As I have grown up and learned about the world, I have constantly found myself skeptical that the way things are done in our day an age is the best way – or even the right way. I have found that the imagined realities with which we engage – and the structures which shape our social, economic, political, and spiritual lives – lack efficiency, effectiveness, and largely miss their mark in terms of the ideals in which we believe are the keys to a long, healthy, meaningful, and sustainable life.
I am no means the first to make this very general observation, and many great thinkers, statesmen, and spiritual leaders have contemplated these problems. So, in engaging with this endeavor, I do find myself fortunate standing upon the shoulders of giants. And with this altitude, one gains perspective. The problems which we face in the modern era are not modern, thematically – although the scope of the problematique has increased, as has the complexity and apparent embededness of the system which supports it.
The problem, is, quite simply put, the failure in the ability of society, this collective project of ours, to provide for all people the freedoms and securities which I (and many others) believe to be fundamental rights of humankind. As put forth in the preamble to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948 (and taken from FDR’s “Four Freedoms Speech” in 1941), “freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want ha(ve) been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.” If we agree that these principles are in fact fundamental, and that is the work and highest aspiration of mankind to create the conditions under which these freedoms are achieved, we must ask what progress has been made towards these goals, and how our mode of operation measures up in it’s design to ensuring progress of our goals.
The good news: The unprecedented growth of the global economy in the 20th and 21st centuries has created the possibility for us to live in a world of abundance. We now have the resources and technology to fix the greatest problems that humankind has faced in 300,000 years we’ve been on this planet – we produce more than enough food to meet the daily caloric needs of all people, modern technologies present the possibility of clean water for all, and with all that we have it is not unthinkable that we could create a world in which extreme poverty, lack of education, etc become things of the past. Further, with the rise of automated systems, we have the opportunity to live in greater abundance than ever before with significantly reduced labor requirements.
The bad news: Despite the gains in productivity that the 20th and 21st centuries have brought us, we are failing to make significant progress towards many of these goals. 815 million people live in states of food insecurity, 780 million people lack access to clean drinking water, 2.5 billion people live without access to an improved sanitation system, 783 million people live in circumstances of extreme poverty, and millions still die every year unnecessarily from preventable and treatable disease. More than half of children globally fail to meet proficiency standards in mathematics & reading, and true gender equality is still a significant issue. And, further, we now face a significant threat which affects us all – the now-imminent collapse of the global biosphere as a result, in whole or part, of anthropogenic activity.
If we are to ensure a happy, healthy, and peaceful continued existence for humankind into the future, it is necessary for us to accept that these are the facts, and further to examine the paths which have lead us to this point, and how we might correct course so that we can not only avert disaster, but also usher in a golden age of abundance under which our brother and sister sapiens might enjoy great liberty.
It is said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome. If it is the path that we are currently on which has lead us to this precipice, it would be then be the definition of insanity to continue to believe that our current methods of social, political, philosophical, and economic functioning would lead us anywhere but over the cliff. While debate may be had as to what falling off the edge means for humanity and our Spaceship Earth, it is generally considered undesirable to fall off of cliffs – so, it must be asked – Why continue down this path, if doing so will lead us to our demise?
The project, then, if we are to restore sanity to our mode of operations and our very existence, is to do a wholesale systemic assessment of what our current situation looks like, what has lead us here, and then identify a path forward which will not only lead us away from the cliff’s edge, but to a fertile plain upon which we may thrive. This project seeks to do this, engaging with new and old schools of social, political, economic thinking to elucidate a systemic design of civilization as it ought to be, as well actionable paths forward.
In setting forth this statement of intention, I understand that this is no mean task – it may in fact be intellectually arrogant to believe that a person or organization could effectively diagnose those conditions which have challenged humanity for its entire existence and find a path forward to a brighter future. However, no matter the scale and the gravity of the endeavor, it is critical that such an journey must be taken – and I am fortunate that I do not take it alone.
Project Sanity 