The Blueprint: Averting Global Collapse book

[Daniel Rirdan]

Hello all,

I am the author of The Blueprint: Averting Global Collapse.
I have read some of the comments in this chain...
I hear you, people. I know my history as much as anyone. And I am jaded with the civilization we have put together as much as anyone. Looking back at the past 45,000 years--there is precious little to be proud of.

There is a possible array of sweeping measures that holds the potential--but not the promise--to steer us away from the brink of ecological collapse. However, there is nothing simple or easy about any of them. It requires the transformation of our economic and political setup. It requires a total re-organization of our industries. It requires giving up some of our lifestyle choices. It requires us to act as the adults that we are. And there is also a way to get from our present social reality to where we need to go.

Most of my family was murdered by the Nazis, yet I still believe. I undertook the two-year writing journey of this book because when it is all said and done I still believe in the human spirit--in the face of a crisis when shown a possibility, a half chance for success, people will rise, people will choose the morally-courageous course of action. No, not everyone. But there is no need for everyone; an inspired, determined minority can affect the needed change.

Daniel Rirdan

[SeaGypsy]

Hi Daniel and welcome!

I don't think anyone doubts your sincerity.

How would you address the power anomaly pointed to, particularly by Agent? Isn't he correct that those in power are the primary decision makers and they are not about to do anything which involves relinquishment? Is it not true that most of our abysmal lives are absorbed into a meaningless status drive/ therefore the aspirational (the real drivers of economic activity) must in fact be led into 'doing the right thing'? Too much carrot and you engender a welfare mentality, too much stick creates crime and ultimately terrorism. The driver is, in other words, not driving. The thing is on autopilot. The pilots are knocking themselves out in first class. They aren't going to read your book before the plane runs out of fuel. By which time it's way too late. Government is for corporations and over time becoming by corporations. Corporations operate for shareholder profits, not the betterment of humanity or the planet, at least not for long. It's a nasty, heartless and consumerist little vortex, which is having it's way with us.

(please don't take those of us poking at your ideas too personally. Likely we would be in consensus here that it is a good thing to write such material and to take the subjects seriously, that you have our respect for such an endeavor. We have dissective intellectual tendencies here (welcome to your post-mortem), but if you can share with us, we can all learn more than not.)

[Daniel Rirdan]

thank you SeaGypsy for your gracious response.
No, I take none of it personally...I do appreciate you inquiring about it, though.
You are right, of course--about first class passengers and all.
The money mechanism as is currently set up is the nastiest arrangement in history. This setup offers the fastest way to suck dry the natural environment. And then there are the governments.
Our governments are incapable of handling the planetary crisis. Bailouts and running a national vaccination program are about their speed. They are too pedestrian or otherwise acting as water carriers for various powerful interest groups. At the end of the day, the heads of state are glorified public relations people. None of them possesses the breadth of vision to see what needs to be done—or the balls to back it up.
Our world is made up of about two hundred squabbling, gun-toting administrative regions, each looking out for and holding fast onto its respective territories. In turn, each of these turfs is mired by the pull and tug of myriad interest groups. The political arena of our world is more of a Middle Eastern bazaar with armed militia patrolling the alleyways than a Zion Council of elders in the movie The Matrix.
There is no solution from within the existing political and first-class-passengers setup. None. We all sense that to one degree or another; yet, we still lingering about, hoping, voting for the next president, and the shows goes on--to the bitter end, it seems.
I am unsure how to address your most legitimate concerns—short of going on for pages after pages, laying it all out. Stating in brief the bottom line will evoke more questions and concerns than it would resolve. Forgive me then if I will only say that much:
Irrespective of how difficult the road may be, the only way I see of anything getting done is largely bypassing the existing power structure and instituting a new economic and political setup. I know all too well that most of us perceive only one continuum—socialism and capitalism. Thus everything I say is surely falls within this continuum. The catch is that everyone knows that capitalism stinks except that socialism has proven to stink even more. I ask you to allow the possibility of a setup that is outside this continuum.

Daniel Rirdan

[SeaGypsy]

Which is pretty much the same conclusion most of us here reach sooner or later, except that the scale is micro non macro.
If I were to write such a treatise, it would be my 'Dear John' letter to 'this continuum'. (We write Dear John letters, knowing they will be ignored or shelved for another era in John's life. If he was capable of changing his ways, we wouldn't need a counselor. We write them out of compassion for John and self justification. So we can walk away with a clear conscience. A mature response to leaving a relationship which has past it's usefulness.)

[Plantagenet]

I know all too well that most of us perceive only one continuum—socialism and capitalism. Thus everything I say is surely falls within this continuum. The catch is that everyone knows that capitalism stinks except that socialism has proven to stink even more. I ask you to allow the possibility of a setup that is outside this continuum.

Hi Daniel: Welcome and thanks for posting here to discuss your ideas. You conclude your post by saying "everyone knows that capitalism stinks except that socialism has proven to stink even more. I ask you to allow the possibility of a setup that is outside this continuum."

Well said. But what setup do you envision that exists that is outside this continuum----what are you are hinting at?....

[Daniel Rirdan]

ok.
see for yourself--I have produced a video presenting an abridged version of the social array of measures I propose in my book. https://vimeo.com/43872588 . The discussion about a new economic and later political setup begins at 17:31 in that part of the video (in all there are 5 parts; this one deals with social issues-political-economic issues)).

Daniel Rirdan

[Daniel Rirdan]

p.s.
I just realized that I can reduce the economy I propose to a sound bite. So for all it's worth here it is: I advocate a system that I term an open-source economy.

Just don't read too much into this catchphrase; there is a lot more to it than a Wikipedia-type setup.

Daniel Rirdan

[SeaGypsy]

Open source economy meaning?/ phase out of Intellectual Property rights? (aka China style).
You are aware of both sides of this debate? That IP drives innovation, that getting rid of it would remove the profit motive and result in a death of innovation. Whilst to some extent debatable, there has to be some serious truth to this concept.

[Ferretlover]

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