Subject-headings:
Systems science ; Living systems ; Wholeness ;
Social thinking
Whether we know it or not, systemic
processes hold sway in the development of society, the
same as they do in the evolution of nature. The new
sciences of complex systems and evolution, cybernetics,
general system theory, the theory of dynamical systems
(known as chaos theory), and general evolution theory,
among others, tell us that, whatever their nature,
complex systems evolve with an underlying logic of their
own. This evolution is not haphazard, though it is not
entirely predictable. It does have an underlying
direction; a probability that, following any basic
transformation, certain kinds of states and conditions
will come about.
Today we live in an epoch of critical
thres-holds, and thus of basic transformations. In
consequence the dynamic of basic evolutionary processes
becomes unusually relevant. This dynamic is toward
greater and greater structural complexity expressed by
the convergence of the existing systems toward new,
higher-level systems formed by their mutual relations;
toward greater dynamism due to the availability, through
ever more powerful technologies, of growing quantities of
free energy; toward more and more direct and complex
forms of communication among the diverse parts of the
system brought about by the new technologies of
information and communication; and toward a condition of
transforming and potentially creative chaos, with
enhanced sensitivity to other systems in the
surroundings, societies, cultures, enterprises, and the
ecologies and life-support systems of the biosphere.
There may not be much we can do to go
counter to the basic evolutionary trends; our interests
lie with going with it, facilitating their unfolding. But
what good would it do us if we evolved a system of
interacting and interdependent societies if in that
system there was a dictatorship of the rich and the
powerful; if the great majority lived at or below the
margins of basic human subsistence; if nature became
inhospitable; if resources turned scarce; if life was
harsh and competition unfettered; and if violence was
rampant and might was right? Such a world is entirely
possible, but reaching it is not in our interest. On the
other hand creating a more equitable and generous world
is equally possible, and doing so is within our power.
Moving toward this positive path of our collective
evolution calls for recognizing the real imperatives of
our day.
Evolving a planetary consciousness is
among these imperatives. With the current level of
consciousness in society, diplomatic negotiations, legal
and administrative measures, and armed military or police
actions show little success, they often produce more
problems than they solve. They constitute superficial
short-term tinkerings with long-term basic problems.
Enduringly effective solutions call for a different kind
of thinking and a different kind of commitment. It is
becoming increasingly evident that such thinking and
commitment cannot be achieved without the evolution of
people´s individual and collective consciousness.
If we are to cope with the problems
that face us today and in coming years, the consciousness
of today´s women and men must rise from the ego- and
nation-centered dimension to a global and planet-centered
one. In this regard it still has a long way to grow. In
many societies the dominant consciousness is beset by a
layer of egotism, misplaced nationalism, and cultural
chauvinism. The result is the persistence of social and
political narrow-mindedness, economic warfare, cultural
intolerance, and disregard for the environment.
How can we evolve a more adequate
consciousness? The question is not as arcane as it may
seem: when people sense that a core belief system is a
threat to themselves and their children, they search for
alternative ideas, values, and beliefs. This is happening
today. Despite the persistence of outdated myths and
illusions in the established layers of society, there is
an impassioned search for alternatives at the margins.
The rise of inner-city deprivation and violence, the
drift toward anarchy and the impotence of police and
military measurs to cope with it, the dissolution of the
social contract between society and the worker, the
spread of drug addiction and of esoteric cults, the rise
of unemployment and homelessness are so many signs of a
decline that does not fail to leave its mark on people´s
beliefs and priorities. The old order is breaking apart,
and its coming demise motivates young people, and
open-minded persons of all ages, to look for better and
more reliable visions and values.
The truly promising signs of our times
include the coming of a spiritual renaissance, hallmarked
by an intense search for new values, new principles, and
new visions to live by. The Pathfinder Project, an
internationally networked project of the Institute of
Noetic Sciences of California, summed up these trends
under the following headings:
Creating a home for humanity within
nature: Revisioning of humanity's place within nature
and the cosmos, together with a multitude of creative
efforts to design human activity in consonance with
ecosystemic principles and environmental limits.
Local and global self-organization:
Simultaneous proliferation of creative initiatives at the
local and global level, including the revitalization of
civic society, the cultivation of new forms of community,
and the emergence of effective global institutions.
From outer to inner authority:
Realization of the primacy of consciousness as a causal
reality and a corresponding shift from reliance on outer
sources of authority to a trust in inner sources of
knowing.
From separation to wholeness:
Recognition of the fundamental wholeness and
interconnectedness of all aspects of reality and
experience.
Awakening spirituality: Widening
search for ways to revitalize spiritual practice and
nurture a sense of spiritual community, together with
growing exploration of the role of spirit in such areas
as health, business, and public life.
From centralized to
"acentric" power: A shift from
relationships, systems, and institutions based on
centralized power to perspectives and approaches that
emphasize peoples capacity for creative self-organization
and learning.
From mechanistic to living systems:
A related shift from models of the world, organizations,
and human experience based on mechanistic systems, to
perspectives and approaches based on the principles that
inform living systems.
From greed and scarcity to
sufficiency and caring: A further shift from values,
perspectives, and approaches based on greed and scarcity
to those based on a sense of sufficiency and caring.
From competition to reconciliation
and partnership: Last but not least, a shift from
relationships, organizational models, and societal
strategies based on competition to those based on
principles of healing, reconciliation, and professional
as well as male/female partnership.
These trends suggest that a new
consciousness is surfacing at the cutting edge of
society. But how influential are the new trends and how
fast will they spread? Will they be powerful enough to
move to center stage and impact on the way the great
majority of the people live, and the way managers and
politicans make decisions? The answer is by no means
clear. Helping to articulate and spread the emerging
consciousness is a major cause, worthy of the best minds
of our day.
We need another Apollo mission, not on
the plane of technology this time, but on the plane of
culture. The deepest wellsprings of human motivation must
be mobilized: wellsprings that have always nurtured the
creativity of artists, writers, and women and men of the
spirit. In great art and literature, and in the deepest
foundations of the spiritual sphere there is love for and
solidarity with our fellow humans and empathy with
nature. In these areas we find a wealth of insight that
goes beyond superficial rhetoric to the substance of deep
feeling and clear intuition. Creative people in all
spheres of contemporary culture could teach our eye to
see, our ears to hear, and our mind to absorb the new
realities that unfold in our changing times. Their
message could go beyond our brains to reach our hearts.
The stakes are high. Without an
evolution of our individual and collective consciousness
it is unlikely that we could avert deepening economic,
social, and cultural conflicts and ecologic breakdowns.
But with the evolution of our consciousness from the ego-
and nation-centered toward the global- and
planet-centered dimension we would have a real prospect
of matching the growth of our technological
sophistication with corresponding intellectual insight
and emotional maturity. We would have a chance to muster
the will and the motivation to use our technologial
powers and our social creativity to bring us and our
children to a soft-landing in the post-modern world of
the next millennium.
The Mission of the Club of Budapest
The Club of Budapest is committed to
promoting and facilitating a worldwide movement keynoted
by the advance from thinking in terms of the existing
limits to growth to the emerging chances of evolution. It
pursues this crucial objective by motivating and
highlighting the unfolding of the consciousness, the
thinking, feeling, and perceptions of contemporary
people, through a set of highly focused and coordinated
yet autonomously managed projects, implemented with the
advice and active participation of its Members, its
Ambassadors and Trustees, and its worldwide network of
Regional Centers.
This is not a mission impossible. It is
one of the essential missions of our times. Why so?
At the turn of the 21st century we live
in an epoch of transition; witnessing the deepest and
fastest transformation in the history of humanity. This
transformation is not without crises and difficulties,
the birthpangs of a coming age. Today hundreds of
millions are without work; a thousand million or more are
exploited by poor wages; three thousand million are
forced into growing poverty. On the one hand the
population of the world is growing, on the other the
number of jobs is diminishing. The gap between rich and
poor economies, and between rich and poor people within
nations, is increasing. The problems of the environment,
the same as those of society, confront all people. Yet,
though the world community is relieved of the specter of
superpower confrontation and is threatened by ecological
collapse and socioeconomic polarization, national
governments still spend a thousand billion dollars a year
on arms and the military and only a tiny fraction of this
sum on socially conscious development and a livable
environment.
The ecological problem, the employment
problem, the developmental problem, the population
problem, the armaments problem, and the many problems of
energies and resources will not be overcome merely by
reducing the number of already useless nuclear warheads,
nor by signing politically softened treaties on world
trade, dangerous technologies, global warming, biological
diversity, and sustainable development. More is required
today than piecemeal action and short-term
problem-solving. The fact is that, as Einstein remarked,
one cannot solve a problem with the same kind of thinking
that gave rise to it. The critical factor in coping with
today´s mushrooming problems is the thinking of today´s
people. The approaching crises we face are due to ways of
thinking and acting that lag behind the needs of the
times.
Updating and upgrading our ways of
thinking and acting is a challenging task, but not an
intractable one. The required concepts are largely known,
the indicated technologies and practices are for the most
part already developed. The missing factor is the
commitment of people young and old to the indicated
objectives, and their willingness to adopt the
corresponding practices. If this hiatus is to be filled,
more is required than intellectual understanding alone.
Such understanding can enable us to grasp the issues and
potential solutions, but cannot give us the will and the
motivation to act on them. Intellectual understanding
must be undergirded by feeling and intuition, by fresh
values and a new commitment. When all is said and done,
we come to a basic insight: we need a more evolved
consciousness. Entering the 21st century with the
consciousness that hallmarked the 20th century would be
like entering the modern age with the consciousness of
the Middle Ages. It would be not only inappropriate, but
dangerous.
Having a consciousness that is in tune
with our times means evolving it to the dimension where
we can understand as well as feel our new, more embracing
relations with each other and with nature. It calls for
planetary consciousness. Evolving it is not a
supernatural feat, nor is it one reserved for individuals
of exceptional endowment. It does not mean knowing
everything about everything, nor does it mean counting in
terms of millions or billions, whether of numbers of
people, hectars of land, or barrels of oil. Rather, it
means openness to new ideas, sensitivity to emerging
dangers as well as opportunities, and the ability to
apprehend the humanistic and sustainable values and
priorities that can, and must, shape the next century.
Many people are already evolving their
consciousness to the required planetary dimension; many
more would do so if made aware of the need and given the
opportunity. The Club of Budapest is dedicated to the
proposition that promoting and facilitating the evolution
of planetary consciousness is a vital aspect of our
sustained well-being and individual as well as social
development. It is an essential mission of our time.
Notes
1. Ervin Laszlo: Evolution: The
General Theory. Creskill, NJ 1997.
2. see The Challenge and the Vision:
The Creative Path of Human Evolution: Report of The Club
of Budapest (in press).
3. further
information on the membership and activities of The Club
of Budapest is available from its Secretariat:
Szentháromságter 6 H - 1014 Budapest, Tel/Fax
36-1-175-1885.
