Volume 26, Number 1, Item 011, January 2004
(Future Survey is a publication of the World Future Society)HIGHLIGHTS
Of the 50 works reviewed in this issue, Matters of Consequence was one of only six chosen for the HIGHLIGHTS section of the issue. Text of that entry:
· 011 Matters of Consequence Canadian futurist urges an understanding of “big picture reality,” humanity’s contextual reality, personal reality, and alternative futures, and sketches a “Year 2050 Vision” of physical sustainability, universal provisioning, economic/political stability, and thriving civic culture.
(Copthorne Macdonald)SYNTHESIS
Sixteen of the works reviewed were selected for a SYNTHESIS statement concerning Global Governance, Human Rights, and American Empire. Matters of Consequence (011) was one of the sixteen.
Global Governance, Human Rights, and American Empire
Global governance, emerging in a multipolar form (001), could be further strengthened by a standing UN Constabulary force dealing with genocide and other crimes against humanity (002). Violent ethnic conflict has decreased in recent years, but is still a major factor in world politics (003). Gains for freedom around the world were recorded for 2002, with 44% of world population now living in Free countries and 21% in Partly Free countries (004). Human rights are increasingly globalized (005), but emphasis is now needed on the right to peace and building a culture of peace (006), as well as the right to democracy (007). The US is now widely seen as an empire (008), but its power could be used to promote a better world (009/010). A Year 2050 Vision proposes gradual transition to a sustainable, economically functional, and politically stable world where everyone has an adequate standard of living (011). Four decades ago, Sri Aurobindo envisioned the future evolution of human consciousness (012). In contrast, scientists pondering the future human at a Foundation For the Future workshop consider the long-term outcomes of genetic technology (013), but do not consider virtual humans (050). More immediately, UNFPA proposes investing in health and rights of the world’s 1.2 billion adolescents (014). And the view of cultural hybridization or mélange appears more attractive than global uniformity or clash of cultures (015).
THE REVIEW
By Michael Marien WORLD/2050 VISION 26:1/011 (AB)Matters of Consequence: Creating a Meaningful Life and a World That Works. Copthorne Macdonald (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada; <www.copmacdonald.com>). Foreword by Paul H. Ray (co-author, “The Cultural Creatives”). Charlottetown PEI: Big Ideas Press, Feb 2004 / 374p / US$39.95; $24.95pb.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, it became increasingly clear that “progress” was not a flawless boon for humanity, nor for other species. By the 1990s, global life-support systems were experiencing many problems. “Awareness of these realities has now become widespread, and this has led many people to experience ethical discomfort and consequent calls for action.” We must transform some of our present modes of personal, social, and economic functioning into modes that are compatible with a sustainable and more equitable world. At stake is long-term human well-being. “If we come to understand the human situation deeply, comprehensively, and clearly, then what needs to be done—both in our personal lives and the world around us—becomes clear.”
To this end, Macdonald advocates development of deep understanding, a variety of wisdom in which we integrate broadly-based contextual knowledge with self-knowledge. Each of the 15 chapters, divided in four parts, is considered a Matter of Consequence:
1) Big Picture Reality: the nature of primal reality, the development of complexity, understanding human mentality, the question of cosmic purpose; 2) Humanity’s Contextual Reality: sociocultural context, economic context, biospheric context;
3) Personal Reality: self-knowledge, freedom and responsibility, developing deep understanding, significant doing; 4) The Future: predicting the future, creating the future, the 2050 vision, and doing what needs to be done.The Year 2050 Vision, inspired by the perennial philosophy, Spinoza, Ken Wilber, Ervin Laszlo, Bucky Fuller, and others, describes a gradual transition from the 20C high-consumption world to a sustainable, economically functional, and politically stable world in which everyone has an adequate standard of living: 1) Physical Sustainability: meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (a May 2003 Google check of the Web located 2,150,000 web pages with the word sustainability, up from 763,000 in May 2001; “clearly, something massive is happening”);
2) Universal Provisioning and Economic Stability: the economy redesigned to provision the human population, rather than make a lot of money for a few people; energy needs are largely met by captured solar energy; 3) Work and Leisure: every able person is expected to spend a certain amount of time in socially relevant activity, and the essential work of society gets done; 4) Political Stability: attending to everyone’s basic needs has greatly enhanced political stability; 5) Community and Civic Culture: most people are involved with their local community and a geography-irrelevant community of common interests, and honor both local and world culture; 6) Inner Development and Transformation: academic learning, skill development, ethical development, spiritual maturation, and development of creativity are considered aspects of a comprehensive process.
[NOTE: A very readable integration of many futures-thinkers, with an appendix of relevant groups and resources. Although “many people” may now have “awareness of these realities,” the number is still far from enough for decisive political action.]
(2050 vision: a sustainable world)
