Patterns

Title Pattern Text
Civic Intelligence
Douglas Schuler

Civic Intelligence describes how well groups of people address civic ends through civic means. It asks the critical question: Is society smart enough to meet the challenges it faces? Civic intelligence requires learning and teaching. It also requires meta-cognition — thinking about and actually improving how we think and work together.

The Commons
David Bollier

The human genome, seeds, and groundwater should belong to everybody —not corporations. The public library, community garden, farmer's market, and land trust are familiar and highly effective local Commons. The emerging commons sector provides benefits that corporations can’t provide such as healthy ecosystems, economic security, stronger communities and a participatory culture.

The Good Life
Gary Chapman

People who hope for a better world feel the need for a shared vision of The Good Life. The environmental crises of the planet require a broad vision of a good life that harmonizes human aspirations and natural limits. A framework for the modern good life should be based on some form of humanism with room for a spiritual dimension that does not seek domination.

Health as a Universal Right
Douglas Schuler

The worldwide health care crisis is profound. Each day 9,000 people die from AIDS and 11,000 children die from malnutrition. We need to redirect our resources from activities that exacerbate the crisis to ones that overcome it. Ideologies, ingrained habits, and pursuit of short-term "self-interest" work against the establishment of Health as a Universal Right.

Global Citizenship
Douglas Schuler

Citizenship is the formal relationship between a person and a country and often is described in terms of rights and responsibilities. The idea has shifted over time, from Greek city-state to modern nation-state. Citizenship often determines access to health care, education, and other rights that arguably should be universal. The journey towards global citizenship will be incremental, perennial, lurching, and will be met by setbacks as well as successes.

Political Settings
Jonathan Barker

Political action venues are changing with the proliferation of new kinds of nongovernmental organizations, the broadening reach of the Internet, and the actions of governments. Political Settings are the basic units of collective political action.The idea of political settings opens the door to exploration of evolving civic intelligence exemplified by political actions from below.

Social Responsibility
Stewart Dutfield

Having social benefits as part of an organization's mission, does not guarantee positive achievements. Any organization with a shared vision of Social Responsibility needs to deliver what it promises. Activism on behalf of principles other than self-interest or convenience is necessary to remind organizations of their Social Responsibility, and to prevent other organizations from losing touch with theirs.

Matrifocal Orientation
Lori Blewett

Because almost all societies are male centered, women’s needs, interests, ideas, and perspectives are often ignored or trivialized. Matrifocal communities are organized around values traditionally seen as “feminine” such as peace, nurturance, cooperation, and care for others. A Matrifocal Orientation that gives voice to women’s perspectives would help promote a just and peaceful world for all. Women’s interests are not special interests, but human interests.

Collective Decision-Making
Valerie Brown

Divided decision making can disrupt personal relationships, fragment communities, and compartmentalize organizations. Resolving serious issues in communities for the long term, requires the collective voices of individuals, experts, organizations and creative thinkers. To work together constructively, people from diverse knowledge cultures need to accept the legitimacy of people from others. 

Memory and Responsibility
Douglas Schuler

Although the evils of the past continue to haunt us in the present, society is often unable or unwilling to deal with historical injustice. The function of Memory and Responsibility is to promote healing, to study history to avoid future problems. The intent is not to blame or punish but to encourage people to reason together and strive for reconciliation.

Working Class Consciousness
Steve Zeltzer

Global consciousness, solidarity, and collaboration among working people around the world are critical for addressing the challenges that the working class faces. One important tool in addition to collective action is the use of film, art, and media technology. The training of workers for this work requires an international campaign in collaboration with labor at all levels. The need to defend communication rights and protections is fundamental, as is education and direct action.

Back to the Roots
Douglas Schuler

Humankind has altered the world socially and materially incredibly over the years. This has created a chasm between our present status and our "roots" which are closer to nature and closer to the source and sustenance of our lives. Going Back to the Roots is not intended to be a nostalgic trip: discovering, cultivating and building on our “radical center” can be a wellspring for creative preparations for the future.

Demystification and Reenchantment
Kenneth Gillgren

Our political, economic, and technological systems have become mysterious while the real mysteries no longer carry deep meaning and connection with people and the natural world. Demystification and Reenchantment are needed to convey a perspective that invites, encourages, and supports liberated engagement in the human enterprise.

Translation
Douglas Schuler

People who speak different languages cannot understand each other without benefit of Translation. And sometimes people think they're speaking the same language when they're not. Translation takes place when any two worlds of discourse are bridged. Think about the critical role of Translation and, if possible, become a translator or — when the need arises — a person who can help bridge a gap of understanding.

Linguistic Diversity
Douglas Schuler

Over the last century, many of the world's languages have disappeared. When a language is lost, part of the world's knowledge and culture is lost. Losing our Linguistic Diversity diminishes our ability to perceive and think about the world in a multi-faceted and rich way. Due to their knowledge and expertise, linguists are at the forefront of the struggle for Linguistic Diversity. All of us, however, have important roles in preserving and enhancing Linguistic Diversity.

Education and Values
John Thomas

Even when not pursued deliberately, education promotes and replicates values. Yet, the propagation of values is typically not designed with the appropriateness of these values for the future in mind. Educational institutions, teachers, parents, concerned citizens and students themselves must work to uncover and understand the values that are being taught and to design the entire educational experience to foster values that help build a sustainable and healthy future.

Dematerialization
Burl Humana

The production and consumption of products is destructive to the environment and contributes to poverty and hunger. Dematerialization means using fewer natural resources, using more recycled resources, and extending the life of products. The growing role of knowledge, information, and culture should make it possible to displace materials and energy more intelligently and ingeniously, thus allowing us to satisfy basic human needs with fewer resources.

Transforming Institutions
Brian Beaton

Social institutions often deliver services from their operational center out to people in distant regions. In some cases these institutions protect and maintain their existence without regard for those they were intended to serve. This results in exploitation and destruction of the environment and communities. Institutions should develop new sustainable relationships; establish transformative change; and create flexible management models.

Teaching to Transgress
John Thomas

Students identify with good teachers and value their knowledge highly. This might mean, however, that students might be reluctant to "go against" the teaching of their mentor/hero/professor. Teaching to Transgress actively questions and tests society's "received wisdom." Teaching to Transgress helps instill the idea that societies must change and that we all have responsibility for promoting that change.

Fair Trade
Burl Humana

Production, trade and retailing of goods and services worldwide are increasingly concentrated under the control of a few corporations. The growing Fair Trade movement is based on reciprocal benefits and mutual respect; fair prices paid to producers; workers have the right to organize; national health, safety, and wage laws are enforced; and products are environmentally sustainable and conserve natural resources.