Part of this Domination Culture is not caring about future generations, something that we may call intergenerational crime. Similarly, a domination culture doesn't care about trashing Nature, or annihilating many other species, and of course, any other culture. Worst of all, enforcing a new religion is frequently used as a legalization for these conquests. Fundamentalist religions still exist today and are at the core of many wars around the world.
These days we are seeing the beginning of the collapse of the present Domination Culture (call it the American Empire if you like). I could say the current Age of Stupid is coming to an end, and we are already seeing the early stages of the next Empires: the Chinese and the Indian...and a new cycle will begin with the same flaws and stupid behaviour.
Unknown and Wicked problems
Many of the problems we are experiencing have been known for years; we have been warned for a long time about them and have chosen to ignore them. Many other problems are known unknowns and there are other unknown unknowns, things we don’t even realize we don’t know. Obviously, when these type of problems become reality we have no idea what they are, nor what to do, and they hit us the hardest.
Now, the standard approach for solving problems is by using the same type of thinking, or same tools and technology, we used to create them. We always try to solve the symptoms; very rarely do we look for the root-cause of the problem. Examples include the economic bail outs to the banking system; or looking for alternative fuels to keep moving our cars. We should recall Einstein’s words: "We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
It is also very common to use a single-focus approach to solve problems, ignoring the inter-dependency they have.
To make it worse, many of the above problems, known or unknown, are also wicked problems, meaning very complex issues that have no standard solutions. A few characteristics for a wicked problem are:
- There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem.
- Wicked problems have no definitive solution.
- There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem.
- Every (attempted) solution to a wicked problem has consequences that may trigger new problems.
- Every wicked problem is essentially unique.
- Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem.
- The causes of a wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways.
Many of the climate change problems are perfect samples of wicked problems. How many solutions that we have seen have caused new problems after they are implemented?
The Age of Consequences
The current Empire has caused so much damage in so many areas that we are already seeing that many social, economic and ecological systems are collapsing, and because none of these systems is independent, the synergetic result from these intertwined, failing systems is so massive that total collapse is inescapable. At the end of the Age of Stupid, we are now at the beginning of an Age of Consequences.
We are already seeing despair and suffering all over the world. Millions of people are experiencing terrible human conditions. Major corporations and financial systems are failing. Many ecosystems have deteriorated and many are dying because of the dramatic changes in the climate. Many species have become extinct and many more are at the verge of extinction. All these changes are causing tremendous impacts on the poorest countries in the world. Thousands of children in those countries don’t have access to basic things like water, food and shelter and are dying every day for starvation and illnesses.
At the same time there are millions of people still in denial, and are doing nothing more than waiting, or hoping, that all the problems will be solved by the governments, by divine intervention or by technological pipe dreams. Others still use the magical thinking approach of pretending everything is all right, and prefer the status quo.
Without a doubt, the current culture is blindly heading towards a cliff and many people are already taking the leap to the abyss, without knowing how deep it is. How come we fail to see that sometimes progress means taking a step backward?
All we know is that the collapse has indeed begun.
Can we break the cycle?
The situation looks quite awful, doesn't it? Are there any solutions? Can we still save this domination culture from self-destruction? Is it even worth it to try?
Maybe the best thing to do is just let it be. Maybe millions, or billions of humans need to vanish, for the sake of Earth and millions of other species to survive?
We cannot deny anymore the collapse is already happening, but we don’t gain anything by being worried and going into despair. No one can really predict how bad it will be, but many thinkers and scientists are telling us we all have to cope with major changes in our lifestyles, and that there is a high probability that the rich nations will be the ones that will have to change the most. We will need to give up many of the things we take for granted nowadays.
I have found a positive approach to take: instead of continuing to worry about collapse, accept that it is happening and then take action, in preparing myself, and others, to be able to adapt to the upcoming changes. We need to learn to be flexible. In other words, to become resilient.
Resilience is not about preventing change. It is about increasing our capacity to change and adapt. Resilience refers to a capacity for continuous renewal.
Taking this approach gives a new purpose or meaning to my daily life.
The concept of meaning for life became popular by Viktor E. Frankl in his book Man’s Searching for Meaning. Dr. Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. He was sent to a Nazi concentration camp in 1942 with all his family. In 1945 he was liberated from the camp, but he was the only survivor in his immediate family. He then returned to Vienna and wrote many books with the main theme of suffering and he concluded that even in the most painful situation, life has meaning and even suffering is meaningful.
If Dr. Frankl was able to find meaning in suffering, I can find meaning in collapse, and this gives meaning to my life.
In other words, finding meaning in collapse tells me that, instead of continuing to fight the system (this civilization, this culture); instead of trying to bring it down; instead of trying to save the world; we could just try to be flexible, to yield and find a way to live alongside the failing system, without worrying about it anymore.
"Know when to yield to opposition, and you will overcome challenge" says Lao-Tzu.
If we follow this way we can make the transition to resilience: to a simpler, caring lifestyle and in community.
Working this way we may even break the perpetual cycle of Age of Stupid to Age of Consequences to Age of Stupid once again.
The new age could be called Age of Caring and Community.
