Context and World Trends

Much Negative

(But severity is underplayed)
Environmental crisis

• Climate change, deforestation, desertification, deglaciation, drinking water shortages and pollution, fish stock depletion, etc.

Health crisis

• AIDS and other pandemics
• Worldwide depression
• 11,000 children die every day due to malnutrition

Economic crisis

• Massive debt. How deep? How pervasive? How serious?
• New forms of economic slavery
• Half of world's population live on 2 US$ or less per day

Cultural imperialism?

• voices are blocked by poverty, marginalization, repression, media monopolies?

Wars, threats of war, and militarism

• Deep cultural and economic divisions between societies and people
• New weapons (77 under development in US), weapons in space, children as soldiers, estimated 110 million landmines in the ground (new victim every 15 minutes), millions of refugees

Some Positive

(But potential -- and importance -- are underplayed)
Rise of civil society -- Citizens are leaders!

• Transnational advocacy, environmentalism, human rights, decline of patriarchialism

New information and communication technology

• Unprecedented opportunities for deliberation, idea generating, cultural exchange, and learning
• New opportunities for coordinated actions.

 

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We are in very bad shape and it's discouraging, depressing and difficult to acknowledge. Denial, however, is not an option. And we don't need to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic!

Chaotic times -- infinite number of possible paths from here...

People create history: the relationships we form and the ideas we share are critical to how the future unfolds.

If we don't change course we'll get where we're heading!

Will Humankind be Smart Enough, Soon Enough?