The defining idea of the next decade is "enough." "Enough" is a judgment, not a simple black-and-white issue. "Enough" is a concept aptly described by the 18th-century poet James Thomson as "an elegant sufficiency."
The day of "enough" is coming. "Enough" is part of a reaction against the overwhelming greed, violence, dishonesty, and petty meanness of the last decades. I believe that people in America, perhaps in all of Western culture, are tired of the adversarial system of law, government, and behavior that has held sway for so long. "Enough" is revulsion at cheap shots and oh-so-predictable scandals involving individuals in positions of trust. "Enough" is a renouncement of the notion that life is a zero-sum game, that if you win, I lose. Riches, domination of others, and winning at all costs are more likely to stir self-disgust than contentment.
I see portents of a future in which "enough" rules in the blossoming of the buy-local movement, as well as deeper community involvement in local schools, the preservation of wild habitats and green spaces, and the building of not-so-big houses. All of these efforts speak to the inherent rightness of the human and not the imperial scale.
This change in attitude matters tremendously. As a paleoanthropologist, I am used to taking a long—a very long—perspective on human nature and human needs. We evolved in a local habitat, in families and small groups, and in villages. We know how to work at the local level, how to participate in a community, and how to build consensus rather than enmity (though perhaps a few of us need refresher courses). At one time, those personal and familial ties were used to rally "us" against the foreign barbarian. But it has never served humankind well to define anyone as the foreign barbarian, and we must abandon this outlook in the interests of fostering a global interdependency that will give "enough" to many more than enjoy it now.
The challenge of the next decade is to enlarge our minds and expand our souls, to be more mindful of the common needs of all humans and all creatures. Humans are the ultimate invasive species with an appalling record of exploitation and destruction. We cannot yearn for more and more and more in a rising spiral of ruthless acquisition and expect to succeed. Our contentment and perhaps a good measure of wisdom will lie in recognizing "enough" and seeking satisfaction in the common good.
Comments
1. gplm2000 - August 30, 2010 at 10:10 am
Surely you jest: "Humans are the ultimate invasive species with an appalling record of exploitation and destruction. We cannot yearn for more and more and more in a rising spiral of ruthless acquisition and expect to succeed." The very standard of living that you enjoy, aside from the computer on which you write, is the result of the competitive nature of human beings. It is a shame that you see us through a clouded prism of exploitation, destruction, ruthlessness and invasiveness. I guess we are not worth much in your opinion.
2. imichie - August 30, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Ha! Previous comment notwithstanding (you expected that, yes?) i loved the piece.
We all see the excess and we quietly demur to the 'fact' that life is or must be that way. Perhaps it's time to imagine something else.
3. telain77 - August 31, 2010 at 04:20 pm
I also loved the piece. And agree with the second comment.
4. arrive2__net - August 31, 2010 at 04:33 pm
In reading the Chronicle's decade-ideas I like to compare them. This idea seems related to the ideas of rebelling against the extinction of the middle class: http://chronicle.com/article/Extinction-of-the-Middle-Class/124155. I find it difficult to decide if these two decade-ideas are consistent or inconsistent with each other?
It seems like "overwhelming greed, violence, dishonesty, and petty meanness" is the story of human history and that the recent decades have actually been rather tame compared to WWII, the antibellum slavery system, the Civil War itself, suppression of the labor movement, etc. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how others percieve this decade-idea.
Bernard Schuster
Arrive2.net
5. johndjayakumar - September 02, 2010 at 05:17 am
I fully agree with Pat shipman. If technology has minimised labour, efforts,participation, access etc, why do we need more and more of things. It reminds of the old Scout saying "white man big foolish.Makes big fire and keeps warm by hunting for firewood to feed the fire. Indian wise, builds small fire and keeps warm by stying near the fire."
John d.Jayakumar
6. 11245928 - September 03, 2010 at 09:30 am
I see the difference between the young and the old expressed in Pat's piece. As long as the younger generation never says "enough" we will be OK, even though it leads to excess, to ineqaulity, to sometimes terrible contradicitions in the societies that we live in. Of course it is the privilege of the older generation to cry "enough", and to do our best to keep the younger generation from claiming their right to mess up our planet the way that we did. We will claim that it is to keep them from making the mistakes that we did! It is unlikely that we will succeed in this despite the fact that many of them will agree with us in certain areas of comfort and ease.
The dialectic will continue, as will the struggle, just one of a myriad of them, and we, too, shall pass, as we should, just fading away...
7. jsr4u - September 17, 2010 at 09:55 pm
Very valid point Pat, thank you. 'Enough' however is only a phase, that, like a wave, only gradually permeates our societies. I believe it is already heard here and there, but not vocal enough though. The key question then is how to ensure that the end-destination is more acceptable, and that the transition is smooth. You talk of the slow movement, but you could also refer to the permaculture perspective, the transition towns, and the different efforts to offer a systemic change such as these (http://makingsenseofthings.info/2010/09/systemic-economic-change/).
Yep, we've had enough of our societies' excesses. Let's now put our efforts further in common to move to the next phase.
jsr - www.makingsenseofthings.info