Moving beyond systemic blocks to caring
The social systems we live in – cultural, economic, political, and the rest – often make it difficult to effectively care. Understanding …
Exploring many perspectives on the Newtown tragedy
There’s a lot of public conversation cropping up in response to the massacre in Newtown. Although not all of it is as creative as it could be, the health of democracy depends on us talking together and opening ourselves to many relevant perspectiv…
What about Newtown? What about America?
It is horrendous. We so easily identify with the children – and teachers – and mother – killed in the Newtown massacre – and with those who knew and loved them, who no longer have these loved ones in their lives. We find ourselves deeply moved by …
Sources of the Occupy Movement – Part Four – Socioeconomic conditions
This post looks at the social and economic conditions that fostered the emergence of the Occupy movement, as well as a timeline of events, books, and commentary that, in retrospect, offer significant precedents or stimulants to the form and energy…
Another remarkable evolutionary voice
As many of you know, I find the evolutionary perspective to be one of the most meaningful, powerful, and instructive worldviews I’ve ever encountered. I find fascinating efforts to bring science, spirit, and everyday life together into a coherent …
The role of Honor and Heroism in nuclear catastrophes
This morning my brother, Dick Atlee, wrote the following: I was going through the UCS’s [Union of Concerned Scientists] latest update, from yesterday, and encountered the following, which crystallized a thought that has been nagging at me for days…
The Conversational Commons
The phrase “the commons” refers to domains and resources that belong to or affect the whole of a community. The “conversational commons” then embraces everything that supports or makes possible the enjoyable and productive conversations of a commu…
Social Systems and Transformational Change
Transformational change depends primarily on changing social systems. A social system — an economic or political system, for example — is how a society is organized. It is a pervasive and powerful pattern of social arrangements that shapes peopl…
Areas for Strategic Action to Enhance Societal Collective Intelligence
I believe that any person or group wishing to catalyze the emergence of a sustainable civilization must take strategic action to enhance the collective intelligence of entire societies. (NOTE: The term “whole society” or “entire society” does not …
An insightful artlcle about the dynamics of civilizational transition
Check out this website… particularly its critique of “traditional” sustainability activism and the need for “greatly enhanced capacity for rapid adaptive social learning” — which is largely what my co-intelligence work is all about.