Our Worldview
Holistic and Systemic Change
If people feel secure, they’re inclined to care for themselves so they can better care for others and the environment. They balance being self-centered and other-centered, avoid both selfishness and self-sacrifice, and want to do what’s right, while they improve themselves and their lives. They recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every human being, boost other-centeredness, and cultivate egalitarian compassionate cooperation.
But the System — a self-perpetuating web of social norms and expectations that permeates every aspect of our lives — weaves together our institutions, communities, families, cultures, social structures, and ourselves as individuals into a single system. (See “The problem” graphic below.) It keeps everyone trapped in a cycle of top-down hierarchy and oppressive domination and submission.
From an early age, society ingrains in us pressure to climb social ladders. We learn to measure success by wealth, status, and power and view those lower on the social scale as inferior — as we climb higher, win advantages denied to others, and conform or face the consequences.
Top-level administrators benefit the most. They manage our institutions, dictate rules, and enforce them, but no one controls the System. We’re all responsible.
It’s time to break free from this toxic cycle, question the System, and change it. In good conscience, we can’t continue perpetuating social structures that perpetuate extreme inequality, oppressive domination, and blind submission.
This effort is challenging. The System is deeply rooted, and its primary beneficiaries will fight to maintain it, but we cannot let fear or indifference hold us back. We must be bold, courageous, and relentless.
Let’s speak up, stand up, take action, and challenge the System wherever we encounter it — in our institutions, cultures, interpersonal interactions, society at large, and ourselves. It’s time to break free from the chains of the System, give everyone access to necessities, dismantle oppression, and replace blind submission with conscious empowerment. (See “The Solution” graphic below.)
If we unite, the power is in our hands. Let’s be the change we want to see in the world and strive toward a better future together.
