Civilization is the accommodation of human needs and activity. It provides the means to sustain society and reflects people’s values and abilities. Its ideal function is to provide a sustainable environment for humanity. But in a world whose main concern is subsistence, the solution to the problem with civilizations, a global sustenance system is not in place.
There are several points that prevent global prosperity, the most obvious is that most civilizations are historically focused on their national interests and not global interests, since there is not one supportive united civilization. Although it is reasonable to transcend national boundaries and other differences to accomplish a human civilization if the intentions weren't power dominance, competition and conquest or war, which are counterproductive to co-existence.
Supportive Living System and Utopia
The ultimate human civilization is an ideal and utopian vision that many political visionaries aspired to. The dream of a perfect world has never fully worked despite some attempts because it failed for reasons of a flawed vision in constructing the structure of a supportive living system. It doesn’t mean that perfection cannot be achieved just because of a history of failures; obstacles, problems and mistakes are natural experiences of human development. It is an experience that perfects systems and produces progress in every way, and so eventually it is possible to perfect the system and arrive at a right creation.
There is a gradual advancement in the perfection of a support system for human co-existence. It started through identification of the need for a functional organized environment for society. At the core of the issue, misconception of human nature, has been the cause of all the failures of a perfect society. People are not dysfunctional, incapable or imperfect and there’s no basis for them to not be able to aspire to fulfilling the unique ideals they perceive. It is ultimately the vision that needs to be applied properly, and it is the application of it that has failed not the actual idea.
Blueprint for Human Environment
The right vision of the world reflects the true essence and values of human life and understanding of it is the blueprint to rightfully apply the vision and clearly see the means for its implementation. Ideally a society needs the resources to sustain itself, those that find access to it are the most successful, and since a truly advanced human being is compassionate and conscious of life’s continuity and higher purpose, people are the citizens of the world. Those who truly know how to use nature get along and live with it serving the world as it serves everything.
Another point that prevents creation of a perfect environment is misconception of nature, despite how harsh the environment can be it is abundant in every way, and is innately nurturing. So it is beneficial to be nurturing and creative in order to live sustainably. There’s no just reason why everyone cannot partake in the full experience of life. The purpose of life is happiness and for that it is crucial to alleviate suffering. The only cause of suffering is the mismanagement and disorder of the resources and potentials that are available to everyone.
Interdependancy of Life and Co-existence
The first civilizations such as the Minoan, originally had no money system but relied on a community of rational distribution, it is only after currency was introduced in society for accounting and organizational purposes, the complex interrelationships in status and labor happened in a market system. This defeated the purpose of life’s value, since it put limits on freedom to live based on humane co-existence and created an environment of struggle and strife where everyone is self maintaining and independent of others needs and struggles. However the interdependence of all things is a fact of life, and it is only helpful to oneself to be helping others. In the book: "Mindfully Green," Stephanie Kaza defends the concept of whole earth thinking through Buddhist view aimed at protecting life, which explains why ‘to protect another life is to protect your own’.
There is no reason, other then disorganization, why everyone cannot contribute to the self sustainment of their own environment, and issues such as unemployment and poverty are signs of a poorly planned environment not the government or the economy. The government and the economy is the social construction and environment of people who can only organize the system functionally when the values of society reflect the values of life.
A better nurturing society of cultivating, inspiring education and productive activity and culture can fully experience and appreciate the freedom of being. Establishments, institutions, industries and businesses will only truly address the needs of the people that work to sustain the system if the environment they live in actually supports and provides life as opposed to the discomfort of having to overcome natural and human hardships inherent in the current state of strife.
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