Macroshift

Navigating the Transformation to a Sustainable World

Ervin Laszlo

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 1994
• Print ISBN:
  9781576751633
• eBook ISBN:
  9781609943660
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Economía
• Subtopic: Economía del desarrollo

We live in the midst of one of the greatest technological revolutions in history, an era of deep-seated transformation-a macroshift in civilization, says preeminent scholar and futurist Ervin Laszlo. Its signs and manifestations are all around us, from the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic sweeping Africa and the dangerous fire-trap sweatshops routinely killing workers in Bangladesh, to the environmental havoc created by genetic engineering, power plant pollution and mechanized agriculture. The application of new technologies has turned into a double-edged sword. The world is growing together in some respects, but is coming apart in others. Worldwide economic globalization, another sign of the macroshift, all too often benefits the few rather than the many. Hundreds of millions live at a higher material standard of living, but thousands of millions are pressed into abject poverty. The richest 20% earn ninety times the income of the poorest 20%, consume eleven times as much energy, and eat eleven times as much meat. There have been other macroshifts in human history, but they spanned centuries, allowing cultural values, beliefs, and change to occur gradually. Today, technology has reduced our time to adapt; the entire critical period of change is compressed into the lifetime of a generation. Today's macroshift, explains Laszlo, harbors great promise, as well as grave danger. He outlines two possible scenarios: "The Breakdown," where we choose to drift without a change in our current direction toward chaos, anarchy, and destruction, or "The Breakthrough," where we collectively transform our thinking and behavior to produce creative, sustainable solutions to dangerous global problems. And he shows what each of us can do-politically, professionally, and privately-to bring about the Breakthrough and shape a humane and sustainable global future. While technology is what drives the unprecedented speed of this macroshift, it is our vision, values, and actions now that will ultimately determine the outcome. The choice is up to us-the power is in our hands.

Index

---

advertising, 112

AFGB, 129

Africa, 74

air degradation, 36

Alexander, 21

alienation, 162

alternative cultures, 129

alternative medicine, 115

Anglo-Saxon pragmatism, 74

animal liberation, 82

animism, 19, 74

antiglobalization movement, 7, 48, 161

apartment culture, 53

Aquinas, Thomas, 22

arete, 22

art, 133, 141, 165, 167

astronauts, 140, 151

Augustine, 22

Augustine, Norman, x

authenticity, 133

authority, 126, 161

automobiles, 86

Balkans, 72

Bangladesh, 128

Barefoot College of Rajasthan, 128

beliefs, 19, 21, 59. see also values

lesser beliefs, 68

principle malign myths, 61

Bell, Alexander Graham, x

Ben & Jerry’s, 94

Benor, Daniel, 193

Bernal, J. D., xiii

Berry, Thomas, 124, 152

Bhavani Vasundhara, 149

bifurcations, 9, 11, 109

biology, 179

blind watchmaker theory, 185

Body Shop, The, 94

Bohm, David, 176

Bohr, Nils, 175, 176

Bosnia, 73

Boulding, Kenneth, 98

Braud, William, 193

Brazil, 89

breakdown phase, 13, 15, 26, 29, 47

breakthrough phase, 13, 15, 26, 29, 49– 50

Bridges, Robert, xiii

British National Health Service, 193

Bruno, Giordano, 23

Buddha, 75

Buddhism, 74

build up phase, 25, 27

business, 167

health and viability, 169

business partners, 95

business responsibilities, 91, 145

butterfly effects, 10

Byzantine Empire, 22

California Institute of Integral Studies, 123

Campbell, Joseph, 71

Cano...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Preface
• I: World in Macroshift
• II: The New Imperatives
• III: The Way Ahead
• Twelve Comments by Members of the Club of Budapest:
• Postscript
• References & Further Reading
• Index
• About the Author
• About the Club of Budapest
• Japan Peace Prize Commemorative Address