By Design
Individual Social Health
The individual is the most important part of a functioning societal ecosystem. United as one collective, humans can overcome any event. Even just one strong willed individual can stand as the leader needed to bring about serious change. That said, what issues are presented when it comes to reinforcing the ideas of strong individual will and character? As it turns out, for all our progress as a society we still suffer from basic design flaws. It is my hope to summarize existing ideas, and to reveal new connections.
I have a dream...
The power of one man to inspire change. Martin Luthor King Jr. inspired his followers with his idea of equality for all regardless of race. This was a landmark moment in the history of the US, a nation rooted in slavery. The legacy of Martin Luthor King Jr. exists still to this day in the USA, as does the drive for equality among races. While the USA remains imperfect, it nonetheless progresses at a promising pace.
The Arab Spring...
Individuals from across the Arab world stood up against perceived injustices in their respective regimes. Tunisians succeeded in shifting their nation towards a democracy, a great success story for the people... once unfortunately not shared in every respective Arab country. While not every regime successfully changed, the dynamic in every affected country was forever changed. The effects of the Arab Spring are still being felt across Arab nations to this very day. Social media is heralded as the catalyst for the human cooperation that allows such a large scale event occur.
The National Parks...
The combined efforts of multiple presidents, including Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. The liberal concept of conserving land for future generations is one still talked about to this day. Teddy in particular foresaw a centerpiece issue one hundred years down the road. At the time Teddy gained little politically by such an action, as the real gain was for those to come.
"We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation." - Teddy Roosevelt.
The Starter Kit...
We are not just consumers or statistics, together we can build the world we want to live in. Open Source Ecology takes this to heart, with Marcin Jakubowski's goal of open source blueprints capable of building civilization itself. This "Global Village Construction Set" stands as a testament to creating a world in which every society can gain self sufficiency, with no strings attached and no attempts to take advantage.
Nations Against Change
In the modern day media is a tool. On one hand its used by the masses to incite change. On the other hand particularly creative entities can use it for the opposite purpose. Sock Puppetry is an activity performed by nations (US, Russia, China) to manipulate public opinion. How? By funding an agency specialized in utilizing a mass amount of fake accounts to flood online communities with a particular type of opinion or idea.
World Against Creativity
Education is a tool without humanity and friendship to guide your path. Salman Khan, creator of Khan Academy, writes about this in his book "The One World School House". Our modern education system is based on a Prussian educational model designed not only for education, but also creating loyalty. Without individuals acting uniquely, with creativity in mind, education is a factory system.
Greed Against Nature
Consumerism has come at the price of our world, and it is as much the fault of consumer addiction as those seeking profit. As grimly put in "A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things" consumer and capitalist culture firmly roots itself in cheapness. Cheapness of lives and natural resources are critical features. When we run the Earth dry of "cheap" resources we will inevitably look to another planet- Mars.
Quest Towards Change:
The individual must have personal control, a desire against conformity. To create change one must look past the societal norm, to look past situations in which something is defended either because of its lasting history or comparing to another entity. The capacity to question and understand drives one's capability to create change. Questioning the world, and those with power above yours, is a key trait every human should be guided towards adopting.
Quest Towards Creativity:
Creative thinking exists as a unique skill. It cannot be directly taught, at least no in the same capacity as the answer to a factual question. It's Salman Khan's suggestion that education base itself on teaching others and acquiring true conceptual mastery. In a sense, consider the subject of math. Rather than teach someone Algebraic concepts, then push them towards Calculus... why not teach an individual Algebra, have them master Algebra by teaching others, then develop an understanding that allows them to reason together the concept of Calculus when presented with the most basic elements of that course material?
Quest Towards Responsibility:
Greed is a driving force in progress, an evil we cannot remove. Greed, rather than destroyed, must be matched with responsibility. Should an individual understand that a basic luxury good comes at the cost of human suffering or genuine loss... would that not change the choice to buy such an object? Talking as local as the USA, large quantities of almonds are grown in California. This almond production takes immense amounts of water, ten percent of their water use in fact. California is currently suffering from water overuse that threatens the state as a whole. Makes you think, does it not? It's hard to escape being part of the problem when buying almonds as well, as eighty percent of the world's almonds come from the water starved state of California.
By Design
Healthy Community
Once united, we must be capable of cooperating towards change. Different individuals have different needs. Society progresses and expands its inclusion.
- Abolishing serfdom.
- Women's rights movement.
- Civil rights movement.
- LGTBQ+.
These are but examples of how society expands. The key element in a healthy community is the personable behavior of each individual; their understanding.
The Polarized Community:
How does the modern world create a problem for the "healthy community"? Through polarization and destruction of discourse. An example of this concept is sadly the state of politics in the USA. Despite the reality being Republicans and Democrats are not ideologically far apart they're completely locked into a war of political attrition, whether one side demonizes the other. This concept is mirrored in online political spaces among individuals, where agreements remain unformed as individuals stand unmoving on their views. Thus a community's health plummets as individuals treat each other as opposition rather than friends with differing thoughts.
The Abuse of Anonymity:
Antagonism towards a healthy community goes beyond elements in the world, including how tools are handled and their utilizations perceived. Anonymity itself acts as an amazing concept. Individuals are wholly free to express their views without repercussions normally feared. This unique freedom can take on a life of its own however, at least in the wrong hands. Take the case of the dreaded internet troll, who can derail conversations without any repercussions. Why can they accomplish this? There's little in the way of accountability holding them back, comparatively to physical face to face conversations. More extreme cases of this can exist, with death threats being a common occurrence at even the smallest event. Individuals do not even need to do something wrong to receive a death threat.
Healing a Broken Community
To heal communities at large we need to move past polarization and opposition. It is my personal stance that conversation, and discourse, skill need to be taught at a young age. The young must be raised with capacity for constructive discourse, so that they do not turn out like the generations before them. For those here and now, the simplest way is to take a relaxed stance. Be the active individual in trying to bridge a gap of two ideas. By being the one to take the first step the behavior can spread over time. By making a mutual agreement a positive feeling an individual can desire such an agreement once again.
Responsible Anonymity
Anonymity is a powerful and important resource. One's privacy cannot be removed without putting individuals at risk locally and globally. At the same time, it comes with negatives that must be handled. There are two solution paths. The first of these is to raise and educate individuals in internet behavior. When it comes to psychology, there's an idea that part of our actions come from a mental idea of someone watching us. Regardless of there being no one there, we feel a societal presence. Weaving this idea into individuals at a subconscious level would take time, but could greatly help.
Finally, for the second solution path we can look to the construction of community platforms. By building in new methods of moderation we can add accountability. This is not meant to say an automated system. Rather, large quantities of individuals will need to help in moderation. The easiest way for this to occur would be to develop social media platforms in the style of small tight knit communities. In this way moderation is local and communal. Communal is a keyword, as to keep power out of one single person who could abuse it. The perfection of a communal system would in turn come from the adjustment of human social behavior discussed prior to this solution.
By Design
Circular World
While I don't consider myself an overly liberal individual, it's my responsibility as a human (among humans) to look out for the state of our planet. Perhaps in my lifetime, that will extend outwards to the solar system. Regardless, we all share one Earth. On that one Earth we share nations, cities, communities, and our own short lives. This idea transcends ideology, it's an idea of moral and ethical obligation. The truth that some choices are not based on belief, but logic and compassion.
The Case of E-Waste:
What I named my ideal "circular world" after, the requirement for a "circular economy". E-Waste stands, to me personally, as a powerful example of human irresponsibility; short sightedness. Teddy has the foresight to recognize the plight of future generations... what they wouldn't have. What of the modern corporate power? The nation? The individual? What is legacy, wealth, and power if we have not a soul to pass them to? E-Waste represents a machine where everyone involved is the victim, including the corporation and the future generations.
The Use For Greed:
The key way to move forwards is to harness the general greed that causes humanity's greatest problems. An example of this exists within regulation. If one makes being green cheaper, suddenly corporations move in that way. In practice this has occurred for the automotive industry. Construct more efficient cars, curb fuel use and emissions. Such an action becomes the new cheapest path, and greed is harnessed to create innovation for a collective good. This is the role of a community of consumers, and their respective governments. By turning greed and corporate bodies into a precision tool we move forward without having to violently destroy an entrenched system. With loss of life, jobs, or prosperity we move in the right direction.
Works Cited
- All images provided by adobe's free photo service.
- Teddy Roosevelt Conservation: https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-and-conservation.htm
- "The One World Schoolhouse" by Salman Khan.
- "A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things" by Raj Patel & Jason W. Moore.
Credits:
Created with images by Broesis - "friendship fun backlighting" • congerdesign - "cup tee porcelain" • Ichigo121212 - "prison prison cell jail" • truthseeker08 - "hands teamwork team-spirit" • Septimiu - "puppet political cage" • tookapic - "work desk computer" • MARUF_RAHMAN - "e-waste e-waste management dhaka bangladesh" • qimono - "earth moon space"