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I think we have to check in with ourselves now and then on this question. The first thing we have to do is check our assumptions on the health of the systems we are working in or with.
- Do our systems appear to be in good working order? Uh, well, that’s an easy one.
- Do our systems appear to be salvageable? More difficult for sure.
I have noticed in our work with clients that more and more of our Baseline scenarios (present trends continued) are on a Collapse trajectory. Remember that in our view Collapse does not necessarily mean the Apocalypse but can also be thought of as stuck in severe dysfunction.
Our focus here on After Capitalism starts from the Baseline of Neoliberal Capitalism.
- Is Capitalism in good working order?
- Is Capitalism salvageable?
Assume that you have answered “no” to one or all of the questions above. Now what? The thought occurred during a convening last week on the future of sustainability. There was this bizarre moment when the participants catalogued the process of developing an idea and the almost surreal labyrinth it has to go through to get funding. Something like: idea, propose, partner, fund, coalition, community, align, study, analyze, publish, pilot, advocate, policy, scale. It can take years. I marveled at the persistence this requires. But I couldn’t help but wonder – is that worth the effort? If the system is crumbling, why put all that energy into it? Is that energy better spent building the new?
I don’t think it has to be either/or, but I do think we should consider the balance of working within the system or working outside the system. How do you answer? – Andy Hines
In a growing complex world, systems thinking is so important for making an accurate assessment. For most of the world, they do not think in those terms that can have a significant, adverse impact. To identify the elements within a system is a good starting point added by how each element interacts leading to outcome(s). By making that decomposition to the component level, you can assess them to identify the “chinks in the armor”. Sound pretty basic but only wish more would apply systems thinking to the major issues that confront us.