I envision a world in which passion, not profit, drives innovation and sustainable living for all.
Hello fellow readers and welcome to my site. I hope that the ideas you find here will resonate with you deeply and that you will share them with whomever you come into contact.
Here’s the short version: I believe it is possible to transition to a global free market economy that is driven by kindness, compassion, competence and service to community rather than an economy that is driven by monetary exchange. The components of this better world would incorporate Universal Basic Income, block chain technology, artificial intelligence and robotics, a broad-based education in the science of compassion and happiness, mindfulness, advances in neuroscience, and a deep understanding of our shared vulnerability as human beings.
Money, private ownership, and free-market driven decision-making are all still involved in this better world. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel! However, the altruism-destroying monetary exchange component is removed. I hope you are intrigued. If so, read on!
I believe it is no understatement to say that our existence as a species depends upon our ability to nurture, foster and harness our innate tendencies towards kindness, compassion, and service to community. I believe that using a system of monetary exchange to manage human behavior and the distribution of goods and services has drastically reduced our ability to be kind, compassionate and cooperative.
Instead, the global monetary exchange system has encouraged competition rather than cooperation, hoarding rather than sharing, and greed rather than generosity. This system’s cumulative effects on the planet and on humans has been catastrophic as evidenced by climate change, poverty, war, drug addiction, unsustainable consumerism and callous indifference towards the suffering of people who do not belong to groups who occupy positions of power.
The ideas that have been percolating in my mind since 2008 are supported by evidence-based research from reputable sources such as the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science, UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, Stanford University’s Center for Altruism Research and Education, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds, the collaborative for Social Emotional Learning (SEL), and other organizations.
Researchers in the fields of neuroscience, behavioral psychology, evolutionary biology, mindfulness and positive psychology all point to studies which consistently show that human beings act less altruistically when they receive material rewards in exchange for helpful behaviors.
Here is where I make my leap: Using money (a material reward) to motivate people to work (help their communities) seriously undermines their natural inclination towards altruism. Therefore, instead of working for money, all people (including the CEOs!) should work in exchange for the knowledge that they are using their skills and talents to contribute to the well-being of their communities, which in turn promotes their own well-being. Within this continuous circle of altruistic giving and receiving, everyone’s needs are met, and monetary exchange becomes unnecessary.
To see the flowchart which explains in summary form how an altruism-based economy might work, please click on the link here: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:b3d4e8cd-3c10-46f0-b624-b087c991e676#pageNum=1
For a more detailed explanation, you will want to read the story “What if…” in the category “Global Health and Wealth” and the proposal The Plan in the menu above. The story “What if...” presents my initial conceptualization of how an altruism-based global economy could work. It also includes a description of possible ways to transition to such an economy. However, some of my ideas have changed since I published the story back in June 2017. To read the most recent version of the idea, click on The Plan in the menu above. After reading The Plan and/or What if, I welcome any thoughts or constructive criticisms you want to post. One caveat: Instead of speculating about what other people might do, I would find it most helpful if you first commented on how you might act while living within an altruism-based economy. Cheers, and I look forward to hearing from you!
Global Health and Wealth 