Humankind Advancing, Vol.4, No.2 April 1993

CONTENTS

Editorial

Research on Happiness (Myers)
Quotes from Van de Weyer -- Kidder -- Sperry
Robert Theobald - [The Loss of Civility; condensed]
Quote from Jackson

Values, Wealth, and Foresight
Edith Weiner [Business in the 21st Century; quotes]
Honesty International
Quote from Al Gore

In Defense of Common Sense (incl. Stover)
Revolt Against Thought Control
Quote from Theobald

The Politics of Responsibility
Al Gore [Earth in the Balance; implications]
Vaclav Havel [Interview]
D. Paul Schafer [A New World Order; excerpts]
World Citizen's Assembly (& quote from Cousins)

The Economics of Responsibility
Al Gore [Earth in the Balance; discussion]

Thought in Action
IRAS meeting
Loyal Rue reports
Scientists for Global Responsibility

Book Reviews
Turning the Century (Theobald)
Who is who in Service of the World
The Third Testament (Herbert)

Reflections (including Ornstein)

Acknowledgments

References


Editorial:

The series "In Defense of Common Sense" is being completed in the present issue, and the relationship between values, economics, and politics is explored. Quotes, excerpts, and articles are cited refuting the contention that economics and politics are independent from values, and that the latter are irrelevant to the quality of life. The material is divided into two parts: (1) the effect of values on success in business, and (2) the questioning of present economical imperatives.


Research on Happiness

(David G. Myers)

Research on the nature of happiness and its sources destroys the myth that increasing wealth is correlated with increasing happiness.

Social psychologist David G. Myers describes happy people as "strikingly energetic, decisive, flexible, and sociable" and as choosing "long-term rewards over immediate pleasures." Further it was found "in experiment after experiment that happy people are more willing to help those in need."

Results of hundreds of investigations led to the conclusion that among the factors leading to happiness are: - Fit and healthy bodies

- Realistic goals and expectations
- Supportive friendships and
- Challenging work and active leisure

with adequate rest in between.

- - -
Based on: The Pursuit of Happiness: Who is Happy -- and Why? by David G. Myers. (1992). -- For a review see The Futurist, Sept./Oct. 1992, pp.52/53.

* * * * *
The market system will work for the betterment of humans, but only if it is contained within a broader social philosophy (which Adam Smith recognized).

From review of The Health of Nations

by Robert Van de Weyer

* * * * *
Any meaningful social and political and economic change is preceded by a change of values.

Rushworth M. Kidder

President of the Institute for Global Ethics

* * * * *
The sooner the requisite forms in values, life-styles, goals, and the like can be effected, the better the residual quality of the biosphere we hand on to succeeding generations -- and thereby the better the hope that we ourselves may not lose the accumulated millennia of meaningfulness we see in our own generation.

Roger W. Sperry
Neuroscientist and Nobel Laureate

* * * * *
Robert Theobald
The Loss of Civility (condensed)

The central problem of our time is loss of civility. We have become so intellectually arrogant that we will not listen to those who disagree with us. Each group is looking at its narrow self-interest, and we are clustering back into tribal groups. Yugoslavia is a possible precursor of where we shall be in ten years.

And yet, the human race has met, and overcome, worse problems than those which face us today. The prospects of the twenty-first century are extraordinary if we would only change our perspective. But a major reason to fear is the stubborn persistence of ideological stupidity -- the support of ideas long after they have ceased to be relevant.

The central issue is no longer maximum economic growth but rather how to achieve a high quality of life for all human beings within a permanently sustainable ecological system.

- - -
Robert Theobald, is a well-known economist, futurist and social innovator. His address is 330 Morgan St., New Orleans, LA 70114, U.S.A. -- (Unfortunately, he has passed away in the meantime.)

* * * * *
By carrying the profit motive to the extreme, it is a hindrance to society rather than a help. It adds to the destruction of the free enterprise system by making it unworthy and unable to serve society.

Peter Jackson
The Nature of Man (P.726)


VALUES, WEALTH AND FORESIGHT

Quotes from
Business in the 21st Century
by Edith Weiner
Businesses that hope to thrive in the next decade and beyond must seek out new perspectives. Too many enterprises are currently based on outdated interpretations of the world, its inhabitants, its social structures, and the ways that markets behave.

(P.13)

Forgetting is much more difficult than learning, but it holds the key for tomorrow. (P.14)

Environmentalism experienced a major shift in the late 1970s, and that shift will continue to shake the foundations of business well into the twenty-first century. (P.15)

It is stewardship, rather than Marxism or socialism or communism, that will provide the future counterpoint to capitalism. (P.16)

Quality becomes a cornerstone of doing business, a commodity without which a business may not survive. (P.16)

But quality will begin to be superseded by another factor, something more basic than quality and from which quality automatically flows. And that is integrity. (P.16)

Integrity is not an economic or quantitative measure of performance, but an attitudinal and value-based method of doing business. While I wish I could say that only businesses which operate with the highest degree of integrity will succeed, that will not be the case. In a cutthroat market environment, many companies will abandon ethic for quick profits. If we want to know which current companies will survive and thrive over the next 10 years, we cannot base the answer on integrity. But if we want to know which companies will survive the next 25 years, then we look to companies that consider the needs of their employees, their customers, and society at large, companies that embody concern and affection, service and caring, honor and fairness. Integrity may cost dearly in the short run, but it pays off well and long into the future. (P.16)

- - -
The Futurist, March April 1992, pp. 13-17. Reproduced, with per-mission, from THE FUTURIST, published by the World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, U.S.A.

Edith Weiner is president of the future forecasting co. of Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc., 200 East 33rd Street, New York, NY 10016, U.S.A.

* * * * *
An international organization modeled on Amnesty International might one day monitor corruption in governmental and corporate institutions around the world. "Honesty International" would investigate bribery, embezzlement, and other signs of corruption, with the goal of deterring such behavior.

The nongovernmental organization would seek to expose "corrupt leaders and officials in developing countries -- and the multinationals that offer bribes to win valuable contracts."

The Futurist, Sept./Oct. 92, p.8

* * * * *
The worst of all kinds of pollution is wasted lives.

Al Gore

===================================
IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE

The following is the fourth and last installment of a very critical evaluation of the Book Beyond a World Divided by Erdmann and Stover (Shambhala, 1991), and its senior author's response to it.

Criticism: I believe that the biggest problem facing mankind today is that the quality of life is so poor for so many people because of material poverty -- in other words, poor quality of life is the immediate burning problem -- not pollution or nuclear war.

And the solution to that problem doesn't involve religion or science directly but rather the solution has more directly to do with politics and economics. For instance there will probably be some people starving in Russia this winter and in Africa and many other places and it won't be because they lack science or values or religion (you can't eat those) it is simply a matter of economics and politics -- failure of the political and economic system to deliver the goods.

To improve their lives the starving masses of India don't need a new mind set religion based on scientifically evolved values --, they need food, clothes, shelter, education, + security, -- and that can be achieved through an improved economic and political system, -- not through a new value system.

The real problem I have with most religions aside from their illogical scientific inaccuracy, is that they often teach people not to tolerate other world views. Rather than getting a new religion, I think mankind needs instead to get rid of all religion -- and I predict that that will eventually happen (in the distant future).

Excerpt from preliminary response: But it isn't the system; it is the underlying attitude of people that makes the system either work or not. Where the general attitude is one of decency, integrity, and reliability, where concern for fellow-humans exists, there is hardly any difference between systems; they all work. Where these attitudes are lacking, the best system will result in failure.

Critics answer (excerpt): There is such a thing as the science of economics and it makes a huge difference to people's material well being what kind of political and economic system they have.

Are you trying to tell me, for instance, that people were very moral and decent in the 1920's and then all of a sudden they lost their morality during the 1930's when there was a terrible world wide depression only to recover their virtue in time to cause the turnaround of the 1940's and 1950's. I don't think so.

Referee's judgment (letter to the editor, written by David Stover, co-author of Beyond a World Divided): You say "it isn't the system; it's the underlying attitude of the people ...When these attributes are lacking, the best system will result in failure." While that's certainly true, I think your argument that there is little difference among economic/political systems does not logically follow, nor is it the key element of your argument. While even the best systems may fail if the people are opposed to them, the worst systems may fail no matter how hard people try to keep them going (communism in parts of Eastern Europe seems to be an example). Your argument would be more effective if it were more inclusive. After all, your correspondent is setting up a false dichotomy between "systems" and "values" when, in fact, they are one and the same. Political and economic systems are simply complex aggregations of a great many value judgments about what's worthwhile. Capitalism, for instance, is a complex constellation of values about the worth of private property, of individualism. etc. To change systems, you have to change people's values; you and your correspondent are really talking about the same thing.

Final response to critic: Do you know that some Eastern religions teach that suffering cannot be alleviated, not even through suicide, because it will go on during an interminable series of reincarnations -- until the final blessed state, Nirwana (nothingness), the end of suffering, is reached through negation of personal desires. Can you imagine that anyone with such a belief would even try to apply the "science of economics" of which you speak? -- Only a "new mind set religion" that incorporates the facts of science (even though "you can't eat those") would make this possible.

To your conviction that mankind needs to get rid of all religion, and to your prediction that this will eventually happen, my answer is that this would be a blessing only wherever religion seals the mind against independent thought, but not where it provides a counter- balance to shortsighted economic and political theories. After all, it was religion that for the first time recognized people -- even those living beyond tribal and national borders -- as human beings; it was religion that for thousands of years warned against one-sided concentration on wealth. I do not know of any science of economics that is farsighted enough to incorporate the danger of resource depletion. Instead, buying unneeded things is encouraged as a national duty and is vigorously promoted through advertisements. I have even heard arguments by economical experts that we need more people to be able to sell more.

A completely impossible, irrational, and illogical assumption -- that the GNP can and must incessantly increase -- is so basic to our economic system that anyone questioning it appears abnormal.

If we have no time for long-range considerations now, when will we ever have it? The longer we delay a more rational perspective, the deeper we will sink into chaos and cruelty, until finally there is no more way out.

Last summer, I walked along the wooded cliffs overlooking our ocean shore and found an ant colony perched high above the waves, separated from the rest of the woods by a deep crack in the soil. That crack was widening after every rainstorm, and the next storm would wash the entire colony down into the ocean. The sky was darkening. -- Would the ants have been able to understand English, I would have told them to move their entire colony, with all their eggs and larvae, immediately further back into the woods. Of course, they wouldn't have understood. "There is no time for such nonsense," they would have answered, "we have more urgent and important things to do." I watched them busily hurrying back and forth, carrying material goods to their progeny. -- The attitude of the general human population to the insights of exceptional thinkers is very similar.

On my next walk, the colony had disappeared.

- - -
Letter-exchange of senior author of Beyond a World Divided (and editor of this quarterly) with critic.

* * * * *
Revolt against Thought Control

The planet is being cannibalized by a pathology of excess, ignorance and indifference promoted by magazine ads, TV and a $102 billion industry whose only aim is to twist your mind. The highest paid professionals in the world use the best and highest technology in the world to convince you to smoke more, drink more, consume more, and think less.

Adbusters (The Media Foundation, 1234 West 7th Ave., Vancouver, BC, V6H 1B7). (Excerpt from TRANET, Sept. 1992, p.6:)

* * * * *
Our only hope is for the human race to move out of its adolescence into maturity.

Robert Theobald
Turning the Century


THE POLITICS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Al Gore:

The former Senator of Tennessee and present Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, stands for a sense of responsibility in both politics and economics that promises, if its implementation can be accomplished, to lift the most powerful nation on earth out of the rut leading to degradation of life and toward a new course that would make America a true leader in enlightened future-oriented thinking.

Al Gore has the highest regard for the ideals of the Founding Fathers: self-government based on informed discourse. But he believes that presently prevailing "electronic image-making" reduces the extent and variety of the discourse needed.

"It is not so much the easy lies we tell each other," he says, "as the hard truths that are never told at all." As an example he reports that the U.S. budget borrows "a billion dollars every twenty-four hours and [is] in the process endangering the future of our children." All this is silently taken for granted, and as a result we drift toward "unprecedented crises." Why? "Because genuine political dialogue has been almost completely replaced by a high-stakes competition for the ever shorter attention span of the electorate." (P.170)

Al Gore describes the U.S. Constitution as an "ingenious machine," employing "pressure valves and compensating forces to achieve a dynamic balance," invented to grant rights to the individual without sacrificing the needs of the community, to permit freedom while guaranteeing order, to allow both passions and principles as political factors. The solidity of this "daring and wonderfully effective invention," is proved by its world-wide recognition as the best system of government, though it was written more than two centuries ago and extensive changes have occurred since.(P.171)

Why, then, would such a system permit us to slide into the problems we have? Al Gore thinks that our "ingenious machine" has been neglected. The inbuilt balance has been disrupted. "We have tilted so far toward individual rights and so far away from any sense of obligation that it is now difficult to muster an adequate defense of any rights vested in the community at large or in the nation -- much less rights properly vested in all humankind or in posterity." (P.278) - - -

Based upon: Earth in the Balance

* * * * *
Vaclav Havel: (Interview with Lance Morrow)

Lance Morrow introduces Vaclav Havel as a leader with a profound sense of morality in politics, a man with ideas transcending Central Europe and aiming toward a "global civil society." Calm and composed he resides over the break-up of Czechoslovakia, trying to avoid suffering above all, and asserting values rarely found in politics elsewhere, such as "courtesy, good taste, intelligence, decency and, above all, responsibility."

When asked whether he considers the disintegration of his fatherland as a tragedy, Havel answers that it would be a tragedy only if turmoil, bloodshed, and economic break-down would be the result, rather than order and progress in two well-run, autonomic and democratic states. It is not Czechoslovakia to which he feels himself attached, nor any other state, it is "man and humanity."

To the question whether he sees the future as bright and promising or as dark and threatening, he responds: "I cherish a certain hope in me," and describes this hope as a "state of spirit" without which he would be unable to exist or act. He sees our global future as a "colorful spectrum of possibilities, from the worst to the best," and, without knowing which of these will prevail, he feels in himself the responsibility to work toward the realization of the better alternatives. Such work could not be done without this spirit of hope in him that provides him with energy and initiative.

_ _ _
Based upon: "I Cherish a Certain Hope" by Lance Morrow. Time, August 3, 1992, Pp. 42-44.

* * * * *
D. Paul Schafer

Of all the component parts of the state - human, ethical, aesthetic, scientific, educational, social, environmental, economic and political - none is more essential, or more pressing at this juncture in history, than the human component. We neglect it at our peril. (P.65)

- - -
It is impossible to place ethical principles and practices at the core of the cultural state without placing them squarely in the secular domain. This means making them daily, human concerns, rather than occasional, religious concerns. This is not intended to downplay the latter in favour of the former, since both are essential to a well-designed ethical code. Rather it is to ensure that ethical concerns do not become divorced from the mainstream of modern life. -- The secular code visualized here is humane in nature and universal in scope....

Moral integrity, individual and institutional and societal, is the means whereby this new ethical code can be achieved. When Thoreau said, "more than love, than money, than fame, give me truth," he exposed the essence of moral integrity. For moral integrity is inconceivable without truth - truth which compels us to be honest with ourselves and with others, ... Likewise, it is truth which compels us to confront the causes of injustice and inequality in the world. When the existentialists say that we commit the whole of humanity when we commit ourselves, it is really moral integrity they have in mind. (P.68)

- - -
Excerpted from A New World Order.

D. Paul Schafer (19 Sir Gawaine Place, Markham, ON L3P 3A1, Canada) is Director of the World Culture Project, associated with UNESCO.

* * * * *
The World Citizen's Assembly was founded in San Francisco in 1975. Assemblies have been held in Austria, Paris, Japan, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City annually since 1989.Their continuous goal is "to abolish war and build a world community." Specific objectives are:

- To help decide our world's future

- to develop collectively an agenda and priorities on which we can achieve a united front

- and to participate effectively as World Citizens in decision making on the critical issues of survival on this planet.

For more information please contact: WORLD CITIZENS
110 Sutter Street, Suite 708, San Francisco, CA 94104, U.S.A.

* * * * *
People who develop the habit of thinking of themselves as world citizens are fulfilling the first requirement of sanity in our time.

Norman Cousins


THE ECONOMICS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Al Gore:

As one of the most responsible thinkers and statesmen on earth, Al Gore recognizes that the victory of the West over communism obliges us to pay attention to the shortcomings of the capitalist economic system.

For instance, a severe flaw is contained in the calculation of a nation's gross national product (GNP) as indicator of its economic success; non-renewable resources are being depleted but not depreciated. Although it is common business practice to depreciate manufactured goods, lost topsoil or poisoned groundwater are disregarded. (Pp.183/4)

"For all practical purposes," Gore says, "GNP treats the rapid and reckless destruction of the environment as a good thing!" (P.185)

As an example, he cites a study on forest harvesting in Indonesia by Robert Repetto of the World Resources Institute. In that country, intensive cutting led to the loss of 40% of original crop yield due to top soil erosion. Yet while this disaster was going on and the country's future was in jeopardy, "the official economic reports all showed a rosy picture of steady progress." (P.185)

The power of the capitalistic economic system, as demonstrated through its defeat of communism, is contrasted with its great inherent weakness: its thoughtless devastation of our biosphere. (P.185)

From: Earth in the Balance.

- - -
Editor's comment: The communist system, however, shows even less regard for the biosphere. For instance, "in Upper Silesia, Poland, indiscriminate dumping of toxic wastes has so poisoned the land and water that 10 percent of the regions newborns have birth defects, from missing limbs to brain damage." Time, January 11, 1993, p.38 (in article on "Megacities" by Eugene Linden, pp. 30-40).


THOUGHT IN ACTION

1993 Star Island Conference: Charting Our Lives: Possibilities, Constraints and Decisions. -- 31 July to 7 August.

This conference focuses on our contemporary quest for ethical patterns that promote meaningful living for ourselves and others -- in a world where new possibilities present themselves almost too rapidly to be integrated. This quest is approached from a particular perspective: How do we discern whether emerging new options are life giving or life destroying? How do we nourish the constraining elements from our past that are necessary for life and transform those elements that are destructive?

(Adapted from the IRAS Newsletter of Oct. 15, 1992.)

* * * * *
Report on the 1992 Star Island Conference of the Institute of Religion in an Age of Science on GLOBAL ECOLOGY

LOYAL RUE's summarization of the 1992 Star Island IRAS conference succeeded to express the atmosphere of tolerance and mutual understanding -- and its magnetism -- which penetrates the IRAS and radiates from it.

The entire series of lectures, together with the formal and informal discussions following them, is portrayed as a stimulating conversation, in which different, and sometimes contrasting, views are expressed.

First, the dangers of our global situation are outlined -- earth's deteriorating atmosphere, the disruption of our delicate life support systems, exponential increase in population, the prospect of overshoot and collapse, breakdown of social order, and so on. -- Then the topic turned to mass extinctions, one of which might possibly, but not inevitably, occur through present human activities.

We have one great advantage in comparison with other species: we do not inherit but design our relation with the environment. Thus, we can change it.

How can this best be done? Contradictory approaches with all the potential to lead to an explosion are described: two feminists suggest to discard "silly dualisms" (spirit/matter, us/them, etc.) in favor of "the erotic domain of human experience," which would lead to holism and better attitudes, and to develop new conceptual foundations that grant intrinsic value to non-human life forms and make the earth our "home." -- Two males speak about new foundations for a "guiding vision" and about a graduated valuation of organisms depending on the "intensity and complexity of [their] neurology." (I.e. the clam digger is valued more than the clam.)

Loyal Rue notes the clash between both ways of thinking: primordial experience vs. reformulated concepts -- and defuses the situation with tact and humor.

The discussion proceeds. Economic systems are human inventions too, rather than eternal dictates, an economist states, and the challenge is to strive for economic equilibrium rather than for economic growth. A theologian suggests new images and metaphors "to integrate the spiritual, moral, and economic dimensions of our lives"; someone compares our clinging to detrimental thinking habits with the behavior of an addict who cannot change until shocked by a catastrophic event; but a researcher on smoking habits in the U.S.A. counters with a discussion on the speed with which attitudes regarding smoking were altered and recommends to use the same successful methods to improve relations with our planet. -- An atmosphere of hope becomes finally dominant, based on the repeated observation that "past relations have been of our own making and we are free to reconstruct them."

While all this is going on, daily Buddhist chapel sermons, designed to appeal to Jewish, Christian, Unitarian, Pagan, agnostic or atheist attendants, add a flavour of their own. "Here we are," Rue says, "anxious to save the planet and worried that we might just fail. And Leslie [the Buddhist chapel speaker] calmly and serenely assures us that we will fail." He is right, of course; eventually, the sun will burn out.

Rue's main argument is for tolerance of divergent attitudes. He reminds us that early Christianity was so successful precisely because it incorporated parts of so many different view points and philosophies. "The environmental movement could very well self-destruct by virtue of premature dogmatism and infighting," he asserts. "There was no orthodox theology in the Christian church until well after the Christians were in a position of power. When the environmentalists are in a position of power let the orthodoxy begin. But for now, let the hundred flowers bloom. Who cares why people recycle? This movement has the potential for unifying the globe and saving the planet for the seventh generation. Let's not blow it. There is no true-blue way to be green. And even if there were, it wouldn't be worth much at the bottom of the La Brea tar pits!"

- - -
The above report is based on an article in the IRAS Newsletter Vol.41, No.1 (Oct.15, 1992) pp. 6-8.

* * * * *
A new group, Scientists for Global Responsibility, was launched in London recently. It aims to promote and coordinate research, education and related activities for scientists and so to ensure the responsible use of science and technology; to build international peace, security and justice; to accelerate disarmament; to work for global survival; and to bring about a transfer of resources from military spending to peaceful and sustainable development.

Contact: Scientists for Global Responsibility, Unit 3, Down House, the Business Village, Broomhill Road, London, England SW18 4JQ.

From: Science & Religion News, Summer 1992, P.3.


BOOK REVIEWS

Turning the Century by Robert Theobald. Indianapolis: Knowledge Systems, Inc. 1992. Hardcover, 235 pages.

It is hardly possible to exaggerate the value of Robert Theobald's latest book. Its title, "Turning the Century," and its subtitle, "Personal and Organizational Strategies for Your Changed World," do nothing to prepare the reader for the wealth and freshness of Theobald's approach to global problems.

The author is a realist with a dream and a vision. -- "There is a single paramount theme in all my work," he explains, "How can we cope with the breakdown of our systems? How can we set up decision-making processes that work?" -- Theobald's answers to these questions show not only his ingenuity but also his maturity gained through 40 years of experience as an economist, futurist, and social innovator.

His special gift lies in working with small groups, in which he quickly establishes an atmosphere of trust and openness -- the prerequisite for fruitful discussions and mutual learning. He infuses individuals of these groups with a positive attitude and awakens in them a sense of responsibility and self-confidence -- the conviction that they are able to influence their own fate and the fate of our world. -- It is his belief that change toward a saner and more just society -- if it is possible at all -- will depend on individual efforts within and through such small groups.

His realism, however, forces him to admit that we will have to move beyond democracy, beyond majority rule, and toward "authority, based on competence, knowledge and servant leadership." His final aim is "responsible freedom," and the global culture he envisions (consisting of a rich "tapestry" of individual cultures and communities developing their own inventiveness and determining their own fate) is based on his four principles of "honesty, responsibility, humility, and love" to which he adds a "respect for mystery."

For this reviewer, the highlight of his work is condensed in Theobald's recognition that "conflict has highly positive aspects," and that "the fastest way to learn is to discover a person or group which reaches totally different conclusions to your own when looking at the same reality," as well as in his belief that examination of different view points deepens the grasp of a problem, even if conclusions remain the same. A more complete understanding of the entire situation occurs, and "this is the key toward new approaches to violence."

Conflict becomes dangerous only if one group sees its rights as more important than those of others, seals its thinking against opposing points of view, and considers itself justified to impose its will by force. He believes that "the way to work through an issue may emerge anywhere, and it is only by truly listening to all those involved that a deadlock may be turned into hopeful movement."

The author challenges us to "abandon our ideologies and biases" and open our minds to new and thought provoking conceptions. He even declares that "one of the wonderful aspects of the twenty-first century" is that continuing existence of humankind and the biosphere both depend on alternatives to violence.

Aware that we are caught in the "Rapids of Change" (the title of one of his previous books), the author furthermore insists on the need for life-long learning as a new aim and aspiration to substitute for the now prevailing, but ultimately destructive aim of constant increase of money and consumption. Outer growth must be replaced by inner growth.

A mature attitude is advocated beyond naive optimism and paralyzing pessimism. Between "those who deny the capacity of human beings to deal with present crises" and the "mindless optimism of growth-oriented economists and politicians" there exist millions of people who guide our future through innumerable small conscientious decisions. Theobald sees our hope in these persons. He calls them "courageous realists," a title of honor.

* * * * *
Who is Who in Service of the Earth is a combination of book and directory. The first part contains 41 visions of a positive future, with many well-known names like Fritjof Capra, Hazel Henderson, Peter Russell, Marylyn Ferguson, Jean Houston and Robert Muller*, to name but a few. The second part is a directory of people, the third of projects, the fourth of organizations and the fifth an extremely useful glossary of keywords which enables the reader to identify projects, people and organizations of special interest. People are listed with addresses, phone numbers and projects. -- The book is available from VisionLink Education Foundation, Shelton Cove Road 184, Waynesville, NC 28786, U.S.A.

- - -
This review has been excerpted from the Network Newsletter No. 49 (August 1992) of The Scientific and Medical Network, Lesser Halings, Tilehouse Lane, Denham, Nr.Uxbridge, Middx UB9 5DG, England. - - -

*Further publications by Robert Muller can be obtained from Michael Parker, World Happiness and Cooperation, P.O.Box 1153, Anacortes, WA 98221, U.S.A. or from the United Nations Bookstore in New York.

* * * * *
The Third Testament. Unpublished (but copyrighted) manuscript by James A. Herbert.

(Quote from introduction): The ultimate purpose of this book is therefore to help extend and strengthen the bonds of understanding and good will all around the world as we together advance into a future now dominated by weapons a thousand times more destructive than those swords of yesteryear; a world now a thousand times more populated than when those first great religions of the world were developed; and a world grown a thousand times more valuable owing to the countless millions of gifts left to it through the ages of men, women and children everywhere. (P.26)

- - -
The author of the "Third Testament" maintains that the "New Testament" will become humankind's last testament, unless present knowledge is used to amend religious imperatives. Much thought is given to the historical development of our culture, and especially to the need for, and construction of, an "Earth Government."

Anyone interested in the manuscript, please contact: James A. Herbert, 7748 Zimmerman Road, Hamburg, NY 14075, U.S.A. (J.A.Herbert would be grateful for contacts that would help him to find a publisher or an agent.)


REFLECTIONS

Why does it seem impossible to adjust maladaptive thinking processes to a new situation on earth? Perhaps, we have outgrown the world for which our nature was built. The brain is a collection of biological adaptations to an environment that existed millions of years ago. It is ruled and regulated by a neocortex molded through our different cultures -- mainly before all connections are fully established, and before memory and consciousness develop. It is thus largely immune to change; changed can only be of what we are conscious (Ornstein, 1991). Advance toward more sensible responses to our present situation must take these facts of reality into account. Reason is rare and of great value.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank The Futurist and Edith Weiner for permission to quote from "Business in the 21st Century," D.P. Schafer for permission to quote from "The New World Order," Karl E. Erdmann for permission to reprint his criticism of "Beyond a World Divided," Robert Theobald for his original contribution, and David Stover for his referee-letter.


REFERENCES

Gore, A. Earth in the Balance. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1992.

Havel, V. "I Cherish a Certain Hope." Interview by Lance Morrow. Time August 3, 1992.

Herbert, J. The Third Testament, unpublished. 7748 Zimmerman Road, Hamburg, NY 14075, U.S.A.

Jackson, P. The Nature of Man. Unpublished manuscript (copyrighted). -- Peter Jackson, 12 Emily Carr St., Unionville, Ontario, L3R 2K4, Canada.

Kidder, R.M. "Ethics, a matter of survival." The Futurist, March-April 1992.

Linden, E. "Megacities," Time, Jan. 11, 1993, pp.30-40).

Myers, D.G. The Pursuit of Happiness: Who is Happy -- and Why?. William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, U.S.A., 1992.

Ornstein, R. The Evolution of Consciousness. New York: Prentice Hall, 1991.

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