THE PHENOMENON AND PROBLEM OF WASTE







A Study in Thought

sa081



by





Marius Heuff

Chapter 1

Content

An uninspiring subject?
A wide-spread and all-important problem.
Defining the concept of "waste".
Waste-products of the living organism.
A failure of anyone of the waste-eliminating mechanisms leads to death.
A number of physiological mechanisms.
Abnormal waste, whenever physiological mechanisms are over-taxed or inefficient.
We tend to "consume" above the minimum level of obligatory energy expenditure.
The functions of fat-storage.
The level of consumption is not easily limited by the mechanisms of "satiation".
A gigantic and collective process of waste.
A frantic, unhealthy, consumerist life-style.
Man "used to have his hands full", just to acquire the basic necessities.
A surplus energy of the collective vitality was quickly absorbed in activities of defense and warfare, as well as increasing population pressures.
Widespread affluence depended on the break-through of mechanised land-cultivating techniques and harvesting.
Nature never needed a "brake" upon the consumptive activities of a species.
The existence of a "natural balance".
The break-through of human intelligence.
Man's combativeness is the only efficient brake on human dominance over the natural environment.
The gigantic consequences of an affluent life-style by many millions of people.
We are just beginning to understand the limitations of terrestial resources and absorptive capabilities.
Long-term waste-control.
An urgent need to re-evaluate the concepts of affluence and well-being.
The impact of pollution is still not clear or threatening enough to make us adopt definifitive solutions.
A feverish "social metabolic rate".
Mankind may slip into an "environmental coma".
The road towards extinction.
It is possible to focus, too compulsively, on danger-signals.
A careful study will show us, clearly, that we have to chart a new course for individual and collective survival.
We can not preach the virtues of a frugal life-style or environmental concerns from a position of privilege.
A measure of essential equality and social justice will have to exist on a global scale.

It does not seem a very inspiring title for an essay, nor an inviting subject to discuss, but, if we think about it, we come to the conclusion, that the concept of waste, or, rather, the many different aspects of waste, are worthy of a clear and coherent discussion, because they touch upon the fundamental conditions of our existence, as well as our ability to survive. You will be surprised to see, how widespread and all-encompassing the phenomenon of waste is, and, while it is unlikely, that this subject will lead to eloquence, I hope, that the discussion will be judged worthwhile and interesting enough to hold the attention of the reader.

What is waste? The definition is actually not easy, because we see, that a rather subjective judgement creeps into almost every situation, where we try to determine, whether or not a phenomenon or process of waste exists. For example, if we look at the functions of a living organism, such as ourselves, we see, that, we have to ingest food and water in order to sustain life, and our body has to eliminate "waste-products". These waste-products are, partly, remnants of the foods we ate, which can not be used any further, but, even more important are those break-down products of the body which have to be eliminated, because they would cause great harm, or, even death, if they could not be eliminated adequately.

For example, we know, that we can not live without our kidneys. They are constantly filtering our blood and eliminate or excrete a large variety of water-soluble substances, together with a certain amount of water. This is the main reason, why we have to replenish the water-content of our body, but, we also lose water as water-vapour into the air we breathe-out. In addition, we lose water through our skin, as "sweat", but, here, the evaporation of water functions as a method to eliminate excess heat, which has been built-up, especially, during a period of strenuous physical activities. However, even, under normal living conditions, we have to eliminate, constantly, a certain amount of heat in order to exist comfortably.

As we mentioned, we lose water in the form of vapour through the air we breathe, but, here, the loss of water is a by-product of the main reason for breathing, which is to get rid of a gaseous waste-product, carbon-dioxide. Carbon-dioxide builds up, continuously, in large amounts in our blood, and, it has to be eliminated constantly, because we can not "store" this waste-product, as we can, to some extent, store liquid and solid waste-products.

Carbon-dioxide is a by-product, or, rather, the "end-product" of nearly all metabolic activities, for which we need a constant supply of oxygen, as well as "fuel". This fuel, or food, is the source of energy for the numerous activities our body carries-out. The act of breathing, or the "gaseous exchange" of oxygen and carbon-dioxide, has, therefore, a dual role; the elimination of a gaseous waste-product, carbon-dioxide, and the intake or uptake of oxygen. The loss of water is an accidental by-product, or side-effect, of the way in which this gaseous exchange takes place in the lungs, but, in animals which can not sweat, this evaporation functions as a major route for the elimination of excess heat.

Few people will dispute the fact, that these bodily waste-products have to be eliminated, and, that a harmful or life threatening situation would develop, if these processes would be interrupted or damaged, in one way or another. Some of the functions of eliminating waste can become severe "losses"; e.g. the loss of water can become excessive. If our kidneys do not concentrate the urine properly, a lot of water is unnecessarily "wasted", or excreted, as we see in certain hormone deficiencies, or, as a result of a toxic or chemical damage to the kidneys, which suppresses the re-absorption of water. Water loss may also be significant, if we sweat a great deal when living in a hot, dry climate. Sometimes, our digestive system does not utilise properly the foods we eat, and a large amount of these foods are excreted relatively "unused".

Certainly, these are abnormal conditions due to a variety of mechanisms that may have gone wrong, but, we see, as a general principle, that we need a certain minimum requirement of food and water, as well as small quantities of essential minerals and vitamines, in order to remain in a relatively stable condition of good health, and, we need to "waste" a certain portion of our food and water intake. However, we "consume" more water and food, and, we waste, therefore, a somewhat larger amount, if we want to live comfortably and fairly actively.

In "affluent" conditions, where there is an abundance of good, tasteful food and no need for hard physical labour, it is easy to eat more than we require. Unless the body excretes all the excess food essentially "undigested", the body tends to store a large amount of extra food, or fuel, as "fat". This storage mechanism is quite useful, because, in nature, a large organism may have to go without food, or without an adequate food intake, for some time, and the fat functions, then, as a storage-depot of fuel.

In addition, fat is a good insulator against heat-loss, and, all animals that are adapted to live in the colder climates, use the storage of fat as an insulation against heat loss, as well as a storage-depot to bridge lean times, when the food is scarce. However, if the fat storage becomes excessive, which happens, primarily, in the human being, it becomes a hindrance rather than a help, as the individual carries a lot of excess weight around. Often, an over-weight person suffers from high blood pressure and a tendency to develop blood-vessel disease. Sometimes the obesity may become extreme and may lead to difficulties with breathing and a generally poor and unhealthy condition with a sluggish metabolism and a tendency to increased levels of sugar in the blood. In such instances, we are jusified to say, that an individual consumes more than he or she needs for a healthy and optimum way of life, and the individual "wastes", therefore, food and energy.

While the physiological form of excess consumption is obvious, and, in essence, self-limiting, we see, that the "consumption" of energy and raw materials that go into the articles of daily use, as well as the luxuries of our life-style, is, unfortunately, not so easily limited by natural factors. As a result, it becomes possible for an entire population to live a life-style of consumption that far exceeds its needs for a healthy and sensible way of life, and, we may then speak, justifiably, of a gigantic process of waste, where energy and other material resources are wasted and squandered in a frantic, unhealthy, consumerist life-style, giving rise to all sorts of neurotic tensions and deviating far from what can be considered a healthy, normal way of life.

"Why does man, individually or collectively, not limit his life-style, naturally, to an optimum point of equilibrium, which is such a common, natural regulator in most animal species'?", you may ask, pointing to the fact, that animals do not really seek any "affluence" beyond what they need to be comfortable. Why does man exhibit such a restless drive to consume, to display wealth, to conquer his neighbours, and to live in an opulence that is at the same time oppressive and decadent? Indeed, our body seems to have developed natural limits to the amount of food we eat, or the water we drink, because our satiety stops the urge to eat, at least, under normal circumstances, and, drinking too much water makes us actually sick. Why do we not have similar restrictions and restraints, when we inter-act with our environment and other people?

The answer is available, and, we should consider this question in detail, because it is so revealing to the problems of modern man. Man used to have his hands "full" just to acquire the basic necessities. Food gathering and hunting was an arduous and dangerous task, and, the scarcity of game, together with the periodicity of the availability of edible fruits, berries, leaves and roots, placed a strain upon the ability to survive in comfortable conditions. Besides, as soon as a small nomadic group of human hunters found an extra ordinarily favourable place to stay, where the hunt was easy and the animals plentiful, this area became quickly a source of competition and strife with other groupings, and, the surplus energy of the collective elan vital was quickly absorbed in activities of defense and conquest.

If a small society experienced a period of relative ease of existence, or "affluence", the society would rapidly grow, reducing the level of affluence and giving rise to internal stresses and tensions. This would lead to a tendency of the social unit to break-up into smaller groupings, and, therefore, "affluence" would quickly lead to a rise in the population density in a certain area, increasing, once again, the effort needed to obtain the basic necessities.

We see, then, that affluence, as we, or, at least, some of us know it today, did not really have a chance to become such a sustained and widespread phenomenon, until man learned to harness the flow of a naturally occurring source of energy. This is the essence of the invention of "the machine", which is a device that is powered, or driven, by an external source of fuel, such as coal, oil, or wood. Only, then, became it possible to harness resources, which had been largely beyond the reach of man. Only a small fraction of these resources had been accessible prior to the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the mechanisation of human activities. Even the large forests were virtually immune from the destructiveness of human greed, before mechanisation made it possible to harvest trees with a minimum of human effort and labour.

Therefore, the natural balance between a healthy and optimum condition of existence was maintained, as long as human muscle-power and energy were needed to harvest resources, and, we realise now, how superficially, and, perhaps, relatively harmless, man could scratch the totality of natural resources and eco-systems, as long as he did not have those monstrous earth-moving and tree-felling machines that could uproot more earth and trees in a few minutes than a group of men could accomplish in months of back-breaking work with ordinary hand-tools.

Nature, therefore, did not need a "brake" upon the consuming activities of a species, because each species would exist in a "natural balance", where the pressures of the living members of a species, including their ability to reproduce and bring a significant portion of the new generation to a stage of maturity, would be balanced by the predatory and environmental pressures upon this species. Man, however, escaped, to a large extent, from this balance of nature because of the ability to handle tools and weapons, and, especially, as a result of the ability to harness an external energy-source.

In particular, man's intelligence to foresee the outcome of an event, made man, not only, virtually immune from predatory pressures by other species', but, his technical mastery enhanced the rate of resource exploitation. Man's intelligence and fore-sight became the foundation for the development of "technology", including the ability to extract natural sources of energy. As a result, man started to increase, quickly, its population, and, its habitat spread almost over the entire globe. Only the harshest polar conditions, the highest mountains tops, and the driest and hottest deserts, deterred man from settling there and exploiting the available possibilities of existence.

Not surprisingly, man's major, and, perhaps, only significant enemy became another human being. However, since man evolved in a small-scale social environment, the competitiveness between the members of the human species led to fierce warfare between groupings or tribes, rather than between individuals. Small communities of human beings became quickly entangled in a situation of conflict, as the most fertile areas, or, the areas with the most abundant wildlife, became violently contested between a number of nomadic social groupings.

We do not want to sustain this line of thought, here, because we have traced these mental images before. We want to answer, only, the question, why there is no apparent "brake", or natural limitation, to man's desire to consume, and to become affluent and opulent. Initially, the amount of labour involved in obtaining affluence was a severe limitation to the amount of wealth and resources that could be gathered, but, the conflict between larger societies, the capture of prisoners of war and the introduction of "slave labour", as well as the oppression of a large majority by a powerful elite, provided the first break-through into the realm of opulence and wealth. However, this opulence was still limited to a small elite. Wealth and opulence became, quickly, an instrument for "showing-off", and these attributes became a tool in the establishment and maintenance of a dominant social position.

Affluence of the masses is, typically, a result of industrialisation and mass-production, together with a fairly successful attempt to spread the material wealth over a majority of the population. However, the consequences of such an affluent life-style by millions upon millions of people were far greater for the earth and its atmosphere, compared to the excessive, but limited, pockets of affluence and opulence of the past. Even, now, we are just beginning to understand the overall impact of mass-affluence, and, therefore, our ideas about what is wasteful and what is tolerable or desirable, are still in the process of being formed.

Until quite recently, a few decades ago, we lived, by and large, under the illusion, that most of the earth's resources were essentially unlimited, and, that man's ingenuity would find alternative sources of energy, once the easily available and easily exploited petro-chemicals would have been exhausted. This confidence was based, largely, on the fact, that man had already unlocked the secrets of nuclear energy, and, many countries were embarking upon an ambitious program, where part of their electrical energy-needs would be supplied by nuclear reactors. Even the problem of the disposal of dangerous radio-active waste products was minimised, because man assumed, optimistically, that he could easily solve this problem in the near future.

However, the problem, where to put the nuclear waste in such a way that it would not pose a danger and a health-hazard for many generations in the future, has still not been solved satisfactorily, and, it seems increasingly unlikely, that man can, indeed, find or build a safe dump for nuclear waste-products, which would be securely contained for many thousands of years to come. It seems likely, that the vast accumulation of radio-active waste-products can not be contained, safely, for a sufficiently long period of time, and, very likely, future generations will have to live in a state of constant fear and vigilance as they try to avoid being contaminated by dangerous waste. This may well turn-out to be the most horrendous legacy ever left to the younger generations.

We may blame our ancestors for contributing to the demise of several large mammals and other species', but no generation in the past has left such a dangerous burden of radio-active and other toxic pollutants, as the generations of my time. Not only, are we uncertain about what to do with this radio-active and toxic waste, but, the real tragedy is, that we would not need to have or produce any of these dangerous products, if we were able to live in, or near, a comfortable equilibrium, rather than the feverish consumptive atmosphere of mass-affluence.

If we would live frugally and wisely, there would not be any need to cope with a steadily deteriorating terrestial ecology, but, I am sure, that, many people would point to the energy-needs of those, who are still poor and depraved. Let me clarify this conclusion in the following way. So far as nuclear power is concerned, the present population in the world, and, certainly those people who are living in the more affluent nations, would not be brought into a position of danger or deprivation, if all nuclear power generation would be stopped.

Certainly, the living standards of many affluent nations would have to go down, as more and more money and energy would have to be spent in producing "clean" energy, as well as clean industrial products. This means, that we all would have to come to grips, in a hurry, with the concept and reality of a frugal life-style, as well as a complete rethinking of our concepts about affluence and well-being. Certainly, everyone would have "work", because there is plenty to do, in particular, in the field of cleaning-up, but the concept of "affluent employment" would have to change.

In affluent employment, we draw big wages and salaries, and, we all need to go along with the momentum of consumerism in order to sustain the large industrial concerns that make these high wages possible. As long as it remains unattractive for people to think, seriously, about the need for a significant reduction in the level of affluence and unnecessary consumption, the problems can not be solved, because there will be irresistible pressures on the political leaderships of the various industrialised societies, to continue the search for further economic expansion.

We are presently going through a phase, where some political leaders are abandoning the ideals and ideas of the environmentalists, and, these political leaders seem to be willing to reduce the still primitive and insufficient anti-pollution standards that have already been adopted. Apparently, the impact of pollution is still not clear enough for people to see and experience as a threat, and, even, if they do see the dangers of environmental deterioration, most people are now so entrapped in the processes of affluence, as well as the financial enslavement that is part of this affluence, that they could not change course, even, if their lives would depend on it.

This is the reason, why colossal environmental calamities have to take place, before the momentum of pollution and contamination, which are the inevitable by-products of such a feverish pitch of consumerism or "social metabolic rate", can be halted. Apparently, it is not sufficient that thousands of lakes, in various parts of the world, have already "died" as a result of "acid rain", which is due to a high level of acidity in the precipitation; nor, does it seem to matter, that forests and agricultural areas are threatenend by sustained levels of air pollution, including high-acid rain-falls. Perhaps, the momentum of environmental deterioration will have reached an irreversible stage, before mankind, or, at least, the most influential, affluent nations are willing to come realistically to grips with these problems.

Collectively, in particular, as large, national conglomerates, we react too slow, and, we show too little insight into what is happening around us, and, this fact of affluent, contemporary existence, endangers our ability to survive. Just as an individual may fall-asleep in a stuffy automobile without recognising the danger of a fatal carbon-monoxide poisoning, so may the societies of mankind slip into an "environmental coma" that is incapable of sustaining human life on a significant scale, and, the result may be a very massive decline in the population of mankind. This will probably lead, eventually, to a complete extinction, because the dangerous pollutants in the environmnt require a sophisticated technology and defense in order to be contained effectively. The required level of technology and sophistication may well become defective, or completely absent, in the chaos that will come-about as a result from a massive decline in the level of science and technology, which is an inevitable by-product of a severe decline in the population of mankind.

This may appear too gloomy and unlikely a hypothesis, and, I do not claim, that we necessarily have to go this dismal route of extinction through neglect and insufficient insight. However, I like to point-out, as I have done before, that the concepts of waste and pollution are not only linked to our sphere of concern and level of insight, but, also, to the perception of danger. If our sphere of concern is so limited, that we fail to register or appreciate the warning-signals that are coming to us, we may stay in a state of happy oblivion and unconcern, until the last moment, when, disaster appears to strike from a blue sky. But, it is also possible to "tune in" excessively on existing danger-signals, and, we may fail to see them in a proper perspective. Then, the disaster never materialises, just as happens to those fearful believers, who try to interpret the Scriptures and the portents of the Heavens and become convinced that the end of the world is near.

How do we know, then, whether or not our concern for environmental pollution, radio-active waste and other toxic chemicals, the depletion of resources, such as petro-chemicals, the forests, our agricultural lands, etc., how do we know, whether or not these are reasonable and genuine concerns? Or, is it likely that we are exaggerating the problems, and will man, somehow, learn to adapt and survive, as he has done in the past? If we look at history, it seems justified to be reasonably confident that man will, indeed, survive, but, if we look, once again, at our contemporary societies, the arsenals of nuclear weapons, the nuclear reactors, the amount of industrial waste, the stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons, the multitudes of people who have to be fed, and, the already precarious and very unevenly and unjustly distributed supplies of food and other basic essentials, we come to the conclusion, that our times are unlike any other time in history.

We come to the conclusion, that the natural regenerative powers of mankind are unlikely to be sufficient to restore the population and rebuild the societies, after they have been devastated by man's follies. Indeed, if we look carefully, we come to the conclusion, that we have to chart a new course for individual and collective survival, and, this course will have to be shaped deliberately, and can not continue to count on man's natural regenerative capabilities.

However, if our environmental concerns only want to maintain rigidly a status-quo, as it exists, now, and, in particular, if we want to put the burden of limiting the consumption of basic essentials on the poorer but rapidly expanding nations, while "freezing" our own comfortable status-quo, then, our concerns are not only irrealistic, but, they are basically unjust, and, our concerns will not be accepted by those, who have been left-out from the pockets of consumerist affluence.

It is time to accept the simple fact, that we can not preach frugality or environmental concern from a position of privilege. It is an insult and an absurdity to preach to a poor farmer, that he can not have a number of children to help him with his work and take-over the farm, whenever he gets old or crippled, while we continue to live an affluent and privileged life-style. We can only throttle back, voluntarily, our consumerist way of life and our level of consumption, if we can be sure, that no-one else profits secretly from our acts of good-will and sacrifice, and, therefore, the call to a frugal life-style will have to be preceded by dramatic changes in the organisation of our societies.

A measure of equality and justice will have to exist on a global scale, before it will be possible to curb our consumerist instincts on a world-wide scale. First, equality of living standards have to be ensured within nations, and then, between nations. Then, in an atmosphere of transparence, mutual trust and vigilance, it should be possible to slow-down the metabolic rate of mankind, which has "run-away" to unhealthy, feverish and explosive levels. Such "run-away" conditions are, not only, dangerous, but, they will severely limit the duration of mankind's existence.

.......

Chapter 2

Content

An all-important "sphere of concern".
The erroneous concept, that everyone can obtain a status of affluence and privilege with "hard work".
A variety of misconceptions.
Differences between individual and collective capabilities of fore-sight.
The lack of an accurate and manageable profile of the large-scale social environment.
A confusing cacaphony of contradictory expert opinions.
Totalitarianism and dogmatism provide only temporary solutions.
The central nervous system of the larger society is still too poorly developed to react appropriately to long-term problems.
Building an efficient, large-scale nervous system for society requires an increasingly wider sphere of concern from a large majority of the members.
The central nervous system of our individual existence has been shaped throughout hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary pressures.
Contemporary solutions tend to become future problems.
The fallacy of using patchwork solutions, and postponing the day of reckoning.
The temptation to spend our way out of current difficulties.
A debt incurred against the environment will soon be cashed-in with a vengeance.
The inevitability of a contract of essential equality.
We have to halt the production of all dangerous chemical and radio-active products.
We have to abandon our dreams of affluence.
The problems of pollution and environmental deterioration require the organisation of mankind on a global scale.
Public opinion has to take the lead.
Suggestions, how to begin the task of creating a transparent, globally organised society of mankind.
How to tackle the existential interests of those, who work for the military-industrial complex.
Violent means of persuasion will back-fire.
A persistent educational effort.
Refusing to operate the infernal instruments of war.
Informed people have to make all important decisions collectively.
We have to allow a social entity the right to destroy itself, provided, it is the collective wish of a genuine majority.
We have to remain aware of the "accidents of history".
We always have to learn "the hard way", at least, to some extent.

The point we want to stress, here, is the fact, that we have to take into consideration the sphere of concern, the area of vision, as well as the level of insight, before we can agree amongst ourselves, whether or not a certain way of life is wasteful. As long as we believe, that it is our "right" to consume whatever we want, and, that our social success is measured in relation to the wealth and life-style we can display, we will find it, not only, ridiculous to consider this life-style wasteful, but, we will feel insulted by anyone, who challenges what we consider to be the pinnacle of social success, as well as the result of hard-won "rights and freedoms".

As long as we believe, that, other people, be it in our own society or in foreign countries, can achieve, essentially, the same level of affluence as long as they are willing "to work hard for it", we see nothing wrong with affluence. As long as we believe to live a life-style that is a God-given right, we naturally think that everyone else is jealous and would want to live the way we do.

Certainly, if some members of a family are very rich, while others are poor, such disparities must lead to tensions, because they are likely to constitute an essential injustice. True, the style of affluent luxury has a potent lure on our possessive instincts, as well as our desire to display power and wealth, but, if we think about it soberly and objectively, we should be able to acknowledge, that the lure of affluence, and, in particular, the price of financial enslavement, which is the inevitable side-effect of affluence for the "working rich", is just not a viable way of life.

As long as we believe, in our ignorance, that the earth has inexhaustible resources, and, that our governments will find a way to handle the dangerous pollutants and waste-products, and, as long as we believe, that all these environmental concerns about dying lakes, eroding soil, polluted river-systems and dwindling resources, are nothing more than scare-tactics, yes, then, we will go merrily on our ways, until we perish, perhaps, without ever knowing, why we suddenly found it impossible to stay alive. Then, it will be too late to blame our governments for "not doing anything", nor, will we realise, that we are partly to blame for the fact that our governments did nothing.

Go-on, remain complacent in your niche of relative security and apparent prosperity, but, do not blame anyone else for your lack of insight and your unwillingess to look a little further than your own particular social horizon, whenever this comfortable social niche suddenly starts to crumble.

What is so remarkable about the inability to foresee, collectively, the disastrous consequences of our affluent life-style, is the fact, that, individually, we have, by and large, a reasonable ability to foresee the consequences of unbridled and undisciplined behaviour. In particular, if we exist as an individual, or as a small group, in a somewhat isolated position, we will never squander recklessly our resources or our heritage, because we sense, quite clearly, what the consequences will be, if we run-out of supplies or savings.

If we can not run to someone else for help, we are forced to fend for ourselves. We are forced to think ahead and to calculate, how long our supplies are going to last, and, we even start thinking about ways we can get fresh or alternative supplies, well ahead of the time that we will be running short. We also keep our place clean, because we are confronted, quickly, with a stench and an unhealthy atmosphere, if we fail to do so. Therefore, it is quite clear, that, as an individual or a small group, we have far fewer difficulties in planning sensibly and thinking ahead, compared to a large social grouping.

The reason is, that we find it difficult to know, what the situation really is in a large social conglomerate. We do not know whom to believe, when we live in a large, affluent society. The atmosphere is nearly always confusing and somewhat chaotic. We are bombarded with too many different "expert" opinions about everything that is taking place, and, for every decision that has to be made. We do not know, anymore, who is right and who is wrong. The cacaphony of contradictory voices, as well as the strident bickering that goes-on between politicians who are more anxious to score a political point than risk being dull in an attempt to be honest and fair, are the main reasons, why we become paralysed and lose the ability to make sound, long-term policy decisions in the larger social environments.

Societies that restrict the exchange of contradictory opinions, tend to suffer less from such a confusion of opinions. However, if the more totalitarian regimes ever lose the confidence of their people, they have much less flexibility to adapt to such a dangerous situation, and, we see, therefore, that the crises that erupt, now and then, in these totalitarian regimes, are more severe, and, they require a much sterner degree of military rule or government control, compared to the somewhat chaotic, rambling, but flexible Capitalist democracies.

Once the confusion and chaos reaches truly anxiety-provoking proportions, a democratically elected government is usually able to bring a semblance of unity in the outlook and opinions of the people, giving it a temporary opportunity to bring-in the required changes in the political management and policies of the State. However, as soon as a measure of stability and security has been restored, the democratic process seems to deteriorate, once again, into senseless bickering and power-struggles, giving an uneasy appearance of vacillation and uncertainty to the social environment and its government.

The central nervous system of the large democratic society is still so poorly developed, that it just does not have the capability to recognise and react to long-term problems, and, it is unlikely, therefore, that the contemporary affluent societies will be capable of reacting adequately to the challenges of acute and long-term pollution and toxicity problems. Here again, it can be argued, that the central nervous system of a society, ruled by one dominant and all-powerful political Party, is better able to react as a coherent unit, and, that such a society has fewer problems, giving their people a more unified and coherent imagery of reality, but, we should not forget, that we are, then, in reality looking at the "central nervous system" of a small ruling elite, and not of society as a whole.

This is the reason, why this elite always loses contact with the people, sooner or later. Indeed, we see, that such single-Party States, and, certainly, all nations ruled by a right-wing dictatorship of military power and a wealthy elite, lose the confidence of the people sooner or later, because there are no effective feed-backs from the people or controls against stagnation, elitism and corruption. Inevitably, we see a gradual alienation between the people and the ruling Party, regardless of the system such an elite adheres to. Every ruling elite has to rely, eventually, on oppressive measures to stifle dissent, and, the viability of such a social environment is then severely impaired, in spite of an outward appearance of unity and strength.

We understand, now, some of the reasons, why the large social organisms react so poorly to long-term challenges and complex events, but, there are good reasons to believe, that, in the future, the central nervous system of a truly democratic and open society will be developed and organised effectively, allowing every citizen a much clearer picture about the reality of his or her social environment, including the world as a whole. Now, the confusion and uncertainty, as well as the suspicions about being manipulated or exploited, make the average citizen defensive, and, he tends to ignore everything that does not affect him personally and immediately. Besides, he is dimly aware of the fact, that the security of his own existence threatens to collapse, if the economic momentum falters, and, if he fails to receive this needed, regularly recurring pay-cheque. It is natural, therefore, that he only acts to secure this pay-cheque, and, unwittingly, he keeps contributing to a momentum of developments that must lead to a catastrophic collapse.

Our sphere of concern does not really extend to the generations that come after us, nor, does it extend to all the peoples within our social environment. We really care very little about the peoples in strange and far-away societies. We have enough problems of our own. "Let the leaders of other societies solve their own problems", we exclaim. Now and then, we may be genuinely moved by a clever television presentation, where an appeal is made on our instincts of compassion to send a donation in return for a sense of "feeling good", or a promise of Divine Salvation, but, soon, we are back to the daily pressures and tensions, as we try to survive in a ruthless social environment and grab a slice of the economic pie.

I expect, that, future generations will be able to understand, better, the causes of tensions and injustice in large-scale social conglomerates, and, I expect, that they will be able to give their society a better "central nervous system", because, as we have discussed before, it is man's task to design and construct the central nervous system of his society. Our body is constructed under the care and scrutiny of the genetic code, which has been shaped over hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary pressures, but the systems of communication and information-gathering for the larger societies of man, (which represent the essence of a central nervous system), will have to be shaped and maintained by the function of the cultural code. This code has to be shaped and created by a conscious act of the human will and its powers of insight.

As a part of this insight, we will have to search for answers and definitions. We have to search for the reasons, why we seem to get into trouble, time and again. We will have to learn to see, that the root-causes for future problems are sown, now, while we exist in a position of relative comfort. Because we fail to consider our way of life, our actions and reactions, our plans and goals, within a framework of truly long-term consequences and attitudes of a global concern, our solutions of the present become the problems of the future. Because we do not care to, really, think-through the consequences of our actions, and reach for truly definitive long-term solutions, our temporary patchwork solutions are nothing more than a postponement of the day of reckoning, but, this day is inevitably going to come.

Some day, we will not have the power, nor the latitude, to postpone, once again, this fateful confrontation with reality, and, when this day comes, we may well be overwhelmed by it. Just like an individual may be tempted to borrow, and borow more, in order to spend his way out of current difficulties, so does a large social entity succumb to the temptation to postpone, time and again, a true acceptance and acknowledgement of the situation of reality.

Eventually, the credit has been used-up, and a staggering debt has been accumulated. Even, the interest-payments are crippling and perpetuate a situation of hopeless poverty and enslavement. The inevitable solution is bankruptcy, where the debts are written-off, but the debt we have been accumulating against our environment, can not be written-off so easily.

When a life-form exhausts its environment, it moves away to greener pastures, only to return, when the natural forces of ecological repair have restored the environment to some extent, allowing another harvest. So did man live during the period of nomadic existence, and, he just moved around from one area to another, if he had exhausted and impoverished a certain territory. However, we have no place to move to, any longer.

What happens, when the air we breathe, or the water we drink, become contaminated with highly toxic and noxious waste-products that poison the living cells and linger in the environment for thousands of years? There are no natural forces around that can degrade or detoxify these substances in a hurry, and, it does not take long for the genetic code to become disrupted, beyond repair, by toxic or radio-active substances. This will spell the irrevocable end of any species that is vulnerable to such changes, including our own.

A debt incurred against the environment will, eventually, be cashed-in with a vengeance, and, if a species is unable to cope with the stressful circumstances of the required adaptations to rapidly changing environmental conditions, regardless of the fact that these stresses may be of its on making, death and extinction will inevitably follow.

Just as a small group of people who have been marooned on an island, realise, that they have to tailor, carefully, their consumption to the expected duration of their stay, so do we, the living generations of today, have to come to grips with the problems we have been creating for ourselves and our environment, and, we have to face the fact, that we are continuously impoverishing the terrestial habitat. The only solution to this problem is to devise a way of life, which ensures all of us a basic, minimum rate of consumption, while we use the resources and the environment in such a way, that we do not deplete, any further, the non-renewable resources, and, that we do not cause any further deterioration of the atmosphere.

It is not acceptable to try to sequester those dangerous waste-products, somewhere, in an underground dump, because we can not be sure, that, eventually, through earth-quakes and other movemens of the earth's crust, these toxic waste-products will not come into contact with underground water-reservoirs, or be exposed to the atmosphere.

The only sensible solution is to halt the production of all dangerous, toxic waste-products, as well as other chemicals which can not easily be converted into an innocuous, bio-degradable form. This means, that, for the time being, all nuclear power-reactors should be shut-down, until we have an adequate and permanent solution for the problem of waste and contamination. Of course, it also means, that, all nuclear, bacteriologial and chemical weapons should be destroyed in such a way, that no dangerous debris is lingering around, and, it means, also, that the emission of large quantities of pollutants into the air has to be stopped. It seems unavoidable to come to the conclusion, that we will have to abandon the affluent way of life, and, that we will have to control all production processes, including weapons, to such an extent, that we give the remaining powers of natural regeneration a chance to restore the environment to safe and healthy conditions, all over the world.

We come also to the conclusion, that this bold, even naive and utopian scheme, is doomed to failure, and will never even come off the ground, unless we learn to construct one single, global society, which is governed by a set of specific and scrupulously fair ground-rules or Constiutional Guidelines. Unless we all bring sacrifices, and, unless we can be convinced, and verify for ourselves, that we all live a life of frugality, of care and concern for the level of consumption and the waste-products we load onto our environment, we will not be able to even make a start into the right direction.

How are we going to work towards such a global society, you may ask incredulously, as you ponder the increasing polarisations that are taking place. In stead of a lessening of suspicions and hostilities, we see, that the leaderships of the most powerful nations are becoming obsessed with an arms-race of nuclear and chemical weapons, which is now poised to extend into outer space, and, if only a fraction of these arms are ever unleashed, we will see a catastrophe of death and destruction, pollution and contamination, from which we will never be able to recover. It is high time, therefore, that all the peoples of the world get a grip over their leaderships, and force them to dismantle these arsenals, including those of the super-powers.

We should force our leaderships to clean-up the industries, before pollution has done irreparable damage. We can not expect, that one side of the electorate will quickly win-out over the other in a short, sharp debate about the wisdom of environmental protection measures, nor, can we expect a quick reconciliation or decisive shift in favour of one social system or another. It is time to learn, that neither side in a situation of conflict has a monopoly to the truth, nor, to the Cause of Righteousness; not, even, to the Benediction of the Lord, or the Blessings of Allah.

The only hope to save our ecological niche, is a simultaneous movement all over the world, where small groups of highly skilled and dedicated people, supported by a majority of public opinion, force the leaderships of their countries to demolish their weapons, clean-up their industries, and help the people to establish a truly transparent and egalitarian society, where we all start working together to clean-up the devastating pollution problems we have created. This is the only way to give the future generations of mankind a chance to survive in sober, frugal, but, essentially, healthy living conditions.

We can force our leaderships by democratic pressures, but, we will, probably, have to tackle the huge military and industrial complexes by a refusal to work for them, and, we have to persuade the soldiers and the industrial workers, that they are digging the world's grave, and implicitly, their own, if they continue to work for their pay-masters without asking questions about the wisdom of the work they are doing. We have to show those, who slave for the military and industrial enterprises, that they are being paid well, and, that they are being given a position of power and privilege in order to serve the erroneous objectives and essentially unjust interests of their over-lords, and, we have to convince these workers, that they will be, at least, partly responsible for the death of millions upon millions of people, if they do not quit their jobs in an all out general "strike" against these establishments.

I am not advocating a rule of violence and terror in order to convince the military and industrial workers to stop working for the forces of dominance and military superiority, but, we have to educate the peoples of the world in a ceaseless and tireless campaign about the consequences of present trends, as well as the goals of justice and essential equality for everyone. I am convinced, that, any attempt to convince them by violent means will back-fire, but the presentation of facts and balanced arguments, as well as a sincere invitation to work for the maintenance of global justice, essential equality, and a frugal existence for every member of the family of mankind, will be far more persuasive than any impatient attempt to forge a more just society by force.

As a last resort, in order to stop an impending catastrophe, when our leaders and generals stand ready to push the fateful button of all-out nuclear war, we should appeal to the soldiers and workers of these countries to refuse to go to war; to refuse to operate these infernal war-machines; to refuse to destroy each other in a senseless and mad conflagration that can only lead to a mutual annihilation.

It is time, that the truly important decisions, as well as the powers of life and death are taken-out of the hands of national leaderships that still advocate a position of military superiority and dominance by force. It is so easy to forget, that these leaderships should see themselves, in essence, as a servant of the people, but, we can make a start by reminding our leaders, constantly, about their true role in society; by taking-away their powers to make war, to manufacture dangerous weapons, or, to pollute the environment on a gigantic scale.

Let us give these decisions back to the people in the form of a referendum. If our leaders want to make war, let them go to the people and, let us impose a "cooling-off" period of at least one month during which a public debate can be held about the advisability of going to war. If, let us say, a two-third majority agrees, that we should go to war, to "defend our legitimate interests", of course, then, let it be. If mankind perishes in a gigantic, suicidal cauldron of hatred, belligerence and victorious expectations, let it then happen; at least, the great majority of the peoples will have given their conscious consent to the holocaust.

If we truly believe in the democratic principle, we have to allow a society the right to destroy itself, provided, we can be sure, that the decision to do so is truly the wish of a majority of the people. I believe, however, that no-one in his right mind, really wants the solution of a conflict through war-fare, especially, if we are convinced, that we will be destroyed in the process. Only, if we have the sneaky suspicion, that we can win and truly benefit from a war, only, then, do we see "some sense" in going to war, and, it is, perhaps, necessary to remind ourselves, and our leaders, time and again, that we can not win a nuclear conflict.

How can we remind ourselves? Perhaps, the "accidents of history" will give us a hand, here. Let us hope, that, before our leaders unleash deliberately a nuclear, bacteriological or chemical war, they will have suffered a serious and major accident with some of their lethal weapons; sufficiently severe to cause several thousands of casualties, including some of the highest ranking leaders, (together with innocent bystanders, unfortunately), because, only then, will the public outcry against such arsenals be heard, and, only then, will we be able to generate this momentum of will-power to effectively bring-about the social changes that are necessary, before we can fuse into a global federation of healthy and well-organised societies.

Perhaps, you may think, that this is a cruel and unnecessary way to get the movement towards total disarmament going, but, if we look at our own individual lives, we see, that we need these crises. We need accidents and incidences, where we are suddenly reminded about our fragility and mortality, before we were able to adopt a somewhat wise attitude and philosophy. Why would it be different for society as a whole? Unless we experience "the hard way", that our current behaviour may lead to our demise, we are not going to change these narrow and egocentric attitudes, or those comfortable prejudices and opinions.

.......

Chapter 3

Content

A small factor in a gigantic and complex web of force-fields.
There is still insufficient awareness of the far-reaching consequences of our actions and existential requirements.
The limits of the ability to question what is generally accepted.
The "easy way" is, so often, detrimental in the long run.
A short-sighted search for pleasures.
The tragedy of a narrow-minded sphere of concern.
Clinging to the hope of "being saved" from the wickedness of the world.
Complacency, after having "found religion".
Accepting responsibility will be a key mechanism for ensuring long-term survival.
The difficult task of trying to convey wisdom and insight.
Beneficial circumstances are so easily taken for granted.
Teaching our youngsters the limits of security.
A planet, that is as vulnerable as a small sail-boat on a large ocean.
We all are tempted to adopt the detrimental attitudes of irresponsibility and egocentricity.
It is possible to create a viable central nervous system for the large-scale society.
Looking back in amazement at the undisciplined turmoil of our times.
Man "almost did not make it".
A broader outlook on the problem of waste.
The useful waste of organic decay.
The terrestial environment has been severely challenged and altered by the presence of man.
Halting the trend towards a catastrophic collapse of human viability depends on the conscious creation of behavioural guidelines that let us co-exist in an atmosphere of trust and cooperation.

In a large, somewhat confusing and differentiated society, it is so easy to forget about the long-term consequences of what we do. We become a small fragment in a gigantic and complex web of force-fields, and we are not able to oversee the whole of society, nor, what is happening in it, or to it. We live in our own world, and, we take the situation as we find it, completely for granted. We look for a source of income, and, if we have found a good, comfortable niche in this large-scale social environment, where we are guaranteed our pay from one month to the next, we settle into our particular niche and we do not really think about the question, whether or not our work and loyalties are really benefitting the society as a whole; whether or not we are only supporting a small, privileged elite, which has bought our loyalty with this regular pay-cheque.

If we work in a particular industry, we do not question, whether or not the products we are making, or the services we are providing, contribute to the well-being of our social environment, nor, do we ask the question, whether or not we are contributing to the disparities between the rich and the poor. Are we perpetuating an attitude of elitism, egocentricity and corruption, or, perhaps, even, criminality?

Our employer may be a harmful parasite, preying on the gullibility or the superficial emotions of a confused public. Rarely, do we have the inclination, or the opportunity, to ask such questions, and, often, we would jeopardise our position, if we do. If we are a soldier, we can not question the decisions of our leaders, or the source of our income. To scrutinise questions of policy may result, not only, in the loss of a job, and the security that goes with it, but, we may be persecuted, or, perhaps, even, executed, since to question the righteousness of a Cause, or a directive of an absolute leadership, is close to treason or rebellion.

Yet, we should question all these events and happenings. We should ask ourselves, whether or not we are contributing to injustice by serving a powerful elite for the sake of personal gain, or out of fear for reprisals. In particular, when a society becomes polarised, we have to choose sides. We can not afford the luxury of a long deliberation, except, perhaps, in the privacy of our thoughts. As soon as the people around us know, that we are wavering in our loyalties, we become a liability, and, we are mistrusted by either side. We can not question, openly, the values and actions of the hands that feed us, and, because nearly all of us become enslaved to the need of receiving a regular cash-income, it is as if a whole society has been muzzled.

Who can question the wisdom of economic expansion and the stimulation of a sluggish economy, whenever there is a high rate of unemployment? Who dares to say, that a large percentage of the industrial and military activities that are going-on, are wrong and contribute to the problems of injustice, disparity and pollution, as well as the threat of a suicidal war? Where are the revenues going to come from, if one advocates a contraction or reduction in economic activities, and, how are we going to feed the hungry or the unemployed, if we advocate a return to a basic and frugal way of life?

No political leader can endorse such a policy, unless a significant portion of the electorate has thought deeply about these problems, and has formulated a radical therapy to get us out of this morass. Fundamental changes in outlook and attitudes have to come, first, from the members of society, and, then, perceptive and inspired political leaders will come to the fore, who can organise these sentiments and attitudes into a workable program of collective frugality and a reduction in the tensions of disparity and injustice.

Who dares to say, that governments should avoid going deeper into debt, or, that we should work harder for less pay in order to accomplish the difficult pioneering jobs, which we now want to be paid-for by foreign investments? Who dares to say, that it is better to work hard for a number of years and build our own house, in stead of the "easy way", where we borrow a large sum of money, buy a home outright, and struggle for the next twenty or thirty years to pay-off the mortgage?

Perhaps, we still see the logic of personally pursuing a policy that makes us live more or less within our means, because we will be quickly reminded by our creditors, if we exceed the limits of our borrowing capacity. However, we all seem to think, that a government can borrow with impunity, and live, from year to year, with rising deficits. Indeed, continuous inflationary pressures make such a policy of continuous budget-deficits on a national scale, feasible, and, to some extent, profitable, but, we all know the high price we have to pay, individually as well as collectively, for the presence of a chronic burden of debt, and a rising rate of inflation.

We have discussed these aspects before, but it seems to be important to re-state them, again and again, because, by getting wrapped-up in our own little world, and, by closing our eyes to the overall, long-term consequences of our actions and attitudes, we are responsible for maintaining this momentum towards a gigantic and catastrophic collapse, while we waste our time, and our lives, in a continuous round of narrow concerns about our own desires.

The waste of time and effort when engaging in a socially destructive, narrow-minded search for pleasures and egocentric well-being, is, perhaps, the saddest spectacle we see around us in the large and affluent societies, because, those, who have been able to step-out from this gigantic and frantic momentum of egocentric consumerism, see, not only, clearly, that we are wasting precious time by failing to come to grips with the essential problems of our times, but, we see, also, that the continuation of this affluent momentum has to lead to a collapse of the entire social structure.

The irony of the enormous inertia in such large societies lies in the fact, that, for generations, we seem to be able to embark, with impunity, upon a road, which we know, will, eventually, lead to a colossal flop, but, at the same time, even, if we have collectively developed a reasonably clear picture about the impending collapse, we may not do anything about it, because we calculate with our narrow sphere of concern, that we will be gone by the time the day of reckoning comes. Besides, even, if we decide to make frantic and concerted efforts to change direction, these efforts are likely to be futile, and, they will not avoid the catastrophe because of this gigantic inertia of a large social system.

I sometimes wonder, how many people, entrapped in affluence, come to the conclusion, at some time during their lives, that they are wasting their time; that their lives have become meaningless, and, that the work they do, the products they make or try to sell; that the whole economic momentum is madness; that it does not lead to happiness or satisfaction to live under the chronic tensions and pressures of affluence. Yet, at the same time, I am sure, that, most people will suppress such thoughts as "negative", as depressing, as non-contributory, as "evil", because these thoughts only increase the already high level of anxiety, and they do not seem to lead to any practical solutions.

Perhaps, the most common solution such people come to, is a rejuvenation of their religious Faith, and, in stead of concentrating on finding sensible solutions to the madness of the affluent world and the rising tensions of disparity and injustice, they clamp themselves to the hope of "being saved" from a wicked world. Then, they can sink back, complacently, into their particular social niche, because they have found an answer to the madness of the world. While blandly condemning this world as "evil", and doomed to destruction by the Wrath of the Lord, they blithely keep contributing to the senselessness and disparities, as they continue to function in their detrimental and potentially destructive jobs.

The hypocrisy of such an attitude is depressingly clear to any observant outsider. The injustice of such complacent religious attitudes is so obvious and heart-wrenching, and, yet, we seem to be powerless to do anything about it. As long as people are wrestling with questions of conscience, whether or not their position or work in society contributes to injustice and disparity, we have, at least, a chance to see a more responsible attitude emerge. Now, after an individual has "found religion", he or she settles comfortably on the same course towards a social calamity, because the work and existence of the religious believer have been sanctified by the Lord. Any criticism or questioning of the righteousness of a position of privilege becomes an affront to God, because His faithful see their positions of privilege as God's gift.

As we see, so often, in the course of history, religion becomes a two-edged sword, creating confidence and certainty, moral fibre and strength of character for the believers, but, it also hardens intransigeant attitudes and situations of disparity and injustice, as the responsibility for the existence of such situations of disparity and injustice are transferred from the responsibility of mankind, to the Will of God.

Responsibility is, therefore, indeed, the key concept in designing our own future, and, in exorcising the idea that we can absolve ourselves from any responsibility for the problems of the world. We have to assume a measure of responsibility for the gigantic pressures of disparity and injustice, and, it is criminal to resign ourselves to the inscrutable Will of an inscrutable God. It is time to learn to see our problems and our responsibilities in a global perspective, and, only a considered and well thought-out set of studies will teach us the way to live frugally, without waste, and, without impoverishing our environment any further. Only then, will we be able to do justice to the future generations of mankind, and, if we care at all for the possibility to be remembered by them with a semblance of affection, then, we have to mend our ways, and, we have to learn to shoulder our responsibilities properly.

Unfortunately, an attitude of responsibility can not easily be taught, just as it is nearly impossible to teach wisdom and impress on the younger generations, (via a process of conceptual transfer), the consequences, results or insights of our own hard-won experiences. We are creatures of experience, and, even so, it is remarkable, that we can supplement our personal experiences by accepting values, traditions and behaviour-patterns from the generations that have lived before us. Even, if the channels of authority are intact, (and the lack of the ability to transfer attitudes of wisdom is, usually, due to the fact, that the author or the educator, who is trying to convey his wisdoms, is not recognised or accepted as an authority, qualified or entrusted with the task of teaching such fundamental truths), even, if the channels of authority are intact, the younger generation needs a basis of personal experiences, before it is able to acknowledge or evaluate the truths and wisdoms it has been handed-down from previous generations.

The same applies to the attitudes of responsibility. We may be taught, over and over again, that we should not waste our food or our energies, our time, or any other item, but the value of such advice does not sink-in, because we have never experienced what it means to be without. Here, we see another irony resulting from the enhanced security that comes with social integration. In the large and complex societies, we may not easily experience a shortage of the basic necessities, even, if we are less than prudent in the use of our resources, and, consequently, we take our affluence and abundance for granted.

We have to teach our youngsters the limits of security by placing them, temporarily and deliberately, into a harsh, natural environment, where they have to use their limited supplies wisely and sparingly, otherwise, their hardships may deteriorate, quickly, into an acute shortage of food, water, heat, or some other basic item of necessity. Certainly, such experiences should be graded, and tailored to what our youngsters can tolerate at a particular stage of development, but, it is vitally important, that all human beings learn, from an early age, that they can not always take their securities and supplies for granted.

Many youngsters in our affluent societies are so continuously exposed to an abundance of everything, that they would be completely lost, if they suddenly had to make do with a basic minimum. This, as well as the pernicious attitude to display social success and power in a life-style of unnecessary consumption, leads to a gigantic waste, while millions of people are trapped in a situation of poverty that seems endless and insurmountable, leading, inevitably, to death.

Just as a small group of people making a long voyage on a small sail-boat, learn, quickly, that they have to conserve everything very carefully, so will the next few generations of mankind learn, that their planet is almost as vulnerable as a small sail-boat. Just as we see, that irresponsible and narrow, egocentric behaviour on such a small boat is, not only, a severe injustice to the other members of the crew, but, a real threat to the ability to survive, so will future generations recognise, soon, that the real enemy of us all is not an alien society, envious of our position of privilege, but the attitudes of careless egocentricity and irresponsibility.

After all, responsibility means, an acceptance of the fact, that we have to answer to other people for our deeds and attitudes, and, increasingly, the attitudes and actions of people, who behave as if they exist alone in the world, have to be considered our real enemies. These are the real threats to human survival, and, such egocentric and unconcerned attitudes, to which we all may succumb, once in a while, regardless of the beliefs we subscribe to, will be the real problems which have to be solved.

People, who turn-out to be incorrigeable, irresponsible psychopaths are dangerous criminals, but, in the future, we will recognise, more clearly, that we need openness and transparence in society, not only, to foster the attitudes of mutual trust, but, also, to enable us to root-out these criminals of irresponsibility, before they can do great harm to others, or the society at large.

However, before we quickly condemn "the others" for criminal attitudes of irresponsibility and egocentricity, let us not forget, that we all may behave as criminals, or as saints, depending upon the orientaton of our motivations, and, this orientation will be strongly influenced by our sense of responsibility. This sense of responsibility is based upon an inborn quality; the instinct of parental concern, as well as the ability to care for other people and living organisms, but, this quality of parental care and concern will have to be developed and nurtured by careful education and a graded series of excercises and experiences. Even so, only a few people will be able to extend, naturally, their concerns and attitudes into a global sphere of concern, because, only a few people will have the opportunity, and the ability, to develop an intellectual picture, which makes such a global sphere of concern a natural component of their mental imagery. Therefore, we all need help from a competent and far-sighted social environment, in order to make sure, that our atitudes and actions remain oriented in a way that is beneficial and useful to the gobal society.

Here, we are back to the need for, and the function of, a set of globally relevant Constitutional Guidelines. It can all come-together; a truly globally oriented program of education, a globally valid set of Constitutional Guidelines, a sophistiated network for communicating and distributing information, (the central nervous system of the future societies), as well as an efficient, lean, frugal way of life for every member of society, within an atmosphere of complete transparence in order to sustain a reasonable level of trust. Then, it may be possible, for many billions of people, to live, harmoniously and carefully, on a crowded and fragile planet, where each member will be asked, constantly, to check his impulses and behavioural instincts against the results of the projected actions for the social and natural environments.

What a glorious sense of responsibility those viable future generations will display, and, how astounded will they be, when looking back at the undisciplined turmoil of our times, wondering, how mankind ever survived, just as we may shake our head in wonderment and amazement, as we are beginning to appreciate what sort of perils early man and the evolution of life had to overcome. We often come to the conclusion, that, man "almost did not make it", and our future generations will, almost certainly, feel a similar sense of wonderment about "our times".

It is comforting to think about the time, when the threats of nuclear annihilation and gigantic contamination will have been overcome, and, it is such a hopeful expectation to imagine, that man has been able to curb his unbridled instincts of rage and aggression, of egocentricity and short-sightedness. However, we are not there, yet, and, if it ever will appear that man is indeed moving into such a desirable direction, we can be sure, that an enormous amount of hard work and concentrated effort will have gone into the creation of a realistic reality perception, which will give the living generations a good insight into the nature of their existence, as well as the effects of their existence and behaviour-patterns upon the environment. Such insights will be the only weapon allowing the living generations to tame the dangerous aspects of instinctive human behaviour-patterns.

Let us return to the concepts of waste, and, after this brief survey of the wasteful and destructive behavioural tendencies of the members of mankind, it may be worthwhile to look, a little more in detail, at the phenomenon of "waste", as we look around us, and observe, what is happening in the living, as well as the non-living world of nature. We have become aware of the fact, that all happenings and events around us, and within us, are based upon the presence of energy-gradients, as well as the ability of such energy-gradients, or pressure and tension differentials, to find a suitable channel for the dissipation of this energy-gradient. We tend to call "wasteful" any dissipation of an energy-gradient which we can make use of, but, we should be able to see, now, in a broader perspective, the many phenomena and forms of life that make use of these dissipating energy-gradients, while we look upon them with a somewhat envious eye as a source of energy that is going "to waste".

Look at a forest, and see, how many trees die and decay, returning to the soil. We feel, that this is "a waste", because, if the tree had been harvested, before it became diseased and was affected by rot and decay, it would have served as a source for wood; for making lumber, or, for heating our homes. Yet, we know, now, that such a tree, as well as the decay of all organic matter back into its original, inorganic components, gives rise to many energy-gradients, or food-potentials, which allow a host of bacteria, fungi, insects and other living organisms to exist. These provide, in turn, a link in the cycle of food and energy, and, they allow an inter-change of materials between the worlds of living and non-living matter. If these systems exist more or less in a stable and balanced condition, we call this an "ecological" balance, and, we have learned to appreciate the fact, that the species of man arose, also, as a form of life that found a "possibility to exist", due to the presence of abundant channels of energy-dissipation, or "waste", which made, amongst many other forms of existence, the animal or predatory mode of life possible.

As we have discussed before, the balance between the metabolic pressures of human existence and the naturally limiting forces of the environment, has been broken in the human species by the break-through of the manipulative ability, as well as the conceptualising powers of mankind. This led to the situation, where man's natural predators fell-away as a serious limiting factor in the growth of the human population, while the environmental and climatological restrictions upon the dispersion and growth of the human species were overcome by man's scientific an technological powers.

This meant, that, "nature", or, rather, the natural enviroment of the earth with its many eco-systems and balances between living systems and the non-living, inorganic environment, has been severely challenged and altered by the existence of mankind. The only "balancing" factors are the natural aggressiveness of human beings towards each other, and, this propensity to engage in warfare slows-down the increase in human population, and, to some extent, it also slows-down the rate of exploitation of natural resources.

In contrast with the more natural limiting forces that keep a population of a species stable within a particular ecological environment, or "niche", these limiting factors of warfare between human beings are becoming highly devastating events for the environment and other forms of life, limiting, not only, the unbridled expansion and existence of human life, but, threatening many other species' as well.

It is becoming more obvious all the time, that the only avenue open to halt this trend towards a catastrophic collapse of human viability, is the conscious creation of a set of behavioural guidelines, which lets us co-exist in an atmosphere of trust and cooperation. This can be accomplished, if we adhere to a carefully crafted social contract of essential equality and global justice. However, this awareness is slow in coming, and, a large number of people, including all contemporary national leaderships, believe in the ability to buy for themselves and their nations a "blanket of security" by a large military arsenal of sophisticated weapon-systems, which includes, for some of the larger, more dominant nations, a variety of nuclear weapons.

This brings us back to the idea, that, probably, we need a series of significant nuclear accidents, before the peoples of the world will be able to pressure their leaderships in destroying all remaining nuclear weapons, and, only, if this has been accomplished, can we hope to obtain security and long-term survival on a global scale.

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Chapter 4

Content

Forgeing an agreement about the basic realities of human life.
Man's unparalleled ability to influence the world of events.
The logic of trying to escape in a fundamentalist, religious perception of reality.
Let us actively work for the prevalence of a more viable approach to the perception of reality.
The need to look carefully at the "life-support" systems of our planet.
Conservation without a contract of essential equality will never work.
A frugal level of "collective metabolic activities".
The need to define this essential balance between our collective needs and our impact on the terrestial environment.
An unfortunate dependence on the "economic momentum".
We can not force an idea whose time has not come, nor, can we overcome fears and criticisms by force.
Political and military leaders will be powerless to stop a trend towards global integration and harmony, if a large majority of the peoples of the world wants this to happen.
A military dictatorship still has to justify its actions and ambitions towards its own supporters.
The time has come to realise, how powerful a sound idea is.
Let us re-discover, once again, the powerful persuasiveness of an honest agreement.
The level of mutual awareness is rising all the time.
A return to biological images.
Energy-dissipation and the concept of "waste".
Life resulted from the ability to exploit a specific energy-gradient.
A personal opinion.
My faith in the feasibility of a globally shared imagery of human existence, based on the biological sciences.
The "waste-product" oxygen was released into the air, bringing-about the "Oxygen Revolution" of early terrestial life.
Anabolism and catabolism.
Remarkably complementary biochemical cycles.

As a first step in the development of a global contract of justice and peace between the nations and peoples of the world, we will have to agree amongst ourselves about the basic realities that affect us all, and, as we have discussed before, some agreement about our biological origins, the nature of our existence, as well as the origins of our behaviour-patterns and instinctive drives, will go a long way towards an understanding between widely diverging communities. An understanding of the balances of nature, especially, between living species' and their natural environments, will also give us an insight into the peculiar and far-reaching consequences of the emergence of mankind, with its powerful ability to grasp the world through his senses in a series of coherent concepts and reality perceptions. Man can influence the world in which he lives, and, in particular, man can alter the course of events resulting from existing energy-gradients, to an extent no other species can.

As long as scientific insights, together with the abilities to manipulate nature on a gigantic scale, are used egocentrically to create pockets of feverish consumerism and military-industrial might, we are only contributing to the disparities and tensions between the peoples of the world, and, at the same time, we are feeding the most important limiting factor in the curtailment of human existence; warfare against each other. It will take great courage and persistence to spread, slowly but persistently, a concept, that accentuates the possibilities of an essential equality in living standards, as well as a careful curtailment of our individualistic instincts of unbridled consumption and primitive aggressive-defensiveness.

As long as we believe, that "the whole world" collapses, when our particular world of security and life-style falls-apart, it matters little to us, that we may, indeed, drag the whole world into a catastrophic collapse, as we try in a last, desperate effort, to ward-off this collapse with our nuclear weapons. If we have the good fortune to experience a limited fore-taste by the accidental explosion of a nuclear war-head, and realise what it will be like to unleash a nuclear holocaust, we may learn, in time, the foolishness of our plans and avert an irreversible catastrophe on a global scale.

As long as nuclear weapons, dangerous radio-active waste and industrial pollution remain the dominating fruits of science and technology, it will be logical, and unavoidable, that people will seek refuge in a fundamentalist religious reality perception. If these trends ever gain the upper hand in the more powerful nations of the world, we may see a deliberate destruction of the many frightening fruits of science and technology, but, at the same time, a return to fundamentalist reality perceptions means, also, an inability to see ourselves in a globally acceptable, evolutionary light, and we will have lost the ability to see ourselves as a product of natural evolution of life on our planet.

Let us actively work for the prevalence of a more viable approach to the perception of reality, because we know, that the fundamentalist religious imagery will only lead to more intense strife. Let us actively propagate a perception of reality that lets us see, clearly, how we evolved from the pool of life; how we developed the ability of conscious thought, scientific insights, religious hopes and beliefs, as well as this all-important ability to alter our environment with tools and weapons. Let us acknowledge, that an unbridled instinct for consumption, wealth and power are the main reasons for this gigantic phenomenon of industrial growth and world-wide pollution.

Once we understand, and agree amongst ourselves, in outline, how, and why, we came to be in the situation we find ourselves in, it may be possible to design a rational approach to the problems of long-term viability. Let us promote a reality perception, and an attitude, which looks carefully at the "life-support" systems of our planet. Let us promote an attitude that recognises the vulnerability and limitations, of our bio-sphere and the systems it depends on, but, let us also avoid a short-sighted and fanatic conservationist attitude, which seeks to freeze everything into an immutable status-quo. If we try to practice conservationism without giving consideration to the problems of social disparities, the problems of want and hunger, as well as the tensions and frustrations associated with gross injustices and inequalities, we are practicing a belief and championing a cause that is doomed to failure.

We have to realise, that the large "bulk " of human existence, even, if it "metabolises", frugally, at a generally acceptable and equalised level of "minimum conditions of health", will continue to have an enormous impact upon the terrestial environment. We have to work, as quickly as we can, to establish an equilibrium, where the needs of human consumption are not exhausting or depleting the resources of our environment. We have to accept the fact, that it will not be easy to reach such an equilibrium.

Certainly, we should avoid a quick and reckless use of our non-renewable resources, and, seen in this light, the use of petro-chemicals for combustion seems an irresponsible act of waste, in particular, if energy-needs can be satisfied by developing all the possibilities for hydro-electric power, solar energy and wind- or tidal-power. However, it is likely, that a moderate use of non-renewable resources can be justified, especially, if these resources are used to make truly durable goods that can be handed over from one generation to the next.

Our main concern for the immediate and long-term future is going to be the ability to grow adequate food-supplies for the peoples of the world, as well as the life-stocks we need to have a varied and well-balanced diet. We will have to bring carefully into cultivation most, if not all, the arable areas of the planet, but, at the same time, we have to develop truly long-term strategies, which will avoid a deterioration of the soil by exhaustive harvesting or harmful fertilising techniques. Eventually, it will be necessary to practice a concerned technique of birth-control, but we have to be careful, that the burdens of birth-control are equally placed, and, we have to realise, that birth-control can only be truly acceptable all over the world, if the feverish pockets of unnecessary and wasteful consumption have been eliminated.

A carefully controled population, living a healthy but frugal life-style that is essentially in balance with the major life-support systems of the planet, is the crucial criterium that is going to determine the survival of the future generations. If we could muster the collective will to bring-about such a balanced way of life, (where we live in essential harmony and equality with each other, as well as with the major eco-systems upon which we depend for our survival), the task would be relatively easy, even, at our present status of knowledge and insight. We have the ability, now, to design such a balanced and harmonious global society with a frugal but essentially healthy way of life for everyone, and, the only major obstruction to realise such a goal, is the fact, that, many of us do not believe that it is necessary to bring-about such a status of global equality, and, that it is not necessary to abandon our affluent life-style and positions of privilege and power.

Unfortunately, most people, as well as nearly all affluent political leaderships, are still so dependent upon a continuation of affluence and its economic momentum, that they are unable to see, how they can survive without it. This confusion and ignorance, together with the resulting anxieties, lie at the heart of the massive and gigantic waste in effort and energy taking place in the form of an arms-race, while the tensions of disparity and injustice keep mounting steadily.

The momentum of an affluent collapse seems to be clearly felt by many people, including some political leaders, but, they seem to be powerless to do anything about it, because they do not have a conceptual alternative that shows, clearly, the possibilities for a global harmony in justice, essential equality and healthy frugality. It will be the task of everyone, who understands, at least, to some extent, that such a rational alternative to pockets of affluence is possible, to study and propagate these ideas. I do not mean a propagation by the sword, by a grab for political power, or by a slick and superficial advertising campaign, but, a propagation that is based on an honest discussion of person to person; where we are willing to listen with an open mind to all the objections and suggestions offered to the plans for a global harmony in justice and frugality.

Let us realise, that we can not force an idea, whose time has not come, nor, can we overcome legitimate fears and criticisms by force. However, an idea that finds a fertile ground, and, which is sound, healthy and flexible enough to be modified by specific requirements in specific circumstances, will spread all over the world, and, it can not be held-back by the sword, either. Nuclear arsenals, a balance of military power, and, even, the largest and most devastating inter-continental missiles are powerless to halt the idea of global justice and peaceful co-existence. If the peoples of the world truly understand, that it is not necessary to waste all these efforts on weapons, they will turn, in huge numbers, away from their traditional political and military leaders, and, these leaders will be powerless to stop the trend towards global integration and harmony.

Indeed, let us not underestimate the forces of the "vested interests", because many people, soldiers and workers alike, benefit from military activities and the build-up of weapons. Once the major industrial efforts of a nation are geared towards an arms build-up, a large segment of the population becomes, in one way or another, dependent upon this military-industrial complex for its livelyhood. How do we, as outsiders, respond to such a trend? It is tempting to let our anxieties dictate, that we have to follow suit and participate in a race to build up arms, but it is much wiser to isolate such a nation.

Let it spend all its efforts in useless armaments and make the peoples of such a nation, eventually, aware of the fact, that they have been working for decades on all these armaments and missiles, without really accomplishing much in the way of security and justice. The militaristic leaderships will realise, sooner or later, that the people are getting tired of such a futile arms race, especially, if there is no threat from the outside. People get tired of the fact, that, needed social reforms are lagging behind, and, that the disparities between the poor and the rich are steadily increasing. The sense of alienation only grows, as the leadership in "splendid isolation" worries about an imaginary enemy, while the people are ready to throw this leadership out of office.

If we do not challenge such a militaristic society in its security, but, if we let these useless efforts go-on, unopposed, it will be possible to slowly bend the thrust of national activities towards a more useful and trustful relationship with its neighbours. To respond with a similar arms-race is utter folly, because it provides the ultimate justification for a belligerent nation and its leadership to continue the military build-up.

"Are we not risking", you may ask", that a militaristic nation will use its power to dominate other nations, especially, those in its periphery?" Certainly, that is true, but, the militaristic nation will learn, quickly, that it is nearly impossible to subdue such an "annexed" or dominated nation against its will, apart from a totally destructive and ruthless warfare, with mass-deportations, executions, reprisals, etc. However, how is such a militaristic nation going to justify such actions to its own peoples? With a growing level of public opinion and awareness, it becomes increasingly difficult for military dictatorships to "sell" their own peoples on the justification of expansionistic policies, and, by strengthening the debate of what is just and fair, we have a far more powerful counter-weight against a massive military might, than an arms-race, where we try to maintain a precarious and unstable balance of military power.

The time has come to realise, how powerful a sound idea is, and, how powerfully persuasive an honest discussion can be, in contrast to the irritating and unconvincing platitudes of biased propaganda. It is also time to realise, that we can only halt the arms-race of various nations in different parts of the world, if we learn to curb our anxieties and defensive instincts. If we respond, with honesty and openness, to a threat or a criticism, we may not always be able to defend ourselves against brute force, but, if we are making full use of the powers of world public opinion, and, if we recognise, that our enemies or potential enemies, poised to swallow us with their military might, are also human beings, with similar fears and anxieties, it should nearly always be possible to avoid a military confrontation and come to a negotiated settlement.

"How can one negotiate from a position of military weakness?", you may ask, but, you forget, that a confrontation is seldom won purely on the basis of military strength. Let us re-discover, again, the power of an honest deal; of an honest attempt to bring fairness, justice and peace. If we listen, carefully, to our enemies, we realise, that they are pursuing the same goals. True, there may also be the temptation to exploit a position of strength, by intimidating a weaker nation or individual, but, just as we trust, in a well-ordened society, that the stronger people will behave according to the law and refrain from exploiting the weaker members, (out of respect for the social contract of justice that is the guiding cultural principle of a well-ordened and viable society), so is it possible to develop an openness and a principle of lawful behaviour in international transactions. In addition, the outcry of a world public opinion against opportunitistic military aggression will, eventually, curtail the aggressive and exploitative advantages of a superior military force.

Let us not forget, that the squabbles between nations resemble, already, much more the fights and frictions between family-members, than a confrontation between complete strangers. At no time in history, did the ideas of common-sense and a social contract of essential equality and social justice have so many chances of success as they have now, because, at no time in history, have we been so intensely in contact with each other as today. We still fight and argue, constantly, and, we are still blatantly dishonest and propagandistic in our contacts, but, this intense barrage of propaganda between antagonists in the international arena is also an excellent opportunity for the ordinary citizen to place these biased view-points side by side, and learn about the biased nature of the information they are asked to believe.

A logical result of this intensive and extensive propaganda-war between the major power-blocks, will be, to make the people of the social environments in conflict with each other aware of the fact, that they will have to find a better way of communicating. We will see, in the future, a greater access to the media for diverging opinions, and, with the rise of more tolerant attitudes, the absolutism of one particular view-point or social doctrine will give-way to a workable democracy of diverging interpretations of reality, as well as a true political choice during elections.

It is time for the advocates of the absolutist social or religious doctrines to realise, that no absolute truth can hold sway, indefinitely, over the minds of the people, because human errors, frailties and corrupt practices will, inevitably, undermine the credibility of any particular reality or truth, regardless, whether this truth has been propagated as a God-given reality or as the only "salvation" for a disadvantaged proletariat.

I intended to discuss the apparent waste of the many systems of energy-dissipation we can see around us, but, I seem to be drawn, irresistibly, to the greatest waste of them all; warfare between human beings, who get caught by their instinctive anxieties, and are ready to engage in a deadly confrontation with their "enemies". Yet, these enemies are always human beings, just like ourselves, and, nearly always, they are motivated by the same considerations of security, justice and peace.

Let us recall an imagery we have developed before, where we visualise the processes of life to have started, when a source of chemical potentials, or pressure-gradients, became available with the capture of solar energy in the form of "high-energy" electron bonds. We have seen, how we can visualise the shallow, primordial seas of the earth into which a large number of solutes had been washed by warm rain-falls, as well as the precipitation of a large number of pre-organic chemical combinations between carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms.

We visualise a vast, primordial, protoplasmic pool, where an unimaginable number of chemical permutations began to take place; partly as the result of ionisation and polymerisation processes taking place in a luke-warm, watery envionment, and, partly, as the result of chemical potentials, built-up by the haphazard and chance-capture of a small amount of solar energy. We have discussed, on previous occasions, the imagery, where vast "river-beds" of chain-linked, biochemical reactions developed, and, we have seen, how this protoplasmic primordium was the natural site for an evolutionary experiment with clusters of protected biochemical reaction-patterns, which found their primary possibility of existence in the fact, that the capture of solar energy created a continuously replenished reservoir of "biochemical energy". This fueled the numerous chemical reaction-patterns and restored the fragile and labile biochemical substances, which form large sequences of biochemical events in the cell.

We have compared this imagery to that of a river, cascading over a series of rapids, dissipating its gravitational energy-potential, which was created by the capture of water on high-lying areas. In this way, we visualise, that, after a billion years or so of natural evolution, the free-floating, metabolising and reproducing, adaptable and multi-potential cellular unit came into existence.

It is important to realise, that life resulted as a possibility to exploit a specific energy-gradient, which had become possible because of the specific physical conditions and constants that happened to be present at the time of the early earth. Life is, in essence, the possibility for a fragile, labile, but fluid and adaptable conglomerate of biochemical reaction-patterns to exist as a unit, but, the continued presence of the living organisation as a pattern of fragile and labile particles of matter, depends, also, on the ability to adapt, constantly, to changing circumstances.

The conditions of the early earth, with its vast, primordial protoplasm, as well as the long-term experiment with biochemical or proto-biochemical combinations, have long since vanished. At least, we have not found or identified, so far, anywhere on earth, a pool of primordial protoplasm, or "proto-protoplasm", which may resemble, or, represent an actual remnant of the protoplasmic pool that gave rise to the living cell, nor, has there been any evidence for a fossil remnant of such a hypothetical pool of primordial protoplasm.

The absence of tangible evidence that such a protoplasmic primordium actually existed, together with the complex imagery that is necessary to visualise a more or less logical sequence of events, linking the world of the non-living matter with the world of the living organisation, is one of the reasons, why these images are still considered to be "highly speculative", and, have not yet been widely accepted throughout the various cultures of the world. While we recognise and acknowledge, fully, that the details of these images are uncertain and speculative, and, while we acknowledge the likelyhood that we have to modify many features or aspects of our contemporary imagery, we have so much evidence for the correctness of the overall outlines of this view, that we may confidently describe, at least, in its essential outlines, the hypothesis of the evolution of life on earth.

I am convinced, that this imagery can be accepted as "essentially correct" or, at least, as "useful", for a long time to come. It is important to see ourselves, clearly, as a product of this process of natural evolution, and, I believe, that there is a need to teach these images systematically in our schools. These concepts and ideas should become an important part of our future educational curriculum, and it should be possible to compare, carefully, the religious images and explanations, which man has constructed around his awarenesses and experiences, with the possibilities given by a natural, biological origin of our existence. In particular, the explanations of our behavioural characteristics will benefit greatly from such a careful comparison, and, I am convinced, that future generations will, indeed, come to the conclusion, that the scientific, biological images of natural evolution and the emergence of the species of mankind, will be a great help in creating a clear, comprehensive and persuasive imagery of human existence, which can be shared world-wide.

It is interesting to trace, how our dependence upon the biochemical energy in the form of captured solar energy as high-energy electron bonds, has become supplemented by our technological ability to tap other energy-sources. The first "break-through" was associated with this fundamental "divide" in the world of the living organisation, when the members of the animal kingdom became parasites, or predators, upon their photo-synthesising cousins; the kingdom of the plants. The plants retained the ability to capture solar energy in the form of high-energy, electron bonds, and, they use this energy to synthesise their living structures from inorganic materials.

The process of "anabolism", or building-up, incorporates a great variety of substances, including nitrogen, water and carbon-dioxide, and, this proces of anabolism "liberates", or excretes, as a "waste product", oxygen into the air. We visualise, that a dramatic "ogygen revolution" took place, early, in the development of life on earth. As the levels of atmospheric oxygen began to rise, a strong trend developed for the evolution of a complementary form of life, which could use the oxygen in the atmosphere and break-down, again, the organic compounds that had been built-up. This pocess of "catabolism", or the break-down of organic compounds, became well established, and, here, we see the first, and, one of the most fundamental balances between the living forces of nature. In most large, plant-like or vegetative structures, the processes of anabolism and catabolism are combined, but, we can still say, that the overall effect of plant life is anabolic, and builds-up great reservoirs of organic materials on earth, while oxygen is released into the air.

The animals have abandoned the ability to make their own organic substances from scratch, and, they capture them, in stead, from their prey. These mechanisms are predominantly catabolic in nature, and they consume, therefore, a large amount of organic material, as well as atmospheric oxygen, while releasing carbon-dioxide as a "waste-product" into the atmosphere.

Here, we see, how these different life-forms complement each other, and, how the waste-product of one, becomes a vital ingredient for the life-sustaining processes of the other. Let us remind ourselves, that the complex, multi-cellular animal life-forms, as well as the predatory uni-cellular life-forms, break-down, not only, the organic materials they capture, but, they also build up with the help of anabolic mechanisms their own body constituents. This build-up of their own organic requirements takes place without the help of photo-synthesis and makes use of pre-fabricated, organic building-blocks that serve as a source of energy and materials.

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Chapter 5

Content

An imagery that is fundamental to understanding our own existence.
How fortunate are we, to live in an era, where it has become possible to sketch, with confidence, a plausible imagery of our biological origins.
The competitive solution in the struggle for survival comes much more strongly to the fore, than the symbiotic or social solution.
A biologically shared "anlage" for socially integrated behaviour.
The methods of natural selection and survival of the fittest are "wasteful" mechanisms of adaptation.
The factors of a slow genetic turn-over, and a sparse population density.
The super-imposition of a cultural code.
The waste of free-enterprise.
A high cost in social hardships, and the socially destructive attitudes of resentment and frustration.
Reasons for the failure of centralised planning in the large and complex Socialist societies.
A fusion between the ideas of centralised planning and free-enterprise.
A review of criticisms of the Socialist solution.
There will always be room for the "small business-enterprise".
Many functions of a large-scale social environment are already "centrally planned", even, in free-enterprise, Capitalist societies.
Centrally planned economies must do, at least, as good a job of management as free-enterprise.
The influence of modern computer technology, and the principles of complete social transparence.
Let us glorify the free-enterprise of thoughts.
The competence of a leadership is reflected by its tolerance for freedom of expression.
We still remain responsible for our opinions, beliefs and utterances.
We can afford an abundance of thoughts and ideas.
A free competiveness between concepts and ideas is going to be the foundation for a collectively designed, centrally planned structure of social relationships, enshrined in a code of Constitutional Guidelines.
Wars have changed the destiny of many nations.
Each generation re-creates the past in the light of prevailing beliefs and contemporary reality perceptions.
Imaginative ideas have to keep pace with rapidly changing problems and circumstances.

The ideas we have outlined in the previous chapter are, probably, more or less familiar to those, who have been exposed to the fundamental biological principles of operation, but, I like to emphasise these images, here, because they are so relevant to understanding our own existence. In spite of their philosophical importance, the biological sciences are still strongly focussed upon the specifics of living existence, with an emphasis upon the anatomical and physiological characteristics of a large variety of life-forms, rather than upon the philosophical implications of their own findings.

Such a "focussed" approach on the details of biological structures and functions may make us confused and bewildered, because of the overwhelming variety of details that can be seen. By concentrating on the fundamental principles of life, we grasp, much better, an overall, coherent structure, and we can, then, become aware of features that are shared by all life-forms, regardless of the wide divergence in specific characteristics that can be found from one species to the next.

With the evolution of the single cell from the protoplasmic primordium, and the subsequent developments of the multi-cellular community of specialised cell-groups in the form of organ-systems, the emergence of flexible, programmable behaviour, and, the break-through of symbolic representation and conscious, verbalisable awareness, we reach, eventually, the species of mankind. By then, we seem to have developed into such a powerful and complex life-form, that it became very difficult to see ourselves as originating from the same roots that gave birth to the other species' in the spectrum of life. Of course, the entire world of cellular and sub-cellular biochemical existence, as well as the concepts of planetary evolution and the vast, natural experiment as we visualise it to have taken place in the imagery of the protoplasmic primordium, all these ideas and insights are relatively new, and, they need a great deal of coherent teaching, before this complex imagery can become really widespread and helpful for the tasks of understanding ourselves.

Let us be aware, then, how fortunate we are to live at a time, where it has become possible to sketch, with a remarkable degree of confidence, a plausible image of our biological origins, and, as a reward for such an intellectual excercise, we understand, much better, the force-fields to which our existence and needs are exposed.

For example, we understand, now, why we have to eat regularly; why we are always looking for security; why we always have to adapt to, or resist, challenges that are coming from a wide variety of circumstances and environmental conditions. We know, now, the reasons for the development of the aggressive-defensive solution in the competitive struggle for survival, but, we are also much more aware of the possibilities of existence that are given by a symbiotic inter-dependence of specialised cells within a multi-cellular organism, or, the specialisations and inter-dependencies that enhance viability for the members of a socially integrated community, such as ourselves.

It is true, that, the competitive solution in the struggle for survival comes much more strongly to the fore compared to the symbiotic or social solution, in particular, if we look at the more complex life-forms. Look, how the human being, as a single organism, has a much more strongly engraved tendency to opt for the competitive rather than the cooperative solution. Nevertheless, we may safely state, that the competitive, as well as the social solution have a clear-cut genetic foundation in the make-up of our personality, and, we should remind ourselves, that the competitive solution, as well as the cooperative or social solution, date back to the time of the protoplasmic primordium.

The mechanisms of the cooperative or social solution are not as strongly etched into our genetic heritage as the combative instincts, but, as we discused before, there is good evidence to see, at least, an "anlage" for socially integrated behaviour in the human species, because the trend towards secondary socialisation had already begun, before the human species had evolved. We have also seen, how natural selection had, at least, a chance to endow a genetic anlage of socially integrated behaviour into the personality of the human being, because the social traits within a small community were rewarded with an enhanced degree of viability, in comparison to the more primitive behaviour-patterns of the competitive or aggressive-defensive solution in a solitary organism.

We have also discussed the principle, that, natural selection can mold, successfully, the genetic instructions for viable behaviour, if it is allowed to work over a prolonged period of time, and, if there is a large population to select from. We have seen, that the slow genetic turn-over, as well as the limited population density of the larger species', provide a serious draw-back for the possibilities of genetic adaptation by the forces of natural selection. This is the reason, why a bacterial strain can adapt much more quickly to changes in the environment, compared to a large and complex mammalian species.

We are justified to consider the method of natural selection and survival of the fittest as an "extremely wasteful" way to secure adaptation. Only a fraction of each generation survives, for many generations in a row, and, the larger animals, in particular, the larger mammals, just can not afford, any longer, such a wasteful, intense pressure upon their ability to survive. Imagine, what it would mean for us, if only a small fraction of each generation would succeed in reaching adulthood and participating in the tasks of procreation. The waste in human resources would be incredible, and, in essence, incompatible with our way of life, but, these ruthless competitive pressures are, also, in essence, incompatible with the mode of survival for all the larger mammals.

The reason is, of course, that the larger mammals are, in essence, "behaviourally flexible animals", which learn to adapt their behaviour according to locally varying possibilities and circumstances, and, we should not forget, that the method of reproduction, by internal gestation, has resulted in a very significant drop in the numbers of offspring that can be produced and looked-after. The mammalian species' have adjusted their methods of procreation in accordance with the possibilities that were given by the flexibility of their behaviour, but, this means, also, that such species' have become completely dependent upon this capability of behavioural flexibility, as we see, so clearly, in the way they take care of their offspring.

We realise now, better than ever before, how important the super-imposition of the cultural code has become. The cultural code reflects the ability to learn from experiences and examples, and, to adapt one's behaviour accordingly. This ability has become an essential mechanism for the survival of mankind, and yet, many of us still believe in a type of society that reflects, strongly, the competitive processes of natural selection and the survival of the fittest.

For example, many people, who are educated in, and have grown-up with, the philosophy and practice of free-enterprise, will extoll the virtues of the phenomenon of free competition for products and services. Indeed, we see, occasionally, some beneficial results from such a competitive struggle, and, we may see the emergence of a superior product or an innovative idea, which gains quickly a widespread acceptance. We tend to forget in our affluence, (living in societies where the losers still have a chance to survive by doing something else), that, just as in the natural selection of living organisms, the natural selection of products or innovative ideas has been obtained at the cost of many thousands of efforts, investments or hopeful expectations, which have perished and gone to waste, and, all these efforts have been paid-for with a high price of disappointment and hardship.

When societies are becoming more complex, and the resources less abundant, the consequences of failures become more important. We have to ask ourselves, whether or not we can still afford such a wasteful way of improving products or methods of work. Increasingly, we see the enormous costs for society, as well as for man's natural environment, if we leave the proliferation of competitive enterprises to the factors of supply and demand. Not only, are we seeing the many harmful trends associated with a feverish consumerism, especially, when there is an economic boom, but, we also see the devastating chaos, tensions and anxieties, when numerous business-enterprises collapse during a severe economic recession or slow-down.

All those people who go bankrupt or become unemployed, still have to eat, and, society pays a high price for the mechanisms of free-enterprise. This price is not limited to the financial costs for those enterprises that have lost-out in the competitive struggle. There is a high cost in social hardship and frustration, and, we have to ask ourselves, seriously, whether or not we can afford to continue such a wasteful way of trying to obtain social and technological improvements.

In spite of the fact, that the Socialist societies have exprimented extensively with centralised planning, they seem to have run into serious economic difficulties. The more complex a society becomes, the more a program of efficient, centralised planning should be beneficial to society, provided, that the motivations and insights of the people can be kept at a high level of competence and integrity, and, provided, that no serious bureaucratic bungling occurs, nor should it be possible for incidences of corruption to poison the atmosphere of cooperation and the willingness to work hard.

The failures of centralised planning of the Socialist societies do not lie in a fundamental error of the idea of central planning, but, the origin of these failures can be found in the incompetence of the information-network, as well as an insufficient ability to monitor, precisely, what the effects are of the various decisions that have been made, and, what is going-on in a large and complex social environment. Adequate channels for gathering information and executing a plan of action are indispensible for a planned economy in a large and complex society. Since these requirements are finally beginning to be met in the Socialist economies, we see, now, more clearly, that the rate of economic growth and the health of society have at least a potential to become more advanced than the Capitalist democracies.

We should not look at central planning as a complete alternative to the principles of the competitive struggle for business survival. There is no reason, why centralised planning could not make extensively use of a large number of competing ideas and plans, which could be submitted by a variety of experts, specialised study-groups, as well as individual citizens with a bright idea. However, the competitive and costly processes of duplicating complex and expensive business-enterprises should be avoided. If a series of ideas seem all to have a reasonable chance of success, a further selection may be possible by an extensive computer analysis or simulation of a particular plan or idea, and, if still a number of viable alternatives remain in the running, the time has come for a limited series of experiments, such as the building of proto-types, in order to test the relative merits of competing ideas and designs.

Once again, I like to answer, briefly, the question that invariably arises from free-enterprisers, whenever this system is criticised or challenged. The question arises, time and again, whether the abolition or curtailment of the right to pursue economic enterprises, would curtail, or, even, extinguish the flame of innovation, enthousiasm and initiative. Indeed, this is a possibility. If a centralised State with rigid ideological ideas would curtail, not only, all economic initiatives, but, also, the freedom to express opinions and ideas, then, we can be sure, that society will stagnate, and the people will become listless and complacent, or secretly rebellious and subversive.

If the State fails to motivate its citizens, and, in particular, if it fails to motive its young people with an idealism that emhasises the challenge of working for the benefit of society, rather than for personal gain, then, indeed, free-enterprise curtailment leads to stagnation, apathy and boredom. In addition, if centralised economic planning shows gross defects in efficiency and obvious incidences of bureaucratic bungling, then, centralised planning may show, even, worse results than the results of free-enterprise. As we have discussed before, it requires expert information-gathering and efficent monitoring processes to make sure, that centralised planning does have the desired results, and, even so, there will always be room for the "small business-enterprise" of various personal initiatives, where people in a community are starting to share or exchange, spontaneously, a variety of goods and services.

Centralised planning should be similar to the central planning that already takes place in every society, free-enterprise societies included, where the common needs of security and justice, health and education, power-supplies and communications, as well as a host of other social needs, are regulated centrally by the government. However, the centrally planned, Socialist societies have taken upon themselves, also, the ambitious task to plan, centrally, for all the consumer goods and services people will need, as well as the requirements to provide every citizen with work and an income. The idea is lofty and laudable, and, certainly, all major economic activities, such as the mining or harvesting of natural resources, the major food and energy industries, as well as the production plants for all complex instruments, machines and other tools, will, eventually, have to come under some sort of government control, because it becomes increasingly intolerable to leave vital social interests exclusively in the hands of private individuals or small groups of people.

However, centrally planned economies must do, at least, just as good a job of management as free-enterprise, and, if this is not the case, then, the machinery of these centrally planned societies should be overhauled and improved, until the problems of stagnation, bureaucratic inertia, bungling and corruption have been overcome. We have indicated, how this can be accomplished with the help of the modern technology of computers and communication networks, as well as the principle of complete transparence in all transactions between people.

The economic experimentation with a number of competing free-enterprise activities, together with the survival of the fittest business concerns, is, not only, wasteful in terms of resources and human effort, but, it also leads to "business gigantism", as well as all the social problems associated with the existence of extremely large and powerful business corporations. Yet, the thoughts and ideas of people should always be allowed to compete completely openly and freely with each other, because it does absolutely no harm at all, and, there is no waste involved.

If an individual is allowed to spout a hundred or more ideas and sees them all shot-down by criticism and counter-arguments, so what? No-one will be hurt, and, if the criticisms are honest and serious, the individual will learn quickly. In stead of feeling discouraged and humiliated, his hundred and first idea will be worthwhile listening to and taking notice of. Let us glorify, therefore, the free-enterprise of our thoughts, but, it seems so difficult for people in a position of authority and importance to feel comfortable with a freely flowing stream of ideas and criticisms, because, often, the strength and correctness of such ideas is more than they can cope with.

There is, therefore, no better test for the competence of a leadership and its bureaucratic systems, than the test of freedom of expression, but, let me hasten to add, that freedom of expression does not mean the unbridled right to say or print material that is biased, untrue or designed to exploit emotions and incite hatred or rebellion; nor, is it justified to spout deliberate falsehoods, or engage in attempts to undermine the prestige of people in a position of legitimate authority and responsibility. Freedom of opinion, yes; criticisms, yes, but, all criticisms and attacks upon specific individuals or institutions have to be carried-out with care and accuracy, otherwise they will not only be "shot-down", but the critic is likely to face a libel suit in a Court of Law.

Let us not be afraid to waste our thoughts or express our ideas, but, let us also be courageous enough to listen to an argument from all sides, and, to counter criticisms seriously and patiently, regardless, how often we have repeated or refuted the same arguments before. We have to be especially on our guard not to get angry, whenever we perceive that a criticism implies a falsehood or a dishonourable act or attitude on our part, but, we should expose, patiently and clearly, the assumptions and implications of such criticisms. Anger is never a good counter-argument, but a precise and swift rebuttal, in particular, when it exposes the false bias or assumptions of the critic or the questioner, is a highly effective way to strengthen the viability of an idea or a plan, as it struggles for survival and acceptance in a hostile world, full of contradictory ideas.

After all, the competitive struggle between fertile ideas is going to be the foundation for a collectively designed, centrally planned, structure and code of Constitutional Guidelines, which will, eventually, secure our collective survival in a framework of trustful inter-dependencies, just like the cells in our body survive because of their collective inter-dependence. As we have discussed before, the cardinal difference between a cell in our body and our own existence as an individual in our social environment, lies in the fact, that our body-cells can rely on a precisely packaged series of genetic and chemical instructions for their behaviour, while the social inter-dependencies of a globally integrated viable humanity, will have to rely, primarily, on a cultural code of Constitutional Guidelines, which is, in essence, a product of our collective, conscious awareness.

While we have to be cautious about too great a freedom for competitive struggles between economic enterprises, and, while we may freely let our thoughts, ideas and plans compete for viability, the ultimate waste we can perpetrate, is to try to settle the question of the most viable social organisation by the mechanisms of survival of the fittest. Nevertheless, the clash between social groupings, the warfare between societies and nations, is such a depressingly common feature of our historical records. This shows, clearly, how instinctively we still behave, and, how these instinctive behaviour-patterns are out of place and have become completely out-dated in the confrontations and conflicts of interest that are always taking place between large social groupings.

While the armed confrontation and battle to the death may have had some survival-value in the past, when man still lived in small nomadic groupings, we are coming increasingly to the conclusion, that a war between nations does not contribute, in any way, to a more permanent, more viable social organisation for the winner. The winner may temporarily obtain a greater level of wealth by plundering or annexing a rich but weaker neighbour, but, the most recent wars, which were fought on an inter-continental scale, led only to unprecedented chaos, impoverishment and destruction, and slowed-down man's rate of expansion.

Perhaps, from an environmental point of view, such a slow-down may be considered somewhat of an advantage, but, the advantages are short lived, because a war is now associated with devastating changes in, and contamination of, the natural environment. Yet, the last great war seems to have ushered-in an explosive expansion of technological changes, as well as a rapid expansion of the total human population. Perhaps, then, the effects of warfare are still not devastating enough for man to really mend his ways.

Certainly, these large-scale wars have changed the destiny of many nations, and, if we belong to the winning side, we are inclined to believe, that our victory has saved mankind from an evil tyranny and an equally evil philosophy and practice of racial superiority and genocide. Yet, even, the winners and survivors have practiced tyranny and oppression, torture and exploitation, at one time or another. Probably, the experiences of the last great war have fostered, by and large, a more acute awareness for the need of global justice, global equality of rights and living conditions, and, the recent technological explosion with the consequences of industrial waste, radio-active contaminants, and nuclear weaponry, has certainly accelerated the awareness of the essential fragility of our terrestial habitat.

We will always have to go back to the records of the past, and, each generation will have to re-create this past in the light of the prevailing beliefs and contemporary reality perceptions. It is, therefore, logical, that the interpretation and perception of what happened in the past, will change from time to time. We are now in an exciting period of human evolution, where we have, for the first time in the history of mankind, a truly coherent picture of the evolution of life, of man himself; of the planet he lives on, of the solar system, as well as the Universe. We have, even, a rather coherent picture about the oscillatory transformations taking place between radiant and orbital forms of matter-energy. Certainly, these images will also change and grow, transform and modify themselves, as different generations will see different levels of importance or different accents in priorities. Even, the phenomenon and the problem of waste will continue to change, and, it will continue to occupy our attention with varying degrees of urgency.

Let us hope, that the free competition of ideas for a dignified and comfortable way to survive for many thousands of generations, will be able to keep pace with the challenges and the diffculties of environmental pollution, as well as the consequences of our own unpredictable behaviour-patterns. If our imagery and ideas do not keep pace, we will be caught, suddenly, by a catastrophe of our own making, and, mankind will rapidly perish, never quite knowing, why it happened, or, what exactly happened, and, it would be an ironic foot-note to human history, if man's suicide would be interpreted, in those final, fateful moments, as a fulfilment of God's Will.

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Summary

1. An uninspiring subject?
   A wide-spread and all-important problem.
   Defining the concept of "waste".
   Waste-products of the living organism.
   A failure of anyone of the waste-eliminating mechanisms leads to death.
   A number of physiological mechanisms.
   Abnormal waste, whenever physiological mechanisms are over-taxed or inefficient.
   We tend to "consume" above the minimum level of obligatory energy expenditure.
   The functions of fat-storage.
   The level of consumption is not easily limited by the mechanisms of "satiation".
   A gigantic and collective process of waste.
   A frantic, unhealthy, consumerist life-style.
   Man "used to have his hands full", just to acquire the basic necessities.
   A surplus energy of the collective vitality was quickly absorbed in activities of defense and warfare, as well as increasing population pressures.
   Widespread affluence depended on the break-through of mechanised land-cultivating techniques and harvesting.
   Nature never needed a "brake" upon the consumptive activities of a species.
   The existence of a "natural balance".
   The break-through of human intelligence.
   Man's combativeness is the only efficient brake on human dominance over the natural environment.
   The gigantic consequences of an affluent life-style by many millions of people.
   We are just beginning to understand the limitations of terrestial resources and absorptive capabilities.
   Long-term waste-control.
   An urgent need to re-evaluate the concepts of affluence and well-being.
   The impact of pollution is still not clear or threatening enough to make us adopt definifitive solutions.
   A feverish "social metabolic rate".
   Mankind may slip into an "environmental coma".
   The road towards extinction.
   It is possible to focus, too compulsively, on danger-signals.
   A careful study will show us, clearly, that we have to chart a new course for individual and collective survival.
   We can not preach the virtues of a frugal life-style or environmental concerns from a position of privilege.
   A measure of essential equality and social justice will have to exist on a global scale.
   
   
   
2. An all-important "sphere of concern".
   The erroneous concept, that everyone can obtain a status of affluence and privilege with "hard work".
   A variety of misconceptions.
   Differences between individual and collective capabilities of fore-sight.
   The lack of an accurate and manageable profile of the large-scale social environment.
   A confusing cacaphony of contradictory expert opinions.
   Totalitarianism and dogmatism provide only temporary solutions.
   The central nervous system of the larger society is still too poorly developed to react appropriately to long-term problems.
   Building an efficient, large-scale nervous system for society requires an increasingly wider sphere of concern from a large majority of the members.
   The central nervous system of our individual existence has been shaped throughout hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary pressures.
   Contemporary solutions tend to become future problems.
   The fallacy of using patchwork solutions, and postponing the day of reckoning.
   The temptation to spend our way out of current difficulties.
   A debt incurred against the environment will soon be cashed-in with a vengeance.
   The inevitability of a contract of essential equality.
   We have to halt the production of all dangerous chemical and radio-active products.
   We have to abandon our dreams of affluence.
   The problems of pollution and environmental deterioration require the organisation of mankind on a global scale.
   Public opinion has to take the lead.
   Suggestions, how to begin the task of creating a transparent, globally organised society of mankind.
   How to tackle the existential interests of those, who work for the military-industrial complex.
   Violent means of persuasion will back-fire.
   A persistent educational effort.
   Refusing to operate the infernal instruments of war.
   Informed people have to make all important decisions collectively.
   We have to allow a social entity the right to destroy itself, provided, it is the collective wish of a genuine majority.
   We have to remain aware of the "accidents of history".
   We always have to learn "the hard way", at least, to some extent.
   
   
   
3. A small factor in a gigantic and complex web of force-fields.
   There is still insufficient awareness of the far-reaching consequences of our actions and existential requirements.
   The limits of the ability to question what is generally accepted.
   The "easy way" is, so often, detrimental in the long run.
   A short-sighted search for pleasures.
   The tragedy of a narrow-minded sphere of concern.
   Clinging to the hope of "being saved" from the wickedness of the world.
   Complacency, after having "found religion".
   Accepting responsibility will be a key mechanism for ensuring long-term survival.
   The difficult task of trying to convey wisdom and insight.
   Beneficial circumstances are so easily taken for granted.
   Teaching our youngsters the limits of security.
   A planet, that is as vulnerable as a small sail-boat on a large ocean.
   We all are tempted to adopt the detrimental attitudes of irresponsibility and egocentricity.
   It is possible to create a viable central nervous system for the large-scale society.
   Looking back in amazement at the undisciplined turmoil of our times.
   Man "almost did not make it".
   A broader outlook on the problem of waste.
   The useful waste of organic decay.
   The terrestial environment has been severely challenged and altered by the presence of man.
   Halting the trend towards a catastrophic collapse of human viability depends on the conscious creation of behavioural guidelines that let us co-exist in an atmosphere of trust and cooperation.
   
   
   
4. Forgeing an agreement about the basic realities of human life.
   Man's unparalleled ability to influence the world of events.
   The logic of trying to escape in a fundamentalist, religious perception of reality.
   Let us actively work for the prevalence of a more viable approach to the perception of reality.
   The need to look carefully at the "life-support" systems of our planet.
   Conservation without a contract of essential equality will never work.
   A frugal level of "collective metabolic activities".
   The need to define this essential balance between our collective needs and our impact on the terrestial environment.
   An unfortunate dependence on the "economic momentum".
   We can not force an idea whose time has not come, nor, can we overcome fears and criticisms by force.
   Political and military leaders will be powerless to stop a trend towards global integration and harmony, if a large majority of the peoples of the world wants this to happen.
   A military dictatorship still has to justify its actions and ambitions towards its own supporters.
   The time has come to realise, how powerful a sound idea is.
   Let us re-discover, once again, the powerful persuasiveness of an honest agreement.
   The level of mutual awareness is rising all the time.
   A return to biological images.
   Energy-dissipation and the concept of "waste".
   Life resulted from the ability to exploit a specific energy-gradient.
   A personal opinion.
   My faith in the feasibility of a globally shared imagery of human existence, based on the biological sciences.
   The "waste-product" oxygen was released into the air, bringing-about the "Oxygen Revolution" of early terrestial life.
   Anabolism and catabolism.
   Remarkably complementary biochemical cycles.
   
   
   
5. An imagery that is fundamental to understanding our own existence.
   How fortunate are we, to live in an era, where it has become possible to sketch, with confidence, a plausible imagery of our biological origins.
   The competitive solution in the struggle for survival comes much more strongly to the fore, than the symbiotic or social solution.
   A biologically shared "anlage" for socially integrated behaviour.
   The methods of natural selection and survival of the fittest are "wasteful" mechanisms of adaptation.
   The factors of a slow genetic turn-over, and a sparse population density.
   The super-imposition of a cultural code.
   The waste of free-enterprise.
   A high cost in social hardships, and the socially destructive attitudes of resentment and frustration.
   Reasons for the failure of centralised planning in the large and complex Socialist societies.
   A fusion between the ideas of centralised planning and free-enterprise.
   A review of criticisms of the Socialist solution.
   There will always be room for the "small business-enterprise".
   Many functions of a large-scale social environment are already "centrally planned", even, in free-enterprise, Capitalist societies.
   Centrally planned economies must do, at least, as good a job of management as free-enterprise.
   The influence of modern computer technology, and the principles of complete social transparence.
   Let us glorify the free-enterprise of thoughts.
   The competence of a leadership is reflected by its tolerance for freedom of expression.
   We still remain responsible for our opinions, beliefs and utterances.
   We can afford an abundance of thoughts and ideas.
   A free competiveness between concepts and ideas is going to be the foundation for a collectively designed, centrally planned structure of social relationships, enshrined in a code of Constitutional Guidelines.
   Wars have changed the destiny of many nations.
   Each generation re-creates the past in the light of prevailing beliefs and contemporary reality perceptions.
   Imaginative ideas have to keep pace with rapidly changing problems and circumstances.

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