{"id":2739,"date":"2019-11-30T20:50:47","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T19:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/?p=2739"},"modified":"2019-12-10T01:05:36","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T00:05:36","slug":"common-not-economic-man-chapter-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/?p=2739","title":{"rendered":"Common, not economic, Man: Chapter one a place of governance."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following is an excerpt from a coming book \u201cCommon man\u201d which is a novel about a journalist who sets out to come up with an alternative form of world governance. The novel is a product of imagestreaming, a technique of invention and creativity developed in the 80s by Dr. Win Wenger. For more information about imagestreaming, and about other imagestreamed novels<\/a> and stories, visit this link<\/a>. If you\u2019d like to be kept up to date as new chapters get published, sign up using the form in the right-hand column.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They say\nall journeys start with the first step. Mine didn\u2019t; it started with some kind\nof rearrangement of atoms in my intuition. It felt like turbulence swirling in\nthe mixing bowl of my gut feeling; mind, matter and soul, that came to rest in\na deep urge to explore a new form of governance of global issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

It hit me\nthat we are at a stage where humanity has reached domination of the planet,  degrading the very resources \u2013 some call it\nreal capital  – that humanity shares with\nits forefathers, its present and with future generations. This natural capital includes\nthe seas, the air, the climate, minerals, fossil fuels and living layer of\necosystems and a lot of other stuff I hadn\u2019t worked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Populations\nare growing and exerting ever more pressure on the Earth \u2013 with growing hunger,\nand not even what we call \u201dbusiness\u201d is thriving on what is left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was\npretty sure the remedy had something to do with the commons. The commons are\nthat which is common to all people living on the earth. It needs the\nstewardship and wisdom of everyone so they thrive and when they thrives they\nprovide. The commons provide us with what we need to live. I just didn\u2019t want\nto find this system I wanted to understand how we as people on the planet can\ngovern and steward the commons \u2013 instead of capitulating and handing it over to\nstate or business interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is mad\nbecause who am I to take on such a task? On the other hand, is there anyone who\ncares? I saw it this way: if I am the one troubled by it, I am the one called\nto do something about it. So I might as well do it.  Anyway, I didn\u2019t want to mess about. I wanted\nanswers straight away, so I chose imagestreaming. This is an almost-instant\ntechnique where you just visit a place that has solved the problem \u2013 with a\nvoice recorder on and describing it in as much detail as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImpossible\u201d\nmany might say, but hear me out. Imagestreaming has produced results before. It\nis a method invented by a professor who asked a very simple questions: when geniuses\nwere being geniuses, what were they doing? Can anyone do what they did? The\nresults of his research became the techniques of Imagestreaming. More on that\nlater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk\nabout the first step. The first step on this long journey is to frame the task\nand one of the most difficult steps to accomplish. It\u2019s difficult because you\nget what you ask for and sometimes details in the way you ask can give\ncompletely different results. For me to be completely clear with you the reader\nyou need to know what I asked and the only way for me to know that myself is to\nlisten to what I said into the recorder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things that are global and the common concern of everyone include the air, the water cycle, knowledge of how to look after the commons and to live and thrive off it, safety, and maybe the endowment of precious materials. I am not sure about what the appropriate scope of the global commons is, and I hope my journeys will provide some of the answers.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I request to visit a place where governments are dealing effectively with global issues concerning things that are global commons, together.  I understand the common issues are the ones concerned with things that the Earth has endowed on us and humanity shares and all have use of \u2013 like the air, water, seas, climate soil, minerals but also knowledge and soft things like mathematics. I want this place to accept nations\u2019 sovereignty \u2013 and to be effective, transparent and fair. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I want to see  protection against abuse of power and I want to see accountability. I\u2019d like to go to a place that has successfully introduced way of handling global governance and it is up and working.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Going places \u2013 going on that journey – is remarkably simple. You just close your eyes, start describing aloud what you see in your mind\u2019s eye and continue to describe the hell out of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I found\nmyself in a giant terminal like an airport but not really an airport. And I was\nmuttering under my breath \u201cfederative, federation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I walked\nthough to a kind of waiting area and was attracted to a large mahogany bench. I\nsat down and noticed a brass plaque on it, something to do with commemorating\nthe Swedish city of Malmoe as a city of sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind me\nwere rubber plants growing lushly in a planter. A calm and quiet place to sit\nit was, but not for long. A man turned up who I can only describe as the\nfacilitator. He was wearing a dark, formal business suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd here\nyou are talking to plants,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I smile. \u201cHi!\nI\u2019m glad to see you too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfacilitor is a man I had met on earlier imagestreams, but there was something\ndifferent about him. The formal attire was unusual and so was the leather\nbriefcase he was carrying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019d\nbetter get changed,\u201d he said eyeing my jeans and casual jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday you\nneed to look the part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He took me\ninto the shopping area and sat me down in the barber\u2019s shop. I got a nice,\nrelaxing shave while the facilitator went and got me leather briefcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then\ntook me to buy a suit and tie. All the time I was going along with it but my\nmind was trying to analyse what I was being taught. Are clothes really that\nimportant to global cooperation around the commons?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome,\u201d he\nsaid, and we walked though the terminal, out of sliding glass doors onto\ntarmac. A private jet was waiting for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My thoughts\nraced. Global cooperation dressed up in all the attire of a global corporation\n\u2013 jets, the clothes, the paperwork. However, I have learnt not to doubt the\npower of the stream but to rather accept what is going on even if it goes\nagainst my personal idea of what things should look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never, or\nrarely, see words straight in imagestreams. This was no exception as I strained\nto read the words on the side of the plane. Federative<\/em>, I think, it\nsaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On board I\nsunk into a luxurious, plush leather seat and felt like a king when a young and\nvery attractive cabin stewardess came up to ask if I needed anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I smiled\nand thanked her, but I honestly felt like I had everything I needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I glanced\nat the facilitator sitting opposite as the plane took off and climbed rapidly\nabove the clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a\nwhile \u2013 hard to say in imagestream time \u2013 I saw our destination. It seemed to\nhang in space, surrounded by clouds and mountains. Balloons were suspended\naround it \u2013 the facilitator read my thoughts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe\nballoons are part of the safety arrangements. Security is very high here\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we came\nin to land, I was reminded of Switzerland, a secluded spot, surrounded by\nmountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to\nremind you that what you are seeing is a privilege. This place represents the\nedge of human development and understanding. You are here because you put the\nspecific question. The privilege comes with responsibilities to do your best to\nlearn from the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out on the\ntarmac I get the feeling of humans from another place \u2013 almost like aliens \u2013\nother kinds of beings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should\ngo,\u201d the facilitator ushered me along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A car was\nwaiting, stately, luxurious but old like something out of India or Russia. A\nlarge man got out to great me. We got in the car, me in the back seat with the\nfacilitator and he in the front next to the driver. He turned and smiled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs this\nyour first time here?\u201d \u201cIs this your first time thinking about the commons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I told him\nI had met the idea from the Nobel prize winner Elinor Ostrom and tried a few\nthings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\narrived at the building I saw it was circular.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought \u201cKazakhstan.\nIs that a real place? \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was\nanyway in a remote place, high up above some plains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We turned\ninto a long driveway flanked by flags of every nation and a few flags with\n\u201cFederative\u201d or something like that written on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pondered\nwhat I knew about federative, federativity, federativeness\u2026. Nothing actually,  I had to admit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfacilitator turned to the man who greeted us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\nsee why I came with him here, he needs our help!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our host\nsmiled; \u201cI am sure he can do fine on his own, but at the same time I know he is\ngrateful for your help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m\nMustapha by the way, call me Mustapha.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The car\nstopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere we\nare, we walk from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nbuilding was magnificent – and well-guarded. Wide marble steps led up to the\nmain entrance, blocked to us by a check-point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nmagnificence of the building seemed to signal dignity and the dignity of the\ntask undertaken there.  Strong\nfoundations, attention to soundness and quality, the ability to withstand\nforces of nature yet welcoming. The building reflected good principles of\norganisational design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three\nof us walked up the marble steps, through another American-feeling security\ncheck into an circular atrium. In the middle of the wooden parquet floor stood\na statue of Ghandi. Beyond that I got a glimpse of a circular meeting room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustapha gave me the quick tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere 296\ncountries meet and thrash things out at federative level\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe host\ncountry is responsible for the place itself and it is well defended \u2013 and\ndesigned so that people can feel safe while they are here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever\ndisputes are going on, the place provides a solemnness of task encouraging\npeople to put their feelings of fear, anger etc., aside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone\nworking here pledges to take onboard the seriousness of the task.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFinal\ndetails are worked out in the room, but they are mostly more of a formality.\nStill it\u2019s important that everyone can see it happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I strained\nto peek into the circular room. There was some voting technology there, but I\ndidn\u2019t see the details. What I did want to see was how they created a factual\nbasis for decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked around\nand saw a museum, and through the door I saw different types of weighing\nscales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMustapha,\nwould the museum help my learning  – can\nI go there?\u201d I asked him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustapha\nturned to discuss it with the facilitator. I was anxious to see how they put\ntogether the deep facts \u2013 nuts and bolts, kgs., centimetres, – the rational\nside of decision making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\nhave seen enough, then you can visit the museum,\u201d the facilitator said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was\noverwhelmed by the feeling of the importance of something beyond rationality.\nMorality. All decisions have a moral layer, on top of the facts where the moral\nlayer takes precedence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustapha\nnods, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, you\ngot it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook,\nthere is a garden here, we got the idea to put this here from healing gardens.\nHealing gardens heal conflicts. We felt we should have a garden to have serious\nconversations in. The garden helps keep people grounded. It reminds them of the\nnature we are stewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he\ncontinued explaining it sunk slowly in. Representatives who come to the place\nfeel a responsibility from their forefathers. After all, had it not been for\nthe efforts of their forefathers they would not be there. And they had a responsibility\nto the people they represented.  Their\ntask, it seemed, was anchored in history and was deeply moral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I sat in\nthe sun with Mustapha and the Facilitator I felt at ease with silence. The\ngarden and the silence helped me connect with the seriousness of purpose with\nwhich they took their task. I saw that there was a very clear moral foundation\non which the whole thing was built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw the\npresent as a kind of narrow point \u2013 almost like a pin \u2013 with the good\nintentions and inventions of our forefathers stretching out over time, but the\nones we choose to employ being a narrow selection of what was thought of and\nmanifested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A sketch of the relationship between the past, now and the future as demanding moral strength<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I also saw,\nfrom the perspective of being behind the pin, the future. The future holds many\nmore possibilities as it unfolds. The task of people in this place of decision\nand governance is to be anchored in the present, to appreciate the efforts of\nthe past, and to take deepest responsibility for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point\nof now, the small pinprick in time, represents peace as a feeling in the heart.\nPeace was the driver of our forefathers; it is the longing of future\ngenerations so to guide all decisions is this beacon of peace. The beacon of\npeace draws research to it, to gain the widest understanding possible, and also\npropels the decisions into the future. Hard to explain, but that is what I got.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked around\nthe garden. I saw a peach growing on a tree and asked if I could take it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo ahead,\nenjoy it,\u201d said Mustapha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was ripe\nso I got it and ate it with relish. The garden area was rather large. Mustapha\nexplained that it is a forest garden. It is a combination of edible trees,\nbushes and plants that requires little maintenance. They take things from the\nforest garden to serve in the restaurant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nunderstood that being in the right frame of mind was central to this place. The\ngarden of peace and regeneration helped underscore the purpose of the delegates.\nIt represents the living layer. This living layer is what sustains humanity and\nindeed life on Earth. The living layer is in our common interest. Stewarded responsibly\nit provides for our needs. Without it, human societies cannot survive, this is\nthe essence our relationship to the global commons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sensed\nthere were very few people around. I broke the silence and asked my guests how\noften the place was used.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot\nvery often.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\nexplained how the place houses a yearly rhythm of work. Because the decisions\nmade here concern all and need to be taken carefully, they each take the full\nyear and they all go through the same process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The facilitator\nteam guides the decisions through this process and it seems that the decision process\nstarts in January and decisions are taken September to December. Christmas is a\nspecial time of celebration before it all starts again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole\nplace is purposely built to accommodate this process, and there is really\nnowhere else that it can be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKeep the\nsuit,\u201d the facilitator said, smiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll need it for your next visit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is an excerpt from a coming book \u201cCommon man\u201d which is a novel about a journalist who sets out to come up with an alternative form of world governance. The novel is a product of imagestreaming, a technique of invention and creativity developed in the 80s by Dr. Win Wenger. For more information […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[76,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-common-man-book","category-envisioning"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2739"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2739"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2795,"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2739\/revisions\/2795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avbp.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}