A Critical Point
Our Reason for Existence & the Logic of our Approach
Last updated 25 Oct 2021
CONTEXT
This is a critical point* in history
Humanity faces a number of existential risks, from climate change to the threat of runaway AI, while our rapidly expanding awareness and capability offers us the potential of a major civilisational breakthrough if channelled correctly.
* Critical points in chaos and complexity theory refers to moments when the pathway of the system bifurcates. In this case we can either break “down” or break “up.
The dominant paradigm is broken
The current dominant paradigm is broken. Despite all the material progress we are still not truly satisfied, happy or at peace. Characterised by materialism and individualism (at least in the West). It is a major source of our dysfunction and cannot support the breakthrough we need. Even in wealthy countries, it prioritizes material growth when these materialistic values are causing ever worsening exploitation of the planet and of each other. Inequality is running rampant. Depression, drug abuse and suicide have reached epidemic proportions.
The inner dimension is neglected
There is a widespread neglect of the inner dimension, of being and culture as both a lever for social change and a causal factor of our current circumstances. While practices such as mindfulness have gained popularity, this remains bound to the context of personal ‘wellness’ rather than deeper change.
Traditional frames of sense and meaning making are breaking down
Such as religious faith, mainstream politics and even local communities.
Ennui and polarisation are widespread
There is widespread ennui and polarisation, as the void is filled by a jostling mass of adversarial ideologies. Across much of the world, a deep suspicion of traditional politics and political action has taken root. Vast numbers of the people feel too helpless, too cynical or too blindly faithful in ‘modernisation’ to participate in meaningful collective action for a better world.
We lack compelling alternatives
. There are also no clear, attractive alternatives which can easily be gestured to and mobilised around. Alternative ways of living and being do exist but they do not yet resonate with most ordinary people.
But seeds of a new paradigm are emerging
The need for a paradigm based on interbeing and prosociality, deeper relationships to ourselves and the planet, and well-being that runs deeper than material gratification has been recognized by small clusters of individuals and groups.
Though they are still far from mainstream
However, these ideas have not gained anything close to mainstream traction even within the ‘social change’ sector.
CHALLENGE
Significant risk of civilizational collapse
On our current trajectory there is a significant risk of civilizational (and potentially planetary) collapse. At best, we will end up locked into an equilibrium far below our personal and collective potential.
Issues are foundational, going to the root of our current paradigm
Problems go far deeper than technological and institutional development. Evidence from the global north indicates that even significant innovations in these domains will not be enough (on their own) to secure our full civilisational potential – or .
A ‘stuckness’ pervades our societies
A deficit of imagination means we struggle to envision what alternatives might look like, especially at the ontological level. We have blindspots in the form of existing beliefs and views which limit our capacity for change, and the grip of our existing values has left the idea of a different way of life uncountenancable for many.
Those who have identified the need for transformation have yet to gather together
There is little space for shared experimentation and incubation of a new culture, and less still in the way of strategy for translating any insights gained into the broader social context.
And even where the “what” is relatively clear, the “how” is still not
Even among those who see being and culture as vital foci in our efforts for change, there is limited thinking, research and evidence for how these might be shifted, at least not in ways that are relevant to social transformation (we can't expect everyone to become a monastic, for example).
QUESTION
How do we bring about the shifts in
being, culture and systems
necessary to transform our social paradigm
and steer humanity and the planet into a flourishing future?