Speech delivered at the International Conference on Complex Systems in Cambridge Mass, July 26,2018
Category Social Justice
Many of the world’s governments are corrupt, dysfunctional and/or the captives of retrograde vested interests. Does this pose an insurmountable obstacle?
Aristotle, it seems, got it right. Politics may have played a key role in human evolution as the classic primate pattern of male dominance hierarchies shifted to a pattern of consensual leadership for common goals and collective action.
In the 21st century our ethical systems must, at one and the same time, weed out the dandelions and fight the aphids, and snails, and voles while simultaneously planting, fertilizing, watering, pruning, and harvesting the plants upon which we have come to depend for our very sustenance
If the past is a guide, looking ahead to America after Trump is troubling.
When the poor are driven to extreme hardship and deprivation, the social contract that binds any society together may break down.
The time has come to draft a new social contract that is grounded in the realities of the human condition and the challenges we face going forward.
It’s a matter of social justice, not to mention being an age-old political battleground. Revolutions have been fought over the issue.
It is not a radical idea, and it has broad public support. So, why don’t we already have one?
The debate about whether our species is in peril is over. We must honor our ancestors by emulating their survival strategy, and their success.