The Great Turning is a name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization.
The ecological and social crises we face are inflamed by an economic system dependent on accelerating growth. This self-destructing political economy sets its goals and measures its performance in terms of ever-increasing corporate profits--in other words by how fast materials can be extracted from Earth and turned into consumer products, weapons, and waste.
A revolution is underway because people are realizing that our needs can be met without destroying our world. We have the technical knowledge, the communication tools, and material resources to grow enough food, ensure clean air and water, and meet rational energy needs. Future generations, if there is a livable world for them, will look back at the epochal transition we are making to a life-sustaining society. And they may well call this the time of the Great Turning. It is happening now.
Whether or not it is recognized by corporate-controlled media, the Great Turning is a reality. Although we cannot know yet if it will take hold in time for humans and other complex life forms to survive, we can know that it is under way. And it is gaining momentum, through the actions of countless individuals and groups around the world. To see this as the larger context of our lives clears our vision and summons our courage.
Come from Gratitude To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe--to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it--is a wonder beyond words. Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art. Furthermore, it is a privilege to be alive in this time when we can choose to take part in the self-healing of our world.
Don't be Afraid of the Dark This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don't be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, for these responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings. To suffer with is the literal meaning of compassion.
1. Actions to slow the damage to Earth and its beings
Perhaps the most visible dimension of the Great Turning, these activities include all the political, legislative, and legal work required to reduce the destruction, as well as direct actions--blockades, boycotts, civil disobedience, and other forms of refusal. A few examples:
Documenting and the ecological and health effects of the Industrial Growth Society;
Lobbying or protesting against the World Trade Organization and the international trade agreements that endanger ecosystems and undermine social and economic justice;
Blowing the whistle on illegal and unethical corporate practices;
Blockading and conducting vigils at places of ecological destruction, such as old-growth forests under threat of clear-cutting or at nuclear dumping grounds.
Work of this kind buys time. It saves some lives, and some ecosystems, species, and cultures, as well as some of the gene pool, for the sustainable society to come. But it is insufficient to bring that society about.
2. Analysis of structural causes and the creation of structural alternatives
A.1 1886 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a corporation has the legal standing of a person, giving it many of the protections guaranteed under the Bill of Rights.
B.1 July 1944 - Modern economic globalization is born at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Economists, politicians, bankers and corporate leaders meet to decide what to do following the devastation of World War II. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are established.
C.1 1946 - Television is launched.
1947 - AT & T scientists invent the transistor.
D.1 1949 - U.S. President Harry Truman, announcing a program for foreign technical assistance, states that self-sustaining peoples are "underdeveloped."
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund begin operations. They extend money to poor and newly decolonized countries to foster economic growth on the model of industrialized nations.
Faculty bio: Joanna Macy, Ph.D., is an ecophilosopher grounded in Buddhism and systems theory. The methods and trainings she has pioneered, to empower agents of social change, are used around the world in movements for peace, justice, and ecological sanity. In addition to the three assigned below, her books include Widening Circles, Mutual Causality, and Thinking Like a Mountain.
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This talk is in the form of an interview. This is the interviewer's introduction;
My guest on GREEN VISIONS will be Joanna Macy, beloved Buddhist teacher and social activist. We will be talking about what she calls "THE GREAT TURNING" - this extraordinary time in human history when perceptions of reality are shifting, and human minds and hearts are opening to the fact that we are the world, and the world is us.
Coming to us across twelve centuries, the prophecy about the coming of the Shambhala warriors illustrates the challenges we face in the Great Turning and the strengths we can bring to it. Joanna learned it in 1980 from Tibetan friends in India, who were coming to believe that this ancient prophecy referred to this very planet-time. She often recounts it in workshops, for the signs it foretold are recognizable now, signs of great danger.
There are varying interpretations of this prophecy. Some portray the coming of the kingdom of Shambhala as an internal event, a metaphor for one's inner spiritual journey independent of the world around us. Others present it as an entirely external event that will unfold independent of what we may choose to do or what our participation may be in the healing of our world. A third version of the prophecy was given to Joanna by her friend and teacher Ven. Dugu Choegyal Rinpoche of the Tashi Jong community in northern India.
Many people imagine that the basic dynamics of global economics and corporate rule are too complicated to understand, unless one is an economist or MBA. To dispel this illusion is an imperative step toward personal empowerment and collective action. Teaching each other in groups, we can use our innate common sense to grasp the nature of growth economics, the role of corporations and their cost to our society and planet. Citizen study circles are one of the greatest social inventions of our time. Engrossing and fun, they elicit our innate curiosity, raise our sights, and widen our horizons, while offering an immediately rewarding experience of community. They uncover our capacity to think cogently about big issues of common concern--a capacity that we may not have suspected we had. They increase our respect for our self and each other, breaking down barriers of isolation and powerlessness. These functions are multiplied when participants, wanting to embody the convictions or the values that arise, undertake projects together--and the groups become study-action groups. The energy that is unleashed, when we move out to do together what we may have felt inadequate to do alone, can transform our lives and our society.
• Have five copies of the globalization history ready. • Identify four volunteers to read the four parts of the globalization history (See Notes). • Arrange a meeting space that will permit the group to sit in a circle. • Have a drum available. • Prepare a flip chart page of global economy acronyms (WTO=…GATT=…,etc.)
Instructions and Facilitation
1. As people gather, ask the volunteer readers to space themselves around the circle, clockwise from your position, in alphabetical order of their assigned reading.
2. Welcome participants and provide a brief overview of what will happen: statement of intention, preparing to participate, dedication of the ritual, several rounds of readings, time for participant responses, and reflection on the experience.
Instructor: Randy Morris, Ph.D. Credits: 3-4 Quarter: Fall 2007
Time: Wednesdays, 7-9:30pm (Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24: Nov. 7, 14, 28; Dec. 5) Plus: Saturday, Oct. 13th from 10-5 (Pachamama Alliance Workshop) Thursday, Oct. 25th, 7-9:30pm (Richard Tarnas Lecture: At the Threshold of a New Worldview) Friday, Oct. 26th, 10-2pm (AUS discussion “The Mission of the University in the Time of the Great Turning” with Richard Tarnas and Ormond Smythe)Sunday, Nov. 18th from 10-5 (Great Turning Northwest workshop) Saturday, Dec. 8th from 3-9pm (Community Fair)
COURSE INTENTION: The Great Turning refers to this historical moment in which we live, as our civilization moves from an industrial growth society to a sustainable earth community. Students examine the basic premises of the Great Turning, from holding actions in defense of earth, to new alternatives, to the philosophical and spiritual resources needed for this transformation. We will engage in two full day workshops facilitated by groups who are consciously participating in the work of the Great Turning -- the Pachamama Alliance and Great Turning Northwest.
Sea Change Radio Co-Hosts Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon speak with eco-philosopher Joanna Macy about The Great Turning, a concept she helped coin and define. Macy calls The Great Turning “the essential adventure of our time: the shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization.” This is the second in a series of shows on The Great Turning — check out the first show in the series — a conversation with David Korten.
