Human Economics

Human Economics

Throughout all of history, humanity has never lived in an era of such intimate globalization, as we do today… Never has any one country’s economy been so dependent upon the economy of other countries, and never has the fate of people in any one country been so dependent upon the fate of people in other countries. Indeed, the current crisis is affecting everyone, everywhere. It is with good reason that journalist, Thomas Friedman, argued in the midst of the crisis that it was “Time to Reboot America.” The laws that define relationships among individuals in society have changed dramatically, hence economy—which reflects those interconnections—must follow suit. Yet, this cannot happen by means of restrictions and regulations, since it is evident that our desire to enjoy is only growing through the years. Therefore, even if we truly want it, we will never be able to turn back time. As we develop, we constantly devise new ways to “beat the system.” Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money trying to reverse an irreversible situation, we must change our approach toward economy and business from the root level. The solution is to start from the place where the crisis began—the lost trust in human relationships. What has become clear is that we no longer trust one another: people don’t trust banks; banks don’t trust the rating firms, who don’t trust company shareholders, who have no trust in financial advisors, who have no trust in traders, who have zero trust in governments, who simply trust no one. Period. Nevertheless, despite the mistrust, we find that we are still dependent upon each other. And the more aware...
The Ego and Public Feedback

The Ego and Public Feedback

When we examine nature and human behavior, we discover that it is driven by ego, which cares about only two things: feeling pleasure and avoiding pain. If we examine ourselves closely, we will realize that apart for basic necessities, we inherit all desires from the society we live in: what we eat, how we dress, the jobs we choose, the goods we covet, and our attitudes toward the rest of the world. We acquire our preferences from those whom we are taught to respect and admire.   Moreover, once our basic needs are secured, some develop a desire to rule over others and take advantage of them. Once we determine what we want, we start looking for ways to get what we want. This is why we are so dependent on the society – it is a supplier of our desires and the means to satisfy them. For this reason, if we build a society that values cooperation and compassion for others, we will avoid selfishness, over-consumption, and pursuit of fame, fortune, and power in order to gain others’ recognition and approval. One way or the other, the ego demands connection with the society while envisioning itself as the ruler. But society can “implant” us with the opposite values, without shattering the ego: Do be great, be proud, be all you can be and more! But do it in a constructive way rather than destructive. In other words, the ego, which is used to gaining personal benefit at the expense of others, can gradually be transformed – through the influence of the environment, the society we are in. Picture a person...
How to Live in a New World

How to Live in a New World

First, it is impossible to manage in the new world when each one thinks only about oneself. We have to think about everyone. There is no other choice. This is nature’s law that is being revealed in our times. Second, every member of society should be concerned about others like organs in one body. In the global world, we need not build egoistic systems for media, governments, social systems, health care, education, etc., which today do not care about what happens to others. What we need to be concerned with is how to build a healthy person in a healthy society. All the systems should be focused on this purpose. This means that there must be one general plan. The leaders of society must understand that we need to integrate and embrace mutual responsibility, and use our voices and votes to insist on this. Otherwise, each will continue with his protectionism, which will lead to opposition to and destruction of nature. We should aspire for this same mutually beneficial relationship to exist in the family, children’s education, neighborhoods, cities, nations, and the whole world. This means that we don’t have to develop separate, specific systems for education, culture, and health, but rather we need to work in circles, moving from small circles to wider ones, and eventually encompassing all of humanity. We have to restructure all international organizations differently, so that this will be their goal and how they aim all their activity at. All the laws in the world should reflect its integrated nature, so that integrality becomes the essential law of our existence. The leadership, courts, and systems for human rights should be...
Integrative Education for the Integrated World

Integrative Education for the Integrated World

According to a year-old report, there are more than two hundred million unemployed in the world. Over the coming year, this number will grow astronomically, as global production wanes and natural resources continue to dwindle. This development constitutes an enormous problem for the unemployed themselves, as well as for society and governments, which are utterly powerless to stop it. As the ranks of the unemployed grow worldwide, the need for a comprehensive educational course, explaining the new integrated world and its governing laws, will be indispensable in preventing the kind of bloodshed and unrest that we’re already beginning to see materialize. So what is this “new world” that the global crisis is ushering us into? Well, if we take a step back and analyze the word “crisis,” it actually doesn’t have a negative connotation. Rather, it signifies a new stage that is similar to birth. We know from experience that transitioning from one state to another is hard, as it entails coming out of your comfort zone. Whether it’s changing jobs or modifying any other aspect of life, we tend to resist change and prefer to stay within a familiar operating system. With that in mind, there are two sides to this global crisis. On the one hand, we are experiencing genuinely awful and dramatic afflictions: horrendous floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, riots and wars, revolutionary coups, bloodshed in the streets, and increasingly dimming prospects of a bright future. On the other hand, we may view our current predicament as the normal pains of a process we don’t yet acknowledge, one in which we transition from one state to another. These...
It Is Hard to Divorce the World

It Is Hard to Divorce the World

We are witnessing a brand new and fascinating phenomenon – our society is becoming integrated. It is no longer about banks and industries establishing partnerships all over the world, exchanging raw materials, merchandise, food supplies and so on. Today, even the world’s cultures and education systems are merging into a single, universal composite. All of these elements are interconnected and interdependent in every way. It is no accident that the modern media have made it possible for everyone to be informed of everything that’s happening in the world. Such transparency enables people to connect on a whole new level – across racial, cultural, and national divides. It also puts us at a greater degree of mutual dependence than ever before. When there is this kind of dependence in a tightly connected family, whose members care for each other, it benefits all. Everyone is responsible for everyone else, and no one is left behind. Otherwise, the family falls apart. The problem is that precisely because we’ve been integrated on a global scale, we simply cannot divorce each other. Though hatred and contempt may run rampant, it doesn’t change the facts of the matter one bit. Nature has imprisoned us on this planet, this tiny surface, and we have nowhere to run from each other. With each passing day, our interdependence grows stronger. In the past, when individuals or nations clashed, the worst they could do was simply “remove” the rival. Today, the smallest conflict is fraught with colossal global ramifications. Opinions aside, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that everybody in the world is dependent on (and responsible for!) everybody else. This presents us with a...