Renowned physicist and systems thinker, the late Donella Meadows, believed that brand-new paradigms (dominant ways of thinking) can pop up in an instant, as if effortlessly. “There’s nothing physical or expensive about paradigm change,” she wrote. “It can happen in a millisecond. All it takes is a click in the mind, a new way of seeing. In the space of mastery over paradigms people throw off addictions, bring down empires and have impacts that last for millennia.”
At this turning point, many know instinctively that the time has come for a civilization-scale shift. We have worn nature out and ourselves, too trying to comply with mandates for constantly increasing profits, productivity, speed and mobility. It’s time for a restorative era, rich in nature-friendly, ingenious design and ways of enriching and redirecting our most valuable achievement of all, human culture. It is time for a Renaissance of human values.
While human core needs have remained much the same over the millennia (self-esteem, security, social support, nutrition…) the way we meet these needs has changed radically in the industrial age. In a new era – more conscious of living things and less focused on products – our habits and practices will shift once again.
Really, what must change first are the symbols of success. It’s not large, expensive, hard-to-maintain houses we truly want, but large lives that contain enough discretionary time and generosity to share. In an era less obsessed with status through consumption, it’s not exotic vacations we’ll cherish but rather a contentedness that makes life an adventure no matter where we are. In the near future, there will be less energy-intensive travel and more focus on creating great communities where we want to be rather than flee. Instead of accumulating just monetary wealth, we will accumulate calmness and wellness as our lifestyle becomes less confusing and more affordable.
Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef classifies human needs into nine essential categories, arguing that the most valuable choices are those that meet the most needs at a time:
- Subsistence
- Protection
- Affection
- Understanding
- Participation
- Leisure
- Creation
- Identity
- Freedom
In his view, time spent in an organic garden is a ‘jackpot’ activity because it provides subsistence, leisure, creation, understanding, participation, protection and even affection.
Similarly, a great neighborhood can be more satisfying than an isolated house. It not only provides shelter but protection, affection, leisure, identity and participation. This matrix of needs can be applied to just about any decision: Which essential needs is the object or action meeting? Who benefits from this choice? Is it good for other people and the environment, or just me?
