The definitive guide to Britain's success in the twenty-first century
This is the definitive world plan – to get us to the future – through the GAP years.
Currently the human race is so overburdened by debt, economic disruption, unemployment, global warming and worse, that we have lost the ability to think clearly (if we ever had it).
For CST this is easy stuff. There really is just one question that really matters: –
“how do we reach the future without our societies imploding”?
Before we consider the answer, lets look quickly at the future, lets move just a little forward, say 50 to 100 years, not long, just one lifetime, your young children will be here to see it (if you follow our simple plan). In this future we shall have for certain:-
So within a 100 years, what will the debt crisis look like? Amazingly it can’t possibly exists at all, whatever we spend now or in between. Yes, lets say that again – it cannot possibly exist!
This is currently the most fundamental ‘thought experiment’ for the whole human race. We should be developing this thinking now and must apply it to improve our decision making.
Why cannot debt exist in future? Because as technology takes people (nearly all of us) from the work place (and thus move away entirely from our existing money & economic systems), it MUST replace the current money and economics with something else. Lets not misunderstand this – it has to happen, either by our own planning or on its own, it will be impossible to maintain the current system, (try as many will). Within a 100 years it will be replaced with something else (see: http://www.commonsensethinking.co.uk/philos.html#capitalism), exactly what - we do not yet know.
Currently, we live within an economic system that allows 'money' to create massive imbalances within the global economic systems. We invented 'money' but now we do not control it. This lack of understanding and control, coupled to our inability to see past the current ideology of 'Capitalism', leads us into ever increasing imbalances of wealth and debt. These imbalances have historically produced massive swings within our economic systems producing slumps and booms that hurt individuals, progress for our children and sensible long term planning. This system is doomed to failure. These swings are getting larger and larger, but hopefully before a final collapse we shall see that new technologies shall take us away from the need to cling to a 'capitalist' based winner takes all, boom & bust global economic system.
To start this transition, we need to consider using the term 'resources' instead of 'money'. This makes many discussions immediately more effective. When we discuss 'how to improve', the issue then becomes about how we can best use our available resources, rather than who pays & where the money comes from. Our societies have become so used to the tem 'money' we have forgotten that it just represents resources and does not exist in itself. To start moving away from our boom and bust economy, we need to start using our total avialable resources and not worry about who owns them in today's money terms, as in tomorrow's world this will not be relevant. You probably think that this is far fetched, but CST believes that this is the ONLY way most of us will be here to see tomorrow.
The Next Technological
Revolution
When will we have the first 'clever' Robot? Is it imminent? (< 25 years), see: http://www.artificialbrains.com/darpa-synapse-program
Does this change our current thinking and plans? Of course it should. Why worry about a problem that will be gone probably within our children’s lifetime? It frees our thoughts and abilities to plan ahead. Knowing that it will be alright in the end – but we must be careful of how we get there – this is the overriding problem now.
So, we are worrying about something that cannot be there in the longer-term future. And, with the march of technological progress it may be sooner than we imagine. If this sounds unbelievable, any simple review of technological progress shouts this so loudly that we don’t need to be at all prescient to understand it. The human race is on the last leg of the 'difficult bit' in our ascent of man. It is the last leg because we are just around the corner from applying new technologies that takes man out of the loop for 'work' as we understand it. Unfortunately most individuals are not cognisant of these coming technical changes and do not see them approaching within their children's or at least their grandchildren's long life-time. We can discuss the time-scales, but it is already clear that within 100 years or so man will not need to do much, if any work.
We are locked into a way of thinking and so engrossed with current issues that they prevent us from considering the future and how we may reach it intact.
The human race is like a child that worries about growing up, whatever you tell him or her, they can’t stop worrying about things now - things that we can see are simply transient and unimportant in the future. And the future we are talking about is coming like a freight train.
Practicalities:
From a practical perspective, we believe that the current debt means that future generations will be paying for it from their earnings. Much of this debt is commensurate with our 'savings' for future pensions. So, if in future, humans do not require any pension, as money will not exist in its present form, then it follows we don't need to worry about using it now to create this future for our children. There will never need to be 'pay-back' as the very fabric of society will have moved on. This future society will only be 'constrained' by the total resources of the world as a whole. This future society will require a new paradigm for 'who gets what' from these finite resources. This is their problem not ours - our job is to create this new technological age as soon as possible - this is our job, it is what makes us human and always has.
The problem now is how to get to the future without our societies imploding. Nothing else matters. Does this sound difficult? Of course it is, but it becomes hugely more accessible if we stop worrying about the debt, the economy, global warming, water wars and start using (our amazing) talents and current technology to forge ahead – towards the future, it really is just around the corner.
What’s the world plan? Build solar power systems across the world, linking these to a hydrogen storage and distribution infrastructure that leverages the emerging fuel cell technologies. Research Thorium as it seems a good longer-term option that can also provide H2 for the hydrogen age.
Educate all young people (as they are going to create the future by developing the new technologies, so think of it as an investment). Make sure that the people who can work now do (building infrastructure, power, teaching, researching), use the money & resources that we have now. Also invest in the future by developing under-developed parts of the world as they have unused resources in both people and physical resources. Do this and the future will look after itself.
Economical Issues:
How can this work economically? If we wish to build massive solar power systems across the world, where does that money come from? Sure, we need to divert some of our resources (human and physical) to making this happen, but instead of building another billion throw-away devices we would be creating the future – really the future. We do all have a choice here, what we do in our lives, what we ask our politicians to do, makes exactly this difference. Why work in a factory designing throw-away products when we could be developing the future? So instead of worrying about global warming (and what you can't do about it), lets start getting on with 'the plan for the future'.
Imagine that if within 15-25 years we had enormous extra power, (from sustainable sources, uranium, thorium, solar, geothermal), the ability for the human race to get what we need to done for the next 25 years after that would be in place. We have managed similar massive investments during wartime, Hitler proved that with the 'will', and the clearest of determination, he made Germany into a powerhouse within a short period, this was simple thinking, he just said ‘we must do this’ and the nation followed him. Had he been building power stations and infrastructure for the good of Germany as a whole and not weapons against humanity, the Germans would have made amazing technical, educational and industrial progress during a time of unemployment across many parts the world. Britain then followed creating a massive war machine employing everyone and creating amazing change and technical advancements. Yes, it took us until a few years ago to pay off the debt (to the USA) for this effort, and if the same effort was employed now we can see that such power issues may be solved.
With current economic processes, if we just pump excess money into the systems it creates inflation. But provided ‘money’ is used to create real jobs and real investment things that make a real difference in the future to our efficiency, then we can invest whatever we like. Provided we don't overspend and try to create more jobs than the economy can handle or this will create unsustainable inflation. Debts are likely to increase until the new efficiencies from these investments start bearing fruit. However, we can see now, that these investments are just a promise to pay in the future - so they should not stop us from investing sensibly now. If we are wrong please feel free to complain in 50 years time – but then again, the ride would have been much more interesting.
Political and Social Change:
The issue of actually creating this sort of societal and economic change, is mainly a down to the social mindset which then impacts politics and longer-term planning. It is not a case of being unable to find the resources to achieve this sort of investment and progress. War time has already proven this. Given the impetus, we move heaven and earth to create massive change, with everyone pulling together to make it work. So we need a paradigm shift within our political processes to make this happen. Is this possible? Perhaps. Italy's Beppe Grillo has already shown how mass movement using new technology (social networking systems), can create new options. Lets hope that we can find a way to move to better political/economic systems before the seemingly inevitable 'crash and burn' renders all of us far less capable of achieving the changes most of us need to get us to the future.
Leonard Cohen says it very well:
From bitter searching of the heart,
Quickened with passion and with pain
We rise to play a greater part.
This is the faith from which we start:
Men shall know commonwealth again
From bitter searching of the heart.
We loved the easy and the smart,
But now, with keener hand and brain,
We rise to play a greater part.
The lesser loyalties depart,
And neither race nor creed remain
From bitter searching of the heart.
Not steering by the venal chart
That tricked the mass for private gain,
We rise to play a greater part.
Reshaping narrow law and art
Whose symbols are the millions slain,
From bitter searching of the heart
We rise to play a greater part.
see also:
http://www.commonsensethinking.co.uk/politicalsystems.html
http://www.commonsensethinking.co.uk/history1.html
http://www.commonsensethinking.co.uk/changing.html