Unintended consequences
of a magnitude and complexity exceeding our imagination will erupt from the
introduction of the Four-Hour Work Day.
 |
| John D. Liu. |
However,
those consequences and their associated complexities will be insignificant and
minuscule compared to troubles that await us we do something to counter and
adapt to the absolutely unimaginable differences that will descend upon us
because of human induced changes to the world’s climate.
The “business
as usual” paradigm is a human response to all-encompassing capitalistic system that
has swept all before it, including, as is now becoming obvious, the welfare of
a host: the earth.
Considered
free of emotional baggage, the human race is parasitic and any understanding of
species illustrates, quite clearly, that the death of the host on which the
parasite depends dies, the parasite follows soon after. Our world is not too
healthy.
Senior research
fellow International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), John D. Liu, writing
in the newsletter of Sustainable Population Australia, said nature is warning
us to stop.
“We currently
face,” he wrote, “numerous challenges, including human-induced climate change,
bio-diversity loss, large-scale deforestation, desertification, hunger,
economic crisis, economic instability, migration, armed conflict, revolution
and war”.
Commenting on
this litany of sins, the founder of the Earth Policy Institute and the author
of “Plan B 4.0”, Lester R. Brown, said: “We must go beyond lifestyle
changes and change the system, or civilization will end”.
 |
| Lester R. Brown and his book "Plan B 4.0". |
The switch to a Four-Hour Work Day is little more
than the leading edge of the fundamental changes we must make to our economic
structures if we are to adapt in any way, at all, to the inevitable changes
that will soon descend up us.
The change is possible, but to do so we will need to employ
the values of compassion, co-operation and altruism that homo-sapiens exhibited
thousands of years ago as the migrated to every corner of the earth.
Can we do it? I believe we can, but it is going to force us
to excavate a style of courage and commitment foreign to human behaviour.
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