Great Transition
New Values
Great Transition is a vision of civilization rooted in a new suite of values – quality-of-life, human solidarity and reverence for nature – for the twenty-first century. The deepening connectivity between people and the earth nourishes a new consciousness. As the planetary phase unfolds, the ancient dream of a global civilization becomes an objective possibility. While most of human history was dominated by scarcity and the challenge of survival, our huge economies have created the conditions for a post-scarcity society. Attention can turn now to quality-of-life: human fulfillment rather than wealth as the primary measure of success and well-being. The sense of solidarity – social connectedness, responsibility and loyalty – can begin to extend beyond nation and tribe to people of distant places, the unborn of distant futures, and the other creatures of the earth. An ecological sensibility of wonder and enjoyment in the natural world is nourished by the growing appreciation of humanity’s place in the web of life and our dependence on a bountiful earth. While these new values may be essential in averting catastrophe, this new civilization is by no means inevitable. It requires and depends on an upsurge of public awareness and engagement, a development that the evolving conditions of our planetary phase of history make possible.