Because of my consulting with the Institute for New Economic Thinking my focus is on economics and politics. My key interest with INET is how to bring the fruits of the humanities more into economic thinking. We need to think about how to make the transition between where we are and the better world, and it can’t be done without a better understanding of people. The withdrawal of the middle class from the revolution of 1848 for example. A better understanding of economics and politics is crucial for GardenWorld Politics, and a better understanding of economics requires a much richer conception of human nature. Not just the ornaments on the economic tree, but rethinking the architecture of the tree itself. Bucky Fuller said “we have the world and six billion people. Putting them together is just a design problem.” So lets also study design.
What has my attention right now is the degree to which we are on the wrong track. A cartoon in the New Yorker many years ago had the lemmings rushing to the cliff to the sea. One said to his neighbor, “Anyone think of going to the mountains this year?” Everyone wants to be creative and play a part. If they don’t say it or know it, it is because they have been hurt badly by current circumstances. Rethinking integrating humans with the land we live on, with the cities and the grass and trees and the myriad creatures, is really a great opportunity. Think responsibility for landscapes and children and adults who are pleased with life.