Insanity
Definition of insanity: doing something the same way over and over again and expecting different results
Let's agree to use inefficiency as a measure of insanity.
Insane = Inefficiency = Pollution (Related)
Inefficiency- All advertising, finance, most accumulated wealth, all packaging, all administrators (note that some records are probably necessary), all vehicular commuting, all waiting, and we've only just begun...
Pollution- Noise, visual [external landscape], Psychological [Internal landscape]
All systems are in an advanced state of collapse due to this insanity/inefficiency.
Quality
What do we need to do to advance the cause of quality -- the antithesis of insanity?
Implement a global society with little or no Inefficiency or Pollution. (Imagine how easy it will be to compete with the dominant system.)
What is necessary for quality?
Trading? Trading implies boundaries or different entities. Maybe the efficient flow of labor and raw materials is a requirement -- nothing more, nothing less.
Some sort of simple accounting/accounts.
Freedom, Liberty, Responsibility, Rights [the most important property right is quality, including quiet, enjoyment] So, is some sort of justice system required?
Wisdom -- Universities that emphasize little or no inefficiency/pollution could provide this.
Human scale
Cooperation
Competition -- From Emergence: Just as in real-world ecosystems, predators effectively raised the bar for evolved [computer] programs that became lazy because of their success. [p.172, isbn 0684868768]
Meaningful work: artisans, variety, flexibility, leisure
Evidence of insanity is all around us all the time. Vehicles with empty seats. Most vehicles. Professional lawn cutters racing from place to place blowing debris into the air. Empty parking lots. Empty buildings. The entire retail system. All advertising. All man-made noise. Insurance.
Unfortunately, I think that Jung is right:
Definition of insanity: doing something the same way over and over again and expecting different results
Let's agree to use inefficiency as a measure of insanity.
Insane = Inefficiency = Pollution (Related)
Inefficiency- All advertising, finance, most accumulated wealth, all packaging, all administrators (note that some records are probably necessary), all vehicular commuting, all waiting, and we've only just begun...
Pollution- Noise, visual [external landscape], Psychological [Internal landscape]
All systems are in an advanced state of collapse due to this insanity/inefficiency.
Quality
What do we need to do to advance the cause of quality -- the antithesis of insanity?
Implement a global society with little or no Inefficiency or Pollution. (Imagine how easy it will be to compete with the dominant system.)
What is necessary for quality?
Trading? Trading implies boundaries or different entities. Maybe the efficient flow of labor and raw materials is a requirement -- nothing more, nothing less.
Some sort of simple accounting/accounts.
Freedom, Liberty, Responsibility, Rights [the most important property right is quality, including quiet, enjoyment] So, is some sort of justice system required?
Wisdom -- Universities that emphasize little or no inefficiency/pollution could provide this.
Human scale
Cooperation
Competition -- From Emergence: Just as in real-world ecosystems, predators effectively raised the bar for evolved [computer] programs that became lazy because of their success. [p.172, isbn 0684868768]
Meaningful work: artisans, variety, flexibility, leisure
Evidence of insanity is all around us all the time. Vehicles with empty seats. Most vehicles. Professional lawn cutters racing from place to place blowing debris into the air. Empty parking lots. Empty buildings. The entire retail system. All advertising. All man-made noise. Insurance.
Unfortunately, I think that Jung is right:
It is from need and distress that new forms of existence arise, and not from idealistic requirements or mere wishes. [p.476, The Portable Jung, edited by Joseph Campbell, [isbn670010707]
Interestingly enough, it was the distress of seeing the foothills being developed in Boise -- combined with the destruction of existing neighborhoods as the result of increased automobile traffic -- that got me interested in sustainable development. However, through the years, it has been increasingly evident that most have a far higher pain threshold than I.
From Carl Sagan in The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of human Intelligence:A remarkable series of experiments on brain changes during learning has been performed by the American psychologist Mark Rosenzweig and his colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley. They maintained two different populations of laboratory rats -- one in a dull, repetitive, impoverished environment: the other in a variegated, lively, enriched environment. The latter group displayed a striking increase in the mass and thickness of the crebral cortex, as well as accompanying changes in brain chemistry. [p.46]I honestly can't think of a single, existing environment that I would consider variegated, lively, and enriched. When we plan for any meaningful future, we need to structure it in a way that these elements occur naturally.
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