I believe that the most important priority of our day is to articulate a future for our planet that...

I believe that the most important priority of our day is to articulate a future for our planet that honors humanity. Nearly eighty years ago, John Maynard Keynes predicted that we would solve the economic problem within the next century. While it may currently appear that Keynes was being overly optimistic, many of the economic measures regarding efficiency and productivity that he based his prediction upon are coming true. We could work less but we choose to spend nearly all of our gains in efficiency on consuming new goods and services rather than “buying” more time off. Keynes also believed that once we solved the economic problem, a new issue will emerge: “Thus, for the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem – how to use his freedom from pressing economic cares… to live wisely and agreeably and well.”

It is my belief that the particular elements of Keynes’ prediction are accurate; he just got the order of events messed up. In other words, we’re going to resist solving the economic problem until we create something more appealing to do with our time and wealth. This need was recently highlighted by Michael Schellenberger and Ted Nordhaus in their new book, Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility when they say, “A new politics should inspire Americans to grapple with certain existential questions: What kind of a country do we want? How can we achieve it?” Shellenberger’s and Nordhaus’s Apollo Alliance (see: http://www.apolloalliance.org/) is a good place to begin but ultimately, we need an underlying vision that ties many of the liberal issues into a cohesive whole.

Living in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula does not provide many opportunities to discuss these issues on a daily basis. Thus, I’m turning to the Web to meet others who are interested in discussing and exploring this issue. If that sounds like you, please add me as an ally and send me a message.
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