(Source: Wikipedia)
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic Revolution was the first agricultural revolution. It was the wide-scale transition of many human cultures from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlement which supported an increasingly large population.
Approximate centres of origin of agriculture (various forms of plants and animal domestication) and its spread in prehistory:
Fertile Crescent, approx 11.000 years ago (9.000 BC),
Yangtze and Yellow River basins, approx 9.000 years ago (7.000 BC)
New Guinea Highlands, approx 9.000-6.000 years ago (7.000-4.000 BC)
Central Mexico, approx 5.000-4.000 years ago (3.000-2.000 BC),
Northern South America, approx 5.000-4.000 years ago (3.000-2.000 BC),
Sub-Saharan Africa (exact location unknown), approx 5.000-4.000 years ago (3.000-2.000 BC),
Eastern USA, approx 4.000-3.000 years ago (2.000-1.000 BC)
The Neolithic Revolution involved far more than the adoption of a limited set of food-producing techniques. During the next millennia it would transform the small and mobile groups of hunter-gatherers that had hitherto dominated human history into sedentary societies based in built-up villages and towns, which radically modified their natural environment by means of specialized food-crop cultivation (e.g. irrigation and food storage technologies) that allowed extensive surplus food production. These developments provided the basis for high population density settlements, specialized and complex labor diversification, trading economies, the development of non-portable art, architecture, and culture, centralized administrations and political structures, hierarchical ideologies, and depersonalized systems of knowledge (e.g., property regimes and writing). The first full-blown manifestation of the entire Neolithic complex is seen in the Middle Eastern Sumerian cities (ca. 3,500 BC), whose emergence also inaugurates the end of the prehistoric Neolithic period.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Approximate centres of origin of agriculture (various forms of plants and animal domestication) and its spread in prehistory:
Fertile Crescent, approx 11.000 years ago (9.000 BC),
Yangtze and Yellow River basins, approx 9.000 years ago (7.000 BC)
New Guinea Highlands, approx 9.000-6.000 years ago (7.000-4.000 BC)
Central Mexico, approx 5.000-4.000 years ago (3.000-2.000 BC),
Northern South America, approx 5.000-4.000 years ago (3.000-2.000 BC),
Sub-Saharan Africa (exact location unknown), approx 5.000-4.000 years ago (3.000-2.000 BC),
Eastern USA, approx 4.000-3.000 years ago (2.000-1.000 BC)
The Neolithic Revolution involved far more than the adoption of a limited set of food-producing techniques. During the next millennia it would transform the small and mobile groups of hunter-gatherers that had hitherto dominated human history into sedentary societies based in built-up villages and towns, which radically modified their natural environment by means of specialized food-crop cultivation (e.g. irrigation and food storage technologies) that allowed extensive surplus food production. These developments provided the basis for high population density settlements, specialized and complex labor diversification, trading economies, the development of non-portable art, architecture, and culture, centralized administrations and political structures, hierarchical ideologies, and depersonalized systems of knowledge (e.g., property regimes and writing). The first full-blown manifestation of the entire Neolithic complex is seen in the Middle Eastern Sumerian cities (ca. 3,500 BC), whose emergence also inaugurates the end of the prehistoric Neolithic period.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Fable symbolising the pitiless dark angel of human nature
A scorpion asks a frog to ferry it across a stream. The frog at first refuses, saying that it fears the scorpion will sting it. The scorpion assures the frog it will do no such thing. After all, it says, we will both perish if I stimg you. The frog consents, and halfway across the stream the scorpion stings the frog. Why did you do that, the frog asks as they both sink beneath the surface. It is my nature, the scorpion explains.
Team sports are a moral equivalent of War
People around the world, growing cautious of war and fearful of its consequnces, have turned increasingly to its moral equivalent in team sports. Their thirst for group membership and superiority of their group can be satisfied with victory by their warriors in clashes on ritualized battlefields.
(Edward O. Wilson, The social conquest of Earth)
(Edward O. Wilson, The social conquest of Earth)
Modern humans live in a complex system of interlocking tribes
Modern groups are psychologically equivalent to the tribes of ancient history and prehistory. The instinct that binds them together is the biological product of group selection.
The social world of each modern human is not a single tribe, but rather a system of interlocking tribes, among which it is often difficult to find a single compass. Examples of modern tribes people yearn to be part of include: an elite college, the executive committee of a company, a religious sect, a fraternity, a garden club or a combat marine regiment.
(Edward O. Wilson, The social conquest of earth)
The social world of each modern human is not a single tribe, but rather a system of interlocking tribes, among which it is often difficult to find a single compass. Examples of modern tribes people yearn to be part of include: an elite college, the executive committee of a company, a religious sect, a fraternity, a garden club or a combat marine regiment.
(Edward O. Wilson, The social conquest of earth)
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Klangschalen und die kosmische Oktave
Planetenfrequenzen
Hans Cousto entdeckte 1978 die Grundlagen der Planetentöne. Seine Idee der "Kosmischen Oktave" besagt, dass sich die Umlaufbahnen der Planeten in den hörbaren Bereich oktavieren lassen. Das Gesetz der Oktave lässt sich auf die Planetenumlaufbahnen anwenden. Deren unhörbarer Ton wird, teilweise über 20-30 Oktaven hinweg, in den hörbaren Bereich oktaviert.
Om-Ton
Eine Planetenschale, die mit dem Jahres-Ton schwingt, deren Klang also dem Umlauf der Erde um die Sonne und somit dem Erdenjahr entspricht, enfaltet eine beruhigende und entspannende Wirkung. Der Jahreston stimmt auch mi dem Grundton der irrdischen Musik, dem Sadja, überein.
Planeten-Töne
Die Grundlage für die Berechnung der Planetenfrequenzen wurde von dem Schweizer Mathematiker und Musikforscher Hans Cousto gelegt. Er hatte die Idee, die Frequenzen der Planetenumlaufbahnen zu berechnen und auf das Ergebnis das Gesetz der Oktave anzuwenden. Er hat so die mathematische Grundlage dafür geschaffen, die Klangschalen auf die Töne der Planeten auszumessen.
Planetenschalen
Es gibt Klangschalen, deren Töne in einem Oktavenverhältnis zu den Bahnfrequenzen der Planeten stehen. Diese Schalen befinden sich in Resonanz mit dem betreffenden Planeten.Ihre Schwingung entspricht der Planetenschwingung auf einer energetisch transformierten Ebene. Mit einer planetarischen Klangschale können also genau die Effekte erzielt werden, die dem Wirkungsprinzip des Planeten entsprechen.
Planetenklangschale
Planetenklangschalen sind handgearbeitete Klangschalen (Tibetische Klangschalen). Im Unterschied zu den "normalen" Klangschalen sind bei Planetenschalen die Töne/Frequenzen der Schale bekannt. Man hat herausgefunden, dass ein bestimmter Ton in einer Plantenklangschale immer die gleiche Wirkung auf den Menschen hat.
Die Kosmische Oktave - Der Weg zum universellen Einklang
Der Jahreston Cis mit 136,10Hz ist die 32. Oktave des Erdenjahres. Die dementsprechende Farbe (74. Oktave des Jahres) ist ein Türkis mit einer Wellenlänge von 500nm. Grundlage dieses Tones ist der Umlauf der Erde um die Sonne. Durch diese astronomische Gegebenheit kommt es auf der Erde zum Jahreslauf, den Jahreszeiten. Dies ist der zweite kosmische Rhythmus unseres Planeten. So wie der Tagesrhythmus primär auf den Körper wirkt, so wirkt der Wechsel der Jahreszeiten vorallem auf das Gemüt, die Sphäre des Herzens.
In Indien ist dieser Ton der Grundton der Sitar - und Tamburamusik und wird "Sadja" genannt, was soviel heißt wie: "Vater der Anderen". Auch die heilige Silbe "OM" wird auf diesen Ton eingestimmt, wie auch zumeist die religiöse Tempelmusik. Viele Glocken und andere Instrumente erklingen in diesem Ton.
Die alten Inder sind meditativ auf diesen Ton gekommen, er wurde ihnen durch ein "sich aus dem Kosmos öffnen" gegeben, intuitiv und kontemplativ. Unsereiner hat diesen Ton mathematisch-physikalisch hergeleitet. Die wirklich genaue Übereinstimmung der Ergebnisse beweisen einmal mehr, dass wir als Mikrokosmos in Resonanz zum Makrokosmos sind. Diese alte Behauptung lässt sich heutzutage sehr präzise naturwissenschaftlich beweisen.
Das Geheimnis der enormen Wirkung der irdischen Meditationsmusik liegt ganz einfach in der Tatsache, dass diese Eben ganz genau auf den Lauf der Dinge, das "Tao" eingestimmt ist. Das ist in diesem Fall der Lauf der Erde um die Sonne. So sind nicht nur Instrumente, sondern auch Musiker und Zuhörer nach der "Alapa", dem musikalischen Einstimm-Vorspiel auf diesen immerwährenden Ton, das Sadja, eingestimmt. Alle Beteiligten sind im Einklang mit dem Kosmos, der seinen Widerhall in den Menschen findet. Diese Sadja, auch kurz Sa genannt, ist nach indischer Überlieferung, der immerwährende, nie vergehende Ton und wird durch die Silbe "OM" zum Ausdruck gebracht. Das "OM" entspricht dem "Amen" in den christlichen Kirchen. Amen bedeutet ja nichts anderes als "so ist es".
Jeder kann das für sich selbst einfach nachprüfen, indem er original indische Meditationsmusik hört, oder auf diesen Ton meditiert, diesen Ton summt oder singt und auf sich wirken lässt, und schon spürt man die Kraft, die diesem Ton innewohnt.
Der Jahreston ist die beste Schwingung, um Energieblockaden aufzulösen, die alte Energie wieder in einen gesunden Fluss zu bringen und den Weg zum inneren Seelenfrieden wieder zu ebnen. Nur wer selbst auf diesen Ton meditiert hat, kann erahnen wie stark die entsprechende Wirkung dieser Schwingung ist und welche Ruhe in die Seele einkehrt, wenn man sich regelmäßig auf dieses "OM" einstimmt.
(Text aus: "Die Töne der kosmischen Oktave" von Hans Cousto)
Hans Cousto entdeckte 1978 die Grundlagen der Planetentöne. Seine Idee der "Kosmischen Oktave" besagt, dass sich die Umlaufbahnen der Planeten in den hörbaren Bereich oktavieren lassen. Das Gesetz der Oktave lässt sich auf die Planetenumlaufbahnen anwenden. Deren unhörbarer Ton wird, teilweise über 20-30 Oktaven hinweg, in den hörbaren Bereich oktaviert.
Om-Ton
Eine Planetenschale, die mit dem Jahres-Ton schwingt, deren Klang also dem Umlauf der Erde um die Sonne und somit dem Erdenjahr entspricht, enfaltet eine beruhigende und entspannende Wirkung. Der Jahreston stimmt auch mi dem Grundton der irrdischen Musik, dem Sadja, überein.
Planeten-Töne
Die Grundlage für die Berechnung der Planetenfrequenzen wurde von dem Schweizer Mathematiker und Musikforscher Hans Cousto gelegt. Er hatte die Idee, die Frequenzen der Planetenumlaufbahnen zu berechnen und auf das Ergebnis das Gesetz der Oktave anzuwenden. Er hat so die mathematische Grundlage dafür geschaffen, die Klangschalen auf die Töne der Planeten auszumessen.
Planetenschalen
Es gibt Klangschalen, deren Töne in einem Oktavenverhältnis zu den Bahnfrequenzen der Planeten stehen. Diese Schalen befinden sich in Resonanz mit dem betreffenden Planeten.Ihre Schwingung entspricht der Planetenschwingung auf einer energetisch transformierten Ebene. Mit einer planetarischen Klangschale können also genau die Effekte erzielt werden, die dem Wirkungsprinzip des Planeten entsprechen.
Planetenklangschale
Planetenklangschalen sind handgearbeitete Klangschalen (Tibetische Klangschalen). Im Unterschied zu den "normalen" Klangschalen sind bei Planetenschalen die Töne/Frequenzen der Schale bekannt. Man hat herausgefunden, dass ein bestimmter Ton in einer Plantenklangschale immer die gleiche Wirkung auf den Menschen hat.
Die Kosmische Oktave - Der Weg zum universellen Einklang
Der Jahreston Cis mit 136,10Hz ist die 32. Oktave des Erdenjahres. Die dementsprechende Farbe (74. Oktave des Jahres) ist ein Türkis mit einer Wellenlänge von 500nm. Grundlage dieses Tones ist der Umlauf der Erde um die Sonne. Durch diese astronomische Gegebenheit kommt es auf der Erde zum Jahreslauf, den Jahreszeiten. Dies ist der zweite kosmische Rhythmus unseres Planeten. So wie der Tagesrhythmus primär auf den Körper wirkt, so wirkt der Wechsel der Jahreszeiten vorallem auf das Gemüt, die Sphäre des Herzens.
In Indien ist dieser Ton der Grundton der Sitar - und Tamburamusik und wird "Sadja" genannt, was soviel heißt wie: "Vater der Anderen". Auch die heilige Silbe "OM" wird auf diesen Ton eingestimmt, wie auch zumeist die religiöse Tempelmusik. Viele Glocken und andere Instrumente erklingen in diesem Ton.
Die alten Inder sind meditativ auf diesen Ton gekommen, er wurde ihnen durch ein "sich aus dem Kosmos öffnen" gegeben, intuitiv und kontemplativ. Unsereiner hat diesen Ton mathematisch-physikalisch hergeleitet. Die wirklich genaue Übereinstimmung der Ergebnisse beweisen einmal mehr, dass wir als Mikrokosmos in Resonanz zum Makrokosmos sind. Diese alte Behauptung lässt sich heutzutage sehr präzise naturwissenschaftlich beweisen.
Das Geheimnis der enormen Wirkung der irdischen Meditationsmusik liegt ganz einfach in der Tatsache, dass diese Eben ganz genau auf den Lauf der Dinge, das "Tao" eingestimmt ist. Das ist in diesem Fall der Lauf der Erde um die Sonne. So sind nicht nur Instrumente, sondern auch Musiker und Zuhörer nach der "Alapa", dem musikalischen Einstimm-Vorspiel auf diesen immerwährenden Ton, das Sadja, eingestimmt. Alle Beteiligten sind im Einklang mit dem Kosmos, der seinen Widerhall in den Menschen findet. Diese Sadja, auch kurz Sa genannt, ist nach indischer Überlieferung, der immerwährende, nie vergehende Ton und wird durch die Silbe "OM" zum Ausdruck gebracht. Das "OM" entspricht dem "Amen" in den christlichen Kirchen. Amen bedeutet ja nichts anderes als "so ist es".
Jeder kann das für sich selbst einfach nachprüfen, indem er original indische Meditationsmusik hört, oder auf diesen Ton meditiert, diesen Ton summt oder singt und auf sich wirken lässt, und schon spürt man die Kraft, die diesem Ton innewohnt.
Der Jahreston ist die beste Schwingung, um Energieblockaden aufzulösen, die alte Energie wieder in einen gesunden Fluss zu bringen und den Weg zum inneren Seelenfrieden wieder zu ebnen. Nur wer selbst auf diesen Ton meditiert hat, kann erahnen wie stark die entsprechende Wirkung dieser Schwingung ist und welche Ruhe in die Seele einkehrt, wenn man sich regelmäßig auf dieses "OM" einstimmt.
(Text aus: "Die Töne der kosmischen Oktave" von Hans Cousto)
Dictyostelium - Complex Social Behaviour
The unicellular amoebae Dictyostelium provides an amazing example of altruism and self-sacrifice of the individual cells for the benefit of the group. It seems to have a group consciousness that is used to address problems (in this case shortage of food) which an individual would not be capable to solve.
When food (normally bacteria) is readily available they are individual amoebae, which feed and divide normally. However when the food supply is exhausted, they aggregate to form a multicellular assembly, called a pseudoplasmodium, grex, or slug (not to be confused with the gastropod mollusc called a slug). The slug has a definite anterior and posterior, responds to light and temperature gradients, and has the ability to migrate. Under the correct circumstances the slug matures forming a sporocarp (fruiting body) with a stalk supporting one or more sori (balls of spores). These spores are inactive cells protected by resistant cell walls, and become new amoebae once food is available.
(For further information refer to Dictyostelid on Wikipedia.)
If a unicellular creature is capable of showing such Complex Social Behavior in order to face important problems, what kinds of achievements would humanity be able to make, if we would only start to leave behind our individual ego-centric attitutes.
When food (normally bacteria) is readily available they are individual amoebae, which feed and divide normally. However when the food supply is exhausted, they aggregate to form a multicellular assembly, called a pseudoplasmodium, grex, or slug (not to be confused with the gastropod mollusc called a slug). The slug has a definite anterior and posterior, responds to light and temperature gradients, and has the ability to migrate. Under the correct circumstances the slug matures forming a sporocarp (fruiting body) with a stalk supporting one or more sori (balls of spores). These spores are inactive cells protected by resistant cell walls, and become new amoebae once food is available.
(For further information refer to Dictyostelid on Wikipedia.)
If a unicellular creature is capable of showing such Complex Social Behavior in order to face important problems, what kinds of achievements would humanity be able to make, if we would only start to leave behind our individual ego-centric attitutes.
Quantifying Sustainability
There has been a recent breakthrough in Complexity Theory, as Sustainability has become measurable with a single metric as an optimal balance between "efficiency" and "resilience".
The capacity for a system to undergo evolutionary change or self-organisation consists of two aspects: It must be capable of exercising sufficient directed power to maintain its integrity over time. Simultaneously, it must possess a reserve of flexible actions that can be used to meet the requirements of novel disturbances.
The "Capacity for System Development/Evolution" (C) - also "aggregate system indeterminacy" - can be decomposed into two different components: ( C = A + R )
The key point is: If we want to address the issues of persistence and sustainability, the system reserve (R) becomes the indispensible focus of the discussion, because it represents the "reserve" that allows the system to persist.
Systems with either vanishingly small ascendency or insignificant reserves are destined to perish before long. A system lacking ascendency has neither the extend of activity nor the internal organisation needed to survive. By contrast, systems that are so tightly constraint and honed into a particular environment are prone to collapse in the face of even minor novel disturbances. Systems that endure - meaning which are sustainable - lie somewhere between these extremes.
Sustainable Ecosystems all seem to exisist within a "window of vitality", which is created by four boundaries:
Examples of high and low diversity and interconnectivity in an natural ecosystem are:
It has yet to be investigated whether any sub-regions of the window of vitality might be preferred over others. It can be assumed that systems plotting too close to any of the four boundaries could be approaching their limits of stability for one reason or another. Under such consideration, the most conservative assumption would be that those systems most distant from the boundaries are those most likely to remain sustainable.
Available data on existing flow networks of natural ecosystems (e.g. Amazon, Serengeti Plain) allowed an empirical calculation of this optimum (highest likelyhood for the system to remain sustainable) at a=0,4596. This means that the system is most sustainable when System Ascendency ("Efficiency") represents 45,96% and System Reserve ("Resilience") accounts for the remaining 54,04% of the total Systems Capacity for Evolution ("Sustainability").
Systems can risk unsustainability in relation to this "optimum" on two accounts:
Reserve Capacities are necessary to sustain ecosystems. We need to be careful with maximizing efficiencies, as systems can become too efficient for their own good.
In particular the human population and its accompanying agro-ecology is rapitly displacing reserves of wild biosphere, driving the global ecosystem far beyond the optimum balance for sustainability. We need to conserve the diversity of biological processes if we want to sustain the biosphere, which is the system we as humans are living in and hence entirely depending on.
Also in economics we seem all too willing to sacrifice everything for an improved market efficiency. Establishing complementary currencies would be a systemic solution to increase the diversity and recreate a better balance toward a more sustainable economic system.
The dynamics described above are likely to also be applicable to other flow systems such as the stability of genetic control networks and the immune system.
(For further details see Robert E. Ulanowicz, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences, Quantifying Sustainability)
- Sustainability is the capacity to survive, to thrive and flourish in different environments and different contexts.
- Effiency - in case of natural ecosystems - is the capacity to process quantity of biomass (in other words: throughput).
- Resilience is the capacity to adapt to changes in the environment.
The capacity for a system to undergo evolutionary change or self-organisation consists of two aspects: It must be capable of exercising sufficient directed power to maintain its integrity over time. Simultaneously, it must possess a reserve of flexible actions that can be used to meet the requirements of novel disturbances.
The "Capacity for System Development/Evolution" (C) - also "aggregate system indeterminacy" - can be decomposed into two different components: ( C = A + R )
- The "System Ascendency (=Überlegenheit)" (A) - also "scaled average mutual constraint" - quantifies all that is regular, orderly, coherent and efficient. It encompasses all the concerns of conventional science.
- The "System Reserve" (R) - also "scaled conditional entropy" - represents the lack of those same attributes, or the irregular, disorderly, incoherent and inefficient behaviours. It quantifies and brings into scientic narrative a host of behaviours that had remained external to scientific discourse so far.
The key point is: If we want to address the issues of persistence and sustainability, the system reserve (R) becomes the indispensible focus of the discussion, because it represents the "reserve" that allows the system to persist.
Systems with either vanishingly small ascendency or insignificant reserves are destined to perish before long. A system lacking ascendency has neither the extend of activity nor the internal organisation needed to survive. By contrast, systems that are so tightly constraint and honed into a particular environment are prone to collapse in the face of even minor novel disturbances. Systems that endure - meaning which are sustainable - lie somewhere between these extremes.
Sustainable Ecosystems all seem to exisist within a "window of vitality", which is created by four boundaries:
- An upper and lower boundary of the "effective number of transfers a typical quantum of medium makes before it leaves the system" (or "diversity") as a transformed indicator of System Ascendency - and -
- An upper and lower boundary of the "effective connectivity" (or "interconnectivity") as a transformed indicator of System Reserve
Examples of high and low diversity and interconnectivity in an natural ecosystem are:
- Low Diversity: Monoculture Forests
- High Diversity: Rain Forests
- Low Interconnectivity: Pandas (eating only one specific type of bamboo)
- High Interconnectivity: Squirrel (eating almost everything it gets)
It has yet to be investigated whether any sub-regions of the window of vitality might be preferred over others. It can be assumed that systems plotting too close to any of the four boundaries could be approaching their limits of stability for one reason or another. Under such consideration, the most conservative assumption would be that those systems most distant from the boundaries are those most likely to remain sustainable.
Available data on existing flow networks of natural ecosystems (e.g. Amazon, Serengeti Plain) allowed an empirical calculation of this optimum (highest likelyhood for the system to remain sustainable) at a=0,4596. This means that the system is most sustainable when System Ascendency ("Efficiency") represents 45,96% and System Reserve ("Resilience") accounts for the remaining 54,04% of the total Systems Capacity for Evolution ("Sustainability").
Systems can risk unsustainability in relation to this "optimum" on two accounts:
- When a<0,4596 the system likely requires more coherence and efficiency. There may be insufficient or under-developed autocatalytic pathways that could give additional robustness to the system.
- When a>0,4596 the system might be over-developed or too tightly constrained. Some autocatalytic pathways may have taken up too many resources into their orbit, leaving the system with insufficient reserves to persist when new emergencies arise.
Reserve Capacities are necessary to sustain ecosystems. We need to be careful with maximizing efficiencies, as systems can become too efficient for their own good.
In particular the human population and its accompanying agro-ecology is rapitly displacing reserves of wild biosphere, driving the global ecosystem far beyond the optimum balance for sustainability. We need to conserve the diversity of biological processes if we want to sustain the biosphere, which is the system we as humans are living in and hence entirely depending on.
Also in economics we seem all too willing to sacrifice everything for an improved market efficiency. Establishing complementary currencies would be a systemic solution to increase the diversity and recreate a better balance toward a more sustainable economic system.
The dynamics described above are likely to also be applicable to other flow systems such as the stability of genetic control networks and the immune system.
(For further details see Robert E. Ulanowicz, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences, Quantifying Sustainability)
Monday, June 11, 2012
The origin of modern humanity...
The origin of modern humanity was a stroke of luck - good for our species for a while, but bad for most of the rest of life forever.
(Edward O. Wilson)
(Edward O. Wilson)
I'm so clever...
I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.
(Oscar Wilde)
(Oscar Wilde)
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Human Evolution - the road to eusociality
Recent research in diffferent disciplins of science is coming together to illuminate the evolutionary steps leading to the human condition. The reason why the human condition is a singularity is simply the extreme improbability of all the preadaptations necessary for it to occur at all. Homo sapiens is the only species of large mammal - thus large enough to evolve a human-sized brain - to have made every one of the required lucky turns in the evolutionary maze.
Only 10.000 years ago came the invention of agriculture, occuring at least eight times independently in the combined Old and New Worlds. Its adoption dramatically increased the food supply and, with it, the density of people on the land. This decisive advance unleashed exponential population growth and the conversion of most of the natural land environment into drastically simplified ecosystems.
(Edward O. Wilson, The social conquest of Earth)
- First preadaptation was the existence on land.
- Second preadaptation was a large body size.
Large size and relative immobility that predetermined the trajectory of mammalian evolution, as distinct from that of social insects. - Next preadaptation was the origin of grasping hands
Specialisation of the early primates to life in trees (70 - 80 million years ago).
Evolution of hands and feet build for grasping, particularly opposable thumbs and great toes.
Evolution of larger brains as accomodation to the relativ complex feeding behaviour and to the three-dimensional and open vegitation of their habitat.
Developed large eyes with color vision, placed forward on the head to give binocular vision and better sense of depth. - Next preadaptation was Bipedalism
When creatures evolved to live on ground, Bipedalism was adopted. Freeing hands and fingers from locomotion allowed prehumans to use them effectively in order to manipulate objects easily and skillfully.
Following their divergence in evolution from the chimp line, the prehumans - now distinguishable as a group of species called the australopithecines - took the trend to bipedal walking much further. Their body as a whole was refashioned: Legs were lengthened and straightened; pelvis formed a shallow bowl.
The body shed all of its hair and sweat glands were added everywhere allowing increased rapid cooling of the naked body surface.
The forelimbs were redesigned for flexibility in the manipulation of objects and the arm became efficient in throwing objects (including stones and later spears to kill at distance). - Next preadaptation was shift in diet
A substantial amount of meat, either from scavenged carcasses (=Kadaver) of larger prey brought down by other predators or from live animals hunted and killed, has been included to the previously vegetarian diet. Meat yields higher energy per gram eaten than does vegetation. - Next preadaptation was formation of highly organised groups
The advantages of cooperation in the harvesting of meat led to the formation of societies as large as possible within the local environment, consisting of extended families but also adoptees and allies. - Next preadaptation was control of fire
About a million years ago the controlled use of fire became a unique hominid achievement. Such control of fire improved the yield for meat, allowing more animals to be flushed and trapped. Animals killed in the fire were also often cooked by it. (In later evolution, the mastication and physiology of digestion evolved for specialisation on cooked meat and vegetables. Cooking became a universal human trait and the sharing of cooked meals became a universal means of social bonding.) - Next preadaptation was gathering at campsites (nests)
With meat, fire and cooking, gatherings of groups at campsites that lastet more than a few days at the time were persistent enough to be guarded as a refuge. These groups were composed of extended families and also - if surviving hunter-gatherer societies serve as a guide - included outsider women obtained by exchange for exogamous marriage (exogamy = marrying outside of a specific cultural and biological group). Such a nest, as it can also be called, that they defended from enemies, has been the precursor to all other known animal species that achieved eusociality. - Next preadaptation was division of labor
The inevitable result energing quickly out of all these preadaptations was a complex division of labor.
Only 10.000 years ago came the invention of agriculture, occuring at least eight times independently in the combined Old and New Worlds. Its adoption dramatically increased the food supply and, with it, the density of people on the land. This decisive advance unleashed exponential population growth and the conversion of most of the natural land environment into drastically simplified ecosystems.
(Edward O. Wilson, The social conquest of Earth)
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sodom / Lot / Salt Pillar
In the episode of Sodom in the book Genesis, Lot has been Haran's son and hence Abraham's nephew. When two Angels asked Lot and his family to flee from the city of Sodom before god would destroy the place due to it's immorality, Lot's wife looks back, although she was told not to, and therefore she was turned into a salt pillar. This is symbolically saying that if a person or society does not move on in their individual or collective evolution they can become crystallised and stuck in the past.
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
Four Journeys
First journey: The descent of Adam and Eve (humanity) from the World of Creation into matter (earthly World of Action)
Second journey: The physical, psychological and spiritual development (potentially over many reincarnations where the soul is reborn into a new body after death and a period of reflection)
Third journey: The aiding / helping others on the Path to Self-realisation
Final journey: The Resurrection at the End of Time, when all humanity returns to the Absolute, after having helped the Deity to perceive ITSELF in the complex mirrow of Existence.
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
Second journey: The physical, psychological and spiritual development (potentially over many reincarnations where the soul is reborn into a new body after death and a period of reflection)
Third journey: The aiding / helping others on the Path to Self-realisation
Final journey: The Resurrection at the End of Time, when all humanity returns to the Absolute, after having helped the Deity to perceive ITSELF in the complex mirrow of Existence.
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
Abram / Abraham
With the story of Abraham there is a shift in the bible from myth and legend to history. From here on the bible weaves esoteric principles with actual events. Abram, a well educated urban man from the trade, industrial and cultural city of Ur (in todays Iraq) who learnt about the most advanced religious, philosophical and scientific ideas of the time, did not believe in the idols his father sold in his shop. After studying the array of Mesopotamian gods, Abram concluded there must be an Absolute Deity who governed the whole of Existence. Triggered by a dream telling him to go to a distant country, Abram moves out to discover the Ultimate. This beginning of a journey symbolises the first step on a very long spiritual search. Whilst Abram reaches far away places, he started to realise the journey is not a horizontal (from one place to the other), but a vertical (deep into himself). When this realisation occurs, an individual is ready for an initiation into what is called the "Way" or "Path". Abram meets Melchizedek (Enoch), a supernatural being, who awakens Abram's soul by giving him the theory and practice of the Teaching ("Hidden Wisdom") around 4000 years ago. After being given the secrets of Existence, Abram was renamed Abraham, which means "Father of many people".
The significance of the twelve tribes was their representation of the twelve types of soul that make up humanity. Abraham, who was familiar with astrology as a study of the psyche and its destiny, knew that the Sun, Moon and planetary gods were just angelic servants of the Absolute and not the ultimate arbiters of fate (=Lenker des Schicksals).
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
The significance of the twelve tribes was their representation of the twelve types of soul that make up humanity. Abraham, who was familiar with astrology as a study of the psyche and its destiny, knew that the Sun, Moon and planetary gods were just angelic servants of the Absolute and not the ultimate arbiters of fate (=Lenker des Schicksals).
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
Enoch / Metatron / Melchizedek / Elijah
Originally Melchizedek was known as Enoch, which means "the Initiate". In the bible Enoch was the only righteous (=rechtschaffend, redlich) man of an earlier and wicked generation. Enoch spend much time alone in deep meditation to avoid contact with this evil society. During meditation, Enoch was taken up, out of the body, to see the Higher Worlds, their structures, processes and their inhabitants. During one spiritual excursion, he was lifted into the highest and Divine realm and was shown secrets of which even the archangels had no knowledge. The whole history of humanity was reveiled to Enoch and he was instructed to found the first School of Soul (esoteric tradition). Many ancient cultures refer to a mysterious founder who strongly resembles Enoch. When Enochs mission on Earth was complete he was taken up into Heaven, without going through the process of death, and transfigured into a human archangelic called Metatron. Enoch / Metatron, as a human with archangelic powers, is a master of time and space, which can go anywhere and enter any period to aid and instruct worthy individuals. He filled the place vacated by Lucifer when it rebelled against God. Enoch / Metatron was the first fully Self-realised individual. Whilst Enoch / Metatron appeared as Melchizedek in Abrams case, he later manifested as Elijah. In other cultures he is known as Thot (Egypt), Hermes Trismegistus (Greek) and Fu Xi or Fu Hsi (China).
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
Passing on of the Teaching...
The teaching has been passed on from...
Enoch/Metatron/Melchizedek to
Abram/Abraham to
Isaac (son of Abraham)to
Jacob/Israel (son of Isaac, brother of Esau) to
Levi (one of Jacobs sons) to
Moses (who was born into the tribe of Levi) to
the new priesthood (after Mount Sinai revelation) to
the Judges and Prophets to
more mystical rabbis (with the destruction of the second temple in Roman period 70 AD)
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
Enoch/Metatron/Melchizedek to
Abram/Abraham to
Isaac (son of Abraham)to
Jacob/Israel (son of Isaac, brother of Esau) to
Levi (one of Jacobs sons) to
Moses (who was born into the tribe of Levi) to
the new priesthood (after Mount Sinai revelation) to
the Judges and Prophets to
more mystical rabbis (with the destruction of the second temple in Roman period 70 AD)
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
The role of Lucifer
The role of Lucifer / Satan / The Dark Principle
The angelics preceded Adam. The Archangels are the birds which inhabit the airy World of Creation whilst the Angels are the fish of the sea who exist in the watery World of Formation. Lucifer - the highest archangel and "Bearer of Light" (=Träger des Lichtes) - was affronted (=beleidigt, erzürnt) by the arrival of Adam on the Sixt Day. How could a latecomer like Adam could take precedence over Lucifer, the head of all angelics? The Creator, anticipating Luzifers reaction, arranged a contest between Adam and Lucifer in front of the whole Heavenly Host in order to decide who had the greater power. Both contestants were asked to give a name to every species that was to appear on Earth (in the World of Action). For that contest, the Creator allowed each angelic to choose who they would support, meaning on that Day the angelics were allowed to go beyond their 'usual' cosmic function and exercise free will.
Lucifer proudly believed he could easily outwit this human contender Adam for the prime position in the universe. During the contest, Adam had no problem giving names to the animals as only humanity - the most complete image of God - had the gift of creativity. Lucifer did not have this creativity, which revealed that Lucifer was no more than a brilliant cosmic civil servant who knew all the rules but had no imagination. Lucifer was humiliated (=erniedrgt, gedemütigt) before the whole celestial company and those angelics who supported Lucifer were outranged. As result a third of the Heavenly Host rebelled and departed Heaven with Lucifer as their leader, railing against God as they retreated into the depths and extreme edges of Existence, becoming the host of demons by their own choice. The Holy One - like a wise parent designing a plot in which the children will produce an inevitable result - set up this situation because a cosmic destructive factor was needed to destroy corruption, degradation and waste within Existence. The role of Lucifer, now called Satan the Tester, was to oppose humanity so as to test their integrity. Without resistance, challenges and opposition, Adam and Eve (humanity) could not find out what they were and were not meant to do. This is the reason for evil. Satan is the Dark principle that can arise within an individual or community.
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
The angelics preceded Adam. The Archangels are the birds which inhabit the airy World of Creation whilst the Angels are the fish of the sea who exist in the watery World of Formation. Lucifer - the highest archangel and "Bearer of Light" (=Träger des Lichtes) - was affronted (=beleidigt, erzürnt) by the arrival of Adam on the Sixt Day. How could a latecomer like Adam could take precedence over Lucifer, the head of all angelics? The Creator, anticipating Luzifers reaction, arranged a contest between Adam and Lucifer in front of the whole Heavenly Host in order to decide who had the greater power. Both contestants were asked to give a name to every species that was to appear on Earth (in the World of Action). For that contest, the Creator allowed each angelic to choose who they would support, meaning on that Day the angelics were allowed to go beyond their 'usual' cosmic function and exercise free will.
Lucifer proudly believed he could easily outwit this human contender Adam for the prime position in the universe. During the contest, Adam had no problem giving names to the animals as only humanity - the most complete image of God - had the gift of creativity. Lucifer did not have this creativity, which revealed that Lucifer was no more than a brilliant cosmic civil servant who knew all the rules but had no imagination. Lucifer was humiliated (=erniedrgt, gedemütigt) before the whole celestial company and those angelics who supported Lucifer were outranged. As result a third of the Heavenly Host rebelled and departed Heaven with Lucifer as their leader, railing against God as they retreated into the depths and extreme edges of Existence, becoming the host of demons by their own choice. The Holy One - like a wise parent designing a plot in which the children will produce an inevitable result - set up this situation because a cosmic destructive factor was needed to destroy corruption, degradation and waste within Existence. The role of Lucifer, now called Satan the Tester, was to oppose humanity so as to test their integrity. Without resistance, challenges and opposition, Adam and Eve (humanity) could not find out what they were and were not meant to do. This is the reason for evil. Satan is the Dark principle that can arise within an individual or community.
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
The four Worlds of Existence
The four Worlds of Existence:
World of Emanation
World of Creation
World of Formation
World of Action
World of Emanation / Fiery World / Azilut
The first stage of the manifestation of Existence (World of emanation) begins with the emergence of space out of NO-THING-NESS. The Absolute is withdrawing into ITSELF in order to allow existence to come into being. Into this void were emanated ten Devine Numbers / Devine Principles (sefirot) which represented the major laws that were to govern all the worlds and their inhabitants. (see also Figures 23 & 24)
World of Creation / Airy World / Beriah
Then the spiritual level of Creation emerged. In a cosmic process Fire (light), Air, Water and Earth are organised into an ordered cosmos, in which three different levels of creatures can exist. The Bible tells that Adam was brought forth on the Sixt Day of Creation with the significant comment that "they" were created "in the image of god" - the spiritual Adam was a composite entity, male and female. At this point all are still spiritual essences.
World of Formation / Watery World / Yezirah
Then comes the world of Formation or Eden. This is the realm of the soul. Here Eve, the female principle, was separated from the side of Adam. Eve was to be Adam's psychological complement or soul mate. The stories of Adam and Eve in the Garden Eden are mythological, which means that they describe important events prior to humanity's descent into matter. This is a clear statement that mankind pre-existed its terrestrial form. The fourth and lowest world of Action was brought into being on the Sixt Day of Creation but it is, at this point, as yet only a creative idea. The material realm only fully manifested later in form and matter.
World of Action / Earthly World / Asiyyah
Then comes the material world of Action after the Big Bang brought the physical universe into being. By putting on "coats of skin", as the bible states, Adam and Eve entered the lowest of the four worlds and become incarnate.
Only humans can enter and exist simultaneously in all the worlds. Natural and supernatural beings are confined to their respective realities. (What can an ape know of metaphysics or an angel understand about being in debt?)
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
World of Emanation
World of Creation
World of Formation
World of Action
World of Emanation / Fiery World / Azilut
The first stage of the manifestation of Existence (World of emanation) begins with the emergence of space out of NO-THING-NESS. The Absolute is withdrawing into ITSELF in order to allow existence to come into being. Into this void were emanated ten Devine Numbers / Devine Principles (sefirot) which represented the major laws that were to govern all the worlds and their inhabitants. (see also Figures 23 & 24)
World of Creation / Airy World / Beriah
Then the spiritual level of Creation emerged. In a cosmic process Fire (light), Air, Water and Earth are organised into an ordered cosmos, in which three different levels of creatures can exist. The Bible tells that Adam was brought forth on the Sixt Day of Creation with the significant comment that "they" were created "in the image of god" - the spiritual Adam was a composite entity, male and female. At this point all are still spiritual essences.
World of Formation / Watery World / Yezirah
Then comes the world of Formation or Eden. This is the realm of the soul. Here Eve, the female principle, was separated from the side of Adam. Eve was to be Adam's psychological complement or soul mate. The stories of Adam and Eve in the Garden Eden are mythological, which means that they describe important events prior to humanity's descent into matter. This is a clear statement that mankind pre-existed its terrestrial form. The fourth and lowest world of Action was brought into being on the Sixt Day of Creation but it is, at this point, as yet only a creative idea. The material realm only fully manifested later in form and matter.
World of Action / Earthly World / Asiyyah
Then comes the material world of Action after the Big Bang brought the physical universe into being. By putting on "coats of skin", as the bible states, Adam and Eve entered the lowest of the four worlds and become incarnate.
Only humans can enter and exist simultaneously in all the worlds. Natural and supernatural beings are confined to their respective realities. (What can an ape know of metaphysics or an angel understand about being in debt?)
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
The World of Kabbalah
The Hebrew word Kabbalah in essence means to be "receptive" or "to receive".
Kabbalah is the esoteric dimension of Judaism. Kabbalah deals with the origin and purpose of Existence and the objective of the Absolute in the drama of creation.
In earlier times Jewish mystics were also known as "Those who know the field", meaning Existence. (-> analogy "field" = "existence")
The purpose of existence, according to Kabbalah, is that God wishes to behold God in the process of the universe's evolution and the self-realisation of humanity which is the instrument by which such an event can come about. (Existence = Macrocosm; Humanity = Microcosm)
Jacob's Ladder is Kabbalah's metaphysical and mythodological picture of existence.
Kabbalah is the inner teaching and the term Kabbalah has first been used
in medieval Spain by 11th century Spanish Jewish philosopher, poet amd mystic Solomon Ibn Gabriol. Whilst by the medieval period many different forms of this esoteric aspect of the teaching had evolved, all drew upon a central core, which is based upon the Bible, especially the first chapter of Genesis. To these were added many myths and legends, not included in the Biblical canon, which deepened the understanding of the text.
The bible has four levels at which it can be comprehended:
literal level of understanding (lowest level)
symbolic level of understanding
metaphysical level of understanding
direct mystical experience ( highest level of understanding)
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
Kabbalah is the esoteric dimension of Judaism. Kabbalah deals with the origin and purpose of Existence and the objective of the Absolute in the drama of creation.
In earlier times Jewish mystics were also known as "Those who know the field", meaning Existence. (-> analogy "field" = "existence")
The purpose of existence, according to Kabbalah, is that God wishes to behold God in the process of the universe's evolution and the self-realisation of humanity which is the instrument by which such an event can come about. (Existence = Macrocosm; Humanity = Microcosm)
Jacob's Ladder is Kabbalah's metaphysical and mythodological picture of existence.
Kabbalah is the inner teaching and the term Kabbalah has first been used
in medieval Spain by 11th century Spanish Jewish philosopher, poet amd mystic Solomon Ibn Gabriol. Whilst by the medieval period many different forms of this esoteric aspect of the teaching had evolved, all drew upon a central core, which is based upon the Bible, especially the first chapter of Genesis. To these were added many myths and legends, not included in the Biblical canon, which deepened the understanding of the text.
The bible has four levels at which it can be comprehended:
literal level of understanding (lowest level)
symbolic level of understanding
metaphysical level of understanding
direct mystical experience ( highest level of understanding)
(Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, Introduction to The World of Kabbalah)
Different pace in evolution of species impacts Biosphere
The pace of evolution of ants and termites (over 100 million years) was slow enough to be balanced by counterevolution in the rest if life. As a result, insects were not able to tear down the rest of the terrestrial biosphere by force of numbers, but became vital elements of it. The ecosystems they dominate today are not only sustainable but depend on them.
In sharp contrast, human beings of the single species Homo Sapiens emerged in the last several hundred thousand years and spread around the world only during the last sixty thousand years. There was no time for us to coevolve with the rest of the biosphere. Other species were not prepared for the onslaught. This shortfall soon had dire consequences for the rest of life.
(Edward O. Wilson, The social conquest of Earth)
In sharp contrast, human beings of the single species Homo Sapiens emerged in the last several hundred thousand years and spread around the world only during the last sixty thousand years. There was no time for us to coevolve with the rest of the biosphere. Other species were not prepared for the onslaught. This shortfall soon had dire consequences for the rest of life.
(Edward O. Wilson, The social conquest of Earth)
The Scientific Discovery of the origin and meaning of humanity
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
These are the central problems of religion and philosophy.
The Creation Myth is a Darwinian device for survival.
Mythmaking by itself could never discover the origin and meaning of humanity. But the reverse is possible: The discovery of the origin and meaning of humanity might explain the origin and meaning of myths, hence the core of organized religion.
Consciousness, having evolved over millions of years, was not designed for self-exermination. It was designed for survival and reproduction.
What science promises, and has already delivered in part, is the following: There is a real creation story of humanity, and one only, and it is not a myth. It is being worked out and tested, and enriched and strengthened, step by step.
(Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth)
These are the central problems of religion and philosophy.
The Creation Myth is a Darwinian device for survival.
Mythmaking by itself could never discover the origin and meaning of humanity. But the reverse is possible: The discovery of the origin and meaning of humanity might explain the origin and meaning of myths, hence the core of organized religion.
Consciousness, having evolved over millions of years, was not designed for self-exermination. It was designed for survival and reproduction.
What science promises, and has already delivered in part, is the following: There is a real creation story of humanity, and one only, and it is not a myth. It is being worked out and tested, and enriched and strengthened, step by step.
(Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth)
Our world today is an interesting mix
We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.
We are terribly confused by the mere fact of our existence, and we are a danger to ourselves and to the rest of life.
(Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth)
We are terribly confused by the mere fact of our existence, and we are a danger to ourselves and to the rest of life.
(Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth)
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Money and Sustainability: The Missing Link
Money and Sustainability: The Missing Link
by Bernard Lietaer, Christian Arnsperger, Sally Goerner and Stefan Brunnhuber
Summary:
The inescapable, compelling conclusion of this report and what it unequivocally demonstrates is that a structural monetary flaw – an unintentional defect in the very manner in which money is created – is generating the disconcerting array of problems we are being called to address. Greece has become the Achilles' heel of Europe, and may force us to deal with this issue more urgently than most people expect.
Our world is being confronted by various unprecedented challenges including a two-fold sustainability crisis:
It must be acknowledged that modern money should be credited with igniting an explosion of entrepreneurial and scientific innovation without historical precedent. However, a recent breakthrough in determining the conditions of stability of any complex flow network has scientifically proven, as published in five different peer-reviewed journals, why a monoculture of a single type of currency is structurally unstable.
Even when the monetary system is working normally, there are five characteristics which trigger behaviours that are directly incompatible with sustainability:
In the context of the Greek crisis, Deutsche Bank proposed this week, for the first time, a systemic solution, instead of the symptom alleviation approaches which have been the hallmark of the Eurozone crisis until now. The “Geuro” would be a complementary currency circulating in parallel with the Euro, activating and gradually restoring a competitive internal economy in Greece. The only missing piece in this “Geuro” proposal is the role of taxes.
The systemic purpose of taxes is to give value to a currency that otherwise has no intrinsic value. That is true also for all fiat currencies including the euro today: it is the requirement by governments that taxes be paid in euros that creates the systemic demand for euros. We propose that cities or regions request contributions payable only in this complementary currency, which would generate a Keynesian stimulus, but from the bottom up, without creating additional debt.
The Report outlines eight other examples of innovative monetary or cooperative currency systems that can all work in parallel with conventional bank-debt money, and by their design can counterbalance the negative effects of the conventional system. Among the issues that these new systems address we can mention healthcare, education, funding entrepreneurs, climate change, employment, cleaning up neighbourhoods, all without further burdening governments that are currently cash-strapped. New platforms for conducting commerce are now available through mobile phones, which are very cost effective and in which transactions can be made transparent to their users.
In closing, it would be naïve to think that currency innovations are magic bullets to solve all our current and future problems. However, the report proves that rethinking our money is a necessary ingredient in any effective solution. We can no longer afford to overlook new currencies as the ‘Missing Link’ that can promote sustainability rather than undermining it at every turn.
See Bernard Lietaer presenting his ideas of multiple currencies:
Money and sustainability: The Missing Link
Bernard Lietaer, Christian Arnsperger, Sally Goerner and Stefan Brunnhuber
216 pages ISBN 9781908009-7-53 £24
Triarchy Press Ltd.
+44 (0)1297 631456
caroline@triarchypress.com
by Bernard Lietaer, Christian Arnsperger, Sally Goerner and Stefan Brunnhuber
Summary:
The inescapable, compelling conclusion of this report and what it unequivocally demonstrates is that a structural monetary flaw – an unintentional defect in the very manner in which money is created – is generating the disconcerting array of problems we are being called to address. Greece has become the Achilles' heel of Europe, and may force us to deal with this issue more urgently than most people expect.
Our world is being confronted by various unprecedented challenges including a two-fold sustainability crisis:
- On one hand, climate change, rising greenhouse gas emissions and spikes in food and energy prices signal that our ways of producing and consuming goods and services have become unsustainable.
- On the other, repeated financial and monetary crises remind us that our money system has its own problems. The ongoing euro-zone crisis is only the latest one in a long series. According to IMF data, between 1970 and 2010, 72 countries went through a sovereign debt crisis (Greece is # 73), and 145 banking collapses. In addition, there were 208 monetary crashes. That brings the grand total of 425 systemic crises, i.e. an average of more than ten countries in crisis every year! The consequences in terms of unemployment, lost economic output, societal disruption and widespread human suffering are dramatic.
It must be acknowledged that modern money should be credited with igniting an explosion of entrepreneurial and scientific innovation without historical precedent. However, a recent breakthrough in determining the conditions of stability of any complex flow network has scientifically proven, as published in five different peer-reviewed journals, why a monoculture of a single type of currency is structurally unstable.
Even when the monetary system is working normally, there are five characteristics which trigger behaviours that are directly incompatible with sustainability:
- Amplification of boom and bust cycles: Banks provide or withhold funding to the same sectors or countries at the same time, thus amplifying the business cycle towards boom or bust.
- Short-term thinking: ‘Discounted cash flow’ is standard practice in any investment evaluation. Since bank-debt money carries interest, the discounting of all future costs or incomes inevitably tends to lead to short-term thinking.
- Compulsory growth: The process of compound interest or interest on interest imposes exponential growth on the economy. Yet exponential growth is, by definition, unsustainable in a finite world.
- Concentration of wealth: Another consequence of positive interest rates whereby the middle class is disappearing worldwide, with most of the wealth flowing to the top and increasing rates of poverty at the bottom. Such inequalities generate a broad range of social problems and are also detrimental to economic growth. Beyond the economic issue, the very survival of democracy may be at stake.
- Devaluation of social capital: This is built on mutual trust and results in collaborative action.
In the context of the Greek crisis, Deutsche Bank proposed this week, for the first time, a systemic solution, instead of the symptom alleviation approaches which have been the hallmark of the Eurozone crisis until now. The “Geuro” would be a complementary currency circulating in parallel with the Euro, activating and gradually restoring a competitive internal economy in Greece. The only missing piece in this “Geuro” proposal is the role of taxes.
The systemic purpose of taxes is to give value to a currency that otherwise has no intrinsic value. That is true also for all fiat currencies including the euro today: it is the requirement by governments that taxes be paid in euros that creates the systemic demand for euros. We propose that cities or regions request contributions payable only in this complementary currency, which would generate a Keynesian stimulus, but from the bottom up, without creating additional debt.
The Report outlines eight other examples of innovative monetary or cooperative currency systems that can all work in parallel with conventional bank-debt money, and by their design can counterbalance the negative effects of the conventional system. Among the issues that these new systems address we can mention healthcare, education, funding entrepreneurs, climate change, employment, cleaning up neighbourhoods, all without further burdening governments that are currently cash-strapped. New platforms for conducting commerce are now available through mobile phones, which are very cost effective and in which transactions can be made transparent to their users.
In closing, it would be naïve to think that currency innovations are magic bullets to solve all our current and future problems. However, the report proves that rethinking our money is a necessary ingredient in any effective solution. We can no longer afford to overlook new currencies as the ‘Missing Link’ that can promote sustainability rather than undermining it at every turn.
See Bernard Lietaer presenting his ideas of multiple currencies:
Money and sustainability: The Missing Link
Bernard Lietaer, Christian Arnsperger, Sally Goerner and Stefan Brunnhuber
216 pages ISBN 9781908009-7-53 £24
Triarchy Press Ltd.
+44 (0)1297 631456
caroline@triarchypress.com
Live in harmony with yourself
He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.
(Marcus Aurelius)
(Marcus Aurelius)
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Es gibt höhere Ziele als die Zerstörung in der Gegenwart
Wissen um das Wesentliche gewinnt man nicht von außen, sondern nur von innen und auch erst, wenn man dafür reif ist. Reif wird man nur durch die Erneuerung des Denkens, im Geiste der Einheit und der Liebe. Zu allen Zeiten waren die Wenigen, die ein besseres Leben möglich machten, es verkündeten und danach strebten, die eigentliche Seele der Menschheit. In welche Richtung sie auch geht, die Menschheit kann diese Pioniere, die meist alles entbehren, nicht entbehren. Sie fühlt sogar in ihrer stummen Gegenwart, was sie ihnen verdankt und wäre es nur die Tatsache, daß es höhere Ziele gibt als die Zerstörung in der Gegenwart.
(Emerson)
(Emerson)
Great spirits and mediocre minds
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
(Albert Einstein)
(Albert Einstein)
Optical delusion of consciousness
A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe", a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
You are one. We are one.
(Albert Einstein)
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
You are one. We are one.
(Albert Einstein)
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