Title: Enhancing the Wellbeing and Prosperity of Humankind Exploring New Directions in a Time of Rapid Chan
1Enhancing theWell-being and Prosperityof
HumankindExploring New Directionsin a Time of
Rapid Change
- Arthur Lyon Dahl Ph.D.
- European Bahá'í Business Forum (EBBF)
- http//www.ebbf.org
- International Environment Forum (IEF)
- http//www.bcca.org/ief
- 25 September 2009
2The challenge for business
- A leader in business is expected to meet
short-term targets for growth and profitability - Business operates in a rapidly changing and
globalizing world reaching planetary limits - How do you balance and integrate the short-term
responsibility for business success and the
longer-term economic, social and environmental
risks to that success? - Does business share any larger responsibility for
human well-being?
3Outline of the presentation
- A time of rapid change
- What is the well-being of humankind?
- Exploring new directions for the ideal company
- The larger picture
4A Time ofRapid Change
- The economic system demonstrated it was
fundamentally flawed, but everyone is hoping to
return to business as usual - Climate change requires rapid and concerted
action, but everyone is defending their own
interest - Population growth and environmental degradation
are reaching planetary limits - The information revolution is transforming human
relationships
5RISKSTO THEECONOMICSYSTEM
6The financial system gambled on our future and
lost
The Casinó in Monaco
7Collapse of the financial system
- The 2007-2008 collapse of the financial system
was due to greed, herd behaviour, and
over-confidence in scientific approaches to risk
management - Complex statistical models do not work for
extreme events - Each vulnerability was evaluated independently
- Future projections were based on past experience
- There was no evaluation of overall systems
behaviour - Jamison 2008
8The main danger
- "The main danger we face is... that by late 2009
the global economy will be perking up again
(because the housing sectors will have bottomed
and the unwinding of commodity prices will boost
consumption among oil importers) and governments
will go back to business as usual, missing a
once-in-a-life-time opportunity to address the
serious vulnerabilities in the worlds financial
system which the current crisis has revealed. In
that scenario, the next crisis would find us with
little ammunition left. That is the real danger." - Augusto Lopez Claros, letter to the Financial
Times, 4 December 2008
9Where is the Economy going?Still accumulating
debt
- Origins in American consumer society living
beyond its means, accumulating debt - Head of European Central Bank "We live in
non-linear times the classic economic models and
theories cannot be applied, and future
development cannot be foreseen." - Derivatives over 500 trillion by 2008 (x4 5y)
- Explosion in government borrowing European
countries on brink of insolvency risk of loss of
confidence in governments - Warnings of hyperinflation
10Only a minority benefitsfrom the
unsustainablemarket system
- All too many of these man-made
ideologies...callously abandon starving millions
to the operations of a market system that all to
clearly is aggravating the plight of the majority
of mankind, while enabling small sections to live
in a condition of affluence scarcely dreamed of
by our forebears. - (Universal House of Justice, The Promise of World
Peace, I, p. 6-7)
11RAPID CHANGE IN THEENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
12Population Growth
13SYMPTOM Global land grab
- Wealthy governments and large companies are
buying/leasing large areas of land in poor
countries for export to ensure their own food
security - 10 m ha were bought in 2008, 20m in first half of
2009 ( half all arable land in Europe) - South Korea 690,000ha and UAE and Egypt 400,000ha
each in Sudan Saudi Arabia 500,000ha in
Tanzania Daewoo 1.3m ha in Madagascar Libya
100,000ha in Mali South African businesses 8m ha
in DR Congo China 2.8m ha in Congo and 2m ha in
Zambia, with 1 m Chinese farm labourers in Africa
in 2009
14We are alsoaccumulating massive socialand
environmental debt
- Climate change is already worse than worst
predictions of IPCC 2007 - UK Chief Scientist (19 March) the world faces a
'perfect storm' of problems in 2030 as food,
energy and water shortages interact with climate
change to produce public unrest, cross-border
conflicts and mass migrations
15CLIMATE CHANGEWhat the models saidIPCC 2007
16Threat to Security
- If climate change goes unchecked, its effects
will be catastrophic on the level of nuclear
war. - The security dimension will come increasingly to
the forefront as countries begin to see falls in
available resources and economic vitality,
increased stress on their armed forces, greater
instability in regions of strategic import,
increases in ethnic rivalries, and a widening gap
between rich and poor. - International Institute for Strategic Studies,
Strategic Survey 2007 (September 2007)
17Climate changeeffect on the economy
- The Stern Report estimated the annual cost of
uncontrolled climate change at more than 660
billion (5 to 20 of global GDP, as compared to
1 for control measures for greenhouse gases). - Climate change represents the greatest market
failure in human history
18Energyinvestment challenges
- The International Energy Agency estimates needed
investment in energy infrastructure at 22,000bn
by 2030 to replace ageing capacity and meet
growing demand (2 global GDP, 130 per person
per year) - Responding to climate change would add 2,000bn
19The double economic challenge
- On current trends, ...humanity will need twice
as much energy as it uses today within 35
years.... Produce too little energy, say the
economists, and there will be price hikes and a
financial crash unlike any the world has ever
known, with possible resource wars, depression
and famine. Produce the wrong sort of energy, say
the climate scientists, and we will have more
droughts, floods, rising seas and worldwide
economic disaster with runaway global warming. - John Vidal in The Guardian Weekly, 9-15 February
2007, Energy supplement, p. 3 - We may well do both at the same time.
20Adding up the figures
- A recent analysis of 40 years of data on human
activity and environmental damage puts the cost
of climate change, ozone depletion, deforestation
and overfishing by rich nations at 47 trillion,
more that the combined foreign debt of all poor
nations - The annual investment necessary to restore the
planet's productive resources is estimated at 93
billion - The biggest shortage may be of capital to make
investments and repair damage
21This is a crisis of consumption, foundation of
the business model
- The economy is driven by consumption
- Anything increasing consumption was good for the
economy planned obsolescence, aggressive
advertising and marketing, encouraging addiction,
carefully orchestrated changes in style, etc. - Information technologies and media have
globalized this and made it more effective - People expect increasing purchasing power
22The consumer lifestyle in danger
23Risk of collapse of civilization(Meadows et al.
(1992) Beyond the Limits)
- Business as usual Transition 1995
Transition 2015
24End of the growth paradigm
- Is endless growth realistic?
- Economic growth has depended on population
growth, energy growth, resource growth and
technological innovation - The first three all end in this century
- All that is left is our brains and heart
25Has business forgotten people?Is the problem
fundamentally ethical?
26Business has noinherent ethical framework
- Only statutory obligation is profit for
shareholders - Ethics dependent on individuals, especially at
the top - Globalization leaves business open to ethical
challenges beyond national legislation
27Moral Failures in Business
- Madoff, Enron, Worldcom and other frauds
- Transfer pricing, creative accounting, offshore
tax havens allow escaping taxation - Exorbitant salaries of corporate leaders and
bonuses of bankers - Corporate funding of disinformation
- Corruption flourishing almost everywhere
- Privatization in some countries has allowed the
powerful and wealthy to grab assets
28CORRUPTION
- The illegal economy from organized crime is now
2 trillion/year, or twice all the world's
defence budgets - Bribery 1tr counterfeiting and piracy 520bn
drug trade 320bn human trafficking 44bn - Political corruption is everywhere the vast
majority of bribes go to people in rich countries - 10 of all public health budgets are lost to
corruption - Business participates to buy advantages, for
efficiency, out of fear - This results in market failures, capital loss
29The economy is rooted inself-centred materialism
- The early twentieth century materialistic
interpretation of reality became the dominant
world faith in the direction of society -
- Dogmatic materialism captured all significant
centres of power and information at the global
level, ensuring that no competing voices could
challenge projects of world wide economic
exploitation
30It has sold us the consumer culture
- - Materialism's gospel of human betterment
produced today's consumer culture pursuing
ephemeral goals - - For the small minority of people who can afford
them, the benefits it offers are immediate, and
the rationale unapologetic - - The breakdown of traditional morality has led
to the triumph of animal impulse, as instinctive
and blind as appetite - - Selfishness becomes a prized commercial
resource falsehood reinvents itself as public
information greed, lust, indolence, pride - even
violence - acquire not merely broad acceptance
but social and economic value - - Yet material comforts and acquisitions have
been drained of meaning (based on Baha'i
International Community, One Common Faith, 2005)
31The materialistic basis of economic thinking is
itself an ethical challenge
- - we can no longer believe that there is no limit
to nature's capacity to fulfil any demand made on
it by human beings - - giving absolute value to expansion, to
acquisition, and to the satisfaction of people's
wants is not a realistic guide to policy - - economic decision-making tools cannot deal with
the fact that most of the major challenges are
global - (The Prosperity of Humankind, Bahá'í
International Community, Office of Public
Information, Haifa)
32The failure of social and economic development
- - Development has been our largest collective
undertaking, with humanitarian aims and enormous
material and technological investment - - While it brought impressive benefits, it failed
to narrow the gap between rich and poor - - The gap has widen into an abyss
- (based on Baha'i International Community, 2005)
33The failure of present institutions to address
global challenges
- No politician will sacrifice short-term economic
welfare, even while agreeing that sustainability
is essential in the long term - Deep social divisions within societies and
between countries prevent united action in the
common interest - Our present economic system is incapable of
addressing long-term issues
34Like a navigator in troubled waters,an
entrepreneur has to practice adaptive management
- but you need a vision of where you want to go
35WHAT IS THE WELL-BEINGOF HUMANKIND?
36 - How do we redefine our purpose as individuals
- and as a society
- and move rapidly towards sustainability?
37Is our purpose only material?Do we also have a
spiritual nature and purpose?How do we become
mindful people?
38Redefining Individual Well-being
- Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not
in the pageantry of wealth and riches. Take heed
that your words be purged from idle fancies and
worldly desires and your deeds be cleansed from
craftiness and suspicion. - Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives
in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor
let your endeavours be spent in promoting your
personal interest. Be generous in your days of
plenty, and be patient in the hour of loss....
Guard against idleness and sloth, and cling unto
that which profiteth mankind, whether young or
old, whether high or low. - Bahá'u'lláh
39Should we put wealthabove all else?
- Know ye in truth that wealth is a mighty barrier
between the seeker and his desire, the lover and
his beloved. The rich, but for a few, shall in no
wise attain the court of His presence nor enter
the city of content and resignation.... - (Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words (Persian) 53)
40Poverty and Wealth
- Be not troubled in poverty or confident in
riches, for poverty is followed by riches, and
riches are followed by poverty. Yet to be poor in
all save God is a wondrous gift, belittle not the
value thereof, for in the end it will make thee
rich in God... - (Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words (Persian) 51)
41Contentment
- The true seeker should be content with little,
and be freed from all inordinate desire.... He
should succour the dispossessed, and never
withhold is favour from the destitute. - (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Iqán, p. 193-194)
42Voluntary Simplicity
- Take from this world only to the measure of your
needs, and forego that which exceedeth them. - (Bahá'u'lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts,
p. 193)
43What is Meaningful Work?
- Ye are the trees of My garden ye must give forth
goodly and wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves
and others may profit therefrom. Thus it is
incumbent on everyone to engage in crafts and
professions, for therein lies the secret of
wealth... - (Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words (Persian) 80)
44Work is Worship
- It is incumbent upon each one of you to engage in
some occupation - such as a craft, a trade or the
like. We have exalted your engagement is such
work to the rank of worship of the one true
God.... Waste not your hours in idleness and
sloth, but occupy yourselves with what will
profit you and others.... - (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, para. 33, p. 30)
45COLLECTIVE WELL-BEING
46Combining material and spiritual
- ... although material civilization is one of the
means for the progress of the world of mankind,
yet until it becomes combined with Divine
civilization, the desired result, which is the
felicity of mankind, will not be attained....
Material civilization is like the body. No matter
how infinitely graceful, elegant and beautiful it
may be, it is dead. Divine civilization is like
the spirit, and the body gets its life from the
spirit, otherwise it becomes a corpse. - ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of
'Abdu'l-Bahá, 227, pp. 303-304)
47Unityis essential for our well-being
- Acceptance of the oneness of mankind is the first
fundamental prerequisite for the reorganization
and administration of the world as one country,
the home of humankind. - (Universal House of Justice, The Promise of World
Peace, p. 13-14)
48Unity - applying the treatment
- Laying the groundwork for global civilization
calls for the creation of laws and institutions
that are universal in both character and
authority. The effort can begin only when the
concept of the oneness of humanity has been
wholeheartedly embraced by those in whose hands
the responsibility for decision making rests, and
when the related principles are propagated
through both educational systems and the media of
mass communication. Once this threshold is
crossed, a process will have been set in motion
through which the peoples of the world can be
drawn into the task of formulating common goals
and committing themselves to their attainment. - (The Prosperity of Humankind, Bahá'í
International Community, Office of Public
Information, Haifa)
49JUSTICE - The active ingredient
- Justice is the one power that can translate the
dawning consciousness of humanity's oneness into
a collective will through which the necessary
structures of global community life can be
confidently erected. An age that sees the people
of the world increasingly gaining access to
information of every kind and to a diversity of
ideas will find justice asserting itself as the
ruling principle of successful social
organisation. - (Baha'i International Community, Prosperity of
Humankind)
50We are a privileged minority
- It is unjust to sacrifice the well-being of most
people -- and even of the planet itself -- to the
advantages which technological breakthroughs can
make available to privileged minorities - (based on Baha'i International Community,
Prosperity of Humankind)
51Unity through Solidarity
- - We should consider every human being a trust of
the whole. - - The goal of wealth creation should be to make
everyone wealthy. - - Voluntary giving is more meaningful and
effective than forced redistribution. - - The distribution of the planet's resources
should be equitably regulated.
52Our material civilizationmust be moderated
- The civilization, so often vaunted by the learned
exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed
to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great
evil upon men. - Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh, CLXIV
53What should be thepurpose of the development of
society?
- That purpose must be sought in spiritual
dimensions of life and motivation that transcend
a constantly changing economic landscape and an
artificially imposed division of human societies
into "developed" and "developing". - (Bahá'í International Community, The Prosperity
of Humankind)
54The true purpose of economics
- Economics has ignored humanity's broader social
and spiritual needs, resulting in - - Corrosive materialism among the wealthy
- - Persistent poverty for masses of the world's
peoples - Economic systems should give the peoples and
institutions of the world the means to achieve
the real purpose of development the cultivation
of the limitless potentialities in human
consciousness. -
- (adapted from Bahá'í International Community,
Valuing Spirituality in Development, 1998)
55Wealth creation
- Wealth is praiseworthy in the highest degree, if
it is acquired by an individual's own efforts...
in commerce, agriculture, art and industry, and
if it be expended for philanthropic purposes.
Above all, if a judicious and resourceful
individual should initiate measures which would
universally enrich the masses of the people,
there could be no undertaking greater than
this,... for such a benefactor would supply the
needs and insure the comfort and well-being of a
great multitude. Wealth is most commendable,
provided the entire population is wealthy. - ('Abdu'l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization)
56We need new economic models that
- - further a dynamic, just and thriving social
order - - are strongly altruistic and cooperative in
nature - - provide meaningful employment
- - help to eradicate poverty in the world
57What is a reasonable salary?
- Overstep not the bounds of moderation, and deal
justly with them that serve thee. Bestow upon
them according to their needs, and not to the
extent that will enable them to lay up riches for
themselves, to deck their persons, to embellish
their homes, to acquire the things that are of no
benefit to them, and to be numbered with the
extravagant. Deal with them with undeviating
justice, so that none among them may either
suffer want, or be pampered with luxuries. - (Bahá'u'lláh to the Sultan of Turkey, Gleanings
from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, CXIV, pp.
235-236)
58Sharing Wealth
- ...voluntary sharing of one's property with
others... is greater than equality, and consists
in this, that man should not prefer himself to
others, but rather should sacrifice his life and
property for others. But this should not be
introduced by coercion so that it becomes a law
and man is compelled to follow it. Nay, rather,
man should voluntarily and of his own choice
sacrifice his property and life for others, and
spend willingly for the poor.... - ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of
'Abdu'l-Bahá, 227, p. 302)
59Distribution of Wealth through Taxation
- All must be producers. Each person in the
community whose income is equal to his individual
producing capacity shall be exempt from taxation.
But if his income is greater than his needs he
must pay a tax until an adjustment is
effected.... if his necessities exceed his
production he shall receive an amount sufficient
to equalize or adjust. Therefore taxation will be
proportionate to capacity and production and
there will be no poor in the community. - ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity, p. 37)
60Profit-sharing
- ...the owners of properties, mines and factories
should share their incomes with their employees
and give a fairly certain percentage of their
products to their workingmen in order that the
employees may receive, beside their wages, some
of the general income of the factory so that the
employee may strive with his soul in the work. - ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity, p.
43-44)
61Universal employment
- It is the duty of those who are in charge of the
organization of society to give every individual
the opportunity of acquiring the necessary talent
in some kind of profession, and also the means of
utilizing such a talent, both for its own sake
and for the sake of earning the means of his
livelihood. Every individual, no matter how
handicapped and limited he may be, is under the
obligation of engaging in some work or
profession, for work, especially when performed
in the spirit of service, is according to
Bahá'u'lláh a form of worship. - Kitáb-i-Aqdas NOTE 56. "to engage in some
occupation" para.33
62Well-being requires sustainable environmental
management
- Sustainable environmental management must come to
be seen not as a discretionary commitment to
weigh against other competing interests, but
rather as a fundamental responsibility and
pre-requisite for spiritual development as well
as our physical survival
63EXPLORING NEW DIRECTIONS FOR THE IDEAL COMPANY
64It is hard to be the ideal company in a
disfunctional societyThe need today is for
visionary business leaders to relate practical
business realities to a new framework of values
65Challenges to responsible entrepreneurs
- - How can economic efficiency, profit and wealth
creation combine with corporate social
responsibility and respecting environmental
limits? - - How do we raise productivity and create
employment?
66Is bigger always better?
- What are the most appropriate scales for economic
activities? - Are there limits to increasing productivity?
- Should short term always win over long term?
67What about a technological fix?
- The best "technological fix" lies in "human
engineering" education, investment in human
capital, development of human potential,
sustainability across generations - This should include ethics/values in balance with
science
68Business is essential to the solution
- Innovation and flexibility
- More financial means than most governments
- Not constrained by political frontiers
- But, it needs to add other goals beyond profit
(examples Tata, Migros) - There is nothing incompatible between
competitiveness and social and environmental
responsibility
69Competitiveness vs. Social and Environmental
ResponsibilityDahl, in Global Competitiveness
Report 2004-2005, World Economic Forum
70BUSINESS AND ENVIRONMENT ARE COMPATIBLE
- Business leaders consider good governance (strict
environmental regulation fairly enforced)
increases their competitiveness - Countries with most advanced and competitive
industrial economies also show the most advanced
business thinking on environmental and social
responsibility - Strong regulations allow companies to compete in
meeting their regulatory obligations, giving a
competitive advantage to companies that innovate
and increase their efficiency in environmental
performance - This creates new market niches for environmental
services
71JUSTICE AND CONSULTATIONin the workplace and
community
- At the group level, a concern for justice is the
indispensable compass in collective decision
making, because it is the only means by which
unity of thought and action can be achieved.... - ... justice is the practical expression of
awareness that, in the achievement of human
progress, the interests of the individual and
those of society are inextricably linked. To the
extent that justice becomes a guiding concern of
human interaction, a consultative climate is
encouraged that permits options to be examined
dispassionately and appropriate courses of action
selected. - (Baha'i International Community, Prosperity of
Humankind)?
72Equality between men and women
- ...the principle of the equality of the sexes is
fundamental to all realistic thinking about the
future well-being of the earth and its people....
"Women and men", is Bahá'u'lláh's emphatic
assertion, "have been and will always be equal in
the sight of God...." A commitment to the
establishment of full equality between men and
women, in all departments of life and at every
level of society, will be central to the success
of efforts to conceive and implement a strategy
of global development. - (Baha'i International Community, Prosperity of
Humankind)
73Adaptative managementis necessary in times of
rapid change
- Faced with complexity, uncertainty, risks
- Define your goals
- Evaluate the options
- Take short-term action
- Monitor and evaluate
- Modify the action if necessary
- Avoid to much rigidity
74Rapid change requires a new entrepreneurship
- We are in the middle of a major transformation in
society - The past is not a good predictor of the future
- Change is inevitable, and the rate of change is
accelerating, requiring adaptive management - Globalization cannot be stopped, but it can be
transformed - Institution building for international governance
will continue - We can consciously work for change, or wait for
catastrophe to force us to change - There will be new forms of wealth creation and
business - Creativity and innovation will be increasingly
necessary for success - Values and ethics will be fundamental to social
and economic transformation
75THE LARGER PICTUREOFNEWDIRECTIONS
76 - Business alone cannot change the present economic
system, and an alternative has yet to be devised.
Governments have an essential role to play. Civil
society organizations are increasingly important.
And presssure must come from individuals and
communities at the grass roots.
77What kind of institutions do we need to create
wealthand provide services?
- Public or private?
- Commercial or non-profit?
- Local, national or international?
- Private intellectual property or public license
(open source)? - Social enterprise, fair trade, environmentally
sustainable? - Limited liability or full responsibility?
78IMPORTANCE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
- Good laws and regulations not sufficient
- Inefficient or irregular enforcement and
corruption allow businesses to escape from their
responsibilities - Companies that want to improve performance are at
a competitive disadvantage - Lack of progress at national level rebounds on
international competitiveness - Therefore good governance is essential
79CHARACTERISTICS OFGOOD GOVERNANCE
- Some qualities of good governance
- Trust
- Collaborative spirit between business and
government public participation - Regulations clear and enforced fairly
- Confidence in business that their taxes will be
spent effectively in their common interest - Subsidiarity -multilevel governance
- Adherence to international agreements
80MEANINGFUL WORKThe well-being of humankind
requires eliminating poverty
- Issues of food, nutrition, health and shelter are
central to the challenge of providing an adequate
standard of living for all members of the human
family. These issues cannot, however, be tackled
solely as technical or economic problems.
Eliminating hunger and malnutrition establishing
food security providing adequate shelter and
achieving health for all will require a shift in
values, a commitment to equity, and a
corresponding reorientation of policies, goals
and programs. - (Bahá'í International Community, Valuing
Spirituality in Development Initial
Considerations Regarding the Creation of
Spiritually Based Indicators for Development. A
concept paper written for the World Faiths and
Development Dialogue, Lambeth Palace, London,
18-19 February 1998)
81Addressing Poverty
- The technologies and resources exist to meet the
basic needs of humanity and to eliminate
poverty.... While individuals must do their
utmost to provide for themselves and their
dependents, the community must accept
responsibility, when necessary, to help meet
basic needs. Access to development programs and
their benefits must be ensured for all. The
economics of food production and distribution
will have to be reoriented and the critical role
of the farmer in food and economic security
properly valued. With regard to health the
physical, spiritual, mental and social well-being
of the individual access to clean water,
shelter, and some form of cheap energy would go a
long way toward eradicating the problems that
currently plague vast numbers of individuals and
communities. - (Bahá'í International Community, Valuing
Spirituality in Development Initial
Considerations Regarding the Creation of
Spiritually Based Indicators for Development. A
concept paper written for the World Faiths and
Development Dialogue, Lambeth Palace, London,
18-19 February 1998) - What is the role of business in this?
82Well-being requires generating knowledge
- ... the central role that knowledge plays in
human life and human society that it is the
process of generating and applying knowledge that
lies at the heart of civilization.... ...social
advancement, including economic, political, and
social change, flows from it. - (External Affairs Strategy, 19 September 1994,
prepared by an Ad Hoc Committee and approved by
the Universal House of Justice, page 4) - What is the role of business in this?
83Universal participation inscience and technology
- A central challenge, therefore -- and an enormous
one -- is the expansion of scientific and
technological activity. Instruments of social
and economic change so powerful must cease to be
the patrimony of advantaged segments of society,
and must be so organised as to permit people
everywhere to participate in such activity on the
basis of capacity. Apart from the creation of
programmes that make the required education
available to all who are able to benefit from it,
such reorganisation will require the
establishment of viable centres of learning
throughout the world, institutions that will
enhance the capability of the world's peoples to
participate in the generation and application of
knowledge. - (Baha'i International Community, Prosperity of
Humankind)
84Where is rapid change taking us?
85A Bahá'í vision of the futureDesign Criteria for
World Order 1
- Central principle The unity of the human race
- Form world commonwealth
- Characteristics
- - all nations, races, creeds and classes closely
and permanently united - - autonomy of its state members safeguarded
- - personal freedom and initiative of the
individuals safeguarded
86Design Criteria for World Order 2
- Structure
- World legislature
- - members will be trustees of the whole of
mankind - - control the entire resources of all the
component nations - - enact such laws as shall be required to
regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust
the relationships of all races and peoples - World executive to safeguard the organic unity of
the whole commonwealth - World tribunal to adjudicate all disputes
87Design Criteria for World Order 3
- A mechanism of world intercommunication
- - embracing the whole planet
- - freed from national hindrances and restrictions
- - functioning with marvellous swiftness and
perfect regularity.
88Design Criteria for World Order 4
- The economic resources of the world will be
organized, its sources of raw materials will be
tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be
coordinated and developed, and the distribution
of its products will be equitably regulated. - ?
89Design Criteria for World Order 5
- - causes of religious strife permanently removed
- - economic barriers and restrictions completely
abolished - - inordinate distinction between classes
obliterated - - destitution and gross accumulation of ownership
will disappear.
90Design Criteria for World Order 6
- The enormous energy dissipated and wasted on war,
whether economic or political, will be
consecrated to - - extend the range of human inventions and
technical development - - increase the productivity of mankind
- - extend scientific research
- - exterminate disease
- - raise the standard of physical health
- - prolong human life
91Design Criteria for World Order 7
- - sharpen and refine the human brain
- - exploit the unused and unsuspected resources of
the planet - - further any other agency that can stimulate the
intellectual, the moral, and spiritual life of
the entire human race.
92Design Criteria for World Order 8
- A world federal system ruling the whole earth
- - exercising unchallengeable authority over its
unimaginably vast resources - - blending and embodying the ideals of both the
East and the West - - liberated from the curse of war and its
miseries - - bent on the exploitation of all the available
sources of energy on the surface of the planet
93Design Criteria for World Order 9
- - a system in which Force is made the servant of
Justice - - whose life is sustained by its universal
recognition of one God and by its allegiance to
one common Revelation - such is the goal towards which humanity, impelled
by the unifying forces of life, is moving. - (based on Shoghi Effendi (1936), The World Order
of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 203-204)
94The Next StepA Green Economy
- An economic system that preserves and restores
ecosystems, the backbones of economic and social
wellbeing and essential for poverty reduction,
while simultaneously creating new industries and
employment. - Environmental industries using clean and
efficient technologies, and sustainable
agriculture serve as major engines of wealth and
job creation and poverty reduction.
95Green Economy
- Priority green economic sectors (UNEP 2009)
- clean and efficient technologies, including
renewable energy technologies and rural energy
access - biodiversity-based businesses, including
agriculture, forestry, marine, nature-based
tourism, etc. - ecological infrastructure, including nature
reserves, protected areas, watersheds, etc. - chemicals and waste management, including waste
reduction, recycling and reuse and - low carbon cities, buildings and transport.
96Guidelines for a global ethical framework for
business
- Combine economic efficiency and social
responsibility - Altruism, create wealth for everyone to eliminate
poverty (and increase customers) - Generate employment as well as productivity
- Find business opportunities in sustainable
environmental management - Work to strengthen global governance, peace and
security - Be of service to human society
97The goal an organically united world
98built by mindful peopleperforming meaningful
workenhancing the well-being and prosperity of
humankind
99The years ahead will be difficult, but there is
reason for hope