{"id":2150,"date":"2013-02-06T14:20:15","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T18:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.synapse9.com\/signals\/?p=2150"},"modified":"2013-09-11T09:46:32","modified_gmt":"2013-09-11T14:46:32","slug":"connecting-social-language-to-natures-process-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/connecting-social-language-to-natures-process-language\/","title":{"rendered":"connecting social language to nature\u2019s process language"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helene and Steven had raised the need to include finance in the narrative of “the commons”<\/strong> and Myra had said about my reply “Jessie,\u00a0This is your clearest writing by far on the new financial commons. ” \u00a0… so I hope it’s of use here. \u00a0 (The discussion was part of a follow-up to a CAUN <\/a>Commons Action for the UN\u00a0conference call with Barrett Brown, on the\u00a0different\u00a0kinds of “thought leaders” he had identified setting the course for the sustainabilty movement, using social science methods, reflected in his Fall 2012 article in Kosmos. <\/em> fyi)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

____________<\/p>\n

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Learning to speak nature's language<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

I. On Feb 4 2013 Jessie responded<\/p>\n

Helene & Steven,<\/p>\n

Great to have someone bring up the need to work on having a new financial commons.\u00a0 We need to map out how to transform finance, so that it acts to care for the earth as its main objective rather than to squeeze it dry as fast as it can, as at present.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0So we\u2019d need to understand things that people already do that contributes to steering finance in one direction or the other, kind of unusual territory for social organizers\u2026<\/p>\n

So what we need to do is get our social language to somehow recognize nature’s process language.<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Some of what now steers finance to make choices for the economy is described in my proposals for new commons based institutions, collected in Models of Commons Interest<\/a> (an attachment to the CAUN Post2015 sustainability proposal<\/a>).\u00a0 \u00a0Steering economic systems is different from steering social systems.\u00a0 \u00a0The main thing is that to steer an economy it needs to produce a profit, and to then spend its profits on changing how the economy works.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s mainly what finance does, allocate profits to investments in change.<\/p>\n

Using the profits of a system to expand or change how it works is the physical way all growth systems in nature develop and adapt.\u00a0\u00a0 So, it\u2019s a matter of \u201cprofit allocation\u201d that determines how any physical system changes itself, what finance does in our economy. \u00a0\u00a0My proposals outline a way for businesses, investors, the public and government to get good information on how investment choices change our future.\u00a0 People could then apply their values and see the economy change accordingly. \u00a0That\u2019s not happening now because people see profits as money, and not as what is used to change how our world works, and so don\u2019t ask.<\/p>\n

The first choice for building a world that works is the need to start with investing profits in growth and watch for when that will become unprofitable.\u00a0\u00a0 Using profits to grow the economy naturally creates complications that shrink future profits, perhaps to zero, so it\u2019s unable to maintain itself or change in the future.\u00a0 As that approaches, investing in growth needs to decline and for the economy to keep creatively changing and thrive, it\u2019s profits redirected to securing its\u00a0well-being\u00a0instead of expansion.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0So as the economy\u2019s profits are first used to grow its niche on earth they then need to be used to care for it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s remarkable, but that concept, of switching the purpose of investment from building our niche on earth to caring for it, seems completely missing from sustainability discussions so far.<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a common but fairly unstudied natural cycle, and not a social issue but a natural process issue, is the apparent reason for the lack of interest. \u00a0 \u00a0So it\u2019s then also hard to get anyone to focus on it, too.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s like a curled up dimension of reality no one paid much attention to before.<\/p>\n

So what we need to do is get our social language to somehow recognize nature’s process language.<\/h3>\n

That it’s so hard to discuss seems to be the main real problem for turning it into an effective avenue for change, that would give our values fulfillment in reshaping our society\u2019s knowledge of how to live on earth.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0But the missing social keys needed to open discussions are things a group like ours could be important for helping to create.<\/p>\n

Jessie<\/p>\n

then:<\/p>\n

II. on on Feb 5 2013\u00a0Helene had said in part:<\/p>\n

What I would suggest is that you work on a form of ‘brief’ of the key provisions that should be embedded in our communication to do ‘sustainability right’. A few bullet points of the messages that should be conveyed in forms of operating principles or provisions that can lead to the adoption of adequate solutions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

and \u00a0Jessie replied:<\/p>\n

Helene,<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure why I missed this comment earlier.\u00a0 Thanks for reviewing my Skype notes during the conversation yesterday.\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell quite how you\u2019re responding, but I appreciate your suggesting we need a list of principles.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0One might condense what I was focusing on there to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. a need to recognize and use the natural processes of economic change, and<\/li>\n
  2. give ourselves good information on the whole system impacts for how we choose to use money, using Scope 4 whole system measures.\u00a0 I\u2019d also like us to speak a bit less abstractly about all these things.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As to how to write a \u201cbrief\u201d on how sustainability should use natural system principles I\u2019m a little unsure, as\u00a0I’ve\u00a0written that so many times and gotten very little discussion going. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People like to talk about social issues, and I seem to have difficulty discussing natural processes in social issue terms, losing too much of importance from both.\u00a0\u00a0 Which version of the People\u2019s Sustainability Treaties drafts did want me to look at again?<\/p>\n

    I think I\u2019ll still need it clear that social processes can only operate through natural systems to have real effect.<\/h3>\n

    I\u2019m not sure I know how to have that make social sense, though.\u00a0\u00a0 There\u2019s an implication that making a sustainable world requires people to learn how to read and speak some in nature\u2019s process language.<\/p>\n

    so… making a sustainable world require people to learn how to read and speak some in nature\u2019s process language<\/h3>\n

    Jessie<\/p>\n

    ___________<\/p>\n

    on Feb 4 2013\u00a0Helene said<\/p>\n

    Dear Steven,<\/p>\n

    You are absolutely right. The financial commons, and using finance and the money system to grow the commons would be an essential goal\/deliverable of our commons action (in the realm of working group suggestion #1 which is meant to identify the several elephants we have to deal with :) and certainly deserves a working group on its own, in particular if there is a specific expertise and will to handle the subject. I have often suggested to Jessie to further develop her thinking and approaches on this subject. Having a group to address this is an excellent thing. And we could look at it from various perspectives. Finance and money as a material way to grow the commons and generate abundance is one. Using the instruments and discourse of finance and asset or risk management as ways to forward the needs for a commons perspective is another.<\/p>\n

    All the best
    \nHelene<\/p>\n

    Helene Finidori – author & systems thinker<\/p>\n

    __________<\/p>\n

    On\u00a0Feb 4, 2013 Steven replied to Helene on her “Commons as meta-narrative Communication strategy” <\/span><\/p>\n

    Dear Helene,<\/span><\/p>\n

    Thank for this helpful summary of take <\/span>always and suggested working groups. May I suggest we add a working group on the elephant in the room, I.e the financial commons, the stuff of money and life that we need to address in order to transform our economic system into force for regenerating not only economic but also social natural cultural and spiritual capital? Jessie pointed us into this direction early on and I do agree that unless we are <\/span>prepared to take on the underlying story \u00a0that has predisposed humanity to squander the gift of life because of a systemic man-made design flaw, we might find ourselves tinkering in the margin. <\/span><\/p>\n

    The meta narrative may be (or at least a major strand thereof) that we need to recognize “we are ones” to redesign the money system (and its consciousness) in service of the commons \u2013 our universe and fabric of life that is interconnected and one, shared by all, and sustaining the whole. All levels of consciousness relate in different ways to money; its purpose and meaning define how we all relate to each other. <\/span><\/p>\n

    As Myra mentioned during the call, we are working with the film maker of the forthcoming Money and Life documentary on a premiere and possible two- day deep dive dialogue. Seems there would be lots of synergy and effective use of all of our time and efforts to <\/span>further our common(s) goals. Finally, on the subject of dumbing down, I feel that the most complex challenges almost always needs to be reduced to a message that is elegantly simple in order to be heard and foster progress. Arriving at this simplicity is far from dumb and highly complex.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Hope this is helpful. Really enjoyed Sunday’s call and want to thank everyone for their commitment to this important endeavor.<\/p>\n

    Kind regards,<\/p>\n

    Steven<\/p>\n

    Steven Lovink, Founder\u00a0Power of One<\/a> \u2013 Become the Change, Transform the World
    \n<\/span>    Planet2025 Network<\/a> \u2013 One People, One Planet, One Future<\/span><\/p>\n

    __________<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Helene and Steven had raised the need to include finance in the narrative of “the commons” and Myra had said about my reply “Jessie,\u00a0This is your clearest writing by far on the new financial commons. ” \u00a0… so I hope it’s of use here. \u00a0 (The discussion was part of a follow-up to a CAUN … Continue reading connecting social language to nature\u2019s process language<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7,8,10,15,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-teaching","category-econn","category-theory","category-pop","category-trans","category-whattodo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2422,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150\/revisions\/2422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synapse9.com\/signals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}