What Does the World Need?

I lie awake, thinking. What does the world need from us? Our current trajectory is a self-perpetuating suicide, yet what should we do instead?

Incremental Improvement

Simply getting better at what we’re doing is not enough. It seems very unlikely that for example the automotive industry in its current form will ever recover from the economic crisis, let alone be in a shape to help us avert the climate catastrophe. The same goes for banking, energy, and practically every single other sector of industry.

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.

—W.E. Deming

Leaping Ahead

But surely next generation energy technologies will generate millions of jobs and drop the emissions to an all time low? I certainly hope so. Even then we are not out of the bushes yet as we face crisis after crisis; water, food, resources, cultural clashes.

And technological progress, the very tool that seemingly saved us will bring us ever new challenges. Our best intentions are accelerating the speed of change and increasing the volatility of our already unpredictable world.

How will we respond to the ethical challenges and existential risks created by biotech and Artificial Intelligence? What will be the limits of human greed fueled by ubiquitous nanotechnology? These questions await us just beyond the horizon.

Our Capacity to Adapt

I believe that our only chance for survival hinges on cultivating the capacity to change, to adapt to new life conditions, to answer ever new questions. Fortunately we have a role model right at our doorstep.

Life itself has evolved over millions of years, survived natural catastrophies, and produced a staggering variety of thriving life forms. Life does not resist change, it adapts, not fearing to abandon what did not work.

Life celebrates diversity and embraces functional fit over competitive analysis. Life self-organizes on all levels; cells, organs, food chains, and ecosystems, all in partnership. Life adapts, survives, and flourishes.

This is what I mean by a more natural way of being. This is why I think it’s so important.

Cultivating Curiosity