Politics, The Internet and Social Evolution

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

The Internet: Changing Our Culture

Every technological change opens new possibilities for individuals, communities, and nations. The industrial age increased the amount of power available through the development of waterwheels, fossil fuels, hydroelectric, and nuclear power. At the same time, the information age began with the development of the printing press and, later, universal education.

Now, the technological changes of the information age are accelerating, and new potentials for human expression are exploding. This is neither good nor bad, it is simply powerful.

The world changed on June 4, 1989 during the protest at Tiananmen Square. The change wasn’t in the protest, it was in the millions of viewers worldwide who observed the interaction between protesters and a repressive regime on live television, saw the camera knocked over, and heard "Tiananmen, this is New York.

Are you there?" over and over, with no reply.

The Internet takes our level of connectedness even further, taking it out of the hands of expensive media. Anyone can distribute information (or disinformation) around the world in minutes. And everyone is adapting to this new information. Some use this power benevolently, some use it maliciously, but most use it haplessly.

The Internet increases our positive freedom, our ability to create the lives we want, to ascend Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

A Global Society Will Evolve

Technological change always drives social evolution. We can see that worldwide, in ten thousand years of history, and in the changes to traditional societies as they encounter other cultures and new technology. Time and distance are dissolving; culture and language are melding; We are becoming a global village. But evolution does not always progress in a consistent nor desirable manner. In the 1920s, Germany was the most liberal and progressive country on the planet. In the 1930s, it became the most repressive regime in history. The human mind always strives to grow, but sometimes, mind and heart become disconnected.

The problems making the news and being expounded on by all the Presidential candidates are all examples of technology-driven social evolution:

• The capabilities of terrorists are the result of greater destructive power held by smaller and smaller groups.
• The motives of terrorists and the war on terror are a result of the collapse of the separation of time and distance as the world becomes a global village and cultural conflict accelerates.
• The increasing capability to create terror and fight terror spiral out of control as each side seeks to outwit the other. This is an example of schismogenesis, an element of social evolution first described by anthropologist Gregory Bateson.
• The boom and bust cycle of the American economy is a result of technology-supported rapid exchange of information. As Bateson pointed out, when the timing of a stable system changes, the system becomes highly unstable.
• Increasing divisiveness due to misinformation as bias controls political campaigns and the media reporting of political campaigns.
• Increasing conflict as people are overwhelmed by information and are not able to distinguish fact from fiction.
• Immigration and the issues of illegal aliens, which are a natural result of globalization and images of American culture being spread throughout the world.
• Outsourcing and the loss of service jobs in the American economy which is directly attributable to the capacity of the Internet to provide offshore service at lower cost.
• Global climate change is the consequence of the industrial revolution, and rapid action towards solving the problem is a great challenge of the Information Age.

We are caught in times of massive change, and we are trying to make sense of it all.

Governments and Politicians React

Governments have little power in relation to effective and efficient social evolution. China cannot stop the growth of a capitalist economy. The United States cannot stop immigration, and come up with a rational policy acceptable to enough voters. The result is that politicians end up struggling against one another instead of struggling to solve problems. Views are simplified to appeal to voters with short attention spans, and complex problems don’t have simple solutions. Thoughtful candidates are pushed aside in a media focused on sound bites. No one can stop the avalanche of change.

Spiritual and Religious Meanings

Both traditional religions and alternative spirituality seek to make sense of these vast social changes. Judaism struggles with retaining its identity through orthodoxy versus increasing its relevancy through renewal. Islam works with conflicting systems of logic and cultural identity, with a minority of extremists spurring violence, undercutting a huge effort to improve civil society across the globe. Some Christians, who feel threatened by technological and social change, focus on single issues, such as ’creation vs. evolution’ or ’the right to life’. Others look for answers in the Book of Revelation. In fact, there is a religious study group that has chapters in every American military base advocating the position that Christians should rule the world by steering American military policy toward conquest. (For more information, see baltimorechronicle.com/2008/050108Leopold.shtml) Other Christians and people of every faith find strength and stability in their traditional religious views, and use it as a basis for coping with change, or as a basis for working to end global poverty and violence. The difference lies in whether we are seeking explanations, or seeking solutions.

Meanwhile, multicultural and New Age views often claim that global transformation - either through disaster, or through a leap of consciousness into peace - is right around the corner. A study of history will show that such predictions are a constant throughout human history, going all the way back over 2,500 years to the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. And the New Age - when it prefers solutions over predictions - can lead the way with yoga and meditation as tools of relaxation and health, and with transformative approaches to body/mind wellness that are being supported, more and more, by the latest research in Emotional Intelligence.

Success Succeeds

What can we count on? Gregory Bateson boiled down the theory of evolution to "that which lasts longer, lasts longer." In the biological world, successful abilities and behaviors lead to longer lives and more reproduction, so that which is more successful in one generation will also be more successful in the gene pool over many generations.

In business terms, we could say that, "success succeeds." In social evolution, the ideas created by minds that are more effective succeed, last longer, and spread more widely. Ideas that don’t work - ideas that either fail to promise, or fail to deliver - falter and disappear. Information technology becomes idea technology, we will experience an unprecedented volume of new ideas in a world already overwhelmed by information. The chaos and confusion and the need to make sense of it all, is upon us.

Are we facing the end of times? Will there be some great disastrous upheaval, or some great and wonderful transformation? Is there anything we can do to prevent them, or is entertaining these ideas simply a way to satisfy a primal need for comprehension? Two great teachers gave the same answer to that question: 2,500 years ago, the Buddha taught that it was useless speculation to ask whether the world had a beginning or an end, or not. And 2,000 years ago, Jesus said, "Do not be anxious about your life, do not be anxious about tomorrow. ... Seek first his [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [worldly needs] shall be yours, as well." (Matthew 6:25-33)

But there are some clear and obvious truths that we all can count on:

• Being realistic succeeds better than avoiding or denying reality, or being unrealistically optimistic, pessimistic, or biased by unsubstantiated views. Honesty builds trust and support.
• Delivering on commitments succeeds. People appreciate integrity and reliability.
• Cooperation and friendly competition succeed better than violence.
• Optimism has a sound basis in the simple fact that human beings can solve problems with their hearts, hands, and minds.
• Everyone can grow. Two women in Northern Ireland won the Nobel Peace Prize because they did what they needed to do to save the lives of their husbands and sons - they ended a war. Transformational leaders come from all levels of society. Some create social transformation. Others solve problems through technology.
• We can all empower ourselves. When we face our problems realistically and with optimism, we can learn, grow, transform ourselves, and make good changes in our lives and the world around us.
• Cooperation and teamwork lead to long-term success.

All this leads to the core of the MiracleMind business plan: Succeed by helping others succeed. We do this by offering education that empowers enlightened action.MiracleMind relieves information overload: We provide the information you need, when you need it, and in an orderly format that is easy to digest. We will gain customer loyalty by building a home on the Internet where people can come, feel safe, and trust the information they receive. True, practical information empowers our customers to make good decisions, do good work, and improve their lives. Some customers will focus on making their own lives better. Some will care for children, parents, and loved ones. Some will seek to make a better society or a healthy planet. These people will come in all colors, sizes, ages, and political persuasions. And MiracleMind will help them all.

There is hope. After all, each of us is a MiracleMind.