Planetary Futures - Michel Saloff Coste - Bog

Humanity has never faced a challenge such as the one we face today. It is not the destiny of a single civilization, nor of a single nation that is at stake, but the destiny of each and every person. We have the power to define that destiny, and while we now have the technological capacity to realize our oldest dreams, we also face the nightmare of annihilation by the weapons we ourselves have made. Now we experience a challenge in which we must risk ourselves, and either we will lose reality, or we will access our own essence. In this game, we do not have the option of choosing double or nothing, for we will win the first time or not at all, as we will not have a second chance. The lightning progression of science accompanied by the consequent degradation of the health of the planet means that there can be no delay. Each day, by the efforts that we make in the full search for our humanity, we increase the odds of success, while each day that we pass in unconsciousness brings us towards nothingness. We face, ultimately, the choice between love and death. This book presents a new approach to the reality that emerges today from the edges of our awareness to the forefront of a planetary awareness. After the eras of hunting and gathering, agriculture, and industrialism, we are falling into a new type of society based on Creation and Communication. The beginning of a new era brings with it a flood of questions, including these: How does our current situation compare with the preceding stages of the development of humanity? What tools do we need to face the current context? How shall we use these tools to bring the peace and planetary harmony necessary for the survival of the species? The time of change Today there is a pervasive anxiety in the face of the increasingly rapid evolution of our society, and the changes that affect individuals, companies, and nations. While the great majority of trades of tomorrow are unknown, the average person born into the next generation will change careers five times during their professional lives. This kind of shift creates a problematic gap between those who know how to take advantage of change, and those who, on the contrary, merely struggle to endure it. Change = Danger + Possibilities The reaction to change, whether negative or positive, depends on how one looks at it. While some see only the increasing dangers, while others see new possibilities, today's change is in fact the one and the other. States, companies, and individuals that concentrate only on opportunities seek to escape, and although might appear brilliant and successful, they accumulate problems that, in the end, undermine the appearance. Conversely, to see only the danger is to fall into defeatism, blind and fruitless. These do not see that in change, the sources of problems also offer the means to find solutions, for change empowers innovation.