[sudo-discuss] article I found intersting

[Troy Massey]

The Call of Our Times
Submitted by blietaer <http://www.lietaer.com/author/gael1088/> on
September 3, 2010 – 1:38 amNo
Comment<http://www.lietaer.com/2010/09/callofourtimes/#respond>

<http://www.lietaer.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/trees.jpg>Humanity is at
a critical juncture.  As Paul Hawken succinctly put it in his *memorable
address<http://globalmindshift.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/the-unforgettable-commencement-address-by-paul-hawken-to-the-class-of-2009-university-of-portland-may-3-2009/>
* to Portland University’s graduate class in May of 2009, “civilization
needs a new operating system,” and fast.  Why?  Because many of the
socio-economic rules under which we operate were created under a worldview
that failed to recognize that the earth is a living system and that every
form of life has its unique and valuable place and purpose in sustaining
the larger web of life.  By ignoring the conditions that support the health
of our ecosystems and communities, we have inadvertently fouled our nest,
and jeopardized the future of our children.  We are now awakening to the
fact that the ways of thinking, strategies and systems that made the
industrial age possible, have also fueled the myriad crises that are now
upon us: great financial instability, the breakdown of community, growing
disparities of wealth, resource wars, alarming rates of species extinction
and ecosystem depletion, and accelerating symptoms of climate change.  As
our food, energy, health, education, economic and financial systems show
increasing signs of failing us, we are being collectively called to harness
our creativity and resources to take a major evolutionary leap.  *Transitioning
from our self-destructive ways to life-affirming understandings, lifestyles
and systems is indeed the great work of our times.** *
The Great Work

* <http://www.lietaer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/great-work.jpg>* How
do we turn things around?  How can we reverse the downward spiral in which
much of our world has been caught?  The good news is that a fast growing
movement of communities, businesses, not-for-profits, and governments
around the world is hard at work on this very question.  Many experiments
are under way on all continents, and there are already many success stories
and inspiring new models to point to.   Neither creativity nor good
intentions are lacking, so why is it that so many change makers around the
world often feel that they are swimming upstream?  Is there a better and
more effective way to harness and direct all the creativity and energy
unleashed by our current predicament?  My answer is ‘yes,’ but only if we
start paying attention to a piece of the puzzle that is currently not on
our radar: our monetary system.
Re-inventing our monetary system

For the growing movement of communities, organizations and governments
working to turn things around, the most daunting challenge often revolves
around money: How do we find the money needed to transform our energy, food
and health infrastructures, to eradicate unemployment and create green
jobs, clean up the environment, and ensure that people have proper access
to housing, education and meaningful work?   Have you ever wondered why
cash shortage so bottlenecks our best efforts and initiatives when we
actually live in a world where there is neither a shortage of  things
needing to get done, nor a shortage of people wanting to do them?

The answer to this question has to do with the monopoly of the kind of
money system we use, which is the *
<http://www.lietaer.com/2010/09/2010/09/what-is-the-problem-with-our-current-money-system/>
*source of the scarcity which so many people experience, and the* ** root
cause of a great number of our
problems<http://www.lietaer.com/2010/09/2010/09/what-is-the-problem-with-our-current-money-system/>
*.   Our money system was designed a long time ago and is now out of date.
It is particularly ill equipped to help us solve the pervasive
socio-economic and ecological challenges facing us today.   In a *bird’s
eye view <http://www.lietaer.com/birdseyeview/>* of both my work and this
website, I explain why the transformation of our money system is critical
to resolving the challenges of our times and many of the issues you care
about.   I also explain that monetary diversity is just as important to
human survival as bio-diversity is to the fate of the earth.

A number of pioneering governments, businesses and communities around the
world have successfully experimented with new monetary systems for years,
and with great results.  We have at our disposal all the monetary tools we
need to reduce poverty, clean up the environment, and provide access to
meaningful work, housing and health care.  It is now time to use them on a
larger scale.  A  world of sustainable abundance is actually possible, but
only if we are willing to upgrade our monetary system so that we can begin
to leverage true human wealth, which is our energy and creativity.  Will
you please join me in making sure that we do not miss this opportunity?
Your own future, the future of your children,  and of this extraordinary
planet is at stake.

*Bernard Lietaer*

http://www.lietaer.com/2010/09/callofourtimes

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