The Great Turning – A revolution is underway

by Maureen Jack-LaCroix

The Great Turning is the name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from a society based on industrial growth 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 we can meet our needs without destroying our world. We have the technical knowledge, 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 liveable world for them, will look back at this epochal transition we are making now to a life-sustaining society. They may well call this the time of The Great Turning.

It is happening now and whether or not it is recognized by corporate-controlled media, it is a reality. Although we can’t yet know if it will take hold in time for humans and other complex life forms to survive, we do know 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.

On April 30, upwards of 40 community leaders and change agents are speaking with hundreds of activated citizens in Vancouver. It’s a gathering of evolutionaries committed to creating a future they can believe in. There are three dimensions of The Great Turning: action, innovation and consciousness. Speakers will address specific issues within each. The Great Turning is inspired by the wisdom of eco-philosopher Joanna Macy, a general systems theorist, scholar of Buddhism, teacher of deep ecology and long-time activist in the movements for peace, justice and ecology.

Actions to halt damage to Earth and slow down the waste of our precious resources

Perhaps the most visible dimension of The Great Turning, these activities include all the political and legal work required to reduce the destruction, as well as direct actions: public rallies, boycotts and other forms of refusal. Work of this kind buys time. It saves ecosystems, species, cultures and some of the gene pool for the sustainable society to come. But on its own, it is insufficient to bring that society about.

Innovation – analysis of structural causes and the creation of alternatives

The second dimension of The Great Turning is equally crucial. To free ourselves and our planet from the damage inflicted by the industrial growth society, we must understand its dynamics. What are the tacit agreements that create obscene wealth for a few while progressively impoverishing the rest of humanity? What are the interlocking causes that indenture us to an insatiable economy that uses our Earth as a supply house and sewer? It is not a pretty picture and it takes courage and confidence in our own common sense to look at it with realism, but we are demystifying the workings of the global economy. We can then see its fragility, how dependent it is on our obedience and how we can withdraw our support.

Speakers at The Great Turning are offering creative structural alternatives. Like green shoots pushing up through the rubble, new social and economic arrangements are sprouting. Not waiting for our national or provincial politicos to catch up with us, we are banding together and taking action in our own community. Flowing from our creativity and collaboration on behalf of life, these actions may look marginal, but they hold the seeds for the future.

Shift in consciousness

These structural alternatives cannot take root and survive without deeply ingrained values to sustain them. They must mirror what we want and how we relate to Earth and each other. They require a profound shift in our perception of reality and that shift is happening now, both as cognitive revolution and spiritual awakening.

The insights and experiences that enable us to make this shift are accelerating and they take many forms. The realizations we make in the third dimension of The Great Turning save us from succumbing to either panic or paralysis. They help us resist the temptation to stick our heads in the sand or to turn on each other as scapegoats upon whom we can vent our fear and rage.

The Great Turning is a profound call to awaken and arise, to bring our lives into alignment with our values and to be aware and purposeful with every choice we make. May we choose well.

Maureen Jack-LaCroix is the founding director of Be the Change Earth Alliance and producer of The Great Turning: an Unconference to Be the Change, Saturday, April 30, Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St., Vancouver. Order tickets at www.bethechangeearthalliance.org or call 604-269-9874.

illustration © Solarseven

 

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