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Monday, August 22, 2011

Creating a new metaphor for a new economy

As David Korten writes in YES magazine

"Story power is the ultimate power. Authentic stories liberate the human consciousness, build immunity to cultural manipulation, and give us the courage and insight to create a world of peace and prosperity for all.

New Economy messages are spreading through countless conversations to challenge the false claims of the fabricated stories of the old economy culture that:

  • It is our inherent human nature to be individualistic, materialistic, greedy, competitive, and violent.
  • We live on an open frontier of endless resources that are free for the taking to grow the economy.
  • Money is wealth, money defines the value of life, making money is our highest human calling, and everything related to money is best left to the market.
  • Government is the problem and unregulated markets are the solution.

As pointed out in previous blogs by David Korten, the truth is that:

  • The human brain is wired to support creativity, cooperation, and life in community. That is our nature. The prevalence of materialism, greed, competition, and violence common in modern society is a symptom of severe cultural and institutional dysfunction.
  • We humans inhabit a wondrous but finite living planet with a self-organizing biosphere to which we must adapt our lives and economies.
  • Life, not money, is the true measure of value; money’s only legitimate use is in life’s service. An obsession with making money is a sign of psychological and social dysfunction.
  • Markets are essential to the function of a healthy democratic society. Their proper function, however, depends on proper rules implemented by democratic governments under the watchful eye of a strong and dynamic civil society. "
The choices we make as our guiding metaphors determine not only how we make sense of our world but also the logic of the decisions we make to shape it.


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