Re: Two faces of the future of the world-system

Just like people can live in patterns:
http://www.AligningWithPurpose.com/patterns.htm
so too can societies.  For many years, our world
system has been pursuing policies based upon some
irrational beliefs.  In this way, many egregious
policies have been justified.

When a person is living in a pattern, the only
way that they can break free of it is to become
aware that the pattern exists.  In other words,
self-awareness is the first step on the path
to enlightenment.

I respectfully suggest that the same concepts
apply to the world system.  Since the people in
the system are unaware of the patterns that are
driving it, they don't have the self awareness
to collectively change direction.  I call this
our collective *un*consciousness.

Although many on this list are aware of the
dual nature of our reality, most people are
not.  Therefore, the system doesn't have the
knowledge necessary to make rational decisions.

Consequently and IMHO, one of the steps on our
path forward is to help *everyone* understand
the way the system really works.

Comments welcome ...

Jay.

P.S.  For more background, please see:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awpa/message/5


At 11/8/01  10:51 PM, Pat Loy wrote:

>Dear Network,
>
>Boris' essay (Re: Reflections) discloses an important issue about how we
>discuss the question of the future of the world-system, namely that there
>are two standpoints from which the matter must be considered.
>
>The first is to explore what direction the world-system might take by
>analyzing its historical patterns of development in terms of its structural
>constants, cyclical processes, and secular trends. The various issues
>surrounding the idea of East Asia as the rising hegemon, as Boris discussed
>vis-a-vis Giovanni Arrighi's paper, fit into this category.
>
>The second is to respond to the challenge that Immanuel Wallerstein poses
>in "Utopistics" by grappling with the questions, "what kind of world do we
>in fact want; and by what means, or paths, are we most likely to get
>there?"[p.65]. This is the contemporary agency issue - the "what is to be
>done?" question for our generation. Ideas such as building a movement for
>global democracy, establishing a World Party, promoting market socialism,
>etc., as espoused by Wagar, Boswell, Chase-Dunn, and others, fall into this
>sphere.
>
>Of course these two points of view are closely related, and whatever
>strategies and courses of action are proposed must take into account the
>analysis of the direction the world-system is heading. I think this is the
>process referred to in Utopistics by, "the serious assessment of historical
>alternatives, the exercise of our judgement regarding the substantive
>rationality of possible alternative historical systems."
>
>World-system analysis has focused most of its attention on the first of
>these viewpoints over the past 25 years, and for good reason: The
>groundwork for understanding how the system works had to be laid before any
>serious attention could be given to making plans for changing it. But the
>past 25 years has produced a good foundation of knowledge.  Therefore, if
>we are indeed entering a period of systemic chaos, leading to bifurcation,
>and if the instability of the world-system is becoming such that relatively
>small perturbations can have an inordinate impact on the system's ability
>to return to equilibrium (i.e., that organized actions by people can have
>more of an impact on the system than ever), as Wallerstein contends, then
>it seems to me that we have an historical imperative to analyze the
>world-system from both of these perspectives.
>
>-Pat


+++

Jay Fenello, Internet Coaching
http://www.Fenello.com ... 678-585-9765
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