THE
PROFESSIONAL WORLD CENTER
FOR
STRATEGY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT –
FOR
LIFE IN STATE OF CHANGE
Leslaw
Michnowski[1]
Al. 3 Maja 2 m. 164, 00-391 Warszawa,
Poland
tel/fax: +48 22 7681019,
+48601264164
kte@psl.org.pl elmamba@poczta.onet.pl
Contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Some information and
ethic conditions of long-sighted development policy
3.
The
sustainable development in the view of the System of Life
4.
The
essence of the global crisis and basic conditions of the sustainable
development
5.
The information basis for
sustainable development
6.
For
sustainable development - computer simulation aided world multilevel governance
is essential
7.
Conclusions
8.
End notes
9.
Bibliography
10. Figures
1.
Introduction
World
is in the socioeconomic and (nature) environmental crisis. To avoid global
catastrophe we ought to know what is the essence of this crisis and what are
the main causes of it. We ought to understand also the essence of process of
development of the world society and know consecutive transformations
(qualitative changes) of socioeconomic relations, which are indispensable to
adapt these relations to challenges of the high science and technology era.
To
overcome this global crisis, adapt our civilization to the state of change (in
life-conditions – conditions of life) and achieve the sustainable development of
the world society, it is especially necessary to change methods of shaping
policy into methods based on wisdom.
In state
of change, for wisdom policy we need:
-
a knowledge of complex and future results of
human activity and other changes in life-conditions, and
-
the ecohumanistic value system.
Ecohumanism is a
partnership-based co-operation for the common good of all people (rich and
poor, from countries highly developed and behind in development), their
descendants, and natural environment - commonly supported by science and high
technology.
Therefore
we ought to create a possibility of forecasting and measurable evaluating
socioeconomic activity effects and other changes in life–conditions. This will
allow us to change nowadays egoistic (self-interests) economy into
ecohumanistic economy (eco-economy) - based on FEED FORWARD, common good,
account of complex profits and costs with its social and nature elements and
ecosocial justice. This new, ecohumanistic economy will allow to substitute of
intellectual evolution for - nowadays crisis generating, very ecosocially
expensive and informational inefficient – social Darwinism.
With
this end in view a large-scale international science, technology and social
operation for creation of information basis for sustainable development and
popular and common use of such global information system should be
undertaken.
Adapting of
socioeconomic relations to demands of high technology and achieving the
sustainable development needs multilevel subsidiarity governance, including
global governance (CIA, 2000)..
For ecohumanistic overcoming the global crisis with
help of information basis for sustainable development I propose, inter alia, to
create by the UN professional World Center for Strategy of Sustainable
Development.
I also propose - for proper governance (based on
system thinking) - a conceptual model of real world: System of Life (SoL). The
SoL reflects common properties and structural features of systems: man –
technology – environment (social and/or natural). It also reflects the process
of life of such systems and its general consecutive transformations. The SoL
includes static as well as dynamic properties and structural features of these
systems.
The SoL shows us qualitative changes in:
-
infrastructure,
-
control(governance)-subsystem and
-
value system,
which are necessary for supporting of development of different forms of
such life(living)-systems.
The SoL shows us also the changes in human needs
realized together with socioeconomic development. The SoL can help us to
understand essence of global crisis and find methods of it overcoming.
2.
Some information and ethic conditions of long-sighted
development policy
The
necessity of world information system follows that we are living now in state of
change (in life-conditions). The changes in conditions of human and natural life (access to resources, state of natural environment, technology,
electromagnetic field, food, the range of growth of human destructiveness of
natural environment, other external conditions of life, and so on) occur
nowadays very rapidly. It is mainly the result of science and technology
progress: In the course of the last
century, industrial production (of
world economy - L. M.) increased 50 times, of which four-fifths took place
after 1950 (Brundtland, 1987),
These dates were confirmed: The pace of change is reaching an extraordinary rate,
driven in part by technological innovation.(…)
To illustrate, growth in the world economy during the year 2000 exceeded
that during the entire nineteenth century. (…) The sevenfold growth in global
output of goods and services since 1950 dwarfs anything in history.(Brown,
2001).
As a result of such big pace
of change, existing forms of life (politics, technology, value systems, economics,
production and consumption patterns, and so on) – that were fitted to previous
life-conditions – rapidly are getting obsolete, morally aged.
When the changes in state of
social and natural environment are going so rapidly, we must change the methods
of development policy. The model of shaping policy adequate to the state of
change – see figure 1 (Sage, 1977).
These days the proper policy
should be based on systems thinking, computer simulation of their future
effects, access to the information reflecting real world and value system
adequate to actual state of system changed as a result of policy. It means that
to live in state of change we must build in socioeconomic relations quite new,
additional feed back system – FEED FORWARD.
The
information reflecting real world consists of:
-
statistical
dates,
-
science and
empirical knowledge, including conceptual model of real world.
-
predictions
of effects of policy of other subjects of socioeconomic life and predictions of
effects of other changes in state of an environment.
For introducing into the
practice aforementioned model - (figure 1), indispensable for shaping
sustainable development policy - we especially need global governance. We need
also conceptual model of the real world – for understanding life-processes and
the essence of systems we interfere them with our policy.
3. The sustainable development in the view of the System of Life
For
proper governance we need at least two conceptual models:
-
a general homomorphic conceptual model (GHCM), and
-
a detailed conceptual model (DCM).
The
GHCM should include universal science concerning the real world changed as a
result of governance, together with a general systems theory, general
cybernetics (including general information theory and theory of life-process),
and other adequate general and/or philosophical knowledge. The GHCM is
especially essential to determine the currently existing constraints of changes
and a proper value system.
The DCM, coherent with the GHCM,
should reflect, also in a conceptual way, the basic interrelationships that
exist in specific objects of policy (for example, factories, corporations,
states, communities of states, ecosystems, etc.) and between these objects and
their environment. We usually already know how to create the DCMs. But we need
also GHCM. We have got a lot of elements to create such a general model, but we
have to synthesize these elements in one, appropriate, cognition tool.
I have undertaken the task of
building such a GHCM (General Homomorphic Conceptual Model) and I called it: A
System
of Life (Michnowski, 1995).
The System of Life (SoL)
reflects common properties and structural features of the systems: man –
technology - environment (social and/or natural – SMTE, figure 2), their sub-systems
(especially systems: man – technology) and over-systems.
It reflects life-system’s
feedbacks. It also reflects the logic of process of life of systems of this
kind. The SoL includes static as well as dynamic properties and structural features
of such systems. Below I will present some fragments of SoL, which allow me to
justify the main conclusions of this paper.
The
SoL treats the system: man – technology – environment, as a life-system (living
system). In the same way it treats the system: man – technology (SMT) and the
environment of the SMT. The life of every life-system (individual, social,
ecological, ecosocial) depends on the life of environment, its relevant form
and quality.
The life-system is open (and
general) (Bertalanffy, 1952, 1968 figure 2), autonomous (Mazur, 1999),
self-organizing, anticipative, developing information (Michnowski, 1989),
figure 3), and dynamic (Forrester, 1961) system. Therefore it has a possibility
of homeostasis (Bertalanffy, 1968).
Life-system is capable of
creating life – producing negentropy and minimizing entropy - for itself and
the environment. The life-system also has a possibility of defending its life
and, what is of general value, cooperating for the support of its own life and
the life of the environment. The quality of the life-system is measured, in
conceptual way, by its level of information.
Between the level of
information and the level of entropy of the life system there exist the
following interrelationships:
i = A(n)1/s,
where:
i is the level of information (Wiener, 1971) – conceptual measure
of level of development,
s is the level of entropy
(s = k ln W), and
n is the number of elements
of the life-system.
In the SoL, entropy is a conceptual measure not only of the level of
disorganization but also of the development-reserves.
Every life-system is
different from another life-system. Putting life-system to the death means
lowering diversity of its over-system. Proper diversity of the over-system is
the source of its synergetic development.
The process of life depends on changes in the structure of
set(system): life-system – environment, that supports own life and life of
environment of life-system. The process of life is irreversible. Reversible
changes results in growth of entropy.
The main goal of life-system
is supporting of life in the set(system): life-system – environment, by
maximizing level of information in above set. It is conditional upon
developmental growth of life-system.
Every act of life-system for
system and environment is followed by two quite different results: positive
(negentropy effect), and negative (entropy effect). When the production of
negentropy exceeds the production of entropy the life system develops. The
stream of energy (in a wider sense) which leaves the life-system (as an open
system) is - from the point of view of the leaving-system - degraded, but the
same energy can be the factor of life of another outer life-system. Therefore
by proper differentiation of subsystems it is possible not only to decrease the
range of growth of the entropy of the life-system, but even to get a synergetic
effect of (symbiosis form) cooperation.
There are two different kinds
of entropy and negentropy processes: parametric and structural. Parametric
entropy process (physical destruction) is a kind of destruction of life-system
which needs - for the elimination of its negative consequences - simply the
rebuilding of the old, physically destroyed forms of the life-system. The structural entropy process (not physical,
but moral destruction, ageing,
obsolescence, outdatedness,
getting obsolete) is a destruction of the life-system, which needs - for the
elimination its negative consequences - the construction of quite new forms of
life-systems adequate to the new life conditions. More technology progress
results in a greater moral destruction of even physically not destroyed forms
of life.
The development of the life-system depends on proper changing
time-space configurations of the elements of the system: life-system - environment, in that getting maturity of
existing system’s elements and integrated them into its new subsystems relevant
to life-needs of the system (and/or its environment). During the development
process new feedbacks are added to existing feedbacks. It allow to put up
informational efficiency of life-system and access to the new (existing yet)
sources of intellectual-material life-resources.
The life span of the
life-system is finite, but not determined, and it depends on the level of information
of the life-system. The higher level of information, the lower level of
consumption of life-resources and/or higher level of efficiency of creativity
of life-system is. The higher level of information, the higher level of
life-potential of life-system, including potential of life-defense and creative
cooperation is.
The structure of the
life-system consists of:
-
hardware, software and
orgware (figure 4),
-
elite, non–elite and inner
life-resources, and
-
a control(governance, homeostat)-subsystem
(including information subsystem) and a technology (labor) subsystem.
The orgware is a set of
feedbacks that join software and hardware elements of the life-system in an
acting whole as well as join the life-system with the environment.
The control-subsystem
(homeostat) consists of successively
added – together with development – elements such as
-
an information field (the
basis of natural homeostasis, and intuition),
-
elite, and
-
common, collective (elite and non-elite) consciousness of the
life-system.
The process of life of the
life-system consists of its two qualitatively different forms: normal, i.e.
development (figures 5 and 9), or pathological, i.e. crisis (figures 6 and 9).
This process goes through
various phases and stages.
There are two kinds of
development process of life-system: “at the cost of the environment” and
“together with the environment”. Young life-system normally develops “at the
cost of the environment”. Matured one develops “together with the environment”
(Michnowski, 1994).
During the process of life,
software and hardware are changing practically continuously, but the orgware is
changing discreetly, periodically – from time to time.
When the life-system
develops
-
the amount of its elements
and its inertia grows,
-
its structure differentiates,
-
the quality of life of its
subsystems grow,
-
its reserves of
life-resources grows,
-
its life span (durability)
grows, and
-
the level of information
rises.
When the life-system is in crisis:
-
its quality deteriorates,
-
the quality of life of its
subsystems is decreasing,
-
its inner life-resources are
decreasing,
-
its life span is decreasing,
and
-
it approaches a death limit.
The growth of quality of life
of subsystems is described by growth of their biological and external creative
life span. The external creative period of life is, when life-system “gives”
more than “takes” from environment.
The main cause of crisis of
life-system is its development (and over-inertia) without proper transformation
of orgware, or underdevelopment of the life-system. The crisis is mainly a
result of decreasing, with the old orgware, the possibility of developmental
access to external life resources and/or lack of possibility to gather
life-resources.
The first phase (of every
stage) of development depends mainly on proper creation of a new orgware fitted
to the new stage of development. The second phase – accelerated by proper
orgware - is a rapid development of software
and hardware of the life-system. The third phase, which slows down the pace of
development - as a result of moral ageing of the existing orgware that is now
less fitted to the new hardware, software and/or state of environment of the
life-system. In the third phase, new elements are created which help transform
the old orgware form into a new one, fitted to the new inner and outer
conditions of life and support development of the life-system. When the old –
morally aged - orgware form stops developing, the stage of development is
finished. After that the life-system enters with its proper transformation a
new stage of development or – without such transformation - crisis.
The first phase of the crisis
is quiet, invisible. The level of information of the life-system decreases in a
not too visible form. This regressive stability is a result of the stabilizing
activity of the stronger part of the
system, which is materially interested in life determined by the old orgware.
If not interrupted, this phase brings the life-system to a death limit.
The second phase of the
crisis features instability of the life-system, which is a result of the
defensive activity of a part of the
system, being either mostly menaced by the influence of the old orgware or
understands the deathly consequences of life without building a new, proper
form of the orgware. During this phase the system increases its quality
periodically and for only a short time. This is a result of partial destruction
of the old orgware combined with access to resources that were, till then, inaccessible.
The longer the crisis
persists, the more life-resources are depleted. Therefore, in the second phase
of the crisis the system also approaches a death limit.
The second phase of the
crisis can more easily be overcome. In this phase it is possible to combine
wisdom and defensive activity of the elite with spontaneous defensive activity
of non-elite of the life-system. If in the second phase of the crisis the
life-system does not find a proper way of transformation of the old form of
orgware to a new one, it will enter the third phase
The third phase of the crisis
is again stable. It results from pathological governance. In this phase a new,
but pathological, orgware is built. This new orgware allows conservation of
life of the life-system by destroying life of the social or natural
environment, or by limiting access to deficit resources for the weaker part of
own life-system. For some time the life–system upgrades its quality, but this
tendency is short-term. If the crisis is not overcome by the end of the third
phase, the system will enter a new stage in the crisis.
The essence of the crisis of
the life-system depends on the lack of ability to access outer life resources
combined with the lack of skill to support the life of the (near and/or distant)
environment. The more developed (and inert) the life-system is, the more
long-sighted, anticipative it should be for life in a changed environment. The
main cause of the crisis is the underdevelopment of its control-subsystem
(homeostat).
For sustainable development
we ought to know the logic of transformations indispensable for supporting
development.
Every life-system has its
relative limits to normal growth. After reaching these limits its further
development is conditioned upon proper change of its orgware, including the
control-subsystem, value system and/or its synergetic integration with another
system or systems (figure 7).
Development of life-system is
conditional upon developmental changes of its control-subsystem, which allow
its higher long-sightedness and flexibility. When the inertia of the
life-system reaches some maximum level, the control-subsystem must be changed.
A new form of the control-subsystem (homeostat) should enlarge the strategic
horizons of the life-system and divide the process of realization its life
supporting policy among a larger number of decision-makers. This enlargement is
therefore connected with sharing the access to the information base and other
information technologies
In accordance with the SoL,
the control-subsystem (including an information subsystem as basis for proper
control) of the life-system is developmentally changed in the following
consecutive stages (figure 8):
1 – dispersed,
2 – centralized,
3 – organic, and
4 – communal.
When the control-subsystem of
the life-system is dispersed,
cooperation between its subsystems depends on spontaneous self-organization .
The knowledge needed to govern is in the possession of life-system subsystems.
Governance based on a centralized principle depends on
one-directional access to information resources available by the life system.
The elite (or pathological pseudo-elite) - the strongest subsystem that
controls systems activity - use these resources for life-system governance.
This control system needs big creative potential of a dominating
control-subsystem.
Organic governance is based on a
subsidiary principle. At the upper level governance deals with control problems
that are difficult to be resolved at subordinated levels. The higher the level
of governance is, the more long-sighted it becomes. The information base is
also centralized, but it is accessed according to the needs of subordinate
levels.
Communal governance depends on commonly accessible information
base and technology used for life-control (homeostasis). Every decision in
common policy is done independently, but it is based on the knowledge of its
future results and future results of activity of other subsystems of the
life-system, as well as of the environment.
The more developed is the
control-subsystem (governance, homeostat), the more successfully innovators and
decision-makers dealing for common good realize the support of life of the
life-system and the environment.
Another kind of developmental
transformations is connected with changes of value system.
The life-system can - during
the period of its existence - occur only in eight quite different life-states
(figure 9).
Four of them are normal,
developmental life-states, and other four are pathological. These states are
described by a tendency that concerns such items as
-
the quality of life of elite
(of the life-system),
-
the quality of life of
pseudo-elite,
-
the quality of life of
non-elite,
-
the level of inner
life-resources, and
-
the relation to the
environment.
Here
are – in consecutive order – developmental life-states of the life-system :
I -
egalitarian stagnation
II -
elitist growth
III -
non-elitist growth, and
IV -
eco-development.
In the egalitarian stagnation life-state – the first stage of life and
development – the life-system does not have its elite. In this state the system
is externally constructive. It means that its outer impacts support the life of
the environment. The reason for its existence is the growth of the quality of
life of its units(subsystems) . The system, however, is not able to gather
reserves of life resources and increase its durability. The main homeostatic
item is the life-system information field. When the growing life-system
exhausts its potential for supporting life of the environment, it collapses or
goes through elitist transformation.
As a result of this
transformation, in the life-system there arise its elite and the system forms
an elitist growth life-state. The
life-system in this state is externally destructive. The elite stop development of the non-elite,
which is treated by the elite mainly as a form of technology. Reserves of the
life-system resources continue to increase. The durability of the system is
also increasing. The main reason for the homeostasis is the elite of the
system. But when system that is growing up becomes excessively inert and the
expanded elite is becoming so strong that it can destroy the non-elite, the
life system should start to transform itself into the next normal - non-elitist
life-state. Therefore, the life-system goes through non-elitist transformation.
The
life-system in a non-elitist growth life-state continues to be externally
destructive. It still lives at the cost of the environment. In this state,
durability and the quality of life of the elite as well as that of the
non-elite of the system increase. Here the main homeostatic item are ethically
matured elite supported by collective (elite and non-elite) consciousness of
the life-system. But the increased potential of destruction of the environment
leads to the threat of the destruction of the environment – the basis of
life-resources for the life-system. When also the increased intensity of moral
degradation stems development it is necessary to make the next, ecodevelopmental transformation.
The system in an eco-development life-state
is externally as well as internally constructive. It increases the quality of
life of the elite and non-elite of the systems, and helps the environment
to develop. The homeostasis of the
system is based on its fully developed homeostat that acts harmonically with
the homeostat of the environment. It allows the system to be long-sighted,
anticipative and flexible. The system draws upon reserves of life-resources
especially needed for the elimination of unpredictable threats .
All these three sustainable
development transformations feature the following characteristics.
They are made properly when
(as a result of the previous stage of development):
-
the system is excessively
inert, and
-
there arises a threat of the
destruction of the environment of the life-system and/or of the life-system
elite.
The main feature of these
transformations is a change in the life-system value system and the
strengthening of its homeostat. Information efficiency rises. The transformation
depends on the change in the structure of the life-system by the creation of an
additional set of feedbacks that make it possible to enlarge the creative and
defensive potential of the system. As a result of proper transformation the
life-system becomes more efficient, long-sighted, flexible, reserve-creative,
environment friendly, and gets access to new life-resources.
When proper transformation is
not made the system enters a crisis and builds up a pathological life-state.
There are four pathological states of life:
- regressive
stagnation,
- regressive
growth,
- pseudo-elitist
stagnation, and
- regression.
The
system in a regressive stagnation life-state of is externally destructive. It
decreases its durability. In a short run it increases the quality of life of
its elite and non-elite. It lives at the cost of its future generations.
The
system in a regressive growth
life-state is externally constructive. It increases its durability and the
quality of life only of its pseudo-elite, whereas it decreases the quality of
life of its elite and non-elite. The pseudo-elite grow at the cost of the
weaker parts of the system, depriving them from their life-resources, even
bringing them to death.
The
system in a pseudo-elitist stagnation
life-state is also externally constructive. It increases the quality of life of
the pseudo-elite, whereas it decreases its durability and the quality of life
of the elite and non-elite. The weaker parts of the pseudo-elite are introduced
into non-elite.
The
system in a state of regression is
externally as well as internally destructive. It decreases its durability and
the quality of life of the elite, pseudo-elite and non-elite of the system, and
runs on low life-resources.
The regression
of the life-state exists as a separate stage of the pathological form of the
process of life or as the last part of the first phase of other stages of the
crisis. Other pathological life-states are formed in the third phase of the
crisis.
As a result
of the crisis – and pathological life-states - the life-system can
- be immediately
destroyed, or
- enter a
pathological life-state, or
- enter again a
normal life-state and restore development.
The
life-system that has entered a crisis after the state of elitist growth, and
cannot return to its normal life-state, successively passing through crisis
stages – gives shape to the following
pathological life-states
1 - regressive
stagnation,
2 - regressive
growth,
3 - pseudo-elitist
stagnation, being slowly destroyed, or
4 - regression –
when it is immediately destroyed (figure 10).
The
crisis means – as yet mentioned above - that the operation of the
control-subsystem (homeostat) is faulty.
To increase the potential of homeostasis
by building collective consciousness it is necessary to let people step up on
the “ladder of human needs” (figure 11).
Human needs are changed
together with the level of access of individuals or societies to
life-resources, technology, and information - in the following way:
1 – the need to possess life in a biological sense, as
well as to have access to life-resources necessary for life,
II – the need to possess technology that allows to
reduce costs of life and making life-supporting activity more efficient,
III – the need to increase the use of own intellectual
potential in the life-supporting activity,
VI – the need to support own
intellectual creativity by social
cooperation and access to outer
and collective sources of information,
V – the need to cooperate in world governing for the
common good.
By
stepping up on this “human needs ladder” the life-system multiplies its
creative potential and activity that support own life and the life of the
environment.
When developing environment
of life-system is externally creative, life-system can develop in the way of
externally destructiveness. When environment is in the state of regression
and/or internally destructive the development of life-system must be creative
not only internally, but also externally.
The life-system can be a
creator of life (own and that of the environment), as well as of technology or
simple life-resources for stronger life-systems in their surroundings. The
function that life-system fulfils in its over-system and the way in which its
acts depends on its creative and defensive potential and life-conditions in the
surroundings.
When one life-system acts on
another life-system by supporting its life, the reaction of this latter system
is also positive. When one life-system acts on another life-system by damaging
its life, the reaction is negative. The force of such a reaction depends on the
creative- and defensive- life potential of the reacting system.
The behavior of life systems
depends also on their access to life-resources and differences in the
creative-life potential.
If two life-systems, one of
them stronger and another weaker, exist in the situation of accessibility to
life resources, the stronger one use the weaker as technology.
If two life-systems exist
deprived of their life-resources, the stronger one causes the weaker one to die
and takes over its resources.
If two life–systems of the
same creative potential exist deprived of their life-resources, they start to
cooperate to get access to new resources.
The above described
cooperation is also possible between strong and weak life-systems, if the
destruction of the weaker one leads to the death of the stronger one - but only
when the stronger has the knowledge of such a danger.
This is the SoL basis on
which we can more precisely define the notion of sustainable development (figure 5 and 9). Sustainable development is
a kind of development that is not interrupted by periodically occurring crises
– heavily destroying life-resources. In the era of globalization a global
crisis can easily evolve into a global catastrophe. Sustainable development
depends on properly, in anticipatory way made transformations of the orgware of
the life-system, long preceded by relevant development of software and
hardware.
It means that the present-day
concept of sustainable development is not only ideal for proper governance, but
also lays down an essential condition for survival of humankind.
4.
The essence of the global crisis and basic conditions of the sustainable
development
In accordance with mentioned above conceptual
model, the world society is in the crisis from the beginning of the twentieth
century. Nowadays we are in the second stage of the crisis, probably just
before of its third phase (figure 10). This crisis is - from about 1970 - the
global crisis, because nowadays also in the crisis – in the state of regression
- is the natural environment. The natural environment has not so big
life-potential, which is necessary to rebuild itself - without the help of
world society - in the form proper to support life of natural environment and
human beings.
The
main cause of global crisis is rapidly pacing moral destruction (getting
obsolete) of existing forms of life not fitted to the new life-conditions.
Negative effects of this destruction are not eliminated by ecohumanistic
innovative activity. Also physical destruction of global ecosystem (Earth,
system: world society – natural environment), goes rapidly, as a result of morally aged social-Darwinism, which is
the base for short-sighted, egoistic economy.
The world society and its economics is over inert
relatively to nowadays, out-dated form of world society
control(governance)-subsystem. We have no governance and value system adequate
to the state of change. The short-sightedness and egoistic value system are
mainly a result of underdevelopment of information subsystem of the world
society. Our economy is also not adequate to state of change. This economy do
not include into accounting complex and long-range effects of socioeconomic
activity – together with external (socio-nature) effects. This economy do not
stimulate for common good creative activity. This economy allows getting money
by matured subjects at the cost of social and natural environment – without
creative, especially innovative, activity.
The
world society is not enough flexible. We have not created possibility to lead
sustainable development policy according to Sage’s model – figure 1. We do not
understand correctly the essence of life and environmental conditions of
mutual, symbiotic life supporting. We do not know yet – in policy practice -
irreversible law of life. We do not know complex and long-term effects of our
socioeconomic activity. We have no possibility to predict and value in
measurable way changes in life-conditions. We have no possibility to eliminate
forecasted dangers in anticipatory way. We have no possibility to create
reserves of intellectual-material resources, which might be necessary to avoid
catastrophes that were not predicted.
We destroy thoughtlessly socio-, bio- and geo-diversity – the base of
development and life-reserves for Unknown.
But
we have yet high science and technology, that are necessary to overcome this
crisis and achieve the sustainable development. For this end we have to lower a
range of physical destruction of global ecosystem (i.e. human and nature) and
get skill of efficient overcoming the negative effects of moral destruction of
existing forms of life, which are not fitted to the new and rapidly changing
life-condition.
For better understanding above tasks we might remind the
figure 2. The world society is represented here by the system:
man(control-subsystem) – technology(labor-subsystem) (SMT). When the level of
science-technology development was low, the external destructiveness of world
socioeconomic activity was lower than external constructiveness of the
developing natural environment. Therefore the natural environment could then
rebuild itself into the form convenient for the world society. It was the
result of natural homeostasis. In that time input energy (in larger sense, from
environment) was generally unchanged.
In
such conditions the development of the world society could depend on natural
form of evolution, even – “social-Darwinism”. It was possible then to create in
excess new forms of life by a process of “trial and error” and select them by
putting to the death “unfitted”. When environment could not be destroyed by
young, weak SMT, it was unnecessary to account external costs of socioeconomic
activity. We needn’t have to conserve our environment, to care about it. We
could then live and get mature “at the cost of the environment”.
The
first task in social development was to create strong and wise elite – the
important factor of global homeostasis and future development of the world
society (figure 9). Therefore it was possible then to treat weaker parts of
human family as technology for realization this main developmental task.
Nowadays,
in state of change (as a result of big science and technology progress) we are
living in a quite different situation. The natural environment is permanently
destabilized and is in the state of regression. As a result of it the
shape(form) of input energy (figure 2) is also changing permanently. Our future
life depends than on getting ability of:
-
more
efficient using of nowadays accessible resources,
-
access
in adequate time to new sources of resources, and
-
support
life of our environment.
Therefore
we should get skill to adapt properly our forms of life, especially our orgware
to such new and permanently changed external life conditions - to the state of
change. We cannot do this adaptation by means of “trial and error”, i.e.
social-Darwinism methods. We must base this adaptation on the knowledge about
the future life-conditions and other effects of developmental policy.
Because
the results of such acts of adaptation are inevitably - even considerably -
delayed, then we must do changes in orgware in anticipatory way. If change of
orgware is not enough to adapt us to new life-condition we ought to prepare
also proper software and hardware that will be necessary to life in changed
life-conditions.
Therefore
we have to predict changes in state of environment (including access to deficit
resources and other dangers) and change our forms of life before new forms of
environment causes socioeconomic damages, even big catastrophes.
It
is only the first (linked to the left side of figure 2 – input-energy) part of
adaptation to life in state of change. The second part is linked with our
out-put energy: from SMT to environment.
In
SoL approach the environment is - as and we are – also the life-system. Our
life depends then on the life, high quality and proper form of environment.
This environment is self-organizing system, with skill to defend its life and
cooperate for common good. Therefore we ought to change our impacts on the
environment – from destructive to constructive one. We must create such forms
of production and consumption, which allow supporting our life as well as life of the environment. We must restore
symbiosis form of mutual relations between humanity and natural environment.
All our wastes should be used as a means of supporting life of nature environment.
It is not all for permanent socioeconomic life and development in state of
change. Our environment is changing. Therefore we should know the future needs
of life of our environment. For life in the state of change we have to know not
only changes in input impacts of environment, but also its future life-needs.
And on such bases of prediction we ought to change - permanently and in
anticipatory way – our forms of life for fitting them to permanently changing
life-conditions.
Realization
of these tasks is conditioned upon substitution of intellectual evolution for -
nowadays dominating in socioeconomic life – social-Darwinism. Intellectual
evolution means initial selection of new forms of life done (by means of
popularly used computer simulation) in
“virtual reality” instead of in practice.
It
means not only the necessity to develop world information and education
subsystem that allow such prediction and simulation. It means also necessity of
change our value system into ecohumanistic one.
Ecohumanism is a
partnership-based co-operation for the common good of all people (rich and
poor, from countries highly developed and behind in development), their
descendants, and natural environment - commonly supported by science and high
technology.
Without
such qualitatively new - ecohumanistic, symbiosis - social and socio-nature
relations, it is impossible to avoid global catastrophe we are going to.
Realization of above mentioned tasks means to carry out at once two sustainable
developmental transformations: humanistic and eco-developmental (figure 9). It
means to lift-up a lot of weaker part of world society – non-elite – on at
least third rung of “human needs ladder” (figure 11). It also means not to slow
the pace of world consumption, but to change its patterns.
It
is a big challenge to world society, world power elite, to science-technology
people – to transform our socioeconomic relations into one fitted to the state
of change. Without such ecohumanistic transformation, introducing the
sustainable development (figure 5) will be impossible. Instead of sustainable
development we will reach very dangerous - for all people - regressive growth
(figure 9).
For
getting, nowadays, sustainable development we then ought to (figure 12):
1 -
change our consciousness into ecohumanistic one and create collective
ecohumanistc consciousness,
2 –
change our short-sighted and egoistic economy into ecohumanistuc economy
(eco-economy),
3 –
build information basis for ecohumanistic consciousness and eco-economy.
The ecohumanistic consciousness means the ability to:
-
observe
accidents that are going around us,
-
connect
these accidents with processes they are linked with,