Starting afresh in envisioning new possibilities?

Global Challenge of the Global Challenge (Part #3)

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Much as there is a need to evoke new creativity, the tendency to "start afresh" endangers the viability of what is envisioned. There is a strong case for recognizing what proved to be less than successful in the past, especially given the tendency to disguise the extent of failure through upbeat reporting and selective forgetfulness. So many imaginative initiatives have sunk without a trace and with little effort to learn from them. Enthusiasm is evoked for the new in defiance of the above-mentioned warning of George Santayana.

One point of departure is to recognize the variety of ways in which new systemic processes tend to fail, as separately argued (Variety of System Failures Engendered by Negligent Distinctions, 2016). Another is to recognize the extent of misplaced focus on the more obvious challenges (Vigorous Application of Derivative Thinking to Derivative Problems, 2013). Paradoxically, in the spirit of this argument, both are necessarily problematic and merit being called into question. How indeed to transcend enthusiasm for thinking "positively" in contrast with the questionable focus on "negative" feedback?

A different approach is merely to recall some of the heroic attempts of the past as providing the context for any new response. How are they best considered as memorials to forms of inadequacy which need to be overcome -- or even as memorials to problems mistakenly upheld as critical by the past? Do they individually or collectively offer guidance for new imagination? Especially intriguing is why the uptake of their insights proved to be so limited.

Examples, variously involving authorities, the eminent, the wise, and activists, might include the following(partially derived from (Emergence of a Global Misleadership Council: misleading as vital to governance of the future? 2007):

• Religions (as catalysts of so much societal violence) and their various unrelated interfaith dialogue initiatives, including the Parliament of the World's Religions (List of interreligious organizations, Wikipedia)
• Gatherings of the eminent, the wise and the influential
  • "Clubs": Club of Rome, Club of Budapest, Bilderberg Group, Club of Athens Global Governance Group
  • "Councils" of the influential and the wise: Council on Foreign Relations, InterAction Council, The Elders, Trilateral Commission, Mont Pelerin Society, Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, Wisdom Keepers
• Initiatives of international authorities, including:
  • Agenda 21, Sustainable Development Goals, Millennium Development Goals,
  • United Nations University, UN Global Compact
• Awards and prizes for humanitarianism, international relations, and service, notably including:
  • Charlemagne Prize, Gandhi Peace Prize, Grassroot Diplomat Initiative Award, International Peace Prize, Nobel Peace Prize, Right Livelihood Award, Sakharov Prize, Templeton Prize, U Thant Peace Award, Hutter Prize (Prize for Compressing Human Knowledge)
• Integrative secular initiatives:
  • Universities: Singularity University (Global Grand Challenges), Gaia University, University for Peace, Transcend Peace University
  • Conference series: World Economic Forum, World Social Forum, Tällberg Forum, State of the World Forum, World Strategic Forum, European Forum Alpbach
  • Futures research: The Millennium Project, World Futures Studies Federation, World Future Council
  • Systemic preoccupations: International Society for the Systems Sciences, Integral Movement, Edge Foundation (World Question Center)
• Secret and semi-secret societies: Opus Dei, Freemasonry
• Enabling environments (as distinct from universities):
  • think tanks, incubators, EU centres of excellence
  • monasteries, ashrams, retreat centres
  • intentional communities: Auroville, Damanhur, Findhorn, Arcosanti, etc

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