General

1) A global-integral world:

• Global: “Globalization” refers to the increasingly international relationships involving culture, people, and economic activity. Most often it refers to economics: the planetary distribution of locations where goods and services are produced, enabled through the reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import quotas. Globalization has accompanied and contributed to economic growth in developed and developing countries through increased specialization and the principle of comparative advantage (the ability of a person or a country to produce a particular good or service at a lower cost). The term can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, and popular culture.

• Integral: entire, complete, whole. Also, consisting or composed of parts that together constitute a whole.

Those two processes, globalization and integration, are interlinked and describe the new global-integral world. The development of technology, the internet, cellular communication, world trade, and the financial markets have accelerated the evolution of humanity toward a new and connected world.

The wheel cannot be turned back; it is impossible to resist the process of global integration. The recent crises have made humanity realize that our lives will never be as they were before. The acceleration of globalization and the transformation of the world into a global village, where interdependence and mutual influence on one another are increasing, compel us not only to be considerate of each other, but to actually empathize with and fully partake in each other’s lives.

The global crisis originated in our current connections, based on individualism, competition, and egoism, compared to the kind of connections that are now required in a state of interdependence in a global-integral world. The solution to the global crisis begins with establishing new kinds of connections among us, which will better suit the world we now live in.

Because the crisis is a systemic problem, if people connect in mutual guarantee and solidarity, and work in reciprocity toward a single goal—to be in balance with the global-integral world—we will create an enlightened world. That world will sustain all of us with abundance and ease while we maintain harmony among ourselves and between us and Nature.

In economy and finance, our mutual dependence is especially obvious. It is indisputable. Stock markets around the world have a tight correlation that only increases in times of crisis. The bonds market is a global mechanism by which countries raise tremendous amounts of money from one another, in effect financing each other’s economies. The economy itself reflects tight cross-border relations, and many firms have become global corporations that manufacture in many countries and sell their products throughout the world. Today, no country is self-sufficient, and the global economic crisis proves it every day.

2) Mutual guarantee: The global-integral world demands a transformation in the way we perceive human relations. These relations must be based on care for others and mutual concern, just like a family. First and foremost, this change entails a personal shift in the way we connect with others. This will then be translated into a social and economic treaty, dealing with every issue and need on the individual, community, state, and international levels. The mutual guarantee economy will rely on a transition from individualism, competitiveness, and self-centered profit function that aims to maximize personal gain, even at others’ expense, into a balanced economy that provides for the basic needs of every person. The aim of that economy will be toward public well-being and closing socioeconomic gaps by consent of all parties and with complete transparency.

3) The round table: In order to tend to the basic needs of all the people, we must come together in round-table discussions where all are equal, just like in a family. Politicians, economists, sociologists, and experts from many disciplines will put their heads together and ponder the best way to serve our extended family. This is the only way to formulate the right order of priorities, through broad consensus that is then implemented within national budgets and international relations. The transparency of the round-table discussions will maintain the legitimacy of the mechanism and support the public confidence that decisions are taken with public well-being in mind.

4) Information and Education: The key to personal change and to adapting our relations to increased mutual dependence and stronger interconnections is education and provision of information. This is the only way we will advance toward mutual guarantee.

The curricula will include, among other topics:

• Personal finance.

• Life skills, aimed at assisting people in functioning in one’s immediate economic and financial environment, and coping with the ramifications of the crisis on people’s personal lives.

• Informing people regarding the different aspects of life in a global-integral world, understanding the nature of reality in such a world, its causes, the connections between globalization and the required changes in one’s connections with others, and stressing the influence of the social environment on a person. The transition to a life of solidarity and mutual guarantee is impossible without the social environment’s support and encouragement of that process.

• Mutual guarantee as a way of life—inculcating the social skills necessary for a sustainable and calm life in a global and connected world.