Category: Social change

A transformation of some fundamental process or structure within a society.

Tipping points need Paradigm Shifts: Paradigm Shifts are Tipping Points

March 16, 2014

If you are familiar with the history of science you have probably heard of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.  In it, Thomas Kuhn describes how science progresses not by gradual evolution but by revolutionary transitions or “paradigm shifts” between “normal science” and new models of reality.  Normal science chips away at small areas of ignorance … More Tipping points need Paradigm Shifts: Paradigm Shifts are Tipping Points

Necessary but Unlikely Total Mobilization to Curtail Climate Chaos

February 13, 2014

The inevitability of climate chaos leading to species extinction of humans, along with many other species, now seems assured without massive mobilization and collective action on a scale never before achieved by humans.  Necessary but seemingly impossible – that is not a comforting thought.  Yet, here we are, contemplating whether or not the president will … More Necessary but Unlikely Total Mobilization to Curtail Climate Chaos

The Great Jobs Myth and the Transformation of the Growth Economy, Part II

February 4, 2014

The pervasive acceptance of conventional economic theory as a “natural science” that gives us guidance for dealing with our economic lives is one of the biggest obstacles to understanding and making rational choices about the converging crises of our time.  Simply put, the fundamental flaw in conventional economics is that the economic system it promotes … More The Great Jobs Myth and the Transformation of the Growth Economy, Part II

“A Revolution of Values” is What It Will Take to Humanize the Coming Great Transformation

January 26, 2014

Martin Luther King referred several times to the need for “a revolution of values,” in his speech, “Beyond Viet Nam,” April 4th, 1967, at Riverside Church in New York, a year before he was assassinated,.  I listened again as it was replayed on Martin Luther King Day, 2014, forty-seven years later. That speech had been … More “A Revolution of Values” is What It Will Take to Humanize the Coming Great Transformation

What It Will Take: Living in a World We Made But Never Expected to See, Part III

January 18, 2014

The economics profession provides the ideology, the corporations fund the politicians and their lobbyists write the legislation, the congress formalizes the legal cover and the stacked courts confirm it, the Federal Reserve provides the “fractional reserve” lending authority, and the Wall Street “Masters of the Universe” direct capital to drive the endless-growth economy that is … More What It Will Take: Living in a World We Made But Never Expected to See, Part III

What It Will Take: Living in a World We Made But Never Expected to See, Part I

January 8, 2014

For most of us the world we see around us is “normal.”  We see little difference between the natural, social, and economic worlds – they are mostly one experience.  We are born into cities, suburbs, small towns, and (rarely anymore) farms.  We see history through the limited scope of textbooks once read as required and … More What It Will Take: Living in a World We Made But Never Expected to See, Part I

Individualism and Its Discontents

November 30, 2013

Why Our Culture Keeps Us from the Pursuit of Happiness Individualism may be the most entrenched and pervasive icon of American civilization.  After all, personal liberty was one of the founding principles of the republic formed in rebellion against the oppressive rule of the British monarchy and its economic elite.  Rarely mentioned, however, is the … More Individualism and Its Discontents