This gets to the heart of the matter. Many would resist this with all of
their heart and soul.
>I can't imagine a political system where the elected and
>appointed representatives of the people would have the confidence to tell
>their constituents that they can't have what they want because it doesn't
>promote the common weal.
Donnela Meadows, Dennis Meadows, and Jorgen Randers describe the biggest
hurdle to sustainability as pessimism. "In a society that systematically
develops in people their individualism, their competitiveness, and their
cynicism, the pessimists are the vast majority. That pessimism is the
single greatest problem of the current social system, we think, and the
deepest cause of unsustainability." (from "In Context")
Surely, there is widespread disappointment and pessimism surrounding
government and politics in the United States. In many circles politics is
simply undiscussable--not so in other parts of the world. Even in the
United States, I believe there are many people of authority who would be
heartened by the conversation we are having, valiant types who enter
politics (or organizations like the IMF and UN) for all the right reasons
but find themselves struggling against an undercurrent of bureaucracy,
waste, and misuse of power.
I wonder, are there already forces acting against this pessimism or is the
pessimism growing? Is the power in government waning and on the road to
being overtaken by consortia of business interests? Imagine the framers of
the American Constitution could speak to the 106th Congress and the people
of the United States. What might they say? If pessimism IS NOT inevitable
and there is a future for organizations whose mission is promote the
health and well-being of people, do learning organization concepts (team
learning, mental models, systems thinking) have a role to play?
Thanks for your interest!
--"Donald Kelley" <dpkelley@sprintmail.com>
[Host's Note: In association with Amazon.com I am please to lin to this excellent book...
Beyond the Limits : Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows (Contributor), Jorgen Randers (Contributor) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0930031628/learningorg
...Rick]
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>