To
embrace a desire to assist with, contribute to and participate in, activities
designed to help members of the human family in ways ranging from entering the
modern technological global civilization without fear of
"assimilation", to overcoming suffering and hardship where
negotiable with technology. Problems encountered are aimed to be solved by
delivering solutions as personal and village life support and enhancement tools,
to places where human existence is either struggling with emerging into modern
times and/or compromised by such demons as suffering, exposure, starvation and
illness.
CORE VALUES, PHILOSOPHY:
WHY DO THIS?
(1) Relief of Suffering
The
disparity of resources between the "modern technological global
civilization" and developing countries with their indigenous cultures is
readily discernable. Organizations
such as Amnesty International have amply documented, through photojournalism,
the "demons of suffering, exposure, starvation and illness".
Of all the scenes that have been captured, there is none more chilling,
none that moves one more strongly to effective action "to overcoming
suffering and hardship where negotiable with technology", than the Pulitzer
Prize photograph titled "Starving
Sudanese child being stalked by a vulture".
(2) Personal
and Village Life Enhancement
A primary
source of inspiration, and a solid basis upon which to model efforts toward
enhancing the life of indigenous people and the village, is documented in the
book "Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World". The reasons are
provided on the book's back cover, to wit:
"In 1971, a group of Colombian visionaries and technicians decided
to prove they could thrive in one of the most brutal environments imaginable:
their country's barren, rain-leached eastern savannas. Despite the constant
threat of Colombia's political turbulence, this is now the setting for one of
the most hopeful environmental success stories ever told. For more than three
decades the scientists, artisans, peasants, ex-street kids, and Guahibo Indians
living in a village called Gaviotas have elevated phrases like sustainable
development and appropriate technology from cliché to reality. Sixteen hours
from the nearest major city, they invented wind turbines that convert mild
tropical breezes into energy, solar collectors that work in the rain, soil-free
systems to raise edible and medicinal crops, and ultra-efficient pumps to tap
deep aquifers-pumps so easy to operate, they're hooked up to children's seesaws.
The United Nations named the village a model for the developing world…Others
call it a utopia...In the shelter of millions of Caribbean pines, which the
Gaviotans planted as a renewable crop, an unexpected marvel has occurred: the
regeneration of an ancient native rain forest...'If we can do this in Colombia,
there's hope that people can do it anywhere'" (Paolo Lugari, founder of
Gaviotas).
Book:
Real
Goods
Amazon
(offers excerpts)
(3) Philosophy of Enough
While
Capitalism, in it's original form, coupled with its reliance on Technology, has
produced much improvement to the overall quality of life, there is a downside
coming to light, that brings troubles to the individual lives of people. When
the troubles are magnified across whole populations, they create strains on the
world's resources and problems on a global scale. This situation may be remedied
by evolving to a modified form of Capitalism, whose development is being
chronicled by Social Philosopher/Managerial Psychologists such as United Kingdom
Founding Father of Management Education Professor Charles Handy. The original
form may be called "Unbounded Capitalism", which has become
characterized by an endless spiral of accelerating personal achievement, aimed
at continually increasing social status, and all the while accumulating ever
more material possessions, in the pursuit of a relentless consumerism. "For
many, this has led to pressurized and stressful work and a tyrannical cycle of
working-earning-spending and struggling to keep up with the demands of an overly
hectic lifestyle. Most feel that there is no alternative to increasing pressure
to work harder and achieve more", as noted by "Balancing Your
Life" author Anne B. Ryan. This situation, despite material abundance, had induced in
many a deep feeling of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment in the experience and
living of life. However, evolving to the "new, improved" form of
Capitalism involves shifting to the model known as "Bounded
Capitalism", and embracing the "Philosophy of Enough", what
Professor Handy, in his book" The Hungry Spirit" describes, as noted
by "This Thought" author Michael Bates, as "the Doctrine of
Enough or the Theory of Limits…Learning to be content. Handy points out that
we know when we have had enough to eat, when we have had enough sleep, when we
are warm enough. More than enough is then unnecessary, and even
counterproductive. So the sooner we learn to define our level of enough, the
sooner we will taste the abundance of contentment and satisfaction and the freer
we will be". Thus the aim of this philosophy is to define and attain for
yourself "enough money, enough success, enough possessions", to secure
all that which is really necessary for a comfortable existence.
Works by Charles Handy
Magazine: Handy, C. (1998). The Doctrine of Enough. Management
Review, 87(6), 52-54.
Book:
The
Hungry Spirit: Beyond Capitalism: A Quest for Purpose in the Modern World
The
Future Of Work: A Guide To A Changing Society
Understanding
Organizations
Understanding
Nonprofit Organizations
What's
A Business For? (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition) [DOWNLOAD: PDF]
