What is happening on this planet?

Reflections of a global citizen

When I look at our planet, I am concerned. I know that the news is often alarming, but I also know that the vast majority of the world's population is looking for a peaceful life where it is possible to prosper, grow and flourish.

And yet, this is not quite altogether what we see! What is going on on this planet? What is wrong with it? How did we get here?

I have been meaning to write this article for some time now. At first I was very hesitant. But then I thought, after all, I am merely presenting my observations and analyses here. In the end, it was better to expose my thoughts than to keep them to myself. Everyone else is free to form their own opinion. 

Who am I to write such an article?

I am just a citizen trying to understand how the world works, asking questions about the global situation and trying to give some good advice on how we can all live better. Coming from a western education, I have trained in multiple studies and I have practiced various professions in the administrative and medical fields. I perfected my knowledge by studying Chinese medicine, Chinese philosophy, especially Taoist philosophy, Chinese psychology and Theosophy. The richness obtained through these studies, combined with my own personal experience, taught me to better observe everything around me - to consider all existing phenomena and to establish relationships in order to better understand the world, its functioning, and our own functioning as humans.

So as not to make the following text too long, I default to the masculine gender all times.

The Importance of Decision-Makers

Let us begin by observing how human beings function. This is not an exhaustive analysis of the homo sapiens sapiens, as that would be too complex and time-consuming to present; instead, let's analyze something that already allows us to understand some interesting ideas.

One thing which we can easily agree is that human beings are designed to live in societies. Since we cannot master every skill out there, we must depend on the skills of others. We therefore complement each other and we can create things by working together.

In order to benefit from this synergy and to live in societies, we need to be able to coordinate things in such a way, that each individual is not left to do things in just any way. The ability to plan and organize is therefore necessary. Some people need to be able to think, plan and coordinate things. This way, it is possible to get the best out of each person, and each person can gain an advantage from the organization and the skills of others.

So, there is a need for coordinators. If there were no coordinators, there would be anarchy: everyone would do as he or she pleased and without much regard for others - and the resulting society would be very chaotic and dangerous.

If the coordinators are self-interested or otherwise not sufficiently talented or responsible, working without respect to the needs off society, large groups of people, or the natural environment - then, in this case, instead of obtaining balance that can work in the long term (with good prospects for growth and progress in all areas), they will progressively provoke an increasingly distracting and harmful imbalance at the social, economic, and environmental levels.

For better understanding, let us compare this to an evolved living organism, such as a human being. As you know, the human body is made up of several elements (organs, viscera, muscular system, circulatory system, nervous system, etc.), above all roughly 10 billion cells. These cells function as a coordinated unit in such a way as to "help each other" to collaborate. They are normally subject to a certain order, directed mainly by the brain, the nervous system and the endocrine glands that pour out the hormones used for regulation. Let us assume that these cells start to break out of this order and become independent, that they no longer follow the laws necessary for the proper functioning of the whole living organism - that instead they "do as they please.” What would we get? A chaotic system with uncontrolled cell growths that unnecessarily invade the space of the human body, even in a way that is dangerous for its proper functioning. This is called ... cancer - which is obviously not at all desirable. These so-called "independent" cells may feel that everything is working perfectly well, because they are fed by their host; however, they don't realize that they are destroying their host and are therefore ultimately destroying themselves. Doesn't this remind you of something ? Is this not what we are doing on our planet?

In the human body, as mentioned above, it is the brain with its nervous system and its complementary endocrine system that share the main regulatory tasks. In a society, with a multidisciplinary way of functioning that must be coordinated, as in a human body, it is the coordinators at different levels who have this responsibility. If they do not do their job properly, then a resulting social, economic and environmental imbalance will result and which may lead, as in the case of cancer, to a major disorder with the extinction of the badly organized system! We can therefore easily conclude that a poorly organized, poorly managed structure will eventually disappear faster than expected! This should make you think!

You can certainly tell me that we have an organizational structure complete with leaders, politicians, heads of companies, heads of departments, etc. Indeed, you will be right, and yet there is something wrong with this world! There are still major conflicts on the planet; famine still exists; working conditions are becoming increasingly difficult as companies reduce staff without a corresponding reduction in overall workload; the middle class is getting poorer; and purchasing power is decreasing for the majority of the population. The adage that "the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer" continues to be true! Several studies demonstrate this reality. Do some research and you will see!

So, what is happening then?

Humans and Economic Systems

Human beings must live in society to ensure survival by sharing tasks, with each individual exhibiting different skills. To facilitate the exchange of skills, humans invented the monetary system. With this tool, for example, a shoemaker can "exchange" the shoes he has made for food. Or, for another example, a teacher who gives lessons will get money in return, because he does not have time to tend his garden while giving lessons - yet he needs food to live. So, he is going to receive money to buy food. Likewise, in the economy, things that are transformed or produced, as well as services rendered, even if entirely cerebral, receive a value. This is mainly based on the theory of supply and demand - i.e. the rarer something is, the more valuable it will become, whereas it will lose value if there is an overabundance. Is there not something strange?

Value is based mainly on the abundance or scarcity of resources or what that resource yields - but not on the real value of the thing, which must include the work needed to make it! Under the present system, the shoemaker will not sell shoes according to the number of hours and materials needed to make them, nor will he be compensated by a sum of money that will allow him to live decently nor will his compensation take into account the time to remake a pair of shoes to resell them again - but rather according to the supply and demand of the market! The teacher, on the other hand, will be paid more or less depending on the scarcity or overabundance of jobs. Is this not inappropriate? I will leave it to the economists to debate this question, which seems to me of the utmost importance going forward.

The fact that the monetary system, and the economic system more generally, was set up to serve human societies is not of terrible consequence. What is necessarily harmful is that currently all decisions are taken according to costs, and are no longer, for the most part, taken according to need, common sense or necessity! Several examples demonstrate this: the retirement age is being increased and the benefits decreased because there is no longer enough money in the pension funds, without taking into consideration the real needs for living. Environmental protection is only very slightly taken into consideration, because it is expensive; whereas it is becoming more and more of a necessity. The costs of health care are being reduced, which also diminishes its quality (reduction in the number of nursing staff, hospitals, etc.), and leads to a greater need for health care. We are reducing the cost of education, which is one of the main pillars of a well-functioning society. We are not promoting renewable energies because they are expensive, while we are heading towards a society in which there will no longer be enough energy for everyone - and so on! Analyze all the decisions leaders make in your country, with attention to how many are in favor of the human being, or are rather merely in favor of the economic system. The result is very worrying!  

We invented the economy and the monetary system to serve us, but we have become slaves to it, instead !

This is very surprising and worrying, is it not ? The human being, who is sentient, has become a slave to the unintelligent economic system! Where has the intelligence gone?

It is no longer common sense, nor necessity, that dictates what is important and essential, but it is the costs that will "decide" whether something will be done or not - even whether something is good or not! How absurd is that? Of course, economically speaking it will not be an aberration, but humanly speaking, quite to the contrary!

Our society has evolved in the direction of the famous story, Pay or Die. How did we get here ?

Is it normal that the economy has become more important than human beings? Can we live without an economy? What do you think?

Of course we can live without an economic system, since nature around us functions very well without this tool!

How did we go astray ? Little by little, without our realizing it, the economy has insidiously taken more and more space in our lives - and has finally become the center of our preoccupation, as humans have simultaneously been ”dethroned," all in order to advance capitalism. The capitalist system is based on the belief that it makes people prosper, which is partly true, but only partly - because in reality it cannot! Decisions are often made on the basis of economic profits or benefits, not on the basis of human needs!

When are we going to put the human individual back at the center of our concerns ?

Our economic system does not measure the level of our inner well-being, our happiness, the time we can spend with our family and friends, nor whether our profession pushes us towards burn-out or rather allows us to find fulfillment. And yet, these are essential elements in a human life, are they not ? Let us put the human at the center again, not the economy.

As the economist Prof. Hans Christoph Binswanger has analyzed, we have to get out of this "more, faster, further" race, because we are in a finite world, not a world of infinite resources. So, why do we behave as if our resources were infinite? Already in 1972 the Club of Rome published a report entitled, "Stop Growth,” reissued and updated in 2012 with the title, "Limits to Growth (in a Finite World): The Meadows Report, 30 Years Later,” which highlighted the need to stop endless growth in order to preserve the global system.Who has the responsibility to monitor and organize this, if not the leaders?

Of course, individual responsibility also lies with the citizen! But the citizen, like the cell in the human body, does not necessarily realize the implications of this, whereas the leaders should have the necessary vision and corresponding responsibility to ensure sustainability!

We will have to rethink a new approach to the economic system and reorganize it to put the needs of the human being at the center! This is a very interesting challenge for economists and leaders, is it not ?

What is Really Important

The new challenges that await us, not in the medium term, not in the long term, but in the short term, are :

• ensure that there is enough healthy food for everyone;
• to provide decent housing;
• to provide the possibility of decent work with a salary that allows for a decent living;
• to provide adequate and appropriate education and training opportunities that allow for the development of each individual according to his or her interests and skills;
• to ensure good medical care and hygiene in general, but also good living conditions that allow people to live in good health;
• to ensure peace and tolerance in order to live in security and build on trust between citizens, creating a sense of community and unity among them;
• to establish a functioning and fair justice system;
• ensure that state institutions are of high quality, uncorrupted, able to deliver on their promises and generous in caring for citizens in various adversities;
• to ensure equality in all its forms;
• to foster personal activities to improve the quality of life and build on rewarding experiences;
• to live in harmony with nature and the natural environment.

What Makes a Good Leader ?

Apart from the qualities of anticipation, finding solutions and taking decisions, not to mention the considerable qualities of being virtuous, benevolent, and a good example, a good leader must also be able to put himself or herself in the shoes of others!

In the preamble to the Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation we find: "...the strength of the community is measured by the well-being of the weakest of its members.”

Put yourself in the shoes of the poorest, people who do not want to be poor, but who nevertheless cannot climb the socio-economic ladder. As a leader, one has to be able to put yourself in the other person's shoes, otherwise you cannot make informed decisions from all social spheres!

In order for leaders to become more aware of the reality of the common worker, they should agree (along with their families) to live, work and earn wages like them, for one or two months every couple of years, with the same expenses and financial constraints, all while living in a modest flat. This would bring leaders closer to the working class and make it easier for them to see the challenges that a family faces in this environment!

Another very important, if not essential, factor should be introduced before or at the very beginning of a leader's tenure. He or she should undergo special training, developed by caring specialists in economics, health, sociology and other fields, including the specific study of one’s past mistakes, so that he or she does not repeat them every time a situation that has already occurred in history reappears! Let us learn from the mistakes of the past! In this way, the decisions our leaders make will be more informed, more appropriate and more constructive for their contemporary situation. This will allow for better and faster progress in our society!

It is up to economists, educators, sociologists, psychologists, doctors, scientists, etc., through their analysis, research and conclusions, to help the leaders of the planet to make this world more viable and better - in peace, security, joy and prosperity.

You, the leaders, are responsible for the society. You must have the best interests of humanity at heart! It is up to you to ensure that every individual is treated equally and with respect, in order to allow the development and prosperity of everyone in harmony with the environment!

You have this responsibility! Are you aware of it?

Conclusion

Dear leaders, be responsible and caring as a father and mother are to their children. Be vigilant, like a wise man who seeks to make his disciple independent and to help him grow and evolve. Be attentive like a teacher who only wants the success and the fulfillment of his pupil.

We all have a responsibility, that goes beyond earthly life! I have explained this in my YouTube videos on the channel, 

@veravero,

so I will not repeat that message here. Nevertheless, take a look at these videos. You will understand better that the life we lead on Earth is not just a simple life, but rather the stakes are much higher, much larger and more important than we can imagine - and our responsibility is greater than we think! So, let us accept our responsibility and build a better, fairer world, where everyone can have a chance to live happily and be well. You, the leaders, have this responsibility. Be enthusiastic about achieving a just and fair world for all, a world that lives in peace and security. You will also enjoy such a world more, because studies show very clearly: giving makes you happier than receiving.

And as Richard David Precht says in his book "Wer bin ich - und wenn ja wie viele ? ("Who am I and, if I am, how many ?"):

"Fill your days with life, not your life with days."

Be creators of happiness. You have this choice!

This is your responsibility.

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