Growth
—
The world has enough for everyone’s needs,
but not for everyone’s greed.— Mahatma Gandhi
—
We humans inhabit a planet that could easily accommodate eight billion of us but no longer can. To keep ourselves alive, we tear down what keeps us alive bit by bit and faster and faster. Why? Because fresh air, clean seas and healthy forests—our only real capital—don’t make money.
Many unconsciously think they can safeguard their backyard from destruction elsewhere, but that idea is folly. Our homes aren’t made up of separate chunks independently floating through space. So if never enough keeps having its way, then at some point, everyone—including the man with the shiny shoes—is going to be screwed.
This is no news. The cliff we’re approaching is globally acknowledged. Across the fields of science, business and politics, people in positions of authority are saying, ‘We cannot go on like this.’ Yet the bulk of governments, companies, institutions and banks continue chasing after growth, jobs, purchasing power and so on.
Having stepped out of the fish bowl myself, I can only call the mess we’re collectively creating insane. But I, too, have been swimming with painful ignorance. So, I, too, have come to understand our cancerous ‘growth’ mindset. It contains a programming error—a confusion about what gives life and what takes life.
To illustrate, here’s part of a conversation between an international chief executive and a Native American named Oren Lyons:
‘I understand what you’re saying, but we cannot slow down. We have to make a profit, otherwise we will be fired. As a CEO, I have to make a profit.’
—‘For whom?’ asks Oren.
‘For the shareholders.’
—‘Are you married?’ asks Oren.
‘Yes.’
—‘Do you have children?’
‘Yes.’
—‘Do you have grandchildren?’
‘Yes, two boys.’
—‘When are you going to stop being a CEO, and when are you going to start being a grandfather?’1The video in which Native American Oren Lyons talks about this conversation can be found at MiracleProject.earth/oren-lyons.
With his mind in his heart, the international executive will have nothing to argue against Oren’s question. But the chances of him fully waking up to the question, his grandchildren, and the future they face…
I consider them slim.
After all, a deal’s a deal.
So, what deals have we collectively made? I want to shine a light on three:
land and property.
money and gold,
talent and wealth,
_
- 1The video in which Native American Oren Lyons talks about this conversation can be found at MiracleProject.earth/oren-lyons. ↩︎
