Recently, I read a review of the book Eden 2.0: Climate Change and the Search for a 21st Century Myth. The central argument of the book is that humanity needs to find – rather quickly – a myth that will enable us to transcend our differences and inspire us towards a radically new direction. Dry facts and rules will not be sufficient. We need to be inspired by a shared vision in order to bring about the urgently needed change.
This not only makes complete sense in our current “post-factual” climate, where it seems that people prefer a good story over facts, but also highlights a deep lack of future vision among both campaigners and politicians worldwide.
A good example of this lack of vision is the Occupy movement, which started in September 2011 and protested against social inequality and the lack of true democracy. Irreconcilable disagreements among different subgroups and endless meetings that led nowhere halted the movement, even though the initial intentions were admirable.
It initially spread to 951 cities in 82 countries. Experience has shown that new societies do not automatically emerge when people simply gather to express their common dissatisfaction.
Today, social media has the power to ignite revolutions and bring about the downfall of dictatorial leaders. However, social media cannot tell us how to build new societies and institutions.
It will be extremely difficult to create a shared vision that could inspire the majority. We have become such individuals that we can no longer commit to something collective. We are completely accustomed to a customized and personalized way of life. We wouldn’t even be able to agree on a shared vision for a great vacation, let alone a shared vision for the future. One person’s utopia would be another person’s dystopia. The future cannot be just a restoration of what came before. Our current systems and paradigms have reached a dead end. The future will have to be radically different, based on a completely new understanding of society. And ourselves.
It took several generations of builders to construct Gothic cathedrals. Societies and institutions are much more complex than cathedrals, and in order to restore them, generations of dedicated people will also be needed to work towards a clear vision. Yes, we need a vision for the 21st century, but one that includes the higher potential of human beings and their real needs, rather than one based on some other outdated economic worldview.