental and social collapse.
A mounting perfect economic storm is fast approaching. A convergence of climate change, peak oil, and the financial instability inherent in an unbalanced global trading system is predicted to bring an unraveling of the corporate-led global system that is violently committed to economic growth, whatever the environmental and human consequences and a dramatic restructuring of every aspect of modern life.
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We can no longer deny the need nor delay our response. It is in this context that David Korten speaks of the phenomenon he calls "The Great Turning."
Those of us who "see tomorrow today," also perceive (with the other side of our binocular vision) what is possible: a just, sustainable world with a thriving biodiversity. We also see that achieving such a world will necessarily involve a great shift in consciousness. This will be a new way of thinking about ourselves: that, as many indigenous traditions have taught for generations, we are part of the Earth. This means discovering a deeper collective identity, beyond being citizens of our home country.
Without a doubt this will be an extraordinarily demanding process for us, individually and collectively. Grieving for the massive losses we shall experience will be an essential part of our awakening. On the other hand, if we simply drift along, a catastrophic future is highly likely. Continuing with "business as usual" will likely produce a future of authoritarianism and a descent into a new dark age for humanity. Clearly, such a great transition will require an enormous level of collective effort, conscious choice and creative collaboration among the human community. Yet, nothing short of this will suffice.
As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said: "The task before us now, if we would not perish, is to build the Earth."
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In the midst of all this, an awakening and love for humanity and the planet are emerging. A shift of great magnitude is already underway. It has been called the Ecological Revolution, the Sustainability Revolution, and The Great Turning - involving the transition from a doomed economy based on industrial growth that is consuming our planet to a life-sustaining society committed to recovery of our world.
Yet, it is obvious that this will be a huge undertaking. First, we need to dare to cultivate a vision of possibility. As Seneca said, "If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable." Our dreams and visions for the future are essential for navigating through life because they give us a direction in which to move. The ability to receive and act on an inspiring vision is a key to staying motivated and energized. When we're moved by a vision that we share with others, we become part of a community with a common purpose. Imagining possible futures gives us foresight.
However, given the momentum of the current social system, the facts on the ground can be hugely discouraging. Suffering setbacks and reversals, well-funded obstruction, and entrenched resistance, can make it quite difficult to sustain the belief that what we hope for is possible.
As such, we will all need as much encouragement as possible on this journey. I will list a few sources of possible inspiration below.
Thomas Clarkson was a student at Cambridge University in 1785. Having entered an essay competition whose topic was slavery. What he discovered horrified him and from that time until 1807 when the British Parliament outlawed the slave trade, he worked tirelessly toward this goal. As other countries followed, slavery became outlawed nearly everywhere else in a little more than a lifetime. Another exemplar of perseverance, Abraham Lincoln was defeated for public office eight times before he was elected President. Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison before becoming President, said: "It always seems impossible until it is done."
Another source of encouragement: generally, we are used to experiencing social change as incremental. Yet, there is another form of transmutation known as discontinuous change. The dismantling of the Berlin Wall or the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union represent two of examples. With discontinuous change, a threshold is crossed where, instead of a slow movement which is essentially "more of the same," something out of the ordinary occurs. Similar to the way crystals form, even when we do not see visible change, we may be adding to an unseen change that moves us closer to a threshold, where one tiny step can take us over it. There's a jump to a new level, an opening to a new set of possibilities, which seems to come out of nowhere. An example of this phenomenon is when a tipping point is reached and a critical mass of people begin to believe that a heretofore "impossible" transformation happens.
Unsurprisingly, in moving toward our goal we are bound to encounter resistance. Mythologist Joseph Campbell coined the term "threshold guardian" to describe the opposition we will likely encounter when following the call of adventure. This term can help us reframe and rise to challenges by seeking out allies, discovering strengths we didn't know we had, and developing the humility we need to learn from others. An important learning involves the art of establishing dialogues with those who see things differently.
It is also very encouraging to recognize that every action has significance: that the larger story of the Great Turning is made up of countless smaller stories of communities, campaigns and personal actions. We can't know whether these changes will happen fast enough to avoid collapse, but they very well might.
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