Our Legacy is Cooperative, Waste, Hope, Now #50 #cong24 #legacy

Synopsis:

We are social cooperative animals who evolved the capacity to be hyper-social by being cooperative. Our present stage of neo-liberal hyper individualised is destroying out heritage. Our legacy is every moment we apply our values of cooperation.

Total Words

1,100

Reading Time in Minutes

4

Key Takeaways:

  1. Core needs are food, water, shelter, community, environment.
  2. Prioritise using cooperative structures for them.
  3. Work with sharers, not takers.
  4. Enjoy each others company.

About Conor O'Brien:

I am a retired dairy farmer from a tradition of cooperative and local involvement. I am a member of the Board oversight on Mitchelstown Credit Union, Knockmealdown Active that develops outdoor activities there and has just received the Pride of Place award for community wellbeing. Also involved with a local group using walks on the Knockmealdowns and the Galtees to build the community. I help to organise an October storytelling workshop on Whiddy island. Learning more about regenerating soil every day. Reading: local and general economic history, particularly heterodox economics.

Contacting Conor O'Brien:

You can contact Conor by email

By Conor O’Brien

Our Legacy is
Cooperative,
Waste,
Hope,
Now.
I say ‘our’ because no one can function on their own as an individual. Nor can we function in isolation from the natural world. We are a cooperative social species who evolved within the natural world . As Easkey Britton has said, We are not the protectors of the forest. We are the forest protecting itself.

Cooperation is not a moralistic development. Edward O. Wilson and David Sloan Wilson debated and challenged each other for over thirty years as to whether the individual competitive gene and cell or cooperating groups of cells within organisms was the basis of evolution. In 2007 they wrote a joint paper concluding that: “. Within groups selfish individuals beat altruistic individuals, but groups of altruists beat groups of selfish individuals. ” That is what cooperation is; it is a real evolutionary process.

We evolved to prioritise sharing resources together in a group rather than taking and holding for our individual selves. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy has developed a robust explanation of how the maternal instinct of mothers was the foundation of our evolution. She argues from the fact that the pelvic structure needed by our female ancestors for an upright posture limited the size of their offspring. These infants were completely helpless until three to four years old, and were juvenile till eleven or twelve years old. They could be provisioned only if the mother had sufficient trust in those around her to override her instinctive protective behaviour. The infants themselves also had to evolve a theory of the ‘other’ so that they could understand what would attract the attention of those providers to them. We took pleasure then, and still do, in mutually transcending our individuality by supporting each other to live in and understand this world as it is. Humans great advance lay in organising themselves into groups with cultures which we could consciously differentiate rather than waiting for the random mutations of natural evolution.

Organisations with a cooperative culture and structure satisfy our needs for mutuality, fairness, autonomy, and growth through mutual development; and control the inherent tendencies towards individualist extraction. The crisis in our society is caused by allowing a relatively recent culture of extremely selfish hierarchic individualism, nowadays called neo-liberalism, to hold us in a state of constant individual competition.

Nature abhors waste. All actions need energy and all lead to entropy, or waste. All nature, including us, depends on photosynthesis in plants to harvest the energy of the sun for our survival and growth. This energy is limited by being diffuse, though practically limitless. Nature reduces waste of this scarce energy by filling every niche with small and large organisms that continuously recycle the energy and the materials of organisms at the end of their life cycle. It is a process with a positive feedback that continuously enhances our world within the boundaries of our planet.

Proponents of neo-liberalism treat fossil fuels as if they were unlimited and that boundaries caused by the need to recycle do not exist. They use fossil fuels to break food production into stages so that it is no longer consumed where it is grown, breaking the nutrient cycle. Major elements such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potash or calcium are lost from the soil, along with micro-elements such as boron or cyanide, or micro-organisms, that are just as significant. If the soil is missing those, they will also be missing from subsequent crops. Gilles Billen explains how conventional agriculture uses artificially produced nitrogen to replace what is lost when a crop is harvested and exported and cannot now complete the nutrient cycle. As the US discovered, the yields and quality of the crops gradually decline as further micro-nutrients are extracted. The degraded soil is blown away in dust-storms and runs off during floods.

Urbanised countries are on the other side of the gap in the nutrient cycle. There, the effluent from the intensive livestock operations fed on imported grain does not have a matching land area to utilise it. The excess nitrogen causes eutrophication of water bodies and its gas form is a significant factor in acid rain and climate change. It’s not just that we produce waste by breaking the nutrient cycle; our consumer society actively introduces new materials which either cannot be recycled, or prevent nature from recycling other materials.

There is no legacy for a society that damages and wastes its own soil. We are like passengers on a river-boat heading for a cataract while passing safe landing place.  Terry Eagleton has used the phrase ‘Hope without optimism’ to describe how we must change our approach. We must have hope, even in the worst of times. But we cannot afford to fool ourselves with blind optimism. We must see the task as it really is, both good and bad, in order to move away from the cataracts in front of us.

We form our legacy at each moment by asserting our own purpose of growing together by sharing our real nature; or by taking from it. We cannot change the past, nor can we leap forward and change a world in the future if it is not to our liking.

The natural world is our heritage: our legacy is what we do now.

We are the forest protecting the forest

Easkey Britton speaking at the Hometree workshop 7/7/23 
David Sloan Wilson and Edward O. Wilson. 2007 Rethinking the Theoretical Foundation of Sociobiology. The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 82, Number 4December 2007 

Purpose, Vision and Legacy #45 #cong24 #legacy

Fiona English

Synopsis:

Purpose, Vision all feed in to creating an inspiring legacy.

Total Words

358

Reading Time in Minutes

1

Key Takeaways:

  1. Inspiring legacy should outlive us
  2. ‘I am what survives me’
  3. Our legacy should include impact on the environment
  4. The journey begins within us

About Fiona English:

Fiona is a keynote speaker, coach and thought leader who combines her extensive experience in global investment markets with expertise and thought leadership in human potential, purpose, leadership and self-expression.

Passionate about the areas of life that are innately human, the red thread that runs through all her work is the exploration of who we are & how we want to show up in the world. Recognised as a contemporary thinker and inspiring speaker in areas such as leadership, purpose, and self-expression, she has spoken at events in over 30 countries globally and was a semi-finalist in the Nordic Business Forum global speaking contest in 2022. In her previous career, she worked in global investment markets for nearly 20 years with institutional clients across multiple markets. In 2015, she was one of 50 women globally chosen to participate in the W50 Program in UCLA, California, aimed at building the next generation of global women leaders.

Through her MSc in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, Fiona conducted research into how spirituality, meaning, purpose, and authenticity manifest for individuals in our modern society. She continues to focus on her research areas of personal leadership, meaning and purpose, authenticity and spirituality through her speaking, thought leadership and writing. Alongside her speaking practice, she coaches and advises purpose-led entrepreneurs, business leaders and individuals seeking to deepen their understanding of who they are so they can live, work and lead with greater impact and authenticity.

Contacting Fiona English:

You can connect with Fiona on LinkedIn or see her work on her website.

By Fiona English

In a podcast interview with Luke Sheehan, Fiona English explores the role of purpose and vision in creating an inspiring legacy.  How we leverage our strengths, talents, passion in service of others while relating to the world in front of us.

Why Society 3.0 can be Just Around the Corner #29 #cong20

Synopsis:

 We have lived through a massive opportunity for learning and growth.
We can change our habits, climate change didn’t go away and we must use 2020’s lessons to engage with it.  Going forwards tech must include social, ethics and purpose.  We need to use this time as a launch pad for a positive, engaged and conscious 2021 and beyond.

Total Words

305

Reading Time in Minutes

1

Key Takeaways:

  1. 2020 is a massive opportunity for us to change our habits
  2. climate change didn’t go away and we must use 2020’s lessons to engage with it
  3. tech must include social, ethics and purpose
  4. use this time as a launch pad

About Simon Cocking:

 Simon Cocking has been Chief Editor at Irish Tech News, CryptoCommonwealth, CryptoCoinNews and InvestInIT – with over 1.5 million+ unique monthly views and growing. He was the top ranked member of the ‘People of Blockchain’ for 2018 based on total funds raised & also #1 ranked advisor on ICO Holder.

He is a business mentor and advisor working with over 200 successful companies to date. He has been named on many global Twitter influencer lists in the last 12 months, and has over 117,000 followers on Twitter & 30,000+ on Linkedin.

He is an accomplished public speaker at events including TEDx, Web Summit, and overseas in Monte Carlo, Pyeonchang, Amsterdam, Dubai, Delhi, Kiev, Singapore, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Madrid, Tbilisi, Riga, Porto, Dublin and Helsinki. See more on his podcast here and on Youtube.

He has been based in Ireland for over 25 years and has cofounded or founded seven successful companies.

Contacting Simon Cocking:

You can contact Simon by email, follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.

By Simon Cocking.

Listen to Simon’s audio contribution by clicking below.

Society 3.0 Needs us to Win Hearts, Rather than Minds #28 #cong20

Synopsis:

 For decades, scientists have been preaching to the public while demonizing those who ignore their warnings, but this approach is clearly not working. We have allowed the debate on the future of civilisation to become polarised, leaving the public confused, angry, and easily manipulated by those willing to deliver comforting lies.
But humanity’s response to COVID-19 proves that ordinary people are fair and decent and given half a chance, are willing to make personal sacrifices for the greater good. So, let’s stop preaching to them from our ivory towers. Let’s show them that we stand with them in the THEIR fight for a better future.

Total Words

1,241

Reading Time in Minutes

5

Key Takeaways:

  1. We need to appeal to the public’s hearts and not their minds.
  2. Our message is honest and requires sacrifice, while others make empty promises.
  3. We must put people ahead of planet and empower them to save the world
  4. We must start to see the people, as the solution rather than the problem.

Anything less is unfair.

About Damian Costello:

 Damian Costello runs Decode Innovation and specialises in Innovation in Strategy and Innovation Strategies. Damian is passionate about helping Ireland retain and grow its position in the global economy.

Damian has almost 25 years of consulting experience across global multi-nationals to local start-ups in the Medical Device, Pharma, Automotive, Financial Services and ICT sectors. He has delivered successful strategies and breakthrough solutions in Ireland, Europe, North America and Asia.

Contacting Damian Costello:

You can follow Damian on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, send him an email or see Decode Innovation.

By Damian Costello.

Since last year’s Congregation I have become an environmentalist. For years I’ve been working towards a more empathetic and sustainable society, but recently I’ve come to realise that environmental disasters might destroy civilisation before Society 3.0 can ever emerge.

Soon after I joined the ranks of those working to save the planet, I realised I had a few things to say to my new colleagues. For decades, environmental scientists have been preaching to the public while demonizing those who ignore their warnings, but this approach is clearly not working. The problem is that we have allowed the debate on the future of civilisation to become an over-simplified argument between two opposite ends of the political divide: assertive environmentalists on the left and aggressive capitalists on the right. The left thinks it has a monopoly on goodness and the right seems to think that money and power are all that matters. We dehumanise the right by calling it; the 1%, the establishment, the elites, or the superrich, but in doing so we miss the fact that regular people find the swagger of the populist right more compelling than our logic.

Such polarisation is endemic in Western democracies, and it has reached new heights with the Trump White House and Brexit. It leaves the public confused, scared and angry, and as a result they are easily manipulated by those willing to deliver comforting lies. We need to face the fact that those of us who are trying to tell the truth are simply not winning converts fast enough. This is a battle that environmentalists have been losing for decades, so how can we honestly expect public opinion to change, unless we are willing to change our approach. Over the summer I’ve been working on an initiative that involved, among other things, a series of regular discussions with Lord John Alderdice. Now a member of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords, he is best known for his role the Northern Ireland peace process. One anecdote of his in particular, changed my mind about how we deal with the right.

In my first in-depth conversation with him, he told a story of when John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, first told his three fellow political leaders in Northern Ireland (Ian Paisley, Jim Molyneaux and John Alderdice) that he believed that the only way to advance the stalled peace process was to open talks with the IRA. Faced with stalemate, Hume, a staunch pacifist, overcame his most deeply held beliefs, opened his mind, swallowed his pride, and radically changed his approach. The other leaders were appalled at the suggestion and the two unionists in particular felt certain that the move would collapse the process. On leaving the meeting, he said that he had to reconcile himself with not knowing what would happen next and so he moved forward more in faith than in hope. We now know how things worked out. Hume’s gamble paid off and lasting peace was made, and Hume went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his vision.

This example of a war time pivot affected me deeply and made it clear that if society is now on a war-like footing, then our side needs a similar change in approach. I realised we need to alter our approach, not to the science, but to our positioning and communications. We need to reach out to those we have previously chastised. We need to understand and empathise with their position and we need to find a way forward together. To do this, we need to first respect and then appeal to the middle majority that have been swayed by the lies of the 1%. These are the regular people who don’t trust holier-than-thou experts anymore. They either suspect environmentalists of hypocrisy or they find our language patronising.

We need to appeal to their hearts and not their minds. We need to reposition the climate argument away from one of right and wrong, and towards one of fairness. Our problem is that our message is honest and requires sacrifice, while the 1% seems happy to make empty promises. We can overcome this imbalance, however, by aligning our communications around a new truth, but we must believe it ourselves. If we are to mobilise the masses, we need to genuinely put people first – we need to make fairness our number one priority.

If we believe in the ongoing importance of democracy, we must put people ahead of planet and empower the people to save the planet with us, not for science but for themselves and their children. Too many of the masses believe, or have been convinced, that environmentalist put the planet before people. The 1% has convinced them that we are the ones who are out to destroy their way of life. Unless we break this cycle, by telling the public that we are 100% on their side in a way that the right can never be, we will never stem the tide of environmental disaster and we will never give ourselves the chance to enjoy Society 3.0. If we can build a coalition with the masses, we will expose the lies and dismantle the ability of the 1% to divide and conquer us. We must start to see the people, as the solution rather than the problem. Anything less is unfair.

Humanity’s response to COVID-19 proves that ordinary people are fair and decent and given half a chance they are willing to make personal sacrifices to help all of society. Let’s stop preaching to them from our ivory towers. Let’s roll up our sleeves and show them that we can be trusted and that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the THEIR fight for a better future.