TEDxOjai - Peter Joseph - The Big Question

TEDxOjai - Peter Joseph - The Big Question Transcription made possible by lontok; Diego Mozo-Hernandez. For more talks, please visit TED.com The title of this presentation is The Big Question: Environmental Misalignment and the Value War Human society today has two diametrically opposed systems of Economy: One is our traditionally imposed mode of monetary market economics; The other is a physical rule structure emerging from our growing scientific recognition of reality, both environmentally and sociologically. The consequence is an ever increasing level of social destabilization and an ongoing decline in public health. I divided this into two brief sections, The first part is called, System Clash : Market efficiency V Technical Efficiency. The part two, Values wars: societal potential collapse and transition; what we are capable of doing , what's in store if we don't how we can get out of the system, etcetera. Before I begin part one; Economy, What is Economy? Is defined in Greek as the management of the household, the definition that is often lost to economise what is that mean? It means to increase efficiency, keep that in mind. Reducing waste that is what Economy is supposed to be. Defining my terms, well I use two different terms throughout the presentation the first is a theoretical notion of an "Earth Economy". Which I will define as: Decisions made directly based upon Scientific Understanding as they relate to optimised habitat management and human health. Production and distribution is regulated by the most technically efficient and sustainable approaches known. And compare to our currently existing market Economy defined: Decisions are based on independent human actions through the vehicle of monetary exchange regulated by the pressures of Supply and Demand. Production and distribution is enabled by the buying and selling of labour and material provisions with the motivations of a person or group at self interest as the defining attribute of unfolding. This is a chart of the seven economic attributes, many more but this what I want to focus on here: Basically they are intrinsic to each Economy in comparison Obviously I am focusing on market Economy as relationship to a natural system what we are calling the "Earth Economy". are elements of our sociological development based on Scientific integrity scientific ingenuity, the evolution of Science our knowledge of ourselves and the environment, that will be talked about that as we go along as we touch upon each of these. First point: Consumption In a market Economy. The entire thing is based on consumption, the only reason that you are wearing clothes, the only reason that you are eating, the only reason you have a home is because someone somewhere is buying a service or giving the service, exchanging money in some form and consuming, that's what the system is what is natural rule has to say about that What is an Earth Economy has to say about, well in all reason the Earth is a finite close system, preservation not consumption should be the ethos. If you lived on an island with a small group of people and you have a finite amount of resources with a natural regeneration of growth a very simplified society, would you decide to make an Economic system that try to use up as fast as possible No, and I am afraid the Earth is an isolated island in a vast sea, a cosmic sea, if you will , and is a lot smaller than we think. Point two: Obsolescence The market system is driven explicitly by obsolescence. Two intrinsic obsolescence; Intrinsic obsolescence being the use of cost efficiency meaning that every good produced has to be inferior at the moment is made, because the corporate institutions must save money at the very beginning of production to remain competitive, because to everyone else that is competing. Planned obsolescence which is more insidious; which is basically a form of fraud even though is completely codified and formalised as a marketing tactic. Basically It designs goods to break down under the assumption of repeat of purchases. And is truly amazing that this exist at all. And what is nature have to say about this well put it on a palm, It will only be stated. Is environmentally irresponsible to design goods to fail or allow them to fail unnecessarily that is basically offensive. We need optimum design to have things last, to survive. Point three: Property The ownership metaphysic is a core premise allowing controlled restriction of resources and goods. I said metaphysic as property is not real, there is no such thing as ownership in a broad scheme not either intellectual or physical goods. Is all transient. The idea that everyone owning one of everything, for example, is that make a lot of sense? When we think of our natural economy? What about the usage of goods? what about access? The natural environment demands access. Universal property is inefficient, strategic access is more environmentally responsible as a model an more socially efficient. If you have a car that you drive maybe 40% of the time, why not let the other 60% be used by somebody else you create a system of access and use; that is environmentally responsible. Point four: Growth building on the consumption once again. The market Economy requires near constant growth, to maintain employment. This ties a little bit with the growth of the population as well but you always hear about this, and you know the government: we have growth,we need growth, we need more growth and about the GDP,we are lacking growth It's basically just absurd. We did a steady state economy, the Earth is a finite system once again Earth demands a balanced flow economy, respecting dynamic equilibrium, where things come together and balance, not the necessity to exhaust just to say, maintain labour. Point five: Competition, this inches into a new sociological development that I have talked about enough Market System Economy based upon personal and corporate competition in the open market selling you labour, competing for market share, ah, that's a complete metaphysical notion if you think about it based on our earlier tribalistic form of scarcity and this notion that we can't possibly get along or cannot possibly be enough to go around, so we have to fight for every thing and everything is up for themselves. What we come to find is that, human collaboration actually, actually is at the core of all invention. And physicological studies now show long term distortion with the competitive view, the great amount distortion corruption, crime you see, all you hear, the headlines, white collar, blue collar; all comes from this primitive notion of the competitive environment and nothing is held as sacred. Point Six: Labour for income. Human survival is today contention upon one's ability to obtain employment and enable sales. That's your right to life, if you can't get labour you may as well die because you don't serve an economically efficient role. What does it mean to our development in Science and Technology? Mechanization, is incredible! The advent of automation is making human employment more scarce at the minimum and possibly obsolete entirely. Mechanization is also more productive and efficient than human labour; Which means is socially irresponsible for us not to mechanise and enjoy the fruits of the abundance and ease and safety that can create. Scarcity and imbalance: Contrary to what most think, money and the movement of money that generates consumption economy is explicitly based on imbalance and inefficiency and is really an inefficiency Economy an anti-economy the poverty you see everything in this imbalance,that's not just some by-product or a result of some greed institution or something like that that's inherent to the system, the system wouldn't work if It was efficient and balanced in any element of human survival. Why do we want that? Abundance, equality. New sociological studies have found that the equality is much more positive to public health. You compare United States a highly stratified society with deep imbalance to Norway or Sweden which have much more less levels of stratification. The public health in those less stratified societies, blow as out of the water. Why not, work to create abundance through all these mechanism of efficiency that technology now enables to meet human needs reduce crime, all sorts of all other obvious sociological phenomena. Spectrum of social disorder, and there It's, you have a macrosocio-economic system, macroeconomic element that is basically, funnily now this distortion from childhood all the way to through every level of sociological exhibition,if you will, and everything you see is coming from this very sick distortion premise of Economy; my interest ultimately, relationship with Macroeconomics to Sociology. Part two: Change; Values wars: Societal potential, collapse and transition. Over a here are a series of social problems that you will see in newspapers very often: Abject poverty, unemployment, destabilization, debt collapse, pollution, waste; all of which are completely technically Obsolete! None of them have to exist at all, the minimum they can be reduce to a very core degree those that are a little bit more subjective. Removing the environmental and sociological inefficiency inherent to the "Market" and simply applying modern scientific understandings resolves or greatly reduces all of these issues. That is our potential, and since we don't maximize that potential unfortunately, because of this framework we are in. We are face with the unique form of collapse that many are not talking about enough.There is three nails in the coffin as far as I am concern: Unemployment, is hard to say based on the way how things are going you are not going to see percentage, employment levels that ever seen in the past even when the population is over. Energy Cost: Only going to raise here now, with a hydrocarbon Economy, there is absolutely no investment or true intention of the government or corporate institutions to move forward with any type of renewables that will replace the current massive infrastructure we have created and far too much money will be made as the system fails because of the scarcity of this thing. Debt Failure Is anyone laughing at the fact that there is this fictional notion of debt; that is like dominoes knocking down, countries one by one? Transition Here is "The value war" Of all the times, I speak with people about these issues they tend to understand it but they have this value association that hold onto all other effects of the prior system. It's a value war! How do we get to from one to other? What can we do to inspire change and create social reform? And, that is The Big Question; What will you do? What kind of form? What kind of social awareness? What kind of role you think can play? Are you going to maximize your own self interests? Or you are going to realize that your self interest are only as good as the integrity of society as a whole and self interest must become social interest. in order for us to survive, that is a new equation. And that is "The Big Question" Thank you, very much. Transcription made possible by lontok, Diego Mozo-Hernandez. For more talks please visit TED.com This transcription is already corrected and revised, It is just pending to add some comments please do not close this transcription nor edit or change