The Book of the Ideal
I have neither the time nor the focus to write it. Maybe you do . . .
The first half of an introductory chapter I would consist of an analysis of where we’ve been, why, and what’s been problematic about it.
Inflection points:
. emergence of homo sapiens 350,000 years ago
. cultural Great Leap Forward 50,000 years ago
. Neolithic Revolution 10,000 years ago
. transition to the New Ways (characterized by statism, developmentalism, wealth accumulation, empire building, private property, patriarchy, habitat destruction) 5,000 years ago
. advent of industrialism 300 years ago
The second half of introductory chapter I would explain where we need to go and how to get there. It would acknowledge that the historical period we’re in now (circa ?? 1900 to 2100 ??) will be viewed as the Great Turning Point. It would recognize that going where we need to go will take a long time and can only be done incrementally. If it’s a journey of a thousand steps and the best that can be expected might be the progression of perhaps five steps per generation, then the journey will take about 200 generations (about 5,000 years).
Introductory chapter II would list the specific things that need to be accomplished over those 5,000 years. Things like: living more lightly regarding standards of material production and consumption; population decrease; travel decrease; decentralization; economic regionalization; downscaling re: sizes of sovereignties, governments, institutions, technologies; general (not total) deconstruction of industrialism; devolution of power; demilitarization; trends toward communitarianism and egalitarianism; re-localization; stabilization; bioregional fostering of cultural diversity and identity with place.
The rest of the book could devote two pages to each of the 200 prospective generations. So, then, the length of the book would be those 400 pages plus about 20 introductory pages. [That’s only 420 pages. I can’t do it, but surely one of you out there could do it.] The two pages for each generation would accomplish this: Among the ten or so overarching Things That Need To Be Done (in a nutshell: simplification, decentralization, regionalization, downscaling, devolution, deconstruction, demilitarization, democratization, localization, stabilization) lay out what we figure to see in terms of how much of humanity has embraced how much of each green desideratum.
Generation 1 could be the one that launched Earth Day. So, roughly, Generation 1 dates to the third quarter of the 20th century; Generation 2 dates to the fourth quarter of the 20th century; Generation 3 dates to the first quarter of the 21st century; etc. — which is totally arbitrary, it’s just a convenient way to divide the periods we want to examine into 25-year (generational) segments.
The first two-page chapterette could explicate how during Generation 1 solar energy was introduced. Green parties were founded. Some civil rights legislation was passed in the belly of the beast. The first ecovillages were established. Local currencies were introduced.
The second two-page chapterette could explicate how during Generation 2 one of the statist goliaths (the Soviet Union) decomposed, a step toward devolution. The implementation of solar energy reached 1%. Green parties were supported by 1.4% of the worldwide electorate. Ecovillages were populated by 0.0000007% of humanity. Local currencies were embraced by 0.00000005%. The Transition Towns movement was initiated.
The third two-page chapterette could explicate how during Generation 3 electric vehicles started to replace gasoline-burning vehicles and achieved a 2% market penetration. The implementation of solar energy reached 2.5%. Green parties were supported by 3.1%. Gay marriage was allowed in 17 countries. Ecovillages were populated by 0.00009% of humanity. Local currencies were embraced by 0.00000006% (but the hegemony of the almight dollar, a manifestation of globalization, started to erode). There were 62 active municipal projects in the Transition network. Population numbers started declining in countries A, B, and C. Carbon emissions leveled off in countries X, Y, and Z.
After Generation 3, the current one, it’s all projecting forward (though the book is written as a retrospective, as if someone is reading in the year 6950). Like:
The fourth two-page chapterette could explicate how during Generation 4 electric vehicles achieved a 22% market penetration. The implementation of solar energy reached 28%. Green parties were supported by 12%. The dismantling of nuclear weapons began in earnest. Widespread establishment of sharing networks, permaculture groups, mutual aid collectives, and the growth of alternative media resources was observed. Ecovillages were populated by 0.96% of humanity. Local currencies were embraced by 0.01%. There were 368 active municipal projects in the Transition network. Carbon emissions leveled off in 20% of all countries.
The fifth two-page chapterette could explicate how during Generation 5 gasoline-powered vehicles were no longer manufactured or sold. The implementation of solar energy reached 55%. Green parties were supported by 21% of the worldwide electorate. Ecovillages were populated by 6% of humanity. Local currencies were embraced by 2% and the Euro was abandoned. Greece, Italy, and Spain exited the EU. Cascadia seceded from Canada. Over 1% of economic enterprises had been transformed into worker-directed cooperatives. There were 2,368 active municipal projects in the Transition network. First intimations noted of the breakdown of the internet. The overall human population level and industrial manufacturing capacity and numbers of anthropogenic-induced species extinctions started to plateau. Carbon emissions were declining in 35% of all countries.
Etc. You get the point. So altogether it’s a chronicle of 200 generations starting in 1950. There are achievements in each generation. There is retrogression, of course. But the Book of the Ideal focuses on the achievements. They are not so many as to fill more than two pages of description for each generation. But after 200 chapterettes delineating incremental progress toward the greening of society we could conceivably arrive at the bioregional Green Horizon by the end of the Seventh Millennium.
Couldn’t we?
