From: jimruttshow8596
The discussion of civilization design necessitates a re-evaluation of fundamental principles, particularly concerning governance and decision-making models. At a pivotal point in human history, current toolkits for solving large-scale problems are insufficient for emerging issues like global warming, pollution, and global equality [00:06:16]. The rapid acceleration of technological change means that traditional, short-horizon approaches (“hill climbers”) are no longer adequate for ensuring long-term sustainability [00:09:01]. This demands a shift towards models that can foster higher-quality choices for the next centuries [00:10:38].
Subsidiarity
Subsidiarity is a doctrine positing that decisions should be made at the lowest level in the stack that is suitable for the resolution of that issue [01:07:38]. This principle suggests that local issues, such as allowing drinking on street corners, should be decided at a neighborhood level [01:07:50]. Conversely, global issues, like the amount of CO2 each human can emit, are by definition global problems requiring decisions at a planetary level [01:07:57].
Pluralism
Pluralism acknowledges that humans desire different things, and cultures have radically differed throughout history [01:08:25]. It recognizes that distinct cultures may possess different toolkits and approaches to problem-solving, adapted to their specific environments [01:13:21]. For example, a culture in the Alaskan wilderness will have different tools and narratives than one in a desert environment [01:13:25].
Coherent Pluralism
Jim Rutt introduces the term “coherent pluralism” to describe the challenge of allowing for diverse human desires and cultural differences while maintaining a necessary level of coherence to prevent societal breakdown [01:08:13]. Without coherence, subsidiarity can fail, or it might require a top-down authoritarian structure to enforce order [01:08:35]. The tension lies in balancing the need for diverse approaches with the requirement for overarching unity [01:08:49].
The Role of Choice and Wisdom
At the core of governance is the nature of choice [01:09:00]. Choices are inherently cooperative, even when individuals perceive themselves as making personal decisions [01:09:05]. Effective decision-making in a complex world requires matching the distribution of choice-making to the distribution of its effects [01:09:48]. If a choice affects a thousand people, it ideally needs to be informed by a commensurate amount of wisdom from those people [01:10:24]. Similarly, choices with long-term, multi-generational consequences (e.g., nuclear waste) require bringing considerations for future generations into the present decision-making framework [01:11:03].
Forest Landry distinguishes between choices driven by:
- Needs: Internal drivers, often leading to uncompromising positions when individuals act solely on their perceived needs [01:11:55].
- Wants: External drivers, often leading to competitive and individualistic behaviors like status games, such as the “money on money return economy” [01:12:02].
- Desires: A capacity to think about “our desires together” [01:12:48]. This allows for connection at an interpersonal and even transhuman level, considering the desires of ecosystems or natural elements [01:13:01].
The goal is to increase the quality of choices by grounding them in discernment and attunement, which naturally leads to an increase in wisdom, both individually and collectively [01:15:15].
Cultural Dynamics and Practical Application
The ability to implement coherent pluralism hinges on cultural dynamics and the values transmitted across generations [01:46:53]. If a culture values constant virtual presentation over embodied reality, it can lead to incongruence between desired life and actual experience, potentially driving mental health crises [01:19:01].
For a city or any community to achieve sustainability and evolve with conscientiousness over centuries, three conditions are essential and sufficient [00:29:41]:
- Social Balance: How people interact and the cultural values they hold [00:30:00].
- Energy Balance: Ensuring sustainable energy input and consumption [00:30:05].
- Ecological Balance: Managing resources to avoid environmental degradation [00:30:24].
Current global conditions, marked by imbalance in these areas, underscore the urgency of applying civilization design principles based on millions of years of human experience, yet unhindered by past methodologies [00:32:04].
For a group of engaged individuals, the immediate steps for better governance design involve [01:25:37]:
- Good Communication Practices: Implementing principles like the right to speak, be understood, and know one has been understood [01:26:08].
- Understanding Fundamental Distinctions: Clarifying the differences between thought, feeling, emotion, instincts, and the relationship between change, choice, and causation [01:26:22].
- Ephemeral Group Process: A technique for collective inquiry that leads to collective value discovery and visioning [01:26:50]. This process helps to avoid corruption and inequality dynamics [01:27:15].
- Collective Strategy Generation: Designing community futures where strategies uphold the collective vision and values, leading to thriving outcomes [01:28:40]. This moves beyond simple voting to a more sophisticated design process [01:28:06].
The path forward requires a culture conscious of fundamental principles and able to translate them into practical, distributed choice-making that fosters embodied collective intelligence [01:28:57]. This approach allows for a conscious, sustainable evolution of human civilization [01:06:33].