Is this a picture of the dawn of hope or the end of the world in fire?

Keeping Our Eyes Open and Head Clear

We seem to be teetering on the edge of something but the question is “of what?”.

Nothing Is Eternal

As I’ve said previously it was not long ago that we were looking at a world of dawning hope. The Arab Spring was growing, Europe showed ever so much promise and the world in general suggested progress. And then the downward spiral began.

The deterioration in the Middle East was striking, Europe showed signs of strain as Brexit surfaced and crises built across the world. What we need to ask ourselves is where this will lead. It may be something like how things were before World War I leading to decades of devastation of all kinds or it may indicate cracks in the facade of how things are which may mean opportunity.

Opportunity For Change

Whether we learned from the conflicts of the twentieth center is a key question. If we learned, then each crisis may be an opportunity in itself. Europe has seen what happened to Britain’s economy when they chose Brexit and it is hardly wonderful. In the Middle East we are seeing signs of new cooperation between nations and factions. And in the United States the old two party system is frayed and people are asking interesting questions. It may be that we can forge new alliances which can build new, more modern parties and open unexpected vistas for our population.

Facing Facts

Clearly we need new thinking and the end of the old system. It is clear that many kinds of industry are disappearing while new systems including information technology are appearing. But we need to rethink how we approach our economy and how jobs are shaped. People are going to have to be retrained and preparation for employment in general needs a new face.

How Novel!

In this postcapitalism era one of the ideas is for governments to provide a basic universal payment to all families. Say what? In fact, Switzerland is toying with just such an idea. Provide a fundamental base of support and you obviate many of the current forms of support such as disability payments, food programs and so forth. It is a fascinating idea which suggests exploration.

Building Constructive Change

We are entering a new era and, as stated above, we can view it is an opportunity for reform or resist it and inadvertently abet chaos and failure.

But, one thing is certain. The pace of change is increasing and we had best pay attention. New systems are evolving. Old industries and methods are going away. If nothing else, it is time to explore and see what we can sight on the horizon and how we might shape it.

What novel ideas would you like to explore?

Gaia’s Majesty-Mission Called: Women in Power by Roger B. Burt

Roger B. Burt’s Amazon home page

Creating Characters and Plots by Roger B. Burt

Stepfamilies: Professionals and Stepcouples in Partnership

Whatever Happened to Community Mental Health by Roger B. Burt