Integral Living

The illusion is that we have created the most sophisticated society in the history of man.  The reality is that the division of knowledge into feudal fiefdoms of expertise has made general understanding and coordinated action not simply impossible but despised and distrusted.

--John Ralston Saul (Voltaire's Bastards)

Can we break out of these fiefdoms?  Are you locked in a fiefdom?  Do you have a title and responsibilities that prevent you from being fully human?

Although it has evolved and will evolve in the future, the concept for breaking out is simple:

• Capital from members/patrons is used to build pedestrian-only campuses around the world and as working capital.  It should be noted that this environment can be utilized as a place to retire; a second home; a primary residence; a destination resort; a university; a retreat...  Integral Living.
• Living quarters will be approximately 500 s.f. with separate gourmet kitchens and dining areas dispersed throughout each campus.
• Those who build and operate the campuses are independent contractors with rolling quarter-long contracts.  These contractors live on-site.
• The entire campus will be a classroom at all times as we should all continue to learn as we live.
• On-site gardens and orchards will provide fresh fruit and produce to the extent possible. 
• Reservations will be based on seniority.  Those who reserve and occupy specific living quarters will have options to reserve those living quarters in the future.
• Members/patrons will draw down their membership accounts as they utilize/occupy the properties.  They can deposit additional membership funds at any time.  So long as funds to cover a stay have been on deposit for at least a year in advance of the commencement of any reservation period, members can reserve one or more living quarters.
• If there is a sufficient amount of cash in the working capital account, members can opt to withdraw all or some of the funds in their membership account.
• Please note that this can serve as a comprehensive alternative to the current carbon offset schemes.

Simple.

My thought is that one way to launch this without debt is to do it through subscriptions.  As always, I am looking for individuals who realize that we must radically alter the way we live.

Background Information

Several years ago, I became interested in sustainable development.  At the same time, I realized that the financial markets were extremely fragile.  None of our current institutions -- government, higher education, business, NGOs -- seemed to be able to re-direct our course.  Over time some of these institutions talked the talk of sustainable development, but did not walk the talk.  All of the established institutions who professed an interest in a more sustainable world seem to be nibbling at the edges of the change that is required.  Since none of the aforementioned institutions are able to effect the change, it is time to form a new institution.  One that incorporates the best elements of the established institutions and then some.

One of the keys to change is recognizing the flaws in the current monetary system.  The most succinct information that I have found on these flaws is the Crash Course.  While you may like certain aspects of the new institution that has evolved on this site, you will not appreciate the full value of it until you understand the flaws of our monetary system.  The current system is debt based while the system/society described here is equity based.  The current system is based on possession while the system/society described here is based on access.  The current system directs us to more and more specialization while the system/society described here is based on general knowledge.

Any new system has to have a foundation and I believe that the best foundation is a society of universities.  Universities that educate participants in a general knowledge of where we have been and where we can go as a society.  All of the current institutions can re-tool themselves and convert to a more sustainable model.  But conversion means that the old bureaucracies and hierarchies must be left behind.

Comments

[Matt]

This we know of the future:

-energy will be expensive
-labor will be cheap.

The result can be feudal -- a few ultra-wealthy individuals and/or corporations.

Alternatively, the result can be a vibrant network of "convivial" communities.

Subscribe to a Society of Universities.

[Matt]

We spend an inordinate amount of time on profit. By focusing on flow, we can turn our attention to being creative in a more positive way. We should only "invest" in something that we can live with ourselves. For those with discerning tastes, almost all construction of the last 40 years or so is not of a quality that is acceptable. What are we going to do with trillions of pounds of sheetrock?

We need universities -- that all can contribute to -- that are truly whole and local. Contrast this with the dominant universities of today that really only focus on training students to fit into the expanding consumer-oriented economy. This may not be their stated mission but it is certainly reality.

The foundation of our society should be learning. In more enlightened times, universities provided this learning and it can do it again.