Discernible Bridges Towards Global Abundance

Global Abundance is often seen as something of a dream, offered by dreamers, and many in the audience won't buy in to the manifesto because of "lack of realism". So the critical question for all is one of building a realistic bridge in our minds, or series of bridges, between current scarcity and future abundance.

In a world driven by scarcity thinking - where DO I make my next million dollars? - many folk recognise that such craving for security often comes at a cost to others. Do I make my next million at the expense of and without regard to other families? Families who might need that money desperately to avoid poverty, to avoid the temptation of crime, to avoid the blessed but cursed release of drugs and alcohol. How can the squeezed but knowledgeable middle reassure the rich and powerful that our "captains" have enough to be secure? That "the masses" are responsible enough and really not at all threatening given at least some tools to manage their own destiny? Can we all buy into the same utopian vision? A vision that reassures the rich, and provides practical solutions to alleviate the scarcity the poor and deprived suffer from? Well, of course, we won't do this unless we try. We need somewhere to start, and the lack of that starting place is what stops many folk from even trying to start. Too many folk don't take that first step towards a solution for a variety of reasons. Scarcity is itself a vicious circle. Having to work so hard to make ends meet that there is no time to consider other options, no time to listen to others, no way to get off the hamster wheel and find a way out. Too many hold down three jobs or work 16 hour days and still don't make enough money to avoid the poverty threshold.

Visibility of options is a problem, as is complexity of choice, and efficacy of solution. Even if they can see options, folk are often not sure about what those options actually deliver. Many options are often very good at spotting the problem, but provide very little by way of workable solutions; Davos is an ineffectual case in point. Davos could surely run projects without needing to divulge who was involved in them, if anonymity is absolutely necessary. Although, wouldn't we the masses feel so much better knowing which "fat cats" are actually trying to put something back and which aren't? This will happen, and sooner would be better than later, so we know who to support and who to lobby or oppose. Peaceful protest!

So whilst we can't seek to deflect all folk into a path where some contribution is made, since some don't have any spare capacity, we know others might like a way forward. What stops us then can be the misconception that only money will solve these problems. Only by throwing money at folk, like at monkeys in a zoo, will we alleviate their problems and salve our consciences.

But of course, the tricky thing is whether those folk "know how" to spend that money, to build personal solutions that are long lasting, and broadly generative. What "know how" have we given those folk, to firstly survive then thrive? And which is more important? Money for folk to survive, or knowledge to help them grow? In our heads and hearts, we all know the answer is in fact the latter, and not the former. If we in fact provide knowledge to folk to help them stay warm, to clothe them, to feed them, to provide healthy drinking and crop water, to be healthy, to find meaningful employment, then abundance is absolutely achievable. Money and resources do matter, and especially to tackle crisis, but knowledge must underpin and be the foundation and roots of all humanitarian projects.

These are our real goals, not offering folk the false prophet of owning pot loads of money, and fancy possessions that in the end don't nourish the spirit. With material possession, it's never enough, we always seem to need more, and more, and more. Because we aren't feeding our spirit, just our bank account or lavish lifestyle. The good news is providing knowledge to folk has never been easier, with the advent of the internet and smart phones. These are now the tools of ubiquity that everyone needs to stand on an equal footing at the starting line.

But when the starting pistol fires, what happens then? We need better connectivity, as Mark Zuckerberg said early in 2017. How do we connect those in scarcity to those with precious knowledge to offer? What many with knowledge may worry about is, how well equipped are they practically to be able to advise others on suitable ways forward? How do they spend the time to provide advice across whole subjects, given the need to acquire and operate machinery and now often technology? Yet there are even answers here. The genius of the human mind to absorb information on a need to know basis is substantial. When it really matters to folk, their every instinct and sense is honed towards finding a solution, so that every snippet of knowledge offered is snapped up like a hungry wolf. And this is key. Information snippets. Those folk with knowledge can well afford to provide knowledge on a snippet basis, but often find that connecting to folk who need that snippet again seems a task beyond them.

And now we come back to the idea of bridges. If there are identifiable bridges between those with knowledge and those needing it, then folk can choose which bridge they want to cross, and choose which abundance they want to support and which scarcity they want to tackle. And they can do so in a way that is manageable, affordable and sustainable for all. As Churchill nearly said about these evolving changes: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning" ... of our war on scarcity.

Peter Jones is a member of Facebook groups Ecology of Systems Thinking and others, where small groups aim to provide actual knowledge and even expertise in Facebook snippet format. Peter keeps a sample Global Abundance Manifesto on Canva and publishes this on SlideShare, but a PDF version can be available via Facebook or Twitter.