10 Global Values That Are Old and Stale, and How to Replace Them
Scillia Elworthy
Huffington Post, 23 April 2014
Two hundred and thirty remarkable people from North and South gathered in Reykjavik from April 9-12 to share actions for effective change on the issue of “the power of love and compassion in governance.”
CONCLUSION:
I presented the gathering with 10 values or norms that have governed our (Western) actions for centuries, and which have contributed to the state of the planet today, and then proposed what we can replace each one with the kind of values that could enable better decisions — decisions that could get us out of the mess we're in:
I presented the gathering with 10 values or norms that have governed our (Western) actions for centuries, and which have contributed to the state of the planet today, and then proposed what we can replace each one with the kind of values that could enable better decisions — decisions that could get us out of the mess we're in:
- (old value) “Humans have the right to do as we like with the Earth” — replace with “humans become responsible stewards of the Earth, in order to preserve its beauty and diversity.”
- (old value) “Science and the rational mind are what matter most” — replace with “the human body, mind, feelings and soul are all one, interacting constantly, and the entire package is consciousness.”
- (stale value) “Continuing economic growth is essential” is replaced with “growth in consciousness is now more urgent.”
- “Survival of the fittest” — so dated — becomes “it's more efficient to replace competition with co-operation for the greater good.”
- “Good fences make good neighbors” becomes “building trust is the most effective and least costly form of security available today.”
- “Might makes right” is replaced with “common security is safer and cheaper than an international system based on weapons and superior power.”
- “Short-termism is fine” becomes “our decisions now take account of future generations, as the oldest indigenous traditions have told us for centuries.”
- “The technical fix will always be invented in time to resolve serious problems” gives way to “the greater intelligence is not only available to us here and now, but is infinitely more powerful than human intelligence.”
- “Women are too emotional to deal with the real issues of business and world affairs” fades away, because “the capacities of the deep feminine and the deep masculine — in both men and women — are now seen as vital for human survival on the planet”.
- “Consuming is our right” (and our addiction!) gives way to the realization that “what we really desire is to satisfy the human need for meaning and beauty.”
