Discussion - Towards the Future: Creating a better World We All Want to Live In
Every time I visit @lukestokes' page, I always notice this same message on his profile page:
"I want to help create a world we all want to live in."
What Does a Better World LOOK Like?
Whereas I can sit on the surface and agree 100% with the basic intent of such a statement, I have spent many years quietly pondering exactly what that MEANS, for all of us.
Poppies in the sun
Sure, we can all say we want to live "in a better world" because-- pretty much no mind where we are-- we see and experience something that either seems messed up, or definitely could use some improvement.
We see war and strife; we see great wealth inequality; we see hunger and disease; we see homelessness; we see people who use and manipulate each other; we see the planet being ravaged by pollution and exploitation of natural resources.
But that doesn't get very specific. What does this better world really look like?
I think a lot of us have ideas we bring to the table, and often those ideas are shot down by other people who are bringing different ideas. Ironically, although we share this idea of a "better world," we quickly resort to finger pointing and end up calling each other things like "communists" and "socialists" and "neocons" and "fascists" and "greedy" and "selfish."
Some would even make the argument that selfishness, name calling and greed are more "human" characteristics than compromise and consensus.
Ideologies and Reality
Many months ago, I read a fairly brilliant post by @stellabelle explaining the heart of Steemit as a gift economy rather than a commodity economy. If you haven't already, go read it! And support @stellabelle by giving one of her current posts an upvote.
Miniature wild aster
Anyway, her post brought to the forefront of my mind this whole idea of "creating a better world."
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I have always been an idealist.
But I tend to be a "pragmatic" idealist. There are lots of ideologies I think are awesome, but I can also look at them and quickly see how they would be all but impossible to functionally implement in our world... mostly because most of them assume people to be highly intelligent, self-sufficient, mindful and empathic. Well, sadly most people are not.
To create a better world, we may be able to borrow from ideologies, but we also have to come up with something the "average" person not only understands, but also can relate to.
This post was also partly inspired by @teamsteem, another of our community's great contributors who also has an idealistic vision of what we can accomplish here, and in the world.
The Ups and Downs of Life
Purple rhododendrons
During this past year, I have witnessed several rather amazing events, here on Steemit...
The first happened some six months ago when a known big time Online Scammer came to Steemit and tried to set up shop here with lots of supporting stooges and shills... and the community rallied and more or less ran a multi-million dollar scam out of town on a rail.
There was no "law" being enforced there, there was merely a group of people rallying in consensus to reject what seemed to be a negative influence.
Almost concurrently, one of Steemit's long time community members encountered a medical emergency with no founds to meet an potentially life threatening hospital procedure, and the community rallied and supported his pleas for help with one of the all time highest compensated posts in our site's history... as well as an outpouring of donations.
Steemit is NOT like other social content sites.
As much as I have been around social media for the past 20 years, things like that don't seem to happen elsewhere.
Steemit as a Potential MODEL for a Better World?
Meanwhile, people worry and complain about paid upvote services, shitposting and greed that might kill this "goose" of ours that is laying the golden eggs of possibility for a better future for many.
Fiery summer sunset
For months, I have kept coming back to the "gift economy" idea; and to the way part of the genius of Steemit is that it's a sort of "training ground" for the idea of a "pay it forward" system... more so than any other social experiment I have run into-- online, or off.
We are being "trained" here to embrace the benefit of being able to give freely to others, through our upvotes and interactions... and even donations. In a way "everybody gets a chance."
And yet? Even here there is a tendency for the community to emulate the outside world: There are those who feel mostly greed and simply want to get as much of the "pie" as they can possibly get their hands on, even if that involves pushing others out of the way, in the process.
Can we truly learn to take all our differences, and be open to letting them live side by side in the spirit of cooperation, with the objective that we all get to be part of a better world?
So Let's Get Back to the "Better World"
I keep getting back to trying to identify the actual attributes of this "better world" we strive for, and it occurs to me that perhaps the best way to answer that question is simply to open it up to public discussion.
What IS "A Better World We All Want to Live In?"
Does it have Freedom? Does it have Equality? Does it have prosperity? Will Voluntaryism be the order of the day? How do we handle things like greed? How do we handle selfishness? Are these characteristics even "good" or "bad?" Can we eliminate crime? Can we eliminate poverty? What do we do about healthcare? Can we use the Gift Economy model as a basis? Do we have "leaders" or is everything operated by consensus? How do we solve disputes and differences? Do we focus on the collective, or on the individual? Is everything transparent and open? What other questions would you like to ask? And see answered? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
I am hoping this can turn into a bit of a community discussion and exploration! If you feel this is a worthy topic, please consider resteeming this post!
created by @zord189(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180113 01:06 PST
I love this article. I'd not heard those stories about Steemit before and it was good to hear something more positive than the flag war ones I've read lately.
I'm not sure a better world can ever be created by changing things on the outside since what we create externally is a reflection of our internal processes. People are greedy because they think wealth (or other material things) will give them what they think is missing. Until they see that that isn't true they will continue to try and find happiness/peace/fulfilment in the external world.
It is hard to make the shift, particularly in Western cultures because the materialistic message is everywhere and is certainly the status quo.
One of things I find fascinating (and uncomfortable) about being on Steemit is my own journey. For example, noticing the times when I want to look after myself first, being too "scared" to power up because I might do it at the wrong time, feelings of scarcity because my upvotes are worth so little compared to other peoples, and on and on.
It's not pretty to see these things but I've long since given up beating myself up about them or even trying to change them. Where's the value in that? Better to trust that I am making a contribution if only by showing up the best I can.
Maybe the better world is already here and it depends what I am focusing on. That's not to deny the things you mentioned but they are not present right now. In the world in front of me.
What is here, is the opportunity to write from my heart and then to return to the rest of my day which includes being fully present to those around me and to myself. To be gentle to them and to me. And to live as fully as I am able.
Thanks for your lovely and insightful comment @gillianpearce!
Yes, we do have to start with ourselves, and that starts with knowing ourselves well enough to understand what truly matters... what matters "beneath the surface." Surprisingly few people get far enough in their personal growth process to truly get that if they feel an emptiness inside... there are no "things" on the planet that can fill it, only experiences and possibly LOVE.
I suppose one of the hard things here in the west is to reject the materialistic system and simply create your own paradigm. I experience very simple little "challenges" in everyday life... like when my adult kids want to know what I want for Christmas or my birthday, and there is really no explaining them that "things" hold little importance for me (we've settled on "food gifts" being a good idea!).
I can't help you "time" your powering up... I can only say that I remember to feel grateful that I am even ABLE to Power Up (or whatever benefit I get somewhere in life) in the first place. Striving for any kind of perfection can become a hurdle, in and of itself.
You're quite right about "orientation." It's a practice. When we look at what's around us... where do we focus our attention? On what is WRONG or on what is already RIGHT? Personally, I am choosing to look at what is right, as much as I can... while using open discussions of what might be seen as WRONG as "teaching moments;" invitations to people to examine their beliefs about specific things.
"Creating a world we all want to live in", as a meaningful first objective or aim, is absolute folly in my opinion.
That is God's job, not mine.
I can create a world that "I want to live in", my own internal world. But that takes years of self observation and herculean efforts. Once I can master my own internal world, perhaps then I might be able to assist God in "creating a world we all want to live in."
Who has the self-mastery to "turn the other cheek"?
In spite of what this post might suggest, I would tend to agree that it is folly to explore something like that, as an absolute objective.
However, as the basis for creating thought platforms and discussions that get people to start thinking about their lives and their roles in the universe-- rather than just traversing life as mindless sheep-- it find it quite useful... a bit like the age old "what's the meaning of life?"
It may be God's job to be the ultimate builder but I believe it is our jobs as individuals to be those who either tend the garden as responsible gardeners... or let it go to seed and weeds as a result of indifference and apathy. So we start with the world I want to live in which might be centered on mindfulness; I choose (figuratively speaking) to not toss my gum wrapper "wherever I feel like," because in my world the garden is free of trash... and I must lead by example to strive for that end.
Does "self mastery" actually exist? I honestly don't know... and often consider the possibility that it is much like "enlightenment," in the sense that as long as we claim to be seeking it, we're effectively making the declaration that we don't have it. And so, it is simply a journey.
In my opinion, self-mastery is the ability to act rather than react. In a way, it is the ability to choose.
People think they have that ability already, but usually that is an illusion. Kind of like what you have already said about the gum wrapper. Even such a more or less trivial situation requires mindfulness.
Ah yes, "responding rather than reacting," long a favorite teaching point. And, as you say, most people don't have it... it remains a life-long practice to simply be the observer, recognizing that my ego is arising and then falls away again, upon being recognized for what it is.
Just wanted to say "thanks so much for the upvote" @onceuponatime. That was super generous of you and I appreciate it. It even beats my best author reward so far. 💙
And thanks, of course, to @denmarkguy for creating the opportunity. 💛
Here's my best approach (so far) at ideas for making the world a better place: How to Improve the World
I agree, not everyone can (right away) transcend their programming and arise to a higher consciousness, but that's why I think about it in terms of Maslow's Hierarchy. If we all have our needs met, we can all start thinking differently.
Luke, I remember liking that post when I first read it, and I still do. I get a slight laugh from the realization that it took me ten months to write the follow-up I threatened to, in my original comment on it.
Better late than never.
And so, we come back to Mr. Maslow and his hierarchy-- as personalized to each of our individual situations. And we have to start with striving simply for a world in which people get their basic needs met. Food, shelter, clothing... it's sobering to reflect on the fact that we live in the most affluent economy in the world and yet we have an estimated 550,000+ homeless people in the US as of December 2017.
At the next level of safety, we have 29 million people without health insurance.
I don't say these things as a "socialist" or "hairy liberal;" I point them out more as a reminder that the task can sometimes seem daunting. Which leads back to starting with ourselves; setting an example and "being the change," as per Gandhi's well-known quote.
Of those half a million, I wonder how many want to live outside the system and be houseless. Based on some interactions with workers in that space, it wouldn't surprise me to find that number higher than most people would think.
The health insurance issue is an interesting one. I know many believe it's a human right, but until it can be provided completely by autonomous robots paid for voluntarily by society, I still see it as demanding services of others. That can't fit in the rights category, in my perspective. I guess that just means we'll have to figure out a different way to get everyone the protection they need without using that approach (which often leads to more government and central control). Ultimately, if it could be done efficiently, I think a blockchain token could be used and people might support its value just to contribute voluntarily to make the world a better place. Much like this Steemit experiment. Reminds me of this post: https://steemit.com/economics/@lukestokes/does-the-world-need-a-universal-basic-income-could-steem-power-it
Indeed they might! I know at least 3-4 20-somethings here in our town who are essentially "homeless" in the sense that they carry their entire worldly possessions in their backpack and basically "couch surf" and travel the world. But they are not exactly indigents-- more like deliberate nomads. "Work" consists of a laptop and a wifi connection.
Which segues into your next point and your post... the Steemit experiment; we have several people in the community who are global nomads by choice ( @budgetbucketlist is perhaps the most visible) and perhaps that is part of the new paradigm, too. I remember around 2000-ish (as the Internet started to come of age) thinking of a world in which people could travel through a series of "co-op houses" around the world and just work from their computers. You make an initial "buy in" after which you can show up at any "member" house on the planet and get a place to sleep and a web connection for a nominal fee ($10 a night?), along with a "hub" that could hook you up with local temporary work, should you need it. Each "unit" would be autonomous ("decentralized") while also being part of a central common network.
But I digress... healthcare, and UBI. Your post predates my being here, so hadn't seen it before. UBI is intriguing... people pose the question "how will it be paid for?" Certainly one starting point is the savings realized by NOT having to pay a robot to do the human's work it replaces. But certainly there are some moral/ethical issues there.
Health insurance is a slippery beast, as is socialized medicine. Being Danish by birth, I grew up with it, so my perspective is different... health care (at least for primary services) fits in the same social space as fire and police services. I don't want to have to think about "can I afford to pay the firefighters" when there are flames shooting out of my bedroom window... from a more capitalistic perspective, a healthy workforce costs less money to support so having a system of socialized medicine that's heavily oriented towards prevention is actually an investment in society.
The notion of creating a voluntary based token specifically geared towards health services is intriguing... sounds almost like a "health savings account on the blockchain."
Great thoughts, as always. I like the idea of hostels on the blockchain, fully decentralized. Cool idea.
a better world .. hard to define
I think the Yin and the Yang is meant to exist so I don't know .. perhaps the world is meant to be as it is
and perhaps in the future we'd say what it is like right now
is already better .. and if it turns out the other way around then great
I've been here for almost 40 years and if there's one thing I remember .. people seemed to have a better world in the past where I came from cause everything was pure and clean but then am from Asia so I can't speak for the whole world now am in the EU it feels like the past here
everything is so clean and many things are still organic perhaps we could .. if we'd all want it .. we could create a better world than what most of us have now
You bring up something interesting we haven't previously touched on with this discussion... the differing stages of development in different parts of the world.
For example, I was born and raised in Denmark, which tends to be a world leader in things like organics, sustainability, alternative energy and such. It's also a "welfare state." Now I live in the USA, which is also a wealthy nation, but the philosophical approach to life here is different... the emphasis on ME rather than WE is stronger here, which creates a different dynamic.
Many parts of western Europe are "old" nations now-- they are not "developing" anymore, so the lessons learned from strong growth are far in the past; in parts of Asia that are now growing quickly, the same lessons of the consequences of rapid growth without "taking care" are perhaps yet to be learned... take China which became suddenly industrialized and "suddenly" had to deal with the consequences of pollution... and now has a very large "green" industry. It's probably a learning phase for ALL.
in my 2 cent opinion we make a better world by starting from ourself. if we individually change our self it will create a great impact on society. For changing our self first thing we require is Don't compare our self with other. Like all five finger are not equal but they are still happily fix in hands so why not we people follow the simple rule. Life is so light, we make it heavy by our wishes burden.
. As far freedom is concerned God made every person free, so there should be freedom to every person, equality doesn't mean all the people have same wealth. i will define equality as the law implementation is applicable on all citizens equally. Crimes can be eliminated by implementing a justice system and removed hunger. Most crime occurs to get power and to remove hunger. we can stop these activities by implementing strict law and removing hunger. All things start with myself so it's time to improve our self for creating a better world.
Yes, I would agree that we have to start with ourselves.
By becoming the type of person we would wish to meet in the world, we create a good example for others and engage in our own version of right action, regardless of whether or not others choose to follow us. Of course, people are all different... so comparing is not the best idea; instead we can strive to simply be our own highest and best selves.
Laws can be tricky to implement in a system based around freedom-- perhaps one of the central tenets would have to be that having "power" does not exempt you from being under the law-- a problem we often see in today's world where the rich and powerful can "get off the hook" for crimes that would put normal people in prison.
Yes. People are different from each other. By comparing means people mostly get jealous if some body have more luxrious life than him. Due to this act they become un happy. Some time they adopt wrong way to achieve the luxury. There is no bad thing like do best of the best things in life but when you compare it with problem starts. Any way its my 2 cent point of view.
Mostly rich people after getting rich try to influence the state department and law making forum and make laws of own interest which eventually save them. This is the point where the down fall starts.
Rule is simple. Cut down the hedge which grow faster other wise it will use all the resources from the soil. Thanks for reading my point of view
Wow. You opened a can of worms here my friend, but I know you are well aware of that hahaha...
A better world leaves a lot of room for many experiences that make people subjectively happy and content. For example, I do not choose to romantically interact with men, but I believe that other men should be free to do that if they choose. Additionally, I do not believe in any religions nor do I find them useful, but I know that others must be free to choose these ideologies. The idea of having romantic interests in men or devoting yourself to Christianity aren't inherently good or bad, but they bring about subjective experiences of happiness and contentment for many.
I think this points at liberty being very central to any kind of "better" world. We certainly won't agree on how to live our lives, so we must allow a lot of wiggle room for humanity to express itself in a multitude of ways.
I know. Liberty can be a double-edged sword. But for the sake of simplicity, I won't get into much more on that topic. I do believe that liberty brings about a lot more good than it does bad.
So, yes. Liberty must prevail.
Thanks for being part of exploring the topic! A lot of people aren't actually brave enough because we have to commit to something beyond simply pointing out that something is wrong and we want something better.
Its is, indeed, a very subjective experience. I also agree that a certain degree of "freedom" is needed, and that freedom can possibly be arrived at by consensus. Of course, one of the aspects of freedom is that we must also have the experience/wisdom to handle it constructively rather than DEstructively. When pressed, a lot of people see a one-way street... they should be "free" to have their beliefs, but those with differing beliefs should be "restricted." Which, of course, ISN'T actually "freedom."
All in all, it's a challenging topic!
Another thoughtful well written post. I don’t know what a perfect world looks like. But I think decentralizing is a start. Steemit has its problems but there are bright spots such the times we learn and help each other out. I’m tired so that’s all I got for tonight 🙂
I don't know what the "perfect" world looks like, nor whether such a thing is really possible. But I will settle for a "better" world that values humans above money, compassion above power and "we" ahead of "me."
OK, so you get an upvote simply for the obligatory kitten picture.
nice looking picture. really those pictures are amazing. thanks for sharing.
I've had a ton of people turn their backs on me here but I have met some really good people too.