[推荐]世界意识跃迁宣言-“G-20首尔峰会首脑宣言”[布达佩斯俱乐部论坛]

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[推荐]世界意识跃迁宣言-“G-20首尔峰会首脑宣言”

世界意识跃迁宣言

世界意识跃迁20人委员会2010年11月21日发布

布达佩斯俱乐部发起

[按语：从2010年10月1日开始，研究全球问题的布达佩斯俱乐部的主席E·拉兹洛发起，分布在不同国度的20位精神领袖、政治家、哲学家、学者、科学家、企业家、网络媒体巨擘提供思想，由专人汇总撰写成《世界意识跃迁20人委员会宣言》。此宣言除了在网址http://worldshiftcouncil.org公布外，还由拉兹洛本人提交全球20国集团首尔峰会（G-20）（11月11-12日），并随后于11月21日在香港“亚洲意识论坛”公开发布。此宣言可以看作是国际知识界对“G-20首尔峰会首脑宣言”的一种回应。现中译发表有助于我们听到应对全球问题的不同声音，并且对贯彻科学发展观和建设和谐世界有重要参考价值。]

世界意识跃迁20人委员会的使命

世界意识跃迁20人委员会由世界范围内不同文化和宗教的20位杰出的全球公民组成。20人委员会的使命是密切注视当今世界涌现的新情况，提供决定命运的基本导向，目的是掀起一场导致产生和平的和可持续的行星文明的运动。

20人委员会的使命是把所有民族、文化和宗教传统的人类声音汇聚起来。它力图超越短视的和只顾自己经济利益和政治利益的狭隘性，令世界认识到仅*少数国家和跨国机构提供的思维和行动不能解决当前人类面临的问题。目前，在我们这个本质上是不可持续的世界上，对狭隘利益的追求正加速系统的崩溃。

目前，全球公众和传媒的注意力都集中在这个棘手问题不断增多和危机不断加深的衰败的星球上，世界意识跃迁20人委员会致力于把这种注意力转移到如何才能创造一个充满机遇和充满活力的世界——在这个世界上，70多亿人口将能够和平、繁荣、美满地生活，并与地球自然系统和谐相处。

世界意识跃迁20人委员会宣言

基本前提

面对这个不可能持续发展的世界，工业化国家领导人试图重新调整这个正在崩溃的系统的努力，远远不能应付当前的危机。系统的崩溃既不可能随人们的意愿而避免，也不可能视而不见。基于人类社会和平的和长期的可持续发展的意识、价值观和原则，对现行全球经济体制、管理体制、社会组织及人与自然之间的生态关系重新设计，已变得刻不容缓。这种全方位转变的“机会之窗”对我们仍然敞开着，可是还剩下没几年了。

然而，在像20国峰会这样的会议上，国际社会却是“井蛙思维”哄骗的对象。来自发达经济体的谈判者们仍然固守过去沿袭下来的那种狭隘的特定议程，并以促进经济增长的名义，把谈判的议题仅仅局限在狭隘的经济协调问题上。

这种思想在这次首尔20国峰会上表露得很明显。《20国峰会宣言》读起来不像我们这个世界上最强势的20个国家政府领导人为了世界人民的福祉深思熟虑后所发表的一个宣言，倒很像财政和经贸部长们的紧急报告——国际贸易不平衡、不正常的汇率政策、主要经济体复发金融危机的危险，而对气候变化、全球生态和涉及世界总人口数一半以上的地区的贫困现象则缺少关注。同时，对世界上最有影响力的政府、企业和公众利欲熏心地追求财富、权力和消费的状况，也丝毫不予关心。

把关注点集中在短期的经济和金融问题上是一种危机管理，而不是世界级政治领袖对人类所面临的急迫问题的一种适当的回应。20国集团领导人把经济增长方式看做是灵丹妙药，而这样的经济增长方式同样会导致经济系统的不可持续性，而且它正在威胁世界上绝大多数普通人的健康生活，甚至生存，还正在改变地球的气候和破坏地球的生态。当前迫在眉睫的气候、生态、能源和核威胁问题既不能单*金融措施解决，也不能把它局限在狭隘的专业领域。

人类共同体需要全方位的结构改革才能使我们的子孙后代和平地生存下去，并同维持人类生存的生态系统和谐共处。我们需要重新建构我们的社会结构，以实现生态和能源两方面是可再生的。我们要特别关注威胁人类长期生存的两个最关键问题：全球变暖和核武器。

如果现在再不加以遏制，全球变暖所导致的气候变化将和其他严重危机结合在一起发生作用，这时人类的力量将再也无法阻止危机。它们将不可避免地自发相互作用，产生灾难效应。在未来100年里，气候灾难、流行病大规模肆虐、人类历史上的大规模移民潮引起的冲突和战争，可能会使80%的世界人口消失，造成上亿乃至上十亿的气候和战争难民在各大陆之间流动。国际生物学界的领军人物詹姆士·罗夫洛克（James Lovelock）是提出这一预测的人士之一，这一预测应当受到清醒和严肃的关切，并且人们应当紧急行动起来。

消除核武器已经不再仅仅是一个崇高的目标和愿望：它本质上关系到人类的生存。只要核战争之剑仍高悬在我们头上，和平就不可能。现在迫切需要签署在任何情况下都禁止生产和使用核武器的《核武器公约》。维持大量威慑武器有可能会毁灭地球上的所有生命。在一个民主的世界上，通过唤醒公众的强烈意识我们要促使签署这样的《公约》。这种“唤醒”已经开始发挥作用。在21世纪，包括5个核大国在内的民意调查显示，76%的民众支持签订一份全面禁止核武器公约的谈判。

但是反对的声音仍很强烈。核武器是一种力量的象征，因此政府不愿放弃他们所认为的这样一种力量源泉。强大的军工企业联合体通过有目的、有意识地欺骗公众和制造恐惧来进行军火贸易。主流媒体对这一话题保持缄默，这就使得公众试图通过民主的途径来消除核武器很难达成共识。因此，核武器这把达摩克利斯之剑仍高悬在我们头上。

一种替代哲学

有悟性的领导

如果这个星球上的文明要想延续下去，并继续繁荣，采取适当措施已经变得刻不容缓。人民有责任去选择有知识和有智慧的领导，而领导反过来也有责任，在尊重恰当全球性原则的基础上，保持社会结构走向未来的存活力。

在当今社会各层次执行决策位置上的那些人，应当是有悟性的领导人。国家政治领导人需要具备这样的能力：促使表面上相互对立的力量结合并相互合作；促进形成新的技巧以使得我们的内在能力与生活日益复杂的外部环境相匹配，从而使人们心理的、生物的、社会的、文化的，和环境的诸方面的问题从整体上解决，消除它们对我们的负面影响；促使形成包括文化资质、社交和情感智慧在内的新技能，以促使人们能在一起很好地工作。

我们现在已经有能力提出一个整体计划，它可以为把人类的各方面努力都整合起来提供一种新视角。一个全球化的企业系统可以带来创造性的突破。一种全新的管理方式可以激励社会各行各业进行更广泛的合作。全球贸易的互联网可以优先建立起来，在相互合作的基础上进行竞争。用以人为本促进商业兴旺，建立全球协调体制，我们可以把世界文化推向更高水平的繁荣。通过有悟性的领导，我们可以把个人需要和全球需要整合为一个相互联系、相互依赖的整体。

发达国家领导人需要扪心自问一个问题：“当这样一个病态的世界变得富有有什么好处？”人们一直在以耗尽地球的资源为代价全力增加财富，现在20国集团领导人应当把关注点放在给我们的子孙后代留下一个美好的地球上。任何地方、任何层面的经济都必须是和平的、公正的、可持续的和健康的。只有在头脑中保持这样一种全球意识，我们才能联合起来使生态系统恢复平衡，消除大规模流行疾病，消除贫困和遏制军事侵略。

只有全球思维才能达到上述目标，但迄今为止民族主义和集团主义的顽固势力仍然阻挡真正的进步。不过，即使我们还不能把自己想象为同一族类，但我们至少意识到我们生活在同一个行星上。一颗病态的行星距离一颗正在逐渐死亡的行星只有几步之遥。一旦这一真相被了解，为全球的福祉而采取有效的措施就有可能了。我们或许可以在一个极度衰败的世界上存活下来，但在这样一个世界上我们不能算是完整意义上的人类。

一种新意识

我们如果要走向新世界就必须摆脱原有的知识体系。这看起来似乎有点违背常理，但它确实是必要的。例如，爱因斯坦的研究表明，导致问题产生的旧观念不能解决由它产生出来的问题，只有用新观念才能解决。这意味着，人类的各个方面都必须进行全面的、彻底的创新——诞生一种新意识。

现在已经发生了许多影响人类生存的危机，而且还有许多危机将要发生。所有这些危机都源于一个共同的原因：缺乏“全球意识”。我们缺乏一种把人类和生态系统融为一体的整体图景。即使在一个民主社会，大多数人制定规则，参与决策，并对法律和行为方式施加影响，但具有“全球意识”的人仍是少数。

我们需要一种意识，承认基于团结和根本转变基础上的广泛合作是人类和平和可持续发展的基本前提。我们还需要一种意识，不仅要鼓励和推动经济和金融领域内的合作，更要鼓励和推动生态领域的合作，以及技术、教育、公共信息和文化交流领域的合作。我们更需要一种行星意识，清晰地认识到生活在同一个地球上的我们是相互依存的大壹（Oneness）, 我们的命运是大壹。

当前的世界难题并不是由20国领导人造成的，但是由于他们的相互关系局限在狭隘的意识水平上而使这些难题迟迟得不到解决。缺乏对自然环境的感恩之心，用过度开发和利用的方式对待自然界及其中的动植物，区别对待不同的民族、文化和国家——这些破坏性行为并不仅仅源于少数领导者的思想。这些思想也从数十亿人类个体的意识中冒出来。因此，不论是否担任领导角色，我们每一个地球公民都必须行动起来，提升我们的责任意识，保卫我们人类社会和地球的未来。

公共部门的重新定向

自1972年《增长的极限》出版以来，许多事件和运动都响亮地对整个世界敲响了警钟，但我们这颗行星的状况并未因此变得好起来。众所周知，不论是像联合国、20国集团这样的权威性组织，还是不计其数的非政府组织和民间组织，大家都在努力地改变目前这种状况，但是这些努力只取得了局部成效，而没有很快取得实质性进展。为了传播和共享全球意识，我们这个地球宇宙飞船上的乘客现在迫切需要制定一个《具体行动计划》，并由此为建立一种新的社会生活和行为方式奠定基础。

我们必须抛弃过时的民族-国家观念，按这种观念各国家政府仅仅对本国利益负责，政府所关心的目标只是实现本国经济的“复苏”、“新的稳定”和“均衡增长”。我们不能试图重新复苏这个已经内在地不可持续发展和陷入深重危机的系统，取而代之，有必要对它目前的这种结构和运行方式做彻底的改革。

我们现在需要有一种建立在政府、非政府组织和公民社会伙伴关系基础上的新的社会职能，它可以突破原先任何全球共同体的职能范围。这一新的社会职能需要加强社会协调和合作，它起着开创性的引领作用，并有能力推动整个全球系统的转变。通过互联网，国家对国家，共同体对共同体，都可以浏览、审视、联络和交流彼此正在做的工作。

2009年12月份的哥本哈根会议的失败，表明了政府间的组织没有能力超越国家和集团的利益从而客观地应对紧迫的全球问题。这一不幸的失败，根源就在于我们没有真正认识到全球危机实际上是一种人类精神整个系统的危机。忽视人类现实生活的精神维度，并继续把一切事情都简化为经济问题，世界将螺旋式地越来越接近毁灭。20国集团峰会延续着这一状况。在当今时代，精神维度必须在决策中占有极其重要的位置。世界领袖们在决策过程中应当把精神原则放在金钱政治之上，充分认识到地球是一个有机整体，因而所有为了世界更美好的决策都应当基于避免人类失去未来家园。

领导者们应当鼓励广泛支持旨在发现生命的更深刻意义，发现超越环境局限的内心愉悦，以及导致关心其它造物的同情心的努力。我们需要在集体醒悟的基础上共同创造这样一个世界：在其中我们能够自由地生活并同环境和谐相处，用智慧和同情而不是用贪婪和恐吓来管理这个世界。

各国政府应该考虑，是否有必要从全球社会的视角重新清晰地说明完整的灵性观念。灵性可以穿透种族、宗教、性别和国籍的藩篱，因此最适合全球共同体。我们必要对某些普遍观念进行重新阐述，从而使我们能够应对全球化的挑战和风险。其中许多观念来自于人类的伟大宗教传统，它们需要在当代世界的语境中重新发现和重新确认。

急需采取的建设性的步骤

各民族国家必须携起手来应对严峻的挑战。所有国家都应当为“千年发展目标”的实施成立专门办公室，并且对每个国家自己实现“千年发展目标”的进展情况建立定期报告制度。资本只是达到目的的一种手段，而不是自在的目的。资本必须跟其它财产权同样受到保护，但是不能以损毁个体的人和生物学系统的权利为代价，后者都有超出市场的价值。我们必须把生命本身看做是神圣的和崇高的。

必须为环境状况良好同人民安康幸福设立新的底线，这里人民作为有限的负债方仅仅是社会权衡利弊的一方。在各个层次上衡量财富的时候，我们都要对独立于人类利益的自然界给予恰当的价值评价。民族国家主权必须摆平普遍规范同与自然界和谐相处的原则，确认在各国之间和平地分享利益，以及遵循法律条文。

我们应当提出一个适用于世界各国的“社会和谐指数”。它包括环境指数、军备指数、人权指数、诚信指数、自由指数、民主指数、信息自由流动指数、政务公开指数、公共安全指数、贫富差距指数、城乡差距指数、教育普及指数、国民体质状况指数、创造力指数、社会安全指数，以及其他指数。通过整合这些数据，我们可以得到对世界每个社会进行综合评价的社会和谐指数（SHI），并进行排名。把世界所有国家的SHI进行综合，我们就得到全球社会和谐指数（WSHI ），并可以逐年审视世界和谐程度的变化。这些指数需要由附属于联合国或20国集团的专门机构每年进行评估、综合和公布。这些指数将为每个国家的发展提供一种参照系，并通过激励对偏离目标的矫正来加强公众舆论对政府的压力和影响。当前，每个国家都应当转向增强SHI的竞争，淡化GDP的竞争。

健康的生态系统、稳固的金融体制和富有活力的人类共同体可以让每个人都从中受益。因而，重新考虑构建资本市场的规则框架和重建人们之间的互信是首要的紧迫任务。必须紧急实施的原则包括：

（1）把倡导更深层结构重建和进行改革的所有利益相关者、改革家和集团的力量整合起来，加强金融民主化，并对改革进行更广泛的辩论。

（2）把全球金融重组成共享资本。

（3）用社会科学和生物科学诸多领域里面关于突破危机的知识丰富经济学理论。

（4）提出一种通用方案，把市场设计成为分配非分割和“非竞争性”公共所有物和基础设施的工具，使每个人的发展享有平等的机会和机遇。

（5）集中注意服务于我们稳定气候和创造公平手段的共同需要的那些创新。

（6）能源问题的解决也许并不在于可再生能源研究的新成果，而在于提高能效的研究成果。这可以使我们避免核能生产，削减使用煤及其他不可再生能源，也不再需要开辟新能源。

（7）创建一种新的世界前景，其中金融系统服务于人类未来的繁荣和可持续发展。

我们必须确保金融市场的相互依赖是公正、公平、稳定和可持续的。在这种情况下，我们需要转变到一种更加成熟的“看不见”的资本主义形式。这意味转变到：

（1）从基于力学系统概念的“操作经济”转变到基于生命系统的复杂经济；

（2）从以有形资本为基础的“知识经济”向以无形资本为基础的“移情经济”（Empathy Economy）过渡，这种无形资本是从具有这代人和未来几代人之间有无形的“成败机会相若”意识的人们之间的信任和移情中产生；

（3）从货币经济向作为主要经济信条的自愿经济过渡；

（4）从受益人经济向反映公民真正需求的参与经济过渡；

（5）从经济无限增长的幻想向共享全球环境经济的现实过渡。

把以上这些作为一个整体系统方式来看，我们现在正处于人类历史上最关键的时代，我们在未来几年里所做的决策将决定我们继续生存还是走向毁灭，决定地球生命进化138亿年孕育出的成果是否将在未来的一两个世纪内结束。今天这个世界最急迫需要的是和平的、具有创造热情的和高效的社会模式。在这种社会模式中的和平的、具有创造热情的和高效的公众，实际上就是可能社会（possible society）中的可能的人（possible human）。换句话说，要过渡到一个为每个人着想，尤其是为我们这个星球着想的世界，最重要的关键是自觉性的增长。

我们呼吁采取主动，尽管到目前为止看上去似乎不太可能，如果不是完全不可能的话。但是现在，世界已被重新安排，调整的按钮已经开启。我们不可能既懒惰又奢侈，或继续按正在走向毁灭的同一模式生活。我们要通过迄今为止最伟大的社会改革，充满热情地与每一个可能的合作者一起成为这一星球的乘务员。

审视新世纪，即将到来的行星社会（planetary society）预示着古代和现代所有敌意（包括对自然界的敌意）的终结，预示着尊重我们共同的人文精神，尊重不同文化的新方式的诞生。事实上，我们要想拯救这个时代，就必须集中全人类的潜能和每一种文化的特殊智慧。

这是巨变，一旦它完全实现，世界将会柳暗花明。然而，令人沮丧的是，我们现在的状况是文化围绕经济转而不是经济围绕文化转；我们设计和运作的经济和管理系统有效地抑制了我们的集体创造潜力和需要变革的可能性；国家领导人仍然是老派的、各自为政的社会看门人，而不是新的、相互协作的社会改革先锋。

在人类历史上这是第一次，行星意识、世界和平和全球可持续性成为有望实现的目标。当今世界，有越来越多的妇女处于决策者的位置，现代通讯技术又使非身体直接投入的参与成为可能。这些条件结合在一起，我们现在能够创造一个我们梦想的世界。

附世界意识跃迁20人委员会成员介绍：

J·阿戈勒斯（Jose Arguelles）（美国/墨西哥）

艺术家，作家，精神探索者，时代过客

《从7强到20强到世界意识跃迁20人委员会——朝人类意识圈前进的步伐》

D·库普拉（Deepak Chopra）（美国/印度）

畅销书作者，天狼星卫星广播公司主人，医学博士

《病态世界，富有何益？》

J·加利森（Jim Garrison）（美国）

共创人，世界论坛国度，作家

《性命攸关的问题是气候变化》

J·格拉诺夫（Jonathan Granoff）（美国）

禁止核武器活动分子，作家，律师

《我们的选择：创新或毁灭》

H·亨德森（Hazel Henderson）（美国）

作家，未来学家，稿件供多家报纸同时发表的专栏作家，鼓动者，咨询人

《作为全球共享的金融》

J·哈斯顿(Jean Houston)（美国）

学者，哲学家，人类能力研究者

《行星的和可能的》

B·M·霍布德(Barbara Marx Hubbard)（美国）

未来学家，作家，幻想家

《一种新的社会功能》

闵家胤（Min Jiayin）（中国）

系统哲学家，中国社会科学院

《构建社会和谐指数》

E·拉兹洛（Ervin Laszlo）（匈牙利/意大利）

系统理论家，作家，演说家，钢琴音乐会演奏家

《介绍世界意识跃迁20人委员会宣言》

F·马约尔（Federico Mayor）（西班牙）

联合国教科文组织前任总干事，和平文化基金会

《朝我们梦想的世界急速转变》

E·米切尔（Edgar Mitchell）（美国）

离子创始人，阿波罗14宇航员

《我们没时间可浪费了，如果这颗行星上的文明要延续和繁荣》

野中智代（Tomoyo Nonako）（日本）

三洋电子前执行总裁，主播，记者

《传播行星意识急需行动计划》

P·雷（美国）

积分合伙文化调研公司创始人，市场研究执行经理

《整颗行星需要20国集团改变他们的议事日程》

D·罗奇 (Douglas Roche) （加拿大）

作家，国会议员，外交官，争取和平人士

《核武器和关于人类未来的辩论》

M·罗维达（Marco Roveda）（意大利）

2008年度爱交际企业家，命门创建人

《我们应当做什么：目标和价值》

P·罗素（Peter Russell）（英国/美国）

离子研究员，经合组织特约哲学家

《唤醒的呼号》

西园寺雅美（Masami Saionji）（日本）

精神导师，讲演人，世界和平奔走人

《捍卫行星的未来，每一个人能做什么？》

M·斯利兹（Marilyn Schlitz）（美国）

离子总裁和首席执行官，科学家，作家，讲演人

《向有悟性的领导人喊话》

K·辛格（Karan Singh）（印度）

印度政治家和文化大使

《重新阐明某些具有普遍性的概念》

田坂广智（Hiroshi Tasaka）（日本）

作家，哲学家，诗人，教授，索菲亚智库创建人

《解决全球问题的关键是资本主义范式转换》

（钱兆华翻译，闵家胤译校）

钱兆华：江苏大学人文学院教授，副院长

闵家胤：中国社会科学院哲学所研究员，博士生导师

布达佩斯俱乐部中国分部主席

电话：81737415（H）

全球网脑blog.sina.com.cn/hiwaygao/
全球网脑论坛netbrain.5d6d.com与布达佩斯俱乐部论坛www.bdpsclub.org/bbs/互为姊妹论坛，讨论人脑联网形成网脑，人类进入精神进化意识进化，推进全球意识拯救人类

第 2 楼

The WorldShift-20 Declaration

Here is the complete text of the WS-20 Declaration. The document is also available in .pdf format.

The Mission of The Worldshift 20 Council

The Worldshift 20 Council is composed of twenty prominent global citizens from diverse cultures and religions worldwide. The mission of the Council is to give urgent attention to the new condition of the world emerging today and provide essential orientation so that an informed and determined movement toward a peaceful and sustainable planetary civilization could be brought into being.

The Council’s mission is to articulate the collective voice of humanity, drawing on the heritage of all peoples, cultures and religions. It is to transcend short-term and self-serving economic and political interests in recognition of the fact that thinking and acting in exclusive reference to narrow national or multi-national agendas cannot solve the problems currently confronting humanity. The pursuit of narrow interests are accelerating systemic breakdown in our presently unsustainable world.

The WS-20 Council intends to shift the attention of the global public and media from the increasingly intractable problems and deepening crises of our deteriorating world to the opportunities and vistas of a new world where seven billion and more human beings can live in peace, prosperity and harmony with each other and the Earth’s natural systems.

The WS-20 Declaration

Basic Premises

On-going efforts by the leaders of the industrialized states to re-adjust the collapsing systems of our unsustainable world are far from a sufficient response to the current crisis. Systemic collapse cannot be either wished away or ignored. Current global systems of economics, governance, societal organization and ecological relationships between humanity and nature must be urgently re-designed based on the consciousness, values and principles which can provide peace and long-term sustainability for the human community. The ‘window of opportunity’ to begin such a large-scale transition may only remain open for a few years from now.

However, the international community is the prisoner of ‘silo thinking’ in meetings such as those of the G20. Negotiators from leading economies build upon narrowly specialized agendas inherited from the past; acting in the name of creating more economic growth to make narrowly defined economic coordination problems more negotiable.

This thinking was very evident in the G20’s Seoul Summit. The Summit’s Declaration reads like an emergency report of Ministers of Trade and Finance, rather than a report on the deliberations on the wellbeing of the world community by the heads of government of our twenty most powerful nations. International trade disequilibria, discriminating exchange rate policies, and the threat of recurring financial crises occupied center stage, with scant attention to climate change, the global ecology, and the endemic poverty of nearly one half of the world’s peoples. While no attention whatsoever was given to the wealth, power, and consumption orientation that dominates the aspirations of the world’s influential governments, businesses, and populations.

A focus on short-term global economic and financial issues is crisis management and not an acceptable response by the world’s political leaders to humanity’s intensifying problems. The kind of economic growth that the G20 treats as a panacea merely bolsters the same unsustainable economic system that is now threatening the wellbeing and even the survival of vast underprivileged populations, and is altering the planet’s climate and damaging its ecologies. Today’s looming climate, ecology, energy and nuclear threats are neither manageable by purely fiscal measures, nor isolatable into narrow specialty areas.

The human community needs comprehensive structural reform so that our children and grandchildren can live in peace with one another and with the ecological systems that sustain human life and existence. We need to redesign our societies so that they become ecologically and energetically viable. And we need to address the major twin threats to humanity’s continuing survival: global warming, and nuclear weapons.

If unstopped, the climatic changes produced by global warming will come together with such profound synergies that no human power will be sufficient to retain them. They will inexorably synergize in spontaneous interactions and disastrous effects until, in the next 100 years, more than 80 percent of the human species would have perished due to climate-induced catastrophes, epidemics of diseases sweeping into new terrains, and human conflict and war as a result of the most massive migration of peoples in human history – hundreds of millions, even billions of climatic refugees moving across the continents. This prediction, made among others by pioneering biologist James Lovelock, merits sober consideration and urgent action.

The abolition of nuclear weapons, in turn, is no longer merely a lofty goal and noble aspiration: it is essential for human survival. Peace is impossible as long as the threat of nuclear war hangs over our heads. A Nuclear Weapons Convention prohibiting the production as well as the use of all nuclear weapons in all circumstances is urgently needed. In a democratic world, such a Convention must be constructed by awakening the public to the threat of maintaining vast arsenals of weapons that could destroy all life on Earth. Such an awakening is already in progress. In 21 countries, including the five major nuclear powers, polls show that 76 percent of people support negotiation of a treaty banning all nuclear weapons.

But opposition is still strong. Nuclear weapons are about power, and governments have not given up what they perceive as a source of their power. Powerful military-industrial complexes are trading on a fear that has been purposively foisted on the public. In the mainstream media there is a virtual blackout on this subject, which makes it difficult to bring about the consensus needed to democratically initiate measures that could eliminate the nuclear ‘Sword of Damocles’ that continues to hang over our heads.

An Alternative Philosophy

A Conscious Leadership

There is no longer any time to waste if civilization on this planet is to endure and prosper. It is the responsibility of the people to choose leadership that is knowledgeable and wise, and the responsibility of the leadership to move forward in ways that preserve the viability of the social structure into the future by respecting appropriate global principles.

Conscious leadership is called for by those in positions of decision-taking at every level of society today. National political leaders need the ability to bring what are seen as oppositional forces into collaboration; promoting new skills that can match our inner capacities to the outer complexities of life and integral solutions that honor psychological, biological, social, cultural and environmental dimensions so as to navigate the changes that are upon us; developing new skills, including cultural competencies, social and emotional intelligence that can make it possible to work well together.

We now have the capacities to create integrated planning processes that can lead to new perspectives on every aspect of human endeavor. A global system of enterprise can invite creative breakthroughs. A fresh new approach to governance can invite greater participation from all segments of society. An interconnected web of global commerce can be grounded in a set of priorities that allow for competition in the embrace of cooperation. Business can flourish by putting people first, designing systems of global synergy that can move our world’s cultures to new levels of prosperity. Through conscious leadership, we can encompass individual and global needs as an interrelated, interdependent whole.

The leaders of the developed countries need to ask a paramount question: “What good is it to be rich in a sick world?” Having done the most to increase their wealth at the expense of a depleted planet, the leaders of the G-20 should focus on bringing about a well planet for coming generations. Economies everywhere need to be peaceful, fair, sustainable, and healthy on all levels. With global wellness in mind, we can unite to bring the ecology back into balance, eradicate pandemic disease, lift up the dispossessed, and curb military aggression.

Only global thinking can accomplish these ends, but to date the lingering effects of nationalism and tribalism block real progress. Nonetheless, even if we cannot yet think of ourselves as one people, we can agree that we live on one planet. A sick planet is just a few steps away from a dying planet. Once that truth sinks in, effective programs for global wellness have a chance. We may be able to survive in a drastically depleted world, but we cannot be fully human in such a world.

A New Consciousness

We need to leave everything we know behind in order to get to where we need to go. This might seem counterintuitive but it is actually essential, given Einstein’s observation that the consciousness that produced the problem cannot get us out of it; only a new consciousness can. This means that there must be a systemic thorough reinvention of every aspect of humanity – the birth of a new consciousness.

There are many crises affecting humanity and many others are yet to come. All these crises are effects of the same cause: the lack of a “planetary consciousness.” We lack a holistic perspective that embraces both humankind and the ecosystem. In a democracy the majority rules, decides and imposes its laws and behavior, and people with a planetary consciousness are still in the minority.

We need a consciousness that recognizes that wide-ranging cooperation based on solidarity and oriented toward fundamental transformation is the basic precondition for human peace and sustainability. We need a consciousness that inspires and motivates cooperation not only in the economic and financial domain, but also in the domain of the ecology, as well as in technology, education, public information, and cultural communication. We need a planetary consciousness that unambiguously apprehends the interdependence and the Oneness of all People on Earth, and the Oneness of our destiny.

The leaders of the G-20 did not create the world’s problems but perpetuate them by basing their interactions on a limited and narrow level of consciousness. A lack of gratitude toward the environment, exploitive treatment of animal life, plant life and the world of nature, discrimination against people, cultures, and nations – these kinds of destructive behaviors do not originate solely from the minds of a small group of leaders. They also arise from the consciousness of billions of individual human beings. We must support the efforts of each global citizen, whether in a leadership role or not, to take responsibility for uplifting their consciousness thereby safeguarding the future of our human society and the Earth.

Re-Orientation in the Public Sector

Since the publication of the Limits to Growth in 1972 many events and movements have rung the alarm bell in the world loud and clear, yet the situation of the planet has not changed for the better. We know that many authoritative international organizations, such as the United Nations and the G-20, have made efforts for bringing about change, and that countless NGOs and grassroots groups have done so as well. However, these efforts have been fragmented and have not been implemented quickly and effectively enough. A Concrete Action Plan is urgently needed for the passengers on Spaceship Earth for spreading and sharing planetary consciousness, and thereby producing the foundations for a new way of living and acting in society.

We need to replace the obsolete notions of nation-states, where national governments are in charge of ensuring the national interest, which they conceive as achieving the objective of bringing about “recovery,” “renewed stability” and “balanced growth” in their own economy. Instead of attempts to re-vitalize the current intrinsically unsustainable and terminally crisis-bound system, a thorough transformation of current structures and practices is required.

We need a new social function based on partnership between Governments, NGO’s and Civil Society to connect and communicate ‘breakthroughs’ wherever they occur in the global community. The requirement is for a new function to enhance social synergy and cooperation of all that is creative and emergent leading and able to motivate a whole-system shift. Through the Internet we can scan for, map, connect and communicate what is working in the world, country by country and community by community.

The debacle of Copenhagen last December demonstrated the inability of intergovernmental organizations to transcend national and corporate interests and deal objectively with critical global issues. This tragic failure was due to a lack of understanding that the global crisis is actually a whole-system crisis of the human spirit. By ignoring the spiritual dimension of human reality and continuing to reduce everything to economics, the world will only spiral toward greater and greater catastrophes. The G-20 perpetuates this failure of perspective. We are at a point in time when the spiritual dimension must become paramount in issues of decision making. World leaders should be committed in their decision-making processes to spiritual principles higher than monetary politics, and to the realization that the planet is a whole system and that, therefore, all decisions for the global good must be made on that basis lest the human species forfeit its future.

It is fundamental for leaders to encourage widespread support for the discovery of a deeper meaning of life, an inner joy that is not dependent on circumstances and a compassion that leads to care for other beings. We need to co-create a world in which we can live together free in harmony with our surroundings based on a collective awakening, and governed by wisdom and compassion rather than by greed and fear.

Governments need to consider whether the entire concept of spirituality needs to be rearticulated in the light of a global society. Spirituality cuts across barriers of race and religion, *** and nationality, and is therefore best suited for a global community. We need to re-articulate certain universal concepts that will enable us to cope with the challenges and hazards of globalization. Many of these concepts are in the great religious traditions of humanity. They need to be rediscovered and reaffirmed in the context of the contemporary world.

Urgent Institutional Steps

Nation-States must work together to address critical challenges. All states state should establish an office for the specific fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals and establish a regular reporting system on the progress of each state’s plan to fulfill its Millennium Development Goal commitments. Capital is a means to that end, not an end in itself. Capital must be protected as other property rights, but not in derogation of adverse impacts on the rights of individual people and biological systems that have existential value beyond the market. Life itself must be understood as sacred and revered.

A new bottom line must be established which incorporates the well-being of the environment and of people as part of the social bargain of society as a limited liability entity. We must implement a proper valuation of the natural world independent of human interests at all levels of wealth measurement. National sovereignty must be balanced with universal norms and values based on principles of harmony with nature, identification of shared interests in peace amongst states, and the rule of law.

We need to create a Social Harmony Index in every nation of the world. It is to consist of an environmental index, armament index, human rights index, honesty index, freedom index, democracy index, free flowing information index, government public affairs index, public security index, rich poor gap index, urban rural index, education popularization index, national physical condition index, creative ability index, social security index, as well as others. By integrating these data over decades we get the Social Harmony Index (SHI), a composite evaluation of every society and its rating in the world. By integrating the SHI of all countries, we get the World Social Harmony (WSHI) and can perceive its pattern of change year by year. These indices need to be evaluated, integrated and re-issued every year by a special organization attached to the United Nations or to the G-20. They will serve as a frame of reference for every country’s development and by spurring the rectification of deviations, enhance the impact of public opinion on the government. Every Nation should now be looking to intensify SHI competition and weaken GDP competition in the world.

Everyone benefits from healthy eco-systems, financially sound institutions, and thriving human communities. Thus rethinking the design assumptions of the regulatory framework of capital markets and rebuilding trust is an urgent global priority. Principles to be urgently implemented include:

democratizing finance and widening the debate on reform by including all stakeholders and the innovations of experts and groups advocating deeper re-structuring and reforms;
reframing global finance as a commons;
economic theory informed by breakthroughs in a wide range of social and biological sciences;
a commons approach where markets, as tools, can be designed to allocate indivisible “non-rival” public goods and infrastructures for equitable access and opportunities for human development.
drawing attention to the many innovations that serve our common needs in stabilizing climate and creating equitable tools;
energy solutions may not be in the new production of renewable energy. They may come from research on energy efficiency. This could allow us to avoid the production of nuclear energy, to eliminate energy from coal and other non- renewable sources, and the need for production of new energy;
creating a vision of the world in which the financial system serves a flourishing and sustainable human future.

We must make sure that the interdependence of financial markets become just, equitable, stable and sustainable. In this context we need to shift to a more mature “invisible” form of capitalism. This means shifting:

from an Operational Economy based on the concept of mechanical systems to a Complexity Economy based on living systems;
from a Knowledge Economy based on visible capital to an Empathy Economy based on invisible capital generated by trust and empathy among people with an awareness of invisible “trade-offs” between present and future generations;
from a Monetary Economy to a Voluntary Economy as the chief economic principle;
from a Beneficiary Economy to a Participatory Economy reflecting the real needs of citizens; and
from the illusion of an Unlimited Growth Economy to the shared reality of a Global Environment Economy.

Taking a whole system approach for this, the most critical time in human history, the decisions we make over the next few years will determine whether we grow or die, whether the 13.8 billion year experiment that resulted in our lives will end within the next century or two. What the world so desperately needs at this time is patterns for peaceful, passionately creative and effective societies. And with it peaceful, passionately creative and effective people – in other words the possible human in the possible society. In other words, the growth of consciousness as the paramount key to the necessary transition to a world that works for everyone and most particularly for the Planet.

We are called to take initiatives that until recently would have seemed unlikely, if not downright impossible. But now the world has been rearranged, the reset button has been hit. We no longer have the luxury of sloth or continuing in the same world destructive patterns. We must now become stewards of the planet filled with enough passion for the possible to partner one another through the greatest social transformation ever known.

We glimpse in this new century, the coming of a Planetary Society which heralds the end of ancient and modern enmities (including that towards Nature) and the birth of new ways of using and honoring our common Humanity and its various cultures. In fact, we need a gathering of the potentials of the whole human race and the particular genius of every culture if we are going to survive our time.

This is a tremendous change, and once it is in full flower, the world will have turned a corner. Sadly today, however, we have a situation where culture has become a satellite to economics instead of economics being a satellite to culture; where the economic and governance systems we have designed and implemented are effectively blocking our collective creative potential and the possibilities for the needed transformation; where national leaders remain the gatekeepers of the old and disintegrating rather than collaborative pioneers of the new and transformative.

For the first time in human history, planetary consciousness, world peace and global sustainability are attainable goals. There are more women now in decision-making positions, and non-physical participation is made possible by the modern technologies of communication. All together, we can now create the world of which we dream.

Worldshift 20 Council Members

Jose Arguelles                                     (USA/Mexico)
Deepak Chopra (USA/India)
James Garrison (USA)
Jonathan Granoff (USA)
Hazel Henderson (USA)
Jean Houston (USA)
Barbara Marx Hubbard (USA)
Min Jiayin (China)
Ervin Laszlo (Hungary/Italy)
Federico Mayor (Spain)
Edgar Mitchell (USA)
Tomoyo Nonaka                                 (Japan)
Paul Ray (USA)
Douglas Roche                                    (Canada)
Marco Roveda (Italy)
Peter Russell                                       (UK/USA)
Masami Saionji (Japan)
Marilyn Schlitz (USA)
Karan Singh (India)
Hiroshi Tasaka (Japan)

Worldshift 20 Council Administration

David Woolfson, Coordinator (Canada)
Carl Carpenter, Web Administrator (USA)

The Worldshift 20 Council Declaration was co-created with the input of all 20 Members, and co-crafted by Ervin Laszlo, David Woolfson and Claudia Welss.