A reckoning is inevitable. It will come one of two ways. Soon, as an act of collective awakening, or too late.
It will involve a fundamental shift in our relationships, with each other and with the planet.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Arg / Rev / Think: 150 wd.

Our tenuous relationship with the planet embodies a critical state, speeding toward a tipping point. Militarism and consumption, the bases of the U.S. economy, represent the cutting edge of the problem. What seem to be many isolated crises are merging and accelerating, pushing us toward global environmental collapse. A “conceptual emergency” stands between us and a remedy. The sheer momentum of the machine has outstripped our ability to understand or control it. Only when we connect the dots, recognize the pattern and see the big picture will a simple, integrated solution become apparent. It’s time to heed Einstein’s warning: “Our significant problems cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.”

This paradoxical moment is defined by cognitive dissonance and fierce urgency. A global paradigm shift would suffice. Achieving that shift, in time, will require re-thinking information, democracy and the limits of cognition.

3 comments:

  1. You might be interested in the work of International Futures Forum, established in 2001 to respond to the 'conceptual emergency' (see http://bit.ly/9yBVsp). Have you seen our short volume on 'ten things to do in a conceptual emergency' (see http://bit.ly/ceyOdK). I'd be interested in what you make of it.

    All best,

    Graham Leicester

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  2. Graham, Thank you. I could not get those links to work. Elsewhere, I actually cite IFF as the source of the phrase "conceptual emergency." I found it through a Reos Partners document and think it's an excellent catch phrase for our dilemma. I will search IFF for the "ten things." Feel free to send more info, links etc. This blog links to two sites, MyArtRant, a book length treatise and AReckoning, still under construction. David Heintz

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  3. Just getting to read the 'ravings' now. I'll be back!

    Those ten things are here - http://www.internationalfuturesforum.com/product.php?id=43&ss=iff

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