How the Evolutionary Catalyst movement blossomed
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ce upon a time, perhaps starting yesterday, a new transformational social change movement evolved and blossomed. At its core was the League of Evolutionary Catalysts.
Our aim was unabashedly magnificent: to shift our collective understanding and aspiration so profoundly that we committed to doing everything required to pull out of our ecological nosedive, and indeed evolve a compassionate life-affirming culture.
We understood that societies have goals that the society as a whole tends to maximize. We thought that the meme a life-affirming culture was a useful contrast to economic growth as a defining goal for our time.
The first seeds were sown by a few of us who embraced a vision of shifting public consciousness. Innovative communication tools were developed.
Specifically, Escalating Disasters brought home to people the horrific reality of current ecological trends. It was a set of images that illustrated species loss, industrial toxins in the food chain, falling freshwater tables and the like – along with climate change, of course.
Many people were already aware of some of these things. So the point wasn’t just to inform people; it was to have them feel that we are in an ecological emergency. A ‘holy sh*t this is real’ moment!
This provided reasons for profound change, no matter how stressful.
Kitchen Table Conversations enabled people to grasp the big picture changes necessary to stop making things worse, with devotion to economic growth being a major one.
We used labels on beer coasters to help people keep track of conversations connecting advertising, international trade agreements and elite power structures as major drivers of ecological destruction. Of course population and economic growth were brought in, along with ignorance: folks not grasping the consequences the system we are all part of.
The idea was that since the mass media does not a support sensible conversations about these things, and messages often bounce off people’s preestablished ideas, perhaps setting aside time for thoughtful conversations would be a way to make people’s thinking more comprehensive and realistic. The conversations were initiated by an invitation to friends and business colleagues – perhaps an invitation to have coffee and talk about something serious. We called people who did this ‘citizen-educators’… and of course we ourselves were citizen-educators.
As time went on, people introduced additional techniques for helping people see the need for transformative change.
From the beginning we understood that no one group could significantly affect public thinking on its own; it would take the alignment of many of the millions of groups that are already established. So we worked on this.
We reached out to leaders of established groups, and urged them to urger their members to act as citizen educators. Members could become leaders in their own right by conducting well-structured conversations with friends and business colleagues. Folks didn’t need Ph.D. level understanding; the communication tools themselves made conducting the conversations straightforward.
Regretfully, this was not well received at first. Not invented here; organizational ego; leaders wanting to be prestigious fonts of knowledge’; we do our own thing; even some saying that their members are too dumb. But with perseverance a few organizations broke the ice, and they became magnets for many people who cared.
Of course, the conversations, though critical, weren’t the whole story. It was also important to engage public intellectuals and thought leaders, academic departments, and sustainability businesses.
So the idea of communicating to accelerate healthy cultural evolution caught on, partly because the escalating disasters (not the communication tool, but reality) induced people to question status quo thinking. Folks became open to new ideas.
When it did catch on, folks came up with many creative innovations.
Some businesses posted signs and short videos describing how their business contributes to the evolution of a life-affirming culture. In part this was a marketing idea – getting the meme a life-affirming culture seen in many places. But it was also educational, and demonstrated the business’s commitment to positive human values.
Some of the first to do this were outdoor clothing companies. Their managers already cared deeply, as did most of their customers.
Managers of medical clinics were surprised at the response from their patients. People expressed relief and appreciation that concerns they had felt – and sometimes knew a great deal about – were being brought into the public arena. They also loved the positive goal!
Of course there was pushback. People championing a compassionate life-affirming culture were denigrated as ‘communistes’ and ‘socialists’. But this was not particularly harmful. The overwhelming majority people recognized that we were talking about reality and a positive goal, and that ideology, whether left or right, had nothing to do with it. Despite the massive amounts of money pitted against us, we catalyzed a movement that developed the clout that led to high taxes for the rich, limits on campaign spending, and greatly reduced military expenditure… as well widespread acceptance of the need to live materially modest lifestyles.
Of course, some of us had doubts. The power of vested interests and the momentum of the current system were obvious. But we cared – deeply. So we persevered. Occasionally we joked: Are we a league of Evolutionary Catalysts… or a league of passionate fools?
As I said, the movement caught on. The way it caught on was unpredictable, and today nobody fully understands it. But it was pushed by ‘Evolutionary Catalysts’ offering webinars and trainings, as well as personal ‘outreach conversations’ to leaders and potential colleagues. And many members of established groups became keen about talking with friends and business colleagues – they saw this as a constructive way forward.
There were a multitude of conversations, along with blog posts and articles. Behind-the-scenes, influential people talked to other influential people. And through this, public attitudes changed dramatically.
The journey for those of us who were committed to championing the vision of evolving a compassionate life-affirming culture was definitely a learning curve. We quieted our impulse to preach, and got better at asking questions that stretched people’s thinking. However, we did shift into presentation mode when it was time to take people beyond their current level of thinking.
In the early days it was clearly an uphill battle. Gradually the language and understanding of evolving a life-affirming culture seeped into mainstream thinking. At the same time, climate mayhem increased. And then suddenly – something clicked.
People across the board suddenly accepted the horrifying reality that collectively we have been doing ourselves in, and that our ‘leaders’ have been making things worse. People survival instinct kicked in. People recognized that economic growth was no longer feasible, and that our proper goal was to reduce human impact so much that humanity operated with the Earth’s capacity to support us. Climate change was not the only issue; collectively we committed to rapidly reducing our global ecological footprint. Governments were tasked with working out how to deal with the economics of degrowth.
A passion for change based on caring and ecological survival arose everywhere.
This released enormous creativity. Countries around the world invested in massive land regeneration strategies that, taken together, restored the Earth’s natural air conditioning system. Factory farming reduced dramatically, reducing our impact on the natural world. Most people were surprised by the quick results global regeneration produced, although scientists had predicted it.
And oh yes – military expenditures were vastly reduced, and sane politicians began to collaborate for the common good. This freed up significant sums for regeneration and taking care of people, even as the global economy slowed.
On the home front, people invested in aesthetic, durable goods, and there was a massive push retrofitting buildings to reduce heating and cooling costs. A multitude of alternative technology ideas came to the fore. Neighborhood groups set up sharing platforms and local events to connect.
The term ‘compassion’ resonated with many people. Combined with our ecological emergency this sparked a major shift from STEM education to inner development. It became clear that complex technology was not going to solve our ecological problems, and that collectively we needed to become the kind of people who can create and enjoy a compassionate life-affirming culture.
Municipalities offered volunteer coaching to new parents to bring out more of their compassionate side than their punitive side; this led to significant reductions in childhood trauma. Some countries offered stipends to women of childbearing age: for each year they delayed having their first child they received a small financial reward. Of course, the very existence of such a stipend – which was publicized – induced many teenage girls to think seriously about the consequences of motherhood.
At a psychological level, public health services offered courses introducing people to techniques to resolve their own emotional triggers. Many faith communities did likewise.
The outcome was that after a few years the general public was far more emotionally balanced than before. People had more access to their innate compassion and indeed, to their common sense. This, in turn, gave sensible politicians and business leaders much more scope for following through with ecologically and socially responsible policies. It was no longer a matter of just maximizing profit.
Did it all end up well? Not for the species who were eliminated. Not for Third World children who died of malnutrition along the way, or for the malnourished overweight citizens of affluent countries who had industrial toxins in their bloodstream.
But ultimately it did lead to a world that works for all for coming generations.
This is the vision. Let’s make it happen!
Andrew Gaines
Inspiring Transition
andrew.gaines@InspiringTransition.net
www.InspiringTransition.net
The challenge of our time is to evolve a compassionate ecologically sustainable society!