Solving Humanity's Problems
 

The atmosphere on TOS has been a bit dreary as of late. While there is nothing wrong with identifying problems with humanity, I think that we need less fingers pointed at problems and more fingers pointed at solutions.

so what do you think is the best way to go about solving Humanity's problems?

How do we solve issues such as feeding the world's growing population, preventing the decline of the environment, stopping wars, etc?

How do we overcome common boundaries such as human laziness, apathy, or distrust?

How do we bring about change in humanity itself?

I think one tool to help stop war and to bring peace is economics. Countries would probably be less inclined to go to war with a country they have economic ties with.

I don't want to sound bleak, but I don't think there's anything humanity can do as a species to "change humanity itself". I also don't think that this is even possible to be a good or a bad thing (any more than say, ants "changing themselves" would be).

But as far as problems that humans face, again I'm going to have to say that there are "actual" solutions. As in... there's nothing anyone can do that's actually going to "solve" wars or world younger on the spot. Raise awareness, volunteer, do your part and all that but for the foreseeable future there are always going to be others who don't do this.

Am I saying we therefore shouldn't try? No... But solving humanity's problems seems like such a massive and seemingly impossible undertaking all together that I think we should focus on the small things that actually can be done, like I mentioned above.

It all starts with one step in the right direction. Whats that saying about Rome not being built in a day? If everyone follows the axiom that trying is pointless, nothing will ever get done. Do your part and others will soon follow.

History is full of men and women who managed who despite being a single individual managed to overcome. They may not have fully fixed the problems in their own lifetime but at least they made the world a better place and set the stage for change to happen. Sometimes I think that we too easily forget an issue once it has been solved.

We could find solutions to all our problems over time imo.. It's just, humans are lazy, I even speak for myself here sometimes, the majority do actually know we're gonna be in trouble in the future but does anyone actually do anything about it? No..... We expect and hope for others to fix things, we could all just do our little parts, everyone in the world!

On the global warming topic..
we could just never leave things on standby, Always turn things off when we aren't using them and also, develop a new kind of renewable energy which can be used, that doesn't damage the ozone layer, EVERYONE in the world could work together to fix this issue, but how to get the message to every single person on the planet? This is where the problems are. :/
We'd need every human we spread the message to, to spread it to another 30 people or so and some people just don't have the time or patience...

The worlds growing population is natural, however can be solved, yet again... Getting the message around for two parents only to have two kids as to make sure there is no increase or decrease, but of course, it's getting the message around that is the problem yet again, and to be honest I don't think everyone would listen..

I am however not saying that we are a species destined to vanish, I live in hope that one day in the future (if we're not already in the brown stuff then) that us humans will evolve intelligently, with more strengths, and fewer weaknesses.. But for the moment the best we can do is to carry on trying to persuade people to stop their every day life for just one second, and take a look at themselves...
There is no need for all the wars, hate and disgusting scenes on this planet, this planet is beautiful, as much as some of us don't believe that, it's just got things living on it which are infected with a virus, US.

.. But Viruses can be quarantined, so can we ..







Pretty relevant video imho.

I'll give you some raw but somewhat undeveloped answers.

Massive investment in genetic engineered food, such as culturing meat and engineering crops to produce more food. The latter of which has been in practice for some time.

Cleaner, more efficient technology. Expansion to other planets to reduce stress on Earth.

Errrr....

A heavily modified version of Fascism (still working on this).

21st Century Eugenics? Otherwise it really is impossible.

Actually, the title of this shows part of the problem - we CAN'T 'solve humanity's problems'. The problem, as it were, is way too big. It's NICE being able to say 'let's stop world poverty' and 'let's stop war', but...you know, way too big a problems. (Besides, we can't stop war - last I checked, we weren't in control of every single government and every single group in conflict...)

You have to break it down to what you, personally, can do to help. Enough people do that, things will change - but don't wait around for other people. A lot of it is common sense - don't waste resources. This can be as simple as turning off lights when you don't need them, turning your computer off instead of letting it sleep, have quick showers instead of half an hour ones, take the bathwater out and put it on the garden.

There is also this thing called the 100 Mile Diet - which is pretty much what it says on the box. Only try and eat things that have been grown or caught within a 100 miles of where you live (obviously this is adapted depending on WHERE you live) - this supports local farmers, the local economy, and also cuts down on your carbon footprint by way of transport and packaging. Seriously, if you just poke around that website, it has all kinds of ideas.

Walk, cycle, catch public transport when you can...

Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer. Volunteer at GreenPeace, WorldPeace, Red Cross, UNICEF, CARE, all those things. Donate where you can, but also put in your time and effort and passion. Not only will you be making a difference, you will also FEEL like you are doing something - and frankly, anything is better than sitting around and complaining about how awful everything is. Shut up and DO SOMETHING.

(And try and educate yourself on a problem, too, before running somewhere to tell people how to fix their lives. It's no good telling the farmers in Brazil to stop cutting down the Amazon until you go and understand WHY it's all happening, and thus suggestions on how to fix the ENTIRE problem can actually be useful. Instead of just 'I value this tree more than your children's lives' - that's going to get everyone absolutely nowhere.)

And you know what? Support things that just try and make people's LIVES better. This is about solving humanity's problems, right? Well, part of this is sex education, access to reliable and cheap contraception and medical advice and help, medically sound abortion (actually, on this? It doesn't matter if you think a woman should or shouldn't - we have the right to control what happens to our bodies, we have the right to OPTIONS that won't kill us or land us in hospital. And, yes, sometimes pregnancy itself kills. Trust us to make our own informed choices, mmkay?). Actually, Americans can help by volunteering at Planned Parenthood (assuming the US government doesn't shut it down, which'll cause harm to thousands, if not millions, of American women) and escort women past the protesters (one of my online friends does this - the other day, the protesters reduced a woman trying to enter to tears. Why was she there? To get a check-up, because Planned Parenthood was the only place she could afford to go. The treatment she got by those protesters is utterly disgusting). Humanity can't move forward if an entire gender is constantly treated as second class. If our sexuality is controlled, our bodies deemed as nothing more important as breeding machines, how the hell do you expect humans to get anywhere as a culture and a species? (And I notice, too, that the people who are generally pro-forced birth/anti-abortion, are also against sex education, contraception, paid maternity leave, and last I checked, the vocal ones didn't have any ideas about how to fix Child Services and adoption (including letting gay couples adopt, because apparently children are better being shunted from foster home to foster home than raised in a stable, loving environment by two people of the same gender) - all things that would actually help both mother and child. There are exceptions, but as a rule? Yeah, not so much)

Education for women is also highly important - it improves them, it improves their communities, and as a bonus, the more highly educated a woman, generally the fewer children she has. If you can, try and support that. Education in GENERAL is needed, so much. And yes, this includes the working classes in the first world, too. You can't help the third world if children in your own country are being failed by the education system.

Support, too, attempts to dismantle the current rape culture. Before anyone tries to tell me that is a "woman's issue" - hello, we're human too. And by the way, the vast majority of rapists are men. This is a huge problem - one in five American women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime (and the rate is twice as high in the US military, so the idea that the US military is over in the middle east 'liberating women' is ironic at best) (I've also seen stats that one in thirty-three men will be raped, too - again, not a 'woman's' issue here). The vast majority of rapists? Are men. This is a cultural problem - every time someone says "she deserved it because she wore a short skirt", "she had it coming", "it was her own fault", every time someone jokes about getting a woman so drunk she can't say no...congratulations. You are perpetrating the rape culture. It's not just about women defending themselves, this issue is also about men getting the picture that they shouldn't freaking rape people. You can also donate and support rape crisis and domestic abuse centres and organizations, including a number of ones about Men Against Rape.

Again: Humanity can't move forward if an entire gender is constantly treated as second class.

And we certainly can't move forward and fix our problems without getting out there and doing something. Fix humanity? No can do. Try and fix a problem, or a number of clearly defined problems? Yes, we can. As long as we get out there and TRY. So, call up or contact your local representative on the issues that concern you, research what organizations are there in your area, do all the things you can do by yourself and then join others to help them and...

Well, let's face it. You can't HURT the issues, and you might just well help.

Really short answer for now but I imagine that more equitable consumption and management of resources would do wonders for the world (especially if the United States started consuming less). How that's gonna happen...well, I don't know but it won't be a painless change.

Good points everyone. :) Time for me to throw my hat in the ring, I guess.

I think we need a new mindset when it comes to environmentalism. We need to accept that we are creatures of this Earth, because in reality, there is no "environment," where all the rest of the non-human plant and animal life is domed off in a seperate biosphere from us. There is no "human world" and "natural world," there is just "the world." Period. No matter how much we believe otherwise, humanity, and all it's baggage, is a part of the world, the same world that nature shares. The biggest downfall of the current environmentalist movement is this separatist attitude, and I'm sure if the Na'vi could see it they would declare the movement just as insane as every other Sky People activity because of this attitude. We might not be able to get the knowledge back that long gone indigenous peoples and the Na'vi have, but we can at least revive their mindset. We need to begin viewing the natural world as an equal again, and feel and view it the way these peoples do. Not until we can truly feel, See, the Earth and it's ills in the same deep, personal way native peoples do, will we be able to heal the world. THAT is the message of Avatar, not about buying a Prius and flourescent light bulbs, but about learning to See the world through the eyes of the people that walked in harmony with it. Then, and only then, will humanity be able to find a new way forward. Only when we are able to truly feel the effects of our actions, will we be able to change them. Only once we learn to See again will we be able to find balance with the Earth while still progressing, of true technological harmony. The way needs to be living with nature, not walling ourselves off from it.

I also think a good way to encourage people to have smaller families is tax incentives.

I think you're just proving my point (maybe you weren't even disagreeing). Racism is still prevalent all over the world today, he didn't "solve" it. He just did all that he could and in his case it was quite a lot.

I'm just saying we shouldn't think of it in such grand terms but should only ask ourselves what it is that we could do to make whatever probably small but still important impact that we can. I'm sure Dr. King wasn't thinking "How do I solve racism for humanity" but rather "how can I make a difference"

Honestly, I doubt it is possible unless population growth is brought under control, and within the next generation.

How do we solve issues such as feeding the world's growing population, preventing the decline of the environment, stopping wars, etc?
Religion and government are the main cause of world-wide conflicts. I'm not saying that religion or government is bad I'm saying that we need the right kind of mindset relating to these two. I would argue for population control and as Spock has said generic engineered food.

How do we overcome common boundaries such as human laziness, apathy, or distrust?
Sorry I am uber anti-fascist Fascism is "totalitarian single-party state" it is the same as Stalinism which is a "totalitarian single-party state." One guy in power seems cool until you realize how true the statement "power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely." I would argue that socialism with social democracy would be the better alternative or Trotskyism.

How do we bring about change in humanity itself?
Knowledge is power the majority of humanity has changed before for example racism was widespread however today while it would be ignorant to deny it exists it isn't as widespread as it used to be. Control the flow of information and you control people.

Perhaps you are right Icu. We shouldn't just be focused on problems but whether we can make the world a better place.

Don't believe one person cannot change the world, especially in this age. Remember that all it took was a handful of progressives and an laptop to change the middle east forever. Indeed most revolutions happen this way - just a few ambitious people who thought differently.

The is a solution to humanity's problems:
It's the lifestyle that aboriginal people had and what Na'vi have!

This has it's issues ofc, but it's by far the most complete solution. It's just that not many in the modern society even take this seriously.

In my opinion, what we need is an incorruptible machine intelligence to rule over the entire world population. It would be tasked with maximising or minimising, as appropriate, the well-being of humans, the level of biodiversity, and so on, as well as distributing resources as needed.

It would also design and optimise its own 'subsystems of government'. It might try various forms of capitalism/communism/etc in different regions, analysing their effectiveness and ultimately rolling-out the most successful variant(s).

A group of philosophers would be elected by the people of Earth to decided upon weightings for the different factors to be optimised by the machine intelligence.

Perhaps that approach wouldn't be the best (it's certainly out of reach technologically for the moment), but I am convinced that what is needed is a carefully engineered system (or set of systems) with an, also engineered, planet-spanning government.

There is one solution to destroying all ignorance, all greed, all indifference, all evil. It's so simple...adn yet not so simple.

It's Love.

As long as we don't have the rampant misogyny that the Aborigines tended to have...

But I do have to ask - do you think this is a PRACTICAL solution? And also, what are your thoughts on regularly setting the environment on fire? Both the Aborigines and some of the northern Native Americans did this regularly.

Still got a better environmental track record than we do. At least they didn't turn the Gulf of Mexico into a mudpit or a portion of eastern Europe (and possibly soon Japan) into something out of Fallout 3. Plus that's not entirely unnatural, they're are even species that depend on fires to release their seeds.

But yeah, I'm with Fosus. Deep ecology and permaculture is what our world needs.

Most people are always running around so busy and after what oh so important things.

There is one very easy solution... Just lean back and relax... If people know how senseless some behaviour and actions are, they would be much more able to let go of destructive behaviour.

My thoughts are that any effective change requires a fundamental shift in paradigms. A complete change in our core values, beliefs and perceptions. Einstein once said:

"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them"

In other words, the way we see the problem, is the problem. So we need a new foundation, a new approach. As to what this new perception looks like, I cannot say. Although, I do believe love can solve anything. In this sense, love is not just a commitment to the wellbeing on another, but also a new way of thinking, a new way of seeing and a new way of being.

Yes, I'm aware that the environment track-record is better. But the point still remains that historically there are HUGE problems in that kind of society, too.

But I do mean the point about practicality - is this really a practical solution? I don't think it is. There are too many humans nowdays, and by turning back on technology, you'd actually kill people. A lot of people. Up to and including women in childbirth.

So...yeah, I really don't think it's practical.

Selective technology, and ways to conform that technology to the natural world.

Plus, there's already too many people on the planet as it is. We need to find ways to get people to stop having kids. My suggestion? Nationalized birth control and abortion funding, as well as tax incentives for small families.

The only obstacle really being the Vatican City Gangsters.

Agreed 100% :).

No system no matter how perfect is going to save humanity unless humans themselves are willing to see things through.

Natural Family Planning would be a much better alternative in my humble opinion ;)

Natural Family Planning? What's that?

Ah, gotcha (although, ahahahahah, that does seem to require the woman being regular, which doesn't always happen). Nothing wrong with that, as long as there is a choice offered between that and other forms of contraception (the Pill is also taken to regulate periods/cut down on the sheer agony some women feel, etc and also protection is also required for STIs). And safe abortion should be there anyway, in case things go wrong (I don't just mean unplanned/accidental pregnancy, but also cases of pregnancy where the woman's own health and life are in risk, or the foetus has formed wrong, or is damaged, etc).

Choice, choice, CHOICE is needed so much, so women can make their own choices about their own bodies, their own sexuality and their own health.

You could sum up my view as being all the choice you want so long as it doesn't kill an unborn human being that is already alive with the exception of when the mother's life is directly threatened. For ex: An abortion just because the child has a high probrability of a defect, its just an inconvience, or unwanted is not a valid reason.

*nods* I entirely disagree with you, BUT I'll just leave it there, methinks. We have the right to our opinions, and all of that.

I tend to think overpopulation isn't nearly as big of a problem as overconsumption. And limiting consumption (as opposed to limiting how many people there are), is a more practicable solution anyways.

For example, in the next few decades, the population will peak at 9.2 Billion. That's a high number! We might need to cut back. We could then try cutting the population in half giving us 4.6 Billion within x number of generations. Or, we could cut the amount each person consumes in half. Both will essentially have the same effect as having a world population of 4.6 Billion.

So to me, the real problem here is inefficiency. We could have 9.2 Billion people in the world and still have beautiful forests, coral reefs and clean skies. But we can't have all that while producing 4 lbs of trash every day.

Yes, it comes down to the size of the individual footprint. Look at the average population density in the UK in 1950: Huge compared to the USA even now. But people clustered in small towns and villages. The green belt was sacrosanct. Even when surrounded by huge fields and commons, the people lived mostly in postage stamp houses. This pattern is still apparent; just look over the country from Google Earth.

World population may even be lower than today's in 50 years; check out the green line at World population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .

I'd say it is unlikely, considering the fact that everyone needs to be able to survive. For that reason, in order for people to survive and to avoid having to dedicate the entire planet to that, population in effect must be reduced. For once, China has the right idea (although as I have said before, I would be in favour of making the rights to a child transferrable, so someone who didn't want one could give or sell the right to someone who wanted multiple, without causing excessive growth).

I don't think surviving is the issue. I mean, you could have 1000 Sng'oi tribespeople thriving off of very little and making less impact than 1 average american. On a large scale, 8-9 Billion heavily efficient and minimalistic-impact people might be able to thrive and impact less than the 7 Billion we have now.

Perhaps, but the population density is far higher than any ancient human cultures. Living without all the advances there are would effectively mean the destruction of entire ecosystems for farming.

In trying to look at the roots of a huge number of humanitys issues one issue comes up over and over "Human Tribalism" with so many groups pushing for global oneness, one must ask , what are the underlying issues driving a wedge betwean peoples (Yes even a serious issue betwean native peoples cultural groups) at issue, an instinct the Human
animal just like any other pack creature need to claim territory and protect Cultural idenity
despite the fact we all have far more in comon than we realise, at its root Tribalism instints and customs from the past drive people from diffrent "circles" apart and make it very easy for a small group to instill the fear of another without much question,what do people think , could bringing awareness to the "human tribalism" mechanism help resolve
social justice issues.

I'd say it's something that has to be moved past, because it is the same principle on a larger (national or regional) level that causes the vast majority of the world's problems today.

IMO, not quite all of them. The others come down to people not being rational enough.

There are two issues I feel are at the roots under humanitys fundamental issues ,And there is a group addressing the first issue , The first issue is "Our illusion that We are "Separate" and it all comes down to how our culture views the world .

Many people today talk about a feeling of disconnectness from the world and a feeling out of place, There is an unexamined assumption that is deeply effecting our entire modern world view, "We Are Separate" from everyone and everything, this assumption shapes virtually all of our perceptions and actions, I am going to directly Quote some of the discussion in Awaking theDreamer, as an example But I feel this is one of the big issues effecting society and our fundamental humanity it effects how our peoples understand there world view and our feelings of disconnectedness from nature and society and how looking at others worldly viewpoints can help us understand the issues our people are facing in the world today, Avatar addresses this issue sublimely incultural differences between the Na'Vi and Humans (RDA)

"Over the Century’s the story that’s been commutated in our modern world consciously or unconsciously has been that the world operates like a "huge" machine made up of separate parts like a "big clock"for the past 400 years the scientific tradition has been trying to take the"clock" apart and figure out how it works so we could master it and use it for our own purposes. This "mechanistic view" merits that instead of "seeing" the inner connection in between things, there was a way of analyzing what people where coming into contact with and taking it "apart" so what evolved was kind of "fragmented" view of the natural world and we became hypnotized really with the power that came out of this technology and we lost what is one of the most fundamental connections to our humanity our connections to "each other" and our connection to the mystery of the universe. (second speaker steps into view) There is a fundamental misconception that "We" are "separate" We are learning that is "not true" If there is only "one" Then whatever I do to you, I do to me, If there is only one, Whatever I do to the air I do to me, If there is only one, Whatever I do in society Is what I am acculy doing to myself, doing to my family, doing to my children (Change of view on a sunset over the ocean) Spiritual traditions have long taught separation is an Illusion Buddhist Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh puts it this way,, We have the word "To BE", But what I propose is that a word to "Inter-Be" Because it is "Not possible"To BE alone, to BE by yourself. You need other people in order to BE, You need other beings in order to BE. not only do you need father, mother but also,uncle,brother,sister,sociaty, "But" You also need Sunshine,Water, Air, Trees, Birds, Elephants, Polar Bears, Bats, and so on. So its imposable to "BE" by "yourself" truly alone, You Have to "Inter-BE" with everyone and everything else, And therefore, to "BE" means to"Inter-BE " increasingly people in the modern world are listening to the voices of Native Peoples who’s message has always been that all things are"connected" (Native American speaker Tom Goldtooth Speaks ) "We use another terminology called me-da-key-yay-oh-wa-say" (please excuse me if my sounds like wording as wrong no disrespect intended) This means"All My Relations" We try and recognize that "We Are Related to Everything" to the animals, to the fish , to the plants , to the trees, to the birds, even the microorganisms ,So the we are all related,( A second female native Speaker Okanagan Author Jeanette Armstrong Speaks) The foundational understanding from my point of view or, Indigenous point of view,is that "you" are a part of that land in a very interdependent way ,"You are a part of that land" Its your body, "Its you" and you can't do things to the land that in the end comes back and destroys "you"(A view of the universe flying through space) This deep recognition of interconnection is supported by the current scientific understanding of the origin of the universe which has shown that all of creation is profoundly connected at the macro and micro level,(Poet and teacher Drew Dillinger speaks) We can see that everything that ever was,, Is ,or will "be" was compressed into a space smaller then a seed smaller then a tear, more minuscule then a molecule, All Space, All Time, and the potential to ever exist started as a single point so in very real sense "science" has "discovered" what native peoples have"known" All along. We are All One ,We are all Connected, We all come from the very same source, everything we see around us has developed from the boiling cauldron of the early earth this sphere of lava that wonderfully gave rise to the sea and the atmosphere and then life’s infiltrate expressions as "Brian Swimme" says the Earth was once molten rock and now sings operas.
(I had a link to view examples to or the full program the free viewing period has unfortunataly ended) Here is a link describing the program (Which is presented for free )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRtuu1byxxA(At 3:40 the Issue of Separation is spoken on)

The issues for this debate:
Do people feel they are disconnected from the natural world and that this issue has its roots in modern society’s separation issues ?

The Kogi peoples of Columbia are about to release a new film "Aluna the mind inside nature, The Kogi Elders called Mamos have stated that our actions that damage the natural world are damaging the underlying web of life something science does not yet understand, or See, This damage to the web of life tying humanity together "May" be effecting the ability for humanity to act as a family and could driving some of our underlying problems , Here is what people are saying,
"Humanity as a whole has come under huge stress in ways we cannot comprehend or "see" this "may" be the cause of the upraise of social discord in society , And many people report a "feeling" of disconnection and loss of their place in the world, If we are damaging the underlying systems "That tie our humanity together" by our actions We may be paying the price in ways our people cannot "see" or understand, this change is stressing our people to the breaking point in some cases and "should not be ignored"

Do people feel there are any facts behind it or just speculation ? If you are interested in what the Kogi have to say
and there film go here, Aluna Trailer. - YouTube


Irayo

I agree with Tsyal and caveman here for most parts.

There are concepts - not necessarily concrete lifestyles - that exist in ancient, indigenous and aboriginal cultures, that are proven by history to be sustainable. They all used some sort of "technology" that was appropriate but what they did not have was a mindset that promoted linear thinking, perpetual growth or the idea that one can simply take what one needs from the universe. Universally, sustainable cultures in the past honored connection to other beings, to the world and they understood that everything depends on giving as well as taking.

Our modern culture does have these concepts, but they are "hidden" in morality, religions, philosophy or ethics. This would be fine if these things would play a role in what is actually done, which they dont. What rules the world instead is mostly "rational thinking" in the shape of economics and science. These also have a place certainly, but they do not have at the center any ideas of sustainability - instead they are about linearity and growth and progress. This may sound even a bit cheesy, but I think we have to put back ethics and philosophy into our culture as a guiding principle.

There are a lot of technological and developmental solutions to many of the problems. Ways to get more food, more resources, more wealth, more efficiency, consume less, reduce population and the lot - but all of these ideas can only work when they are applied in the right context. And that context cannot be, that because we use more efficient light bulbs, we strive to use more light as a result or because we double the milage of cars, we triple the miles travelled (which is roughly what has happened in the US since the 1950ies). Growth then eats up all the things we throw at it to stop it. To fight food scarcity, the "green revolution" stepped in, but all that it did was to postpone the problem by 30 years, allowing more growth of population and consumption while causeing more problems along the way - and 30 years later we ask the same question about how to solve food scarcity.

The only way out I think is to stop growing. To mature, to actually GROW UP as a species - to leave the childhood phase of growing taller daily while playing with neat shiny toys. One can have a lot of fun and be very creative when grown up. One can also think about loosing a bit of weight to get healthier (reduce population and consumption).

All of this needs a cultural change on a global scale, especially as the cultural narrative of perpetual growth and linear thinking has spread over the globe. I think that eventually this can only be stopped by it failing and everyone witnessing it.

About the "everything begins with the first step" and looking for solutions by our own lifestyle acts. Certainly that has some benefit, but keep in mind that people have been doing "first steps" for the past many decades. People started to turn off the standby mode since it was invented, people bought smaller cars and fluorescent lightbulbs since before most here were born. Yet no global tipping point is reached in terms of real sustainability. So sometimes small steps are not causing a snowball effect but are simply what they are - small minute steps that are overlooked in the overall picture. I am not saying we should not do them - I do many of them - but to hope that they will solve the problem or to pull back to the stance that these are the only things we can do feels disempowering. Yet because of the momentum this culture has, the ways to go up against it are tough. I am considering, that maybe it is worth thinking about what culture and cultural narratives can do. If it is impossible to actually stop a culture determined to grow and consume from doing so, maybe it is possible to change the cultural narratives and plant the seeds of nonlinear thinking, of interdependence and interconnection and stability instead of growth in the minds of people. How could that be done???

Regarding the global unity versus "tribalism" thing - I think that humans are by their nature not made for some "global unity" in the sense that we would manage to see all people everywhere as united. There will always be some that are closer and others that are more distant. So we'd better find ways to manage this natural human behaviour in a way that is positive and allows people to live in their closeby circles (groups, "tribes") but connect these groups in a way that is respectful. This is sort of the federalistic idea that each group retains their individuality and culture but that all these groups respect each other.