Seen from distance - How are we doing? Where are we heading?

(Excerpt from the main document)

Humanity has decisive choices. We can focus on our fundamental existential challenges, or we can follow rather short-term and random perspectives of power and influence mostly looking for the easy way out seen from our own limited perspectives. Where is the wind blowing today?

Is the way of the world something that is just happening or is it something that we are an integral part of?

To be a human individual is often difficult. To be in a position in society implying responsibilities for many other people’s lives is definitely difficult. It is often necessary and right to take a pragmatic stand. It is, however, still important to have ideas about what is good and right, and for whom this is the case. We must have an idea about the right compass course even if we are not able to follow it all the time.

To try to find the compass course we must view the earth and human society from a mental distance that is sufficient to see behind the daily continuous disturbances, and the numerous actors consciously or unconsciously trying to divert attention from, fog lay, beautiful paint, or distort reality.

How are we doing? Where are we heading?

Humanity is facing severe challenges. Recent developments, that are seen as self-evident, mean that very many of us have better living conditions than anybody has ever had. This is, however, not the case for everybody. We must ask basic questions regarding this development. Things are happening ever faster. This is an inherent reason for caution.

Seen from distance we have several challenges threatening our very existence with somewhat different consequences and time horizons:

• Humans occupy far too much space and destroy nature at a fast pace,

• Humans are heading out of their basic roles and frameworks,

• Humans are confused and uncertain in information chaos and lack of values,

• Humans face large and increasing differences in living conditions and prospects,

• Humans have threats of mass destruction hanging over their heads.

Humans quickly influence climate and ecosystems negatively, thereby destroying the very foundation of nature, including humanity itself. Flooding, wildfires, extreme weather, vulnerable freshwater resources, heating and pollution of the atmosphere and oceans, hunger, new diseases, reduced diversity and reduced basis for flora and fauna, are some of the consequences. Rapidly increasing population particularly in the poorest countries adds to the challenge.

Fast development regarding biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), and new possibilities because of enormous amounts of data related to human behaviour (Big Data) mean that we must rethink what a human being is, can become, or should be. This technological development is also the basis for comprehensive mass surveillance and manipulation. Military technology is integral part of this picture.

Humans produce, gather, and have access to enormous amounts of information. They can also communicate without severe limitations. For the individual, however, the present world seems to be ever more complex, confusing, insecure, and threatening. Well-known, old values are weathering, and relevant new values are not replacing them. Humans treat knowledge, information, and communication in a chaotic and dangerous manner. At the same time, they don’t take advantage of the large opportunities made available to them. However, knowledge, facts, and truth are still of crucial importance. “Opinion”, “fake news”, and manipulated facts can’t be the foundation wall for society in the long run.

Human living conditions and life opportunities have always been unfairly distributed. Today’s challenges are economic and social structures and mechanisms at a global level leading to increasing differences for very many people. The gap between rich and poor is rapidly increasing both within nations and between nations, although convergence of living standards also partly can be observed. We must have a much closer look at the development in the rich part of the world. And we must not forget “the bottom billion” (cf. Paul Collier). Injustice and inequalities lead to social problems in many areas and on many levels. Politics and global governance are also influenced. The crisis of climateand nature already contributes heavily to increasing injustice. New, enormous flows of refugees might be a result.

Humans have lived for quite some time with the threat from mass-destruction weapons. Fragile arrangements have been made to avoid their use. We, however, have almost forgotten the fragility of existing arrangements. There is also a comprehensive and frightening further development and distribution of military technology in general happening in an arms race.

The news is dominated by ongoing wars, conflicts and other challenges seen from the perspectives of the great powers and nation-states in general. “The economy” is important also with actors that are largely hidden from public attention. Media focus on world leaders and oligarchs in a tabloidizing way as if everything is about their personal conduct, not on structures, relations and processes. These perspectives counteract dealing effectively with the common global challenges.

Most people are preoccupied with quite different problems than basic global challenges in their daily lives. Many need to just survive from day to day, others are busy with more private, consumptionbased issues or issues created and nourished by media. Nevertheless, the basic global challenges are common and the very survival of everybody depends upon how they are handled.

The global challenges in total are huge. They must be met by the global community in common. No superpower aiming for global hegemony can deal with them properly. We must raise our attention to the global level. To be able to meet these challenges many input resources, that constitute a totality, and a focused cooperation between many fields of knowledge, institutions, and nation-states are necessary. Resources and time are needed. We, however, are about to be short of time. We are facing more challenges than the crisis of climate, and this crisis cannot be considered isolated. To face the challenges properly and take advantage of options available, we need fundamental changes in society and in the present global rules of the game. We must be willing to dig deep and wide enough to identify the fundamental drivers behind the challenges and to identify the resulting changes that are necessary.

Good and lasting changes come through broad processes, not revolution, or the use of force. Common platforms for mutual understanding, knowledge, participation, and cooperation are needed. Such platforms may lead to increasing mutual confidence. This may seem very far-fetched and basically impossible. There is, however, no other navigable way for humanity.

To establish platforms like this a solid foundation wall of holistic thinking is needed. I try to contribute to such a foundation wall.

Our world looks different from different positions and perspectives. Sometimes we need to check the main direction and the basic priorities to get on the right course. This is important also when we must struggle through the present crisis and conflicts as best we can without a clear sight. We must do the necessary groundwork to find the main compass course again and we must rethink the priorities.

The climate crisis is the most immediate and fundamental crisis where broad mobilizing is necessary. One important input is “The Future We Choose” from Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. They have had a practical responsibility for the work behind the Paris agreement on global climate. The Club of Rome has several important inputs from “Limits to Growth” from 1972 until today. In “The Book of Climate” Greta Thunberg has gathered a lot of relevant and updated knowledge. “The Book of Climate” makes the existential seriousness of the crisis for climate and nature crystal clear. The book points out the need for deep systemic changes in society. Focusing only on the individual is a dangerous distraction. Individual choices and possible systemic changes, however, are closely interconnected.

These initiatives are important, but we still must dig deeper and wider for the most important drivers behind the emergence of the climate crisis and the crisis of nature. It is important how we hopefully solve, limit, or adapt to these crises, and what that means for the further development of human life on earth.

To point at several challenges besides the climate crisis and the crisis of nature does not mean taking the focus away from these fundamental crises. The totality of global challenges has several drivers in common. The total picture of challenges only underlines the need for deep systemic changes. Handling the crisis of climate and nature includes a wide range of measures in addition to direct technological and economic measures. This means changes in global structures and relations and our way of life for people in rich countries and other elites. I try to scrutinize the needs and the options for such systemic changes.

It is important that challenges, scope, and seriousness are adequately understood at all levels, both at individual level, societal level, national level, up to the global level. Global challenges are not solved by personal choices alone, nor by the normal political processes in nation-states alone. Individual choices, the participation in relevant organizations or activism, and political processes at all levels, however, altogether make important contributions.

I will try to make challenges as visible, honest, holistic, and clear as possible. This book is an open appeal to people at all levels of global society for new thoughts and considerations concerning a world that badly needs it.

Changes must be initiated both bottom up and top down. It is a matter of power structures and power relations, but it is also a matter of perspectives, knowledge, information and complex societal mechanisms at all levels.

Globalization, in its broad meaning, is a diverse field with both positive and negative effects. This is the case not only regarding economics. Challenges regarding globalization often must be solved at a global level. There is, however, also a need for looking at the global rules of the game, and the balance between global and more local solutions, with new glasses.

The UN (the United Nations) has defined global goals for sustainable development (Millenium Development Goals) and works to realize these goals. This is the closest we have come to a joint international cooperation for a better future for everybody. Jeffrey Sachs has in his book “Common Wealth” outlined the importance of these goals and discussed ways to get there. I will discuss his approach and his assumptions later. We must scrutinize the rules of the game, structures, processes, and mechanisms in the global world of today that influence most of the goals of development in a negative direction. Without a basic overview, understanding, and discussion of these matters, it will be very difficult to reach the goals of sustainable development.

It is also important to look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights again. The same rules of the game, structures, processes, and mechanisms in the global world of today also make it difficult to follow up this important declaration.

World Economic Forum produces annual reports on the most important global risks. This more specifically means the risks for the economic activity of the worlds most wealthy companies and people. The world seen through these lenses is different than the world seen through the lenses of the UN development goals. This results in very different global compass courses.

It is essential for change to influence what people are thinking and feeling. Their world views can be seen as “stories” making a complex reality simpler and more endurable. Societies will need a dominating story making most people cooperate and securing the stability of society. Such stories are not self-evident. We choose them and nourish them. This makes our ecosystem of information very important. The dominant story limits what can be discussed at all and the very basis for discussions.

How issues and problems are understood, communicated, and discussed in media, discussions, and political expressions is important. In practice it is difficult to challenge or nuance a story that is repeated all the time, hardly without opposition, in all channels of information and in every context.

Our story today is based in the western world (or the Global North). This story, however, also influences the rest of the world, and at least most of the powerful global players act according to it.

Let us have a closer look:

Our story today Society is mainly organized according to the principles of mainstream market economy. The economy, and the basic activities of society, is based on everything that can be given a price in a market. The larger markets, the better. Mainstream economic evaluations override any other perspective, and «the economy» is living a life of its own.

Growth of the economy is vital. It is measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Politics begin where the economy already has given the framework.

Private solutions have priority over solutions for the common good. Government should be limited to secure the rules of the game for the economy with free competition, with a minimum of regulations. Individual freedom and private ownership are basic values. Success in private business is valued. Happiness is measured by material wealth.

This story considers democracy and human rights as something following directly from its principles and practices without any hesitation. The story also implies a strong belief in the power of technology to solve most problems.

This story is easy to understand and easy to take to heart. The yardsticks for measuring happiness and success are simple.

This story can also go along with more local stories supporting other perspectives and considerations.

This story is also partly the basis for how different elites, including authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia, with their elites, function. The stories told to their masses are, however, different ones. Trumps agenda is in many ways the extreme version of our neoliberal “story” stripped of all attempts to give it a humanitarian look.

The neoliberal story has for quite a long time been the dominating global story. It is natural to pose critical questions about how it is related to our global challenges. Does it provide the answers or is it instead the basic driver for amplifying the global challenges? It would in fact be irresponsible not to ask such questions.

We must see the big picture at sufficiently long mental distance. To be able to analyse it properly, it is, however, also necessary to apply enough perspectives for the analysis. To be able to make visible and discuss the global challenges outlined above, and how they are connected, sufficiently thoroughly, I prioritize the most basic issues within the following groups of themes:

• Cosmos/Nature • Humanity/Society/Values

• Knowledge/Information/Communication

• Economy

• Governance/Order/Stability/Security/Power/Violence

These main groups of themes cover both the most important problems visible in media and public debate today and also important issues given less public attention. The selection of themes and issues is prioritized in order best to understand the basic background for the most pressing global challenges. These themes are also important to be able to suggest options and solutions. Anyway, an approach with a breadth like this is necessary.

I am looking for common backgrounds and how challenges are interconnected. What we do regarding one challenge influence options and problems regarding other challenges.

A sufficiently holistic view, or an architectural view, is necessary. Digging deep into a few themes only, like for example economy or security matters alone, will not provide sufficient understanding.

The sequence of the main groups of themes is not random. I begin with the most basic one which is nature and our relationship with nature.

Our relationship with nature is part of our general set of values. We must take values seriously. Values matter. What goes on in our brains and hearts is decisive for how we, in common, can relate to global challenges. Our ecosystem of knowledge, information and communication defines and maintains our view of the world. It can also contribute to confusion, fog laying, manipulation, and passivation.

The economy, and how we understand and prioritize it, its rules of the game and its players, is important. The economy has many repercussions in the world of globalization. “The Economy” is, however, not as self-evident as people are usually told. We must go back to basic assumptions behind mainstream economy. The economy cannot be considered a stand-alone and all-inclusive domain.

We also need to grasp the diversity of global governance with different players in both formal and informal roles. We must try to find patterns and ways to proceed towards alternative global governance meeting today’s most basic challenges. Superpower thinking, and spiralling armament and distrust, will not lead us in the right direction, and must be abandoned.

This seems to be a long journey before reaching what most people consider the most pressing and up to date issues that continuously call for action according to the flow of news. Be patient. I still think this journey is important to be able to discuss these issues thoroughly enough to approach conclusions, and to propose options that are sufficiently holistic.

I try to be consistent in describing and discussing the different themes and issues at different levels or stages: status, discussion, and ideas for options. Often realizing status is an important step in a process of thinking. After having analysed the chosen issues this way, I try to put the pieces together for a more holistic picture.

With my humble ideas for high level options or solutions, I try to visualize a world we can choose to move towards. It is important to try to visualize such a world. I put most attention to changing structures, rules of the game, and ways of cooperation instead of trying to describe fascinating technological or practical solutions. Most important is to really understand the importance and scope of the total challenges and the main direction for options.

I want to achieve that you, after having read this book, ask yourself in your busy and important everyday life:

• What on earth are we really up to?

• Do we have to think what we so far have considered “unthinkable” thoughts?