If you could pick from these Five Scenarios...

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New, meaningful leadership roles are emerging. And we, each of us, are being asked to participate. Some moments we will lead, other moments we will learn. And through these moments, we will bring forth something new. Already, everyone, everywhere is doing this.

Begin with the next few years in mind. This time I ask you, which of the following possibilities do you want to live within. And how will you create the conditions for that vision to happen?

5 Scenarios offered by Douglass Carmichael

The Long Boom | Decay | Neo-Feudalism | Discontinuity and Recovery | Global Mind Change

-- Critt Jarvis (Wilmington, NC) (critt@critt.com), January 14, 1999

Answers

None of the above.

-- flierdude (mkessler0101@sprynet.com), January 14, 1999.

A real achiever would be able to prosper and achieve in any of those. The Long Boom scenario would probably be nice, although the D&R scenario would give major opportunities to those smart enough to take them. Still, I could live in just about any of them. Some may not be all that nice, admittedly, but you create your own circumstances.

--Leo

-- Leo (lchampion@ozemail.com.au), January 14, 1999.


Flierdude,

Leo seems to prefer the Long Boom. He knows he can create his own circumstances to be able to prosper and achieve, so he could live in just about any of these 5 scenarios.

Since none of the 5 scenarios fit your circumstance, what sort of life do you have in mind?

~C~

-- Critt Jarvis (critt@critt.com), January 14, 1999.


Viewing the glass as "half empty", I suspect some combination of "Neo- Feudalism" and "Global Mind Change", although I despise that prospect. The world has been moving quickly in that direction during the entire 20th century, unfortunately.

Personally, I would prefer a more "nationalistic" (nation-state?) option. It would be nice to preserve "western" culture (& others), and not turn the entire planet into a global "3rd-world". Before you note that this is different from the great egalitarian Democratic "vision", take a look at demographics & population. Look what has happened to the United States over the last 30 years after immigration was opened to "the world". The UN provides statistics for the more inquisitive...

While there are many good things that have happened in the US over the last 30 years, there is a dark and growing "under-belly" emerging. Concentration of wealth into the hands of the few best able to exploit new immigrants and other countries. Breakdown of the traditional family. Growing acceptance of homesexuals (fun perhaps, maybe even "normal" for some, but a violation of human reproductive design). Violent crime that rivals the "developing world". Loss of a cohesive society & culture. Loss of most "middle-class" jobs to overseas factories.

Personally, I would rather be able to walk down the street at night, rather than staying home to "surf the net", watch CNN/MTV & polish my BMW.

Some would say the glass is "half-full" because civilized societies will elevate the level of primitive societies. I say the glass is half empty, because my home-town (Dee Cee) has seen the devolution towards primitive societies. The prospect of this continuing in all civilized countries angers me.

Let me say that time has seen many non-western societies, including, but not limited to various Chinese dynasties, Egypt & Persia. But after all of these centuries, I have little respect or time for people who can't even figure out how to make a decent toilet.

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@anonymous.com), January 14, 1999.


(Just throwing darts at the barn here---)-

And depending on the severity, extent and duration of the disruptions induced by Y2K --

Each of the above, somewhere in the world.

Also somewhere n the world, scenarios that haven't even been imagined, some possibly quite constructive. We may be looking toward the cultural equivalent of the Cambrian explosion of genetic diversity. For an idea of what that was like, see Stephen Jay Gould's Wonderful Life : The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), January 14, 1999.



Anonymous,

Everyone ought to have a decent toilet. What do you have in mind for sewage disposal that honors an existing culture?

Tom,

If we, each of us, could apprehend the energy of awareness, how better might we, each of us, learn to ride the waves of change?

~C~

-- Critt Jarvis (Wilmington, NC) (critt@critt.com), January 14, 1999.


If I could recreate the function of society on this planet the first thing I would do is take every resource available to man and prove by scientific discovery that God exists. This would probably take less than 3 months to prove. Then I would abolish the form of goverment (socialist democracy) that we know today. This form of goverment that we live under today has given us elitist rule across the planet. I would form a Republic in the United States as our forefathers did in 1776. I would re-enact the Constitution. I would abolish the two party system which was created to divide and conquor. Leaders would be elected by the people not by special interest finances. Attorneys would not exist. There would be only two laws against humanity, "Do unto others as you would have done unto you" and "physically harming another person" Every person would get the exact same sentence, whether your the President or a laborer. No aggravating or mitigating circumstances would be considered. These few things alone, would end oppresion, all corruption, greed and enviromental destruction etc. Mike

-- flierdude (mkessler0101@sprynet.com), January 14, 1999.

Critt, If I could recreate the function of society on this planet the first thing I would do is take every resource available to man and prove by scientific discovery that God exists. This would probably take less than 3 months to prove. Then I would abolish the form of goverment (socialist democracy) that we know today. This form of goverment that we live under today has given us elitist rule across the planet. I would form a Republic in the United States as our forefathers did in 1776. I would re-enact the Constitution. I would abolish the two party system which was created to divide and conquor. Leaders would be elected by the people not by special interest finances. Attorneys would not exist. There would be only two laws against humanity, "Do unto others as you would have done unto you" and "physically harming another person" Every person would get the exact same sentence, whether your the President or a laborer. No aggravating or mitigating circumstances would be considered. These few things alone, would end oppresion, all corruption, greed and enviromental destruction etc. Mike

-- flierdude (mkessler0101@sprynet.com), January 14, 1999.

flierdude,

You just cost me 5 bucks! My 9 year old sided with you, "None of the above".

~C~

-- Critt Jarvis (fish@outta.water), January 14, 1999.


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