Silicon Valley/Bay Area is not prepared for the next level of changes associated with globalization. Unless things change dramatically it will likely face similar challenges that Pittsburg, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis and other rust belt cities faced at the end of the 20th century with rapidly declining populations, diminishing tax bases and mounting social problems.
Of course you could say the same thing about America and especially given that spending on guns far outpacing spending on better. Globalization has made America into an increasingly polarized place where despite 15 plus years of pretty much continuous economic growth, low interest rates, low unemployment, low inflation, people are not secure and do not feel good about the direction America is heading. On the surface our challenges appear to pale the everyday challenges faced in a Nairobi slum, rural China or in Baghdad for basic survival. Yet some very basic components of social, economic and ecological sustainability are missing from the American mainstream way of life, making its viability look increasingly uncertain. The current neoliberal, free trade model is perpetuating socially, economically and ecologically unsustainable approaches to development that is leading to skyrocketing increases in per capita human consumption, while at the same time world urgent issues like global climate change, water shortages, skyrocketing species extinction rates and unprecedented ecosystems decline seems to indicate irettutably that we have reached the limits to growth.
In order to address these challenges, we have to create a mental space in our minds for imagining an alternative future. What might that look like and how might we realistically get there?
On July 1st 2005 a Next-Now meeting at Doug Engelbart’s house was facilitated by Bill Veltrop, who showcased his Infinite Games approach. He sought to design the session to promote a visioning way forward to help us look at various scenarios in 2020 that relate to our dreams of building a sustainable way of living for ourselves and hopefully having an impact on others as well. One of the major themes Bill put forward was that just as “Silicon Valley accelerated our global movement into the Information Age, it is possible for the Bay Area to accelerate our global movement into the Consciousness/Accountability Age.”
Key to success is in believing in what a small group of people can do when they come together and start to believe in themselves and their abilities to do great and powerful things to make the world a better place not just for themselves but for all. Bill adds that a “small but growing group of people have been experimenting within a few Bay Area groups in a process that shows potential for helping to catalyze such a movement.“ I envision BASAC as one of those groups, facilitating a better integration of human, financial and technological knowledge networks. This includes bringing the mindsets of diverse groups in the Bay Area together towards a more unified and effective practice of promoting and replicating sustainable development in the Bay Area. We have also realized that Information technologies have a key role to play in this process as an enabler of human capacity and potential.
