This is the first batch.
- Flemming
A community of say 100 people would have its own solar power panels or wind generators, with the capacity to cover typical requirements of the community.
Hydroponic gardens would be able to supply food for the whole community for any length of time.
The community has its own water well. And it has a scheme for recycling water so that it can be used over and over again.
There would be no need for carrying away waste. Organic wastes will be used as fertilizer. Plastics and other materials would be reconstructed and re-used.
Mechanical devices would either be very modular so that they could be updated and maintained easily, or they could be deconstructed and turned into other devices. Possibly by computer-aided devices that would carve out mechanical parts from raw materials, based on stored blueprints.
There would be means for home-education. For example by a comprehensive local CD-ROM library.
There would be communication means that aren't vulnerable to local outages, such as for example wireless networking.
Each community would network widely with other communities and would also be tied into networks for sharing resources. I.e. there would be an electricity grid that each community could feed into when it has a surplus, or draw from if it has a shortage.
Society would be made of many cells that each can be self-sufficient when it needs to be, but which can draw advantages from being connected with other cells that emphasize different products.
There would be a means, such as the Internet, for people to link up with others around the planet on specific issues - artists across the spectrum could link up, for instance. There would be festivals of celebration every now and then, hosted by the communities, which people can attend, by choice, to celebrate new discoveries in science, art, technology, with music and dancing.
Communities would care for all their members, and everyone would know everyone, and take responsiblity for the well-being and happiness of all members of the communities.
As a result, the world in 2044 is now entirely fragmented politically, like a ship with watertight compartments. The old county of Perthshire is now itself The Free and Independent Republic of Perthia. It has its own (entirely electronic) currency, stamps, national theatre, prime minister, parliament, armed forces, etc. Villages and parishes within towns very much run their own affairs by referenda. The local policeman goes round each household once a fortnight to ask if residents have seen anything suspicious in their area. It is a complicated business for residents to settle in Perthia - their international identity smart card, the record of their entire lives, is carefully examined and references checked, and the would-be immigrant has to find a village or community within Perthia to vote to allow him or her residence.
Each village also imposes a labour tax on its residents - they must each work two hours a week for the neighbourhood on anything from street cleaning to care of the elderly, or, if unable to do so because of pressure of work elsewhere, they pay a labour tax so that the neighbourhood can employ someone else who is less busy.
Each neighbourhood has its own caretaker. The quality of life in each neighbourhood very much depends on the quality of its caretaker, as this person has many roles - from coordinating neighbourhood watch to work allocation.
Population figures continue to go down - the taxation system rewards those with fewest children. It is all part of a campaign to make Perthia as self-sufficient in food and manufactures as possible.
Despite the human tragedies that have afflicted the West in recent memory, people in Perthia are relatively happy nowadays. Whilst you can still get medicinal drugs on prescription from the doctor, consciousness-altering drugs are legally available through the priests of the various religions. Some priests form groups of compatible seekers, doctoring the communion 'wine' with the drug most suited to the needs of the participants. The churches and chapels have full congregations, mainly of teenagers. Perthia has a reputation among the ten thousand nations for the quality of its mystics.
Computers have helped reduce errors but also isolated us from people, especially people who care to address issues, rather than conform to CRT templates. At my company, a great deal has been done to integrate various employee services. There are several ways I can electronically access and even change personal information or selections. Unfortunately, access to people for special cases has greatly diminished.
I believe that technology can be our means to improved quality of life -- for individuals and for Earth. Personally, I would be thrilled if all of the above **stuff** could be concentrated in one data base.
Freedom from niggardly time demands.
Independence to invest my time.
These are more important to me than privacy.
All these providers have essentially common information anyway, i.e., DOB, SSN, mother's maiden name, employment, spouse, address, telephone #, income, etc. So what? So I get a bit of junk mail and I have to cancel it. Maybe less privacy and more freedom would reverse some of our social ills. Certainly the privacy of criminals does not seem in best interests of the average person.
For the average person, "Integrated Providers Company", (PROVCO?) could sometimes help prevent unwise decisions, much like a pop-up window that says "Are you sure you want to do this?". Trust in other people would rise if they were a member of PROVCO.
Well, still a bit out of focus, but that's my vision -- more time each of us. I'm sure we'll put it to good use.
Facts, techniques, methods, concepts and related technology comprise the HULL of a sailing vessel. They let us float, but do not lead anywhere, i.e. to fulfillment, success or meaning.
Specific life situations we experience provide WIND for our boat. Although wind changes in force and direction and is unpredictable, it is the source of energy for the value we may find in life. The wind provides opportunity and challenge.
SAILS harness the power of the wind. We must understand the context, and know how to apply our knowledge and skill to fill the SAILS.
The TILLER or WHEEL of the boat aims the boat in specific directions. Commitment and intention to achieve specific goals provide this.
The RUDDER, (which we can't see because it's under the boat), actually guides our direction. As sailors know, the rudder may not head the same way the tiller is pointed.
Relationships connect us to the RUDDER. Nearly all we do realizes its value in relationship - influencing others in work and in life. We need to stay in feedback with all our stakeholders to learn if the expected value is being felt.
All the above acts in concert. The parts of the SAILING system do nothing by themselves, they can only function together.
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/ \------------------ Flemming A. Funch ------------------/ \
/ * \ World Transformation/New Civilization/Whole Systems / * \
/ * * \ ffunch@newciv.org / * * \
o-------o ---------http://newciv.org/worldtrans/----------o-------o