Revolution at Our Door
Part One: IT, Ecology, & Soul
By Cate Gable
The Internet looked like the Next Big Thing, and it has been pretty
disruptive; but, in my humble opinion, we ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The new
economy, 24/7, serial entrepreneurs, and Napster are the tip of the iceberg.
I believe we are witnessing a convergence of transformational trends and
technological developments that will provide the foundation for a radical
revolution in all aspects of our lives.
These are the trend-trains steaming toward convergence on the rails of the
21st Century:
- Information technology (IT) advances & innovation
- Environmental crises & concerns
- Human & societal values realignment
Let me explain.
By Information Technology, I mean the universe that includes the web,
websites and portals, digital commerce, email communication, internet access
devices and services, and all the supporting mechanisms for IT: electronics
and telecommunications devices and manufacturing, database management and all
software tools.
The environmental crises, though still controversial in some quarters, I
count as including the loss of species worldwide, global warming, and the
breakdown of earth’s macro-systems (water, air, climate control, pollination,
etc.)-- basically, all manifestations of mankind’s effect on the natural world.
(Let me also say that I believe that mankind is part of nature, but,
currently, a stumbling, seeking part. As a species we are in our infancy,
just beginning to be aware of ourselves and our environment.)
The human values revolution has to do with the growing feeling of malaise in
the workplace, a broader-based mistrust of the corporate bottom-line, the
sense that family structure is fractured, and that our basic
institutions -- legal, governmental, educational, religious -- aren’t keeping up
with our needs. Ten years ago who would have guessed there would be a how-to
niche for ‘soul in the workplace’ literature. Yet, if you go to Amazon and
type in "soul" you will get 4,230 matches, for books only!
So, let me start this dialogue by saying I can’t think of a more exciting
time to be living and, on the other hand, we’d better be in this experiment
called "conscious life" for the long-haul because this tangle we’re in is
plenty complex. Next week we’ll look at a few of the threads.
