Thx Val and Frank I like the analogy of an express train Val, and Frank, I completely agree that Chris M presents nothing new - I guess its the way he put all the "not new" bits together which is to me entirely plausible and therefore very clear and hard hitting. I put this together with Jared Diamonds book 'Collapse' and there are some quite chilling parallels between our society today and the societies that he describes that were completely unable to adapt to the limitations of their local environment - not least of which is the gap between rich and poor and the preoccupation leaders have with being in power and painting a rosy picture that isn't! The Cuba experience too is an interesting one, and their recovery from their 1990s oil shock that was largely based on having strong communities which were able to adapt remarkably quickly to the new conditions. How do we build a society that is capable (as a whole) of the transformative changes that we need to make? (How) will this kind of major change work in a democracy and in societies that are quite individualistic? (How) Can we, build enough capacity for social learning before the major issues arise, given the speed with which they are likely to arise?
I may have it wrong (and I'm almost certainly biased) but from where I stand I think we need to be as worried about a lack of local social capital as the issues around financial capital! Cheers Chrys ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WARNING: This email and any attachments may be confidential and/or privileged. They are intended for the addressee only and are not to be read, used, copied or disseminated by anyone receiving them in error. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender by return email and delete this message and any attachments. The views expressed in this email are those of the sender and do not necessarily reflect the official views of Landcare Research. http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ _______________________________________________ IntSci mailing list IntSci@learningforsustainability.net http://mail.learningforsustainability.net/mailman/listinfo/intsci_learningforsustainability.net
