It's time to walk the walk

By: Brian_Bloom

These words are being written from a little town three hours up the coast from Sydney to which my wife and I have recently relocated – perhaps temporarily; we will see. It has plenty of fresh air and artesian water. Soil quality is not particularly great but, in theory, there are simple non chemical technologies which can be applied to enhance crop yields. Perhaps we'll dabble with these technologies to test the theory on a small scale. Perhaps we'll also try to build a small scale power generation plant to apply some of the technologies I have been reading about since the late 1980s. Perhaps. With the equity markets continuing to give sell signals, this is not a time to cast one's thoughts in concrete. All options need to be left open.

Eventually, however, the time arrives when it is necessary to stop talking the talk and to start walking the walk. I rationalized the relocation as a means of facilitating hands-on research for a possible follow up novel to Beyond Neanderthal – interest in which is beginning to build momentum. Readers are beginning to understand that Beyond Neanderthal is a one-of-a-kind in that it takes a holistic look at the dynamics of social interplay at various levels and hones in on the areas of disingenuousness which have given rise to the current parlous state of human affairs. That kind of bird's eye view of society could not just flow from anyone's imagination. It took decades to research and evolve.  Yes, the word picture it paints may be wrong. But I'm comfortable that the principles it espouses are not far off the mark.

Most importantly (from my perspective) I have little faith in the conclusions of the IPCC scientists regarding the likely cause of climate change. To me their arguments do not pass the common sense test and the emerging facts are increasingly challenging the conclusion that CO2 is the smoking gun. Government policy flowing from this IPCC conclusion has the potential – in my view – to be economically destructive and without even holding out the hope of addressing the core consequences which will likely flow from our patently changing climate.

In short, if it is our sun which ultimately drives earth's climate, then there is a very real possibility that the weather will become increasingly cool following 2012 – which is the year in which the next sunspot cycle of our demonstrably quietening sun is forecast to peak. No one can tell for certain whether the global warming we have been experiencing since the 1980s will accelerate in a hockey stick chart pattern or whether it will give way to an eventual Ice Age as the 11,000 year warming cycle peaks and then begins to head south.  That's why it seems sensible to keep all options open. We need to plan for an either/or scenario.

The following quote caught my eye today: “Even while hinting that another rate reduction could be forthcoming, Fed officials worried that the effectiveness of previous rate cuts "may have been diminished by the financial dislocations, suggesting that further policy action might have limited efficacy in promoting a recovery in economic growth ," the documents said.” (Source: http://www.breitbart.com/... )

It is fascinating to me that the authorities never saw this financial collapse coming. It's not as if they lack intelligence. Some of our decision influencers (the people who advise the political front-men) are exceptionally bright. The question I have been asking myself since the 1980s has been “How can people with such high intelligence get things so seriously wrong?”

Apart from the fact that I might be the one who is mistaken in my views (I am constantly second guessing myself, just in case) the conclusion I finally arrived at is that our mistakes at society level have to do with the personality profiles of our leaders and not their intelligence. The first inkling I had of this possibility was when George Bush the elder made the throwaway comment that he was having trouble with “the vision thing”.

That statement hit me like a brick in the face. I remember thinking: Holy Mackerel!! If the leader of the Free World is having trouble with the vision thing, then where does that leave us ordinary folk?

Eventually I came to understand that personality profiles can be categorized along fairly straightforward lines. In simplistic terms there are four behavioural predispositions of individuals in an organizational context and all of us have some of each of these predispositions (to varying extents). Quite naturally, as an organization matures the nature of the nominated decision maker's personality profiles shifts to become increasingly mechanistic; increasingly intolerant of change. Ultimately, what happens as a consequence is that the organization atrophies – and GM, Ford and Chrysler are good examples of this. This atrophying gives rise to one of two outcomes. Either the larger organism (the organization) collapses and dies, or it becomes seriously ill and a new set of leaders emerges who are predisposed to implement real change. If they do this, the ties of the behavioural straight jacket may be severed and the organization may once more revert to organic (vibrant) behaviour.

In effect, that is the talk that Barack Obama has been talking. He (says he) wants to cut the historical ties that bind. By way of one example of what he will need to do: The US Federal Reserve is a “status quo” oriented organization. Its stated objective is to maintain the status quo and we have reached a point in history where, quite clearly, that attitude is no longer appropriate. Yes, money and interest rates may maintain the status quo in a vibrant economy; but they cannot influence whether or not the organism remains vibrant. The vibrancy of the greater organism (the economy) has nothing whatever to do with money and interest rates. It has to do with emerging technologies and entrepreneurial endeavour; with good old fashioned creativeness and hard work as applied to the new technological ideas.  In this particular case, the area of focus needs to be “energy”. Its as simple as that. We need to embrace alternatives to fossil fuels and nuclear fission.

If we want the larger organism to survive, then a condition precedent is that the reigns of the world's leadership will need to be handed to more entrepreneurial leaders.  Ahh! But the question is: Will Obama walk the walk? Well, let's put it this way: If he surrounds himself with the same ole same ole “professional” advisers, he hasn't got a snowball's hope in hell. What the world needs now – more than anything else – is visionary leadership; of the kind that George H W Bush so freely admitted he was incapable of providing.

By Brian Bloom

www.beyondneanderthal.com

Beyond Neanderthal is a novel with a light hearted and entertaining fictional storyline; and with carefully researched, fact based themes. In Chapter 1 (written over a year ago) the current financial turmoil is anticipated. The rest of the 430 page novel focuses on the probable causes of this turmoil and what we might do to dig ourselves out of the quagmire we now find ourselves in. The core issue is “energy”, and the story leads the reader step-by-step on one possible path which might point a way forward.  Gold plays a pivotal role in our future – not as a currency, but as a commodity with unique physical characteristics that can be harnessed to humanity's benefit. Until the current market collapse, there would have been many who questioned the validity of the arguments in Beyond Neanderthal. Now the evidence is too stark to ignore.  This is a book that needs to be read by large numbers of people to make a difference. It can be ordered over the internet via www.beyondneanderthal.com

Copyright © 2008 Brian Bloom - All Rights Reserved

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