How we can save our world
Creating and realizing new sustainable ideas together 1
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How we can save our world Creating and realizing new sustainable ideas together
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2022 How we can save our world Published first in 2019 in Dutch as “Het duurzaamheidsmanifest” (“The sustainability manifesto”). Author: Dirk Stael Design: Marielle De Vuyst & Dirk Stael www.thesustainabilitymanifesto.com @sustainabilitymanifesto #HowToSaveOurWorld NUR 740 “How we can save our world” is available under Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NCSA 4.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en 4
Content 1. Why saving our world is so difficult
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2. How NARDIS helps
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3. A few NARDIS ideas
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4. NARDIS ideas squared
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Addendum 1 _ The NARDIS scheme
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Addendum 2 _ Questions and Answers
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Addendum 3 _ Our planet is like the Titanic
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1. Why saving our world is so hard Is this the best we can do? Is this really as good as it gets?
The good news is, we really can do better than this. But then we, ordinary citizens, have to take action. Five to twelve has passed.
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Waiting any longer is no longer an option.
We must now roll up our sleeves and start to make a difference!
Citizens of the world, unite!
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There’s no challenges
shortage
of
There is plenty to worry about:
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Ecological challenges such as global warming and climate change, loss of biodiversity, pollution, over-consumption...
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Economic challenges such as globalization, increasing income inequality, economic crises...
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Social challenges such as poverty, ageing, individualism...
The list of challenges seems endless. The situation sometimes hopeless.
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How do we challenges?
tackle
these
Finding solutions is difficult because these challenges are “wicked problems”: •
Complex problems that are intertwined
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Constantly changing
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Unclear and multifaceted
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And where cause and effect are difficult to untangle.
What’s typical of wicked problems is that they interact with each other. The ecological, the economic and the social are inextricably linked. Global warming is driven by economic growth and globalization, which has an impact on how we live. As such, each domain is influencing the other and the various challenges reinforce one another. Contrary to what we often think, there are no grand, instant solutions to wicked problems: •
Such problems cooperation.
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They’re best viewed from different angles simultaneously.
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We will have to work with a very wide range of smaller, more manageable projects.
require
long-term
effort
and
intensive
In order to achieve this, we need new ideas. The current ideas have failed to lift us out of this quagmire. But the present way of thinking and acting is deeply ingrained in us. Leaving that behind is not easy.
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Current solutions The problem with current solutions? They are primarily political and technological in nature: •
We want to solve global warming with more green technologies and international climate treaties.
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We want to solve major economic and social challenges by focusing on more technological innovation or smarter political decision-making.
But the current solutions are no longer sufficient.
Politics and technology alone will not save our world. While they have an important role to play, their aptitude to change is too limited considering the great challenges we face.
We need new ideas and new solutions.
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New solutions Current ideas like...
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Economic growth is the only way out
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Big problems require big solutions
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Technology will save the world
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There Is No Alternative (TINA)
… mainly provide us more of the same and they often seem to aggravate the wicked problems rather than remedy them.
New ideas such as ...
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Ordinary people can create extraordinary impact
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Everything is constantly changing and each of us can help shape that change
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We, ordinary citizens, are the most important lever for change
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There Is Always An Alternative (TIAAA)
… give us the opportunity to start working on solutions ourselves. When we, ordinary citizens, participate fully, we really increase our chances of success.
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Why it is so important to save our world Because we risk losing what it means to be human if we continue along the current path. In a world where... •
Ecological problems totally disrupt our ecosystem
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Our humanity is subordinate to a one-sided economic logic of "always-more"
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Social problems are putting large parts of our societies in turmoil
... our sole future is one of disintegration and dehumanization.
Almost all plausible scenarios concerning global warming point into a catastrophic direction and the dynamic behind it is inextricably linked to how we organize our economies and how we live together. That can and must change. Waiting on the side lines and hoping that things will go in the right direction on their own is no longer an option. We are destroying our world and now we have to save it too. To preserve that which makes us human. By coming up with new, sustainable ideas ourselves and realizing them together, we not only save our world, we also give our humanity a booster.
NARDIS helps with that.
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2. How NARDIS helps NARDIS is an acronym and stands for… New Action-oriented Realizable Direct democratic Impactful Sustainable
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By considering each of these criteria, we leave the beaten track behind and create new ideas and solutions ourselves that we realize together. Not because it generates more profit but simply because we like doing things together. NARDIS provides us, ordinary people, the tools to do things in a more direct democratic and sustainable manner. As such, NARDIS gives us the tools to do more fun things together that are also good for our planet.
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New NARDIS helps us to come up with new ideas: •
Completely new ideas that we build from scratch
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Existing ideas that we recombine into something new
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Old ideas that we recycle to form something new
By pouring a NARDIS sauce on top of it, much of what we are already doing today or have done in the past, can be done in a more sustainable and direct democratic way.
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Coming up with new ideas can best be done in these three domains: •
The ecological
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The economic
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The social
Within these domains, we, as ordinary citizens, can still generate direct impact. In the political or technological domain, this is much more difficult.
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Action-oriented Creating a new idea is an excellent first step but if you don’t turn your idea into action, not much will change. That’s also the key difference between an invention and an innovation. Regardless of how fantastic an invention is, if it is not commercialized – if, in other words, it isn’t turned into an innovation – it is nothing more than a prototype that remains on the shelf of some laboratory. If Edison had not commercialized his light bulb, the world would have been in the dark a little longer. So carefully consider who and what you need to turn your new NARDIS idea into concrete action: •
Who is your idea aimed at and how do you get it to the target group?
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What expertise and resources are needed to turn the idea into action?
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What are the first actions you should take?
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What are possible follow-up actions?
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Realizable NARDIS ideas can be realized by ordinary people. Special or exceptional knowledge or expertise is not or only limitedly needed. Our available talents and competences should suffice. What we will mainly need to realize a NARDIS idea is multiple people’s TIME: •
Time to work on the realization.
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Additional Ideas to further develop or deepen the idea.
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The Motivation to fulfil the idea’s potential.
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Your already available Expertise.
Combine your TIME and your NARDIS idea will be up and running in no time.
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Democratic NARDIS ideas are organized direct democratically: those who are involved in the idea decide through a process of consensus, delegation or voting how it will be realised. The basic principle is simple: anyone who is affected by a decision must be able to participate in the decision-making process. There are a few conditions to make this possible: •
Everyone can participate in a NARDIS organization.
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There is sufficient room for discussion so that different points of view can be expressed. Everyone is equal: every participant can weigh equally on the discussion and decision-making process. There is free access to information: sensible decisions can only be made when everyone is well informed about the various pros and cons.
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More than ever, we have the opportunity to interact as equals and to organize ourselves direct democratically. So why shouldn't we do that as much as possible?
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This form of direct democracy or grassroots democracy closely follows the original democratic model of ancient Greece, which is very different from the representative democracy that we know today, mainly in the political domain. Within the limited size of our NARDIS organisations, direct democratic decision-making is perfectly feasible. Direct democracy in politics, for example at the country level, is also possible but much more laborious and complex. In fact, it is quite shocking how little is organised democratically! How democratic are our companies? How democratic are the organisations we are members of? When we take a closer look, there is very little democratic decision-making happening in our democracies. That is a pity, because more (direct) democracy ensures more involvement: when you take part in the decision-making process, you’re more likely to support the decision and put more effort into achieving the goal which increases the chances of success. Moreover, joint decisions are often better decisions: together we know more than alone.
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Impactful NARDIS ideas generate impact: they are social, persistent and recyclable ideas that set things in motion. •
Impactful ideas are social ideas: we realize these through collaboration.
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Impactful ideas are persistent. If we all move one stone once, we will move a hill at most. But if we persist and keep moving stones, we can move any mountain. So make sure that you organize yourselves as a group for a longer period of time.
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Impactful ideas are also recyclable: they can easily be adopted by others elsewhere. The impact of one NARDIS idea can multiply many times when it is picked up and realized by different NARDIS organization at different locations in different contexts.
Many NARDIS ideas will seem minimal at first. As if no real substantial change could ever come from it. But one of the most important assets we have to create impact is something we only possess when we work together: our number. We’re with many. When we all put our weight behind at least one NARDIS idea, we create a lever that makes a huge difference.
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Sustainable NARDIS ideas and organisations are sustainable: they take future generations into account. Within NARDIS ideas, sustainability is a given: a "must have" and no longer a "nice to have". A NARDIS idea and organisation is sustainable in three ways: 1. Ecologically sustainable: the ecosystem is burdened as little as possible. 2. Economically sustainable: the activities you undertake create fair value for all concerned while no structural losses are accumulated. 3. Socially sustainable : the interests of the individual and of the group are balanced in the best possible way. Social sustainability takes into account everyone who is impacted by the activities of a NARDIS organisation: both the initiators (the direct stakeholders) and the social environment around them (the indirect stakeholders).
In an ideal world, we try to find a sustainable balance between the ecological, the economic and the social. And even though one NARDIS idea may focus more on one and less on another domain, strong NARDIS ideas do not simply sacrifice one for the other, but try to fill in the three different domains in a sustainable way so that they reinforce each other.
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NARDIS in a nutshell In a nutshell, a NARDIS idea is a...
New ecological, economic or social idea, that is Action-oriented, Realizable, and Impactful, organized in a direct Democratic manner, and ecologically, economically and socially Sustainable.
You can use NARDIS as a guideline while creating new ideas. With every new NARDIS idea that we create and realise through a NARDIS organisation, we change our world a little. The more such NARDIS ideas we come up with and put into action together, the more we save our world.
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3. A few NARDIS ideas NARDIS as a guiding principle helps to come up with new ecological, economic and social ideas.
Here are a few NARDIS ideas for inspiration:
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#1_in_7 and the community garden 2.0 ecological NARDIS ideas
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The new company ➔ an economic NARDIS idea
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The sustainable jam ➔ a social NARDIS idea
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➔ two
Ecological NARDIS ideas We all need to become more ecological: recycle more, eat less or no meat, consume less... All good ideas. But to have a real impact, we need to combine our efforts. Changing your behaviour as an individual and becoming more ecological is good. Setting up an ecological initiative together is better! Two such ecological NARDIS ideas are #1_in_7 and the community garden 2.0.
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#1_in_7__________________________ A smart way to reduce your carbon footprint is to switch to a plantbased diet. This offers many advantages: •
It is better for the environment (less CO2 emissions)
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It is better for the animals (less animal suffering)
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It is better (healthier) for us, humans
While these are all good arguments, making the shift is still quite difficult for many of us. And so we just carry on as before. The step to give up meat altogether can seem quite daunting: it turns the way you cook and select restaurants upside down. For vegetarians, switching to veganism is also a big step: no more cheese, dairy products or eggs may sound a little less drastic, but when put to the test, you notice how many products contain animal ingredients. That pizza without mozzarella does taste different. Switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet therefore requires some adjustment.
The all-or-nothing problem The problem with vegetarianism or veganism? The choice is presented in a black and white manner: vegetarians never eat meat and vegans never eat anything from animals. But that debate is too binary: it is an all-or-nothing story. You either eat like this or that and there is little room in between. There seem to be few part-time vegetarians or vegans. The result? When it is all or nothing, many of us choose nothing.
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With #1_in_7, you move towards a partially vegetarian or vegan diet along with others. Taking the step together, makes it all more doable. The reasoning behind #1_in_7 is very simple: if seven people eat vegetarian or vegan one day a week, that makes one extra vegetarian or vegan. It's a smart option for those who want to reduce their carbon footprint without immediately becoming 100% vegetarian or vegan. This is the #1_in_7 challenge: •
7 meat-eaters who eat vegetarian 1 day a week = 1 extra vegetarian
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7 vegetarians who eat vegan 1 day a week = 1 extra vegan
Step by Step With #1_in_7 we take a slightly smaller step towards a more plantbased diet, without immediately kicking our habits "cold turkey". Instead of becoming a 100% vegetarian or vegan straight away, you become one for one day a week. If you do this together with six other people, then there’s one extra vegetarian or vegan! It's as simple as that. Participants of #1_in_7 become more sustainable together, which makes it easier to keep up. After all, you are not alone. You’re doing this together. If you like your new diet, you might after a while decide to switch to #2_op_7. Who knows, maybe you will gradually become a part-time vegetarian or vegan? There’s also a good chance that your partner or children will join in as well, thereby increasing the impact on sustainability for your whole family.
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Easily feasible Becoming a full-time vegetarian or vegan is quite a big step for many, but eating vegetarian or vegan one day in seven is feasible for just about everyone. It's a quick, easy and tasty way to help reduce your ecological “foodprint”. What you need to make #1_in_7 a success: •
Find six friends, colleagues or family members who along with you will take on the challenge of eating vegetarian or vegan one day a week.
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Encourage each other - online and through social media - to keep going.
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Share recipes within the group for extra inspiration on cooking your next vegetarian or vegan meal. Why not set up a monthly "let’s cook together (online) session”?
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You choose which day of the week will be your #1_in_7 day. Is today less convenient? Then just go for it tomorrow.
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Increase the impact of #1_in_7 by involving your household family members.
Bon appétit!
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The community garden 2.0_______ The community garden 2.0 is an ecological NARDIS idea that transfers the age-old concept of the community garden or allotment garden to today. With the community garden 2.0, a group of neighbours comes together around a jointly grown organic vegetable garden. The “jointly” part is also its main novelty: initially, most community gardens consisted of a series of individual allotments. The community garden 2.0, however, consists of one large garden that is cultivated together, as a group. Growing organic vegetables in our own neighbourhood is a good additional step to further reduce our ecological footprint.
Some principles to consider: •
The community garden 2.0 is an organic vegetable garden: pesticides are banned and only natural fertilizers are used. To prevent pests and depletion of the soil, different varieties can be changed regularly.
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Working the land is best done manually as much as possible. Apart from setting the garden straight mechanically once or twice a year, machines are kept away as much as possible to preserve the ecological character of the community garden 2.0.
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The community garden brings both experienced and new-born gardeners together with the newbies getting the hang of it thanks to the more experienced gardeners.
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Obviously, the community garden 2.0 is also managed direct democratically: the gardeners determine together what should be sown and grown in what quantities and how to best organize the division of tasks.
Admittedly, growing organic vegetables in our own neighbourhood will not meet all our nutritional needs. But it is a good additional step towards further reducing our ecological footprint.
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A garden for everyone Just about everyone can participate in a community garden 2.0: starting and maintaining a vegetable garden is feasible for most of us. What you will need: •
Time: an investment of two hours per week per person will get you a long way.
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Garden equipment: many people already have some gardening materials like spades lying around that can easily be brought along when work at the community garden 2.0 needs to be done.
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Expertise and knowledge: how much you should plant of what, when and how; how to best maintain the garden organically; when and how to harvest... information on this and more can be found online and in all kinds of books. Although, the human expertise of the more experienced gardeners will most likely be even more crucial for success.
Socially and economically sustainable Every gardener knows that each season has its peak moments: harvesting periods often lead to a yield that exceeds demand. At such moments, the community gardeners 2.0 can decide what to do with that surplus. Part of it could be donated to charities (such as a public kitchen or local poverty network) or offered to those neighbours who can no longer actively participate in the garden, because of old age for example. The community garden 2.0 thus becomes additionally socially sustainable. Or why not sell some of it on the weekly market? With the proceeds, new seeds or garden equipment can be purchased. By deciding to sell the vegetables at current market prices, unfair competition towards small businesses and market vendors can be avoided. As such, the community garden 2.0 becomes economically sustainable as well.
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A garden for just about anywhere A community garden 2.0 can be set up just about everywhere: in an urban as well as a rural environment. Wherever there’s a piece of cultivatable land available that can be rented (for free or little money), a community garden 2.0 can be set up. As such, a community garden 2.0 can provide local, organic seasonal vegetables, all year round which the participating families can use for cooking. Since the community garden 2.0 is always local, getting there can be happen on foot or by bike, which also helps to further reduce emissions. Of course, one or even many community gardens 2.0 will not stop global warming. But it does put us to work for a few hours a week in an ecologically and socially sustainable manner. The time that we spend in the garden is time that we do not spend on other, less sustainable activities. When many of us do this, we will again reduce our footprint somewhat further.
The “together garden”: a community garden 2.0 avant la lettre Velt, the Association for Ecological Living and Gardening in Belgium, supports various so-called together gardens (“samentuin” in Dutch). The name says it all: it is a vegetable garden people cultivate together. A real community garden 2.0 avant la lettre. You can find more information on velt.be/samentuinen.
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What will be your new, ecological NARDIS-idea? #1_in_7 and the community garden 2.0 are just two new, ecological NARDIS ideas. For sure there are many more we can come up with: •
Why not set up a joint shopping service? Instead of everyone driving to the supermarket separately, we could set up a rotation system. As such, we reduce our mileage and at the same time, there is an opportunity for additional social contact every time groceries are dropped off.
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A “tonight-it’s-our-turn-to-cook” initiative. Fewer people are cooking and more people are relying on takeaway meals. But what if you and a group of neighbours or friends would arrange one or a few nights a week to cook in turns for each other?
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Why not set up a repair shop? It is absurd how quickly and easily we throw things out. Perhaps combine this with a monthly barter café?
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What about a lending service in your neighbourhood for (electronic) garden and other do-it-yourself equipment?
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Is setting up a network of insect hotels throughout the city or your neighbourhood a good idea to help the stifling bee populations?
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What about a “plant-a-tree” initiative somewhere in your community?
Add up all these (and many more) ideas, and that drop on a hot plate can grow to become a puddle. So what about you? Are you already thinking about a good location for your local community garden 2.0? Who do you think would be willing to partake in #1_in_7? Or do you rather come up with your own, new, ecological NARDIS idea?
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The new company________________ Within the new company - an economic NARDIS idea - sustainability is key with workers deciding direct democratically how to best run their enterprise.
A company without hierarchy In the direct democratic company, there is no longer a boss or manager telling employees what to do or how to do it. The employees themselves determine how to best handle their activities, usually through a process of consultation and consensus. As such, every employee is on an equal footing as there are no more hierarchical differences. The basic principle of is this: all workers can take part in those decision-making processes that impact them, ranging from deciding how to divide the work to determining the strategy or deciding what to invest in. That does not mean that everyone should be involved in every decision. That, indeed, would not be workable. But it does mean that opportunities are created systematically to participate in the decisionmaking processes. Of course, employees with more expertise and experience in a certain domain can weigh more heavily on the discussion. But ultimately, workers decides how they want: in the decision-making process, everyone weighs equally. Being able to co-decide implies you’re well informed. Therefore, within the new company, information is not a privilege but a basic right of every employee: everyone has free access to financial, operational and other information. Training and info sessions can be organized to make sure everyone is able to understand and interpret the information. 33
A sustainable company The new company is ecologically sustainable: it aims to be completely carbon neutral. Employees continually strive to handle their activities as environmentally friendly as possible and the negative environmental impact that cannot be avoided is regularly calculated and compensated for, for example by investing in environmentally sustainable projects. The new company is also economically sustainable: it aims to develop business activities that create a fair added value to all involved. The focus is on all stakeholders, not just the shareholders. Profit maximization is no longer the highest goal that trumps everything else. At the same time, the new company also avoids structural losses, as that too would not be very sustainable. Lastly, the new company also aims to be socially sustainable: workers continually try to keep self-interest and group interest in balance. What’s good for the group and the company as a whole (a sustainable, longer-term policy) can thus be tied to what’s good for the individual (a rewarding job, a fair salary and profit sharing). The new company continuously strives for situations whereby the individual is better off if the group performs well, and vice versa. The new company can also externalize social sustainability: by investing part of the profits or part of the employees' time in socially sustainable initiatives outside the company walls. Think of supporting a local social initiative or another form of engagement within the local community.
Financial fair play Ideally, the new company is a company without owner(s) or shareholders. It’s up to the employees to decide how the new company’s added value can be redistributed fairly and sustainably: •
Which part of the profit is to be reinvested in the company? 34
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Which part is distributed among employees (via a profit-sharing system)?
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Which part is used to support (external) sustainable initiatives?
That way, profits can no longer be alienated from the company. Because there is more transparency, also the large wage differences that sometimes occur in current companies can be avoided.
A financially healthy company Finally, the new company also strives to be financially sound from the very start. Starting capital could come from the initiators, crowdfunding or a loan. The less investment is needed, the better. After all, external financing can lead to dependence and external pressure to place profit maximization above sustainability and direct democracy. Independence, also financially, offers the new company the best guarantee to remain faithful to its own principles.
A few ideas for new companies •
The new recycled company. Much of what we already do today, could just as well be done within a new company. That is the idea behind the new recycled company: continue to do what we’re already doing today (and do well), but more sustainably and direct democratically. The wealth created from these activities can be distributed more fairly and we get more job satisfaction as well.
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Outsourcing existing activities. What if you and your colleagues, as employees of a department or team, could outsource your current range of activities to yourselves? No longer as employees of the current company but as employees of a new company who now take on these tasks. 35
The cost for these employees would become an external cost. The employees continue to perform their activities but can now organize themselves direct democratically and sustainably. The current company can optimize its cost structure while the new company immediately has a steady flow of income that it can manage sustainably. A win-win situation. •
The new consultancy company. IT, marketing, sales, finance... there are a whole host of consultancy companies available for every conceivable activity. Many of those activities could just as well be done by new consultancy companies that are run direct democratically and sustainably!
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The new ecological supermarket. Something completely different is the new ecological supermarket. No more disposables but only recyclable materials. As such, we can all drastically reduce the enormous heaps of waste we create.
And what about the new day care centre, the new home nursing organization, the new parcel service, the new school, the new...
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What will be your new, economic idea? Imagine that you could still do what you do today, but then more sustainably and direct democratically? Wouldn't you sign up for that? Think about it? Which economic activity could you develop together with others within your own new company?
In other words, what will be your new economic NARDIS idea?
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The sustainable jam______________ Since we are social beings by nature, the possibilities of coming up with social NARDIS ideas are enormous. One such idea is the sustainable jam: local musicians playing more or less spontaneously and unprepared to a local audience. By keeping everything local, travel is limited (which makes the idea environmentally sustainable) while people come together to enjoy the music together (which is socially sustainable). As soon as people spontaneously play together, you have a jam, so they probably have always existed. What is new about this jam is its sustainable and direct democratic nature: by keeping things local, travel is limited as much as possible while both musicians and audience are enabled to co-decide what is played.
An action plan What you need to get a sustainable jam off the ground: •
Action 1 = gather interested musicians. Talk to a few fellow local musicians to get them to realize the idea along with you. Consider putting together a small, more permanent band of musicians: this can help assure there’s at least a minimum number of musicians present each time and it increases your chances of producing something musically which makes it all the more pleasant for the audience.
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Action 2 = find a place to play. For sure there are some pubs in your area that are willing to welcome the jam. That’s also a good moment to decide on the timing and frequency of the jams. Maybe go for a monthly or bimonthly jam, depending on how big the musical pond is that you're 38
fishing from. Could a Sunday afternoon be a good time? Or does a busy Thursday evening sound better?
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Action 3 = further develop the idea. Why not work with a theme per jam? That way, you take a close look at different repertoires while the musicians that join in are challenged time and again. You can also invite the audience to send in their suggestions of songs in advance.
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Action 4 = promote the idea Actively promote the jams on social media, in all kinds of online groups and use word-of-mouth to reach as many local musicians as possible as well as a local audience. Put up some posters in the run-up to the jam. Why not make a suggested playlist available via one of the streaming platforms, together with some chord schemes. This enables the musicians to practice some songs in advance.
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Action 5 = let’s jam!
What will be your new social NARDIS idea? The sustainable jam is a new cultural idea but there are undoubtedly many more social NARDIS ideas we can come up with. •
Why not start a discussion group on the big questions of life? Exchanging thoughts is an excellent way to test, strengthen or perhaps even adjust your own ideas. Do they hold their ground or do they start to shift in the discussion with others?
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Can you turn a juicy story about your village or region into a comic or cartoon? Every region has some fascinating stories and salient figures that stir up our imagination. Why not record that for later 39
generations? Imagine this: an artistic and multidisciplinary project where residents with very different talents and from different age groups come together to make a stop-motion film using only recycled materials from their region... Or why not draw a comic book that connects past and present? •
Portray the history of your village, region or area in a comic strip or cartoon. Why not make a stop-motion film using only recycled materials or a comic strip that connects the past with the present. It can be the start of an artistic and multidisciplinary project in which residents with different talents work together.
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How about launching a new women’s movement?
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What about a new pathfinders or youth movement? One that puts ecological sustainability high on the agenda and is managed direct democratically by the young people themselves?
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And what about the current social organizations that you are part of? How could you manage these in a more democratic and sustainable manner? Many local organizations have a limited number of members with everyone knowing everyone, which offers opportunities to continue the current social activity (whether it’s a sports club or local party committee or what have you) but then more sustainable and direct democratically.
And... what will be your new social NARDIS idea?
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4. NARDIS ideas squared NARDIS will not be able to solve all our challenges. No idea can do that.
But a whole lot of NARDIS ideas can get us a long way. The more NARDIS ideas we can come up with and realize together, the more we can change our world and the more we preserve and strengthen that which makes us human.
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One NARDIS idea may only reach a few dozen people. But when that same idea is recycled and reused the world over, hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of people could be reached. As such, the impact of one idea can be multiplied and we get squared NARDIS ideas.
It will take some time but gradually, NARDIS will influence the current ideas and organisations. Think about it: if we interact more direct democratically with each other within NARDIS organizations, why would we continue to accept that current organizations aren’t run democratically? When NARDIS organizations succeed in organizing things more sustainably (ecologically, economically and socially), why should we still allow current organizations to continue in an unsustainable manner? Make no mistake: our future will be sustainable or it will not be much of a future. It is as simple as that.
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What will become possible when we think and act more direct democratically and sustainably? Quite a lot. How will our world change? That is still wide open. But we must go all out now to ensure tomorrow will be more sustainably and direct democratically than today.
The next chapter we must write together and it starts with coming up with new ideas that we realise together.
Good luck with creating and realizing your NARDIS ideas!
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Addendum 1 Create and realize your own NARDIS idea Coming up with new ideas and implementing them is not easy. The NARDIS diagram will help you on your way. Get started immediately with the short or long diagram: •
The short NARDIS diagram = your NARDIS idea on one page
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The long NARDIS diagram = your NARDIS idea in detail
Further on you will also find the short diagrams for the four NARDIS ideas mentioned earlier: #1_in_7, the community garden 2.0, the new company and the sustainable jam.
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The short NARDIS diagram ___________________________________________________________________
A name for your NARDIS idea •
Describe your NARDIS idea in one or two sentences.
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What do you want to do? How? Who is it affected?
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NEW •
Is your new NARDIS idea 1) economic, 2) ecological or 3) social?
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Is the NARDIS idea 1) a completely new idea, 2) do you recombine some current ideas or 3) do you recycle an old idea?
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What is so new about it?
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ACTION ORIENTED •
What actions should you take first?
•
Which follow-up actions should you take next?
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REALIZABLE •
What and who is needed to realize the idea?
•
How much TIME (time, ideas, motivation, expertise) is needed to realise your idea?
•
How do you organise the NARDIS idea best?
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•
What investments are needed?
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DEMOCRATIC •
What decision-making process is right?
•
What will you decide on?
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IMPACTFUL •
Who are the people directly involved?
•
Who are the indirect stakeholders?
•
How scalable / recyclable is the idea?
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SUSTAINABLE How ecological, economical, socially sustainable is the NARDIS idea? •
Ecological (+) = ...
•
Economical (++) = ...
•
Social (+++) = ...
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The long NARDIS diagram ___________________________________________________________________
A name for your NARDIS idea •
Briefly describe your NARDIS idea: what do you want to do, for who and how?
•
What problem does your NARDIS idea solve?
•
What added value does it offer to whom?
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NEW •
Is your new NARDIS idea an 1) economic, 2) ecological or 3) social idea?
•
Is the NARDIS idea 1) a completely new idea or 2) do you recombine current ideas or 3) do you recycle an old idea that you transfer to today?
•
How does your it stand out from current ideas or solutions? What makes this NARDIS idea so new?
•
Which elements of the NARDIS idea could you regard as “current”? Can you identify any “current pitfalls”? What could you do to avoid these?
•
If you transfer an old idea to today, what are the most important new elements?
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ACTION-ORIENTED •
Who’s the target group of the NARDIS idea? Who is it intended for?
•
How can you get the NARDIS idea to your target group?
•
What would it take to turn the idea into reality? What activities should you develop to make it happen?
•
What actions would you have to take firstly?
•
Which follow-up actions would you have to take next?
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REALIZABLE •
How much TIME (time, ideas, motivation, expertise) is needed to realize this new idea? ▪
Time: what time investment is required from each to realize the new NARDIS idea? How realistic is this time investment?
▪
Ideas: what additional ideas might be needed to realize it?
▪
Motivation: how many motivated people are minimally needed? How feasible is it to find these people? How can you stay organized?
▪
Expertise: what kind of expertise is needed? Do you need exceptional competencies to realize the idea?
•
How can the NARDIS idea be organized? How often should you meet?
•
Is investment needed to get the new idea off the ground or to keep it going? How much? How could you raise that (via own contributions, crowdfunding, a loan, etc.)?
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•
Can the investment make the NARDIS idea dependent on third parties? How could you reduce this type of dependence as quickly as possible?
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DEMOCRATIC •
Which kind of direct democratic decision-making process do you use mostly within your NARDIS idea? Consensus? Delegation? Majority vote?
•
How can you best guard the direct-democratic principles during decision-making? How do you ensure that… ▪
… people who are affected by a decision can participate in the decision-making?
▪
… there’s ample room for consultation and so sufficient time and space available to allow different points of view to be expressed?
▪
… everyone can participate in the discussions and dialogues and thus weigh in equally on the discussion and decisionmaking process?
▪
… everyone who wants to participate in the decision-making process has free access to the relevant information?
•
What kind of decisions ought to be made?
•
How large can the group become?
•
Does the size of the group allow for a continued direct democratic decision-making process?
•
Is it possible to split up the group if it becomes too large?
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IMPACTFUL •
Who’s impacted by the NARDIS idea? ▪
Who are the people directly involved?
▪
Who are the indirect stakeholders?
▪
How do you reach as many direct and indirect stakeholders as possible?
•
Is the NARDIS idea a one-off or can it be sustained over a longer period of time?
•
Is there a time limit or an expiration date on the idea?
•
How scalable is the idea? In other words, can it grow exponentially or is it rather limited in size?
•
How recyclable is the idea? Can it easily be copied by others?
•
Can the NARDIS idea be recycled locally / nationally / internationally?
•
Could the NARDIS idea be translated to other domains? If so, where?
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SUSTAINABLE How ecologically sustainable is your NARDIS idea? •
How can the negative impact of the activities on the ecosystem be limited as much as possible?
•
Can external costs be internalized? In other words, can the damage to the environment be compensated?
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How economically sustainable is the NARDIS idea? •
What costs must be incurred to launch and realize the new idea?
•
Does the idea generate income? If so, how?
•
Can a fair added value be realized and distributed to all involved?
•
Can your new idea be sustained without creating structural losses?
•
If there is profit, how could this be used sustainably?
How socially sustainable is your NARDIS idea? •
How can you balance the individual and group interest?
•
How can the people who are directly involved grow?
•
What is the impact of the new idea on the social environment outside the organization itself? How do you maximise the positive and minimise the negative impact?
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The NARDIS diagram in action #1_in_7 7 people who eat vegetarian or vegan one day a week = 1 extra vegetarian or vegan. For those who want to reduce their ecological footprint without immediately becoming 100% vegetarian or vegan. NIEUW •
#1_in_7 is a new ecological NARDIS idea.
•
There have already been similar temporary initiatives (e.g. "days without meat") but what is new about #1_in_7 is that there is no end date, you just keep going.
•
Those who participate will (hopefully and secretly) gradually become part-time vegetarians or vegans.
ACTION-ORIENTED The actions: •
Find 6 more people in your immediate circle who want to join in.
•
Make the idea and your participation known and promote this via social media.
•
Talk to other people about it and invite them to join.
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REALISABLE What we need: •
7 people.
•
How much TIME is needed? Time = looking for new recipes and trying them out | Additional Ideas = sharing recipes | Motivation = encourage each other to stick with it, every week | Expertise = eating vegetarian or vegan 1 day out of 7 requires little to no special expertise.
DEMOCRATIC •
Decision-making process = everyone decides for themselves whether they want to join and which day will be their #1_in_7 day that week.
•
Group size = 7 people.
•
Type of decisions = what to eat when.
IMPACTFUL •
Directly involved = the 7 people.
•
Indirectly involved = family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues.
•
Recyclability = extremely recyclable. #1_in_7 can very easily be picked up anywhere.
SUSTAINABLE How ecologically, economically, socially sustainable is the NARDIS idea? •
Ecological (+++) = participants reduce their ecological food footprint. 59
•
Economic (n/a)
•
Social (++) = participants can encourage and motivate each other to persevere, making the idea even more achievable.
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The community garden 2.0 Neighbourhood residents cultivate an organic vegetable garden together. NEW •
The community garden 2.0 is a new ecological NARDIS idea.
•
New = the whole garden is cultivated together, as a group (there are no individual gardens as in the community garden 1.0). Together we reduce our ecological footprint.
ACTION-ORIENTED The actions: •
Gather a group of gardeners.
•
Find a piece of land to cultivate.
•
Decide what will be planted and sown.
•
Jump in and enjoy the harvest.
REALISABLE What we need: •
Gardeners + a plot of land. 60
•
Garden materials + seeds + plants.
•
Two hours per week per gardener.
•
Financials: purchase of seeds and plants, possibly rent of the land.
DEMOCRATIC •
Decision-making process = by consensus.
•
Group size = a few dozen people maximum.
•
Type of decisions: what to plant, how much time to invest, what additional ideas / initiatives to launch...
IMPACTFUL •
Directly involved = the gardeners.
•
Indirectly involved = the rest of the neighbourhood.
•
Recyclability = very high (community gardens 2.0 can be set up anywhere in the world, both in urban and rural areas).
SUSTAINABLE How ecologically, economically, socially sustainable is your NARDIS idea? •
Ecological (+++) = cultivating a local, organic garden.
•
Economic (+) = surplus yield can be sold on the local market.
•
Social (++) = neighbours come together around the garden.
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The new company A sustainable company that the employees themselves manage democratically. NEW •
An economic NARDIS idea.
•
New = a sustainable company with no more bosses or shareholders!
•
Wealth is distributed more fairly.
ACTION-ORIENTED The actions: •
Define a business idea (new, recycled, outsourcing...).
•
Write a business plan.
•
Bring together a group of colleagues.
•
Provide computer and/or other material. Possibly an office or work space.
•
Work the market and your customers.
REALIZABLE What we need: •
A business idea + plan.
•
A group of complementary profiles.
•
Financial starting capital and customers. 62
DEMOCRATIC •
Decision-making process = by consensus as much as possible (no more bosses or managers).
•
Group size = less than 150. If the group does grow larger, consider splitting into several smaller groups or consider additional direct democratic options.
•
Type of decisions: which strategy to follow, what to invest in, how to fairly redistribute wealth, how to distribute work, etc.
IMPACTFUL •
Directly involved = the employees.
•
Indirectly involved = the customers and suppliers.
•
Recyclability = very high. New businesses can be launched all over the world and in different industries.
SUSTAINABLE How environmentally, economically and socially sustainable is your NARDIS idea? •
Ecologically (+) = the activities are developed as ecologically as possible.
•
Economic (+++) = a fair added value is created for everyone.
•
Social (++) = the self-interest and group interest are kept in balance as much as possible.
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The sustainable jam Sustainable (jazz) jam sessions held in your own neighbourhood, town or city. NEW •
The sustainable jam is a social NARDIS idea.
•
We recycle an existing idea (the jam session) but in a more sustainable way.
•
A once- or bi-monthly local (jazz) jam session. The audience and musicians make suggestions about which songs to play.
ACTION-ORIENTED The actions: •
Contact some musicians (consider adding a fixed band).
•
Check with local bars to hold the jams.
•
Plan the first session(s).
•
Make some flyers / posters as promotion to get the audience / musicians to come to the jam (as sustainable as possible).
REALIZABLE What we need: •
Musicians + scores.
•
A channel to share scores and receive suggestions (e.g. via social media).
•
Some pubs willing to welcome the jam. 64
•
Financial investments are not really needed. Only the flyers / posters need to be paid for. Mainly use social media for promotion.
DEMOCRATIC •
Decision-making process = by consensus and voting.
•
Size of the group = ten musicians maximum. Audience can freely make suggestions.
•
Type of decisions = which songs to play in which style, determining dates...
IMPACTFUL •
Directly involved = the musicians and local pubs and bars.
•
Indirectly involved = the audience.
•
Recyclability = very high. Sustainable jams can be started anywhere. Why not consider setting up different jams for different styles of music...
SUSTAINABLE How ecologically, economically, socially sustainable is your NARDIS idea? •
Ecologically (++) = as both the musicians and audience are local, travel is limited and things stay as sustainable as possible.
•
Economical (+) = alternate between local pubs.
•
Social (+++) = local musicians play for local audiences, strengthening the local cultural scene.
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Addendum 2 Questions and answers… New ideas are often a bit strange, especially at first. Here are some questions and answers that can help you frame NARDIS correctly. Some you may have made yourself. Others will be new.
… on NARDIS NARDIS is quite complex, isn’t it? “NARDIS isn’t a simple story, that’s true. But neither are the ecological, economic and social challenges we face. Coming up with new NARDIS ideas does require some thinking and effort, but it is still very doable.”
Why use this strange name "NARDIS"? “NARDIS ultimately made it because SARDIN sounded even sillier. And also because NARDIS is the title of a famous jazz song. Trumpet player Miles Davis composed the song but never recorded it himself. It is said he preferred the interpretation of jazz pianist Bill Evans and his trio.”
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Why does NARDIS focus on the ecological, the economic and the social? Surely, there are other challenges too? “You are right that the ecological, economic and social challenges are by no means the only ones. But in these three domains we, as ordinary citizens, can still generate direct impact. In some other domains, like politics and technology for example, that is a lot more difficult. To us, citizens, political and technological solutions are often indirect solutions: they happen to us rather than that we make them happen. All too often, they’re non-inclusive. Almost all political decisions are made above our heads. But we do have a direct impact on the ecological, economic and social domains. Especially in our close, immediate environment. That is why it’s sensible to focus on those three domains. Sustainability in these three domains works like communicating vessels: ecologically sustainable ideas are often also socially sustainable, while economically sustainable ideas are also ecologically and socially sustainable. Initiatives in these three domains reinforce each other, creating a win-win-win situation.”
Isn't this too little? Shouldn’t NARDIS aim higher? “Hard to tell. Who’s to say. There are optimists as well as pessimists in this debate. Some even consider themselves to be “realists”! At first glance it seems logical to try and solve these enormous challenges with equally enormous solutions. And so we try to halt global warming through, for example, global climate agreements. But the reality is that, although many of those current solutions may seem enormous, they often fall short. All too often, they turn out to have insufficient impact, or they are too complex to be truly impactful, or they are pushed aside whenever the next economic or geopolitical 68
crisis erupts. Or they are cast aside whenever the political spectrum shifts from one side to the other. If we truly want to increase our chances of success, we will need as many actors as possible chipping in. We need many more hands than we have had so far. And we, ordinary citizens, play a crucial role in this. If we succeed in realizing a whole series of NARDIS ideas the world over, we can generate immediate results globally. If we’re with many to do so, we could even create far more substantial impact than all those enormous projects that take so long to generate tangible results. Said differently, we need a sustainable counter-hegemony to change the current (unsustainable) hegemony. And honestly, when it comes to solving these wicked problems, every little bit helps!”
Shouldn’t we think bigger? “In light of a gigantic global problem such as global warming, ideas like #1_in_7 and the community garden 2.0 do indeed seem like minuscule solutions. And of course, one group of seven people who eat vegetarian or vegan one day a week and one organic community garden 2.0 are just tiny drops on an ever-hotter plate. But it is not supposed to stop there. #1_in_7 is accessible and achievable for just about anyone and community gardens 2.0 can be started anywhere in the world, both in the city and in the countryside. The step from one #1_in_7 group and one community garden 2.0 to many thousands is not so big. And those thousands of groups and gardens do generate a lot of impact. Besides, these aren’t just the only ones, there are a whole lot of other ecological NARDIS ideas that can be devised, as well as other economic and social ideas. All of these efforts combined, can generate real, tangible, global impact! Together, we are the lever that can save our world.”
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Is this not too late? “Whether there is still time to turn things around or not is not very relevant. The alternative - doing nothing and just bide our time - is not really an alternative. The band may continue to play but the music won’t stop the ship from sinking. We are definitely late to respond but it is never too late to do something.”
How do we know if this will even work? “We will only know for sure when we start to put NARDIS ideas into practice and we begin to see and feel the impact of our activities. But that we need to do more than we do now is beyond dispute.”
How fixed are these NARDIS ideas anyway? “Each of us is free to interpret these NARDIS ideas as we see fit. Some general guidelines have been laid out, but how NARDIS ideas are conceived and put into practice, depends on the people who are involved. Each of us will have to give it our own interpretation. Some NARDIS ideas will emphasize certain elements more and others less. A similar NARDIS idea could just as well be given a different meaning by another group in another region. And that’s OK. A one-size-fits-allapproach usually means that it doesn’t really fit anyone. We don’t need a new straitjacket. Besides, an overly narrow framework would not be very democratic either. NARDIS wants to introduce more variation and that implies more room for interpretation and improvisation. So NARDIS ideas will very likely change a lot as we put them into practice. We are embarking on a journey without exactly knowing where it will take us. And that's OK.” 70
Is NARDIS not too innovative? Too revolutionary? “NARDIS ideas are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Much of what we are already doing today, we can still do tomorrow, be it more sustainably and more direct democratically. NARDIS is a logical next step in how we think and act. It’s also a necessary step as our current ways of thinking and acting are incapable of realizing the changes we so urgently need.”
Is NARDIS intended to become this new, big story? “Oh dear, absolutely not. It’s highly doubtful that we would need a new, grand story or that it would even be able to get a foothold. The many isms (communism, socialism, liberalism, neoliberalism, fascism) sound very trite, frankly. Our world has become too complex for one grand vision to explain everything or to provide an answer to everything. What we need are millions of little stories, written and realized by ordinary citizens, like you and me. NARDIS offers us the tools to realize just that.”
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… on current and new ideas. What about the current ideas and organizations? “Many of the current ideas will simply continue. What’s important is that we not only rely on current ideas and organizations but also work out new ones. The current ideas seem to be unable to realize the kind of change that is needed. That’s why we have to leave the current, beaten path and venture into new directions. Of course, that takes time and we will have to keep both new and current ideas going for a while. The aim and hope is to gradually and increasingly replace the current ideas with new ones. NARDIS is ultimately an and-and kind of story. It’s not an or-or story.”
How about the current political and technological ideas? “We will still need political and technological solutions. Many of the current political and technological ideas and initiatives will simply continue. Technological innovations will continue to play an important role and political agreements will remain necessary to steer the world in a better direction. But it is naive to believe that we will get there with technology and politics alone. If we really want to increase our chances of success, each of us will have to do her or his part: citizens, politicians and innovators alike. We all have a role to play in bringing about the changes we need! NARDIS is about our role as citizens. To tackle the major challenges that we face, we will have to do a lot more than we do today. Coming up with many new NARDIS ideas and realizing these, is a logical next step.”
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Will these new ideas replace the current ones in the long term? “No idea. Making predictions is very difficult. Especially about the future. What we need first of all is many more new ideas. The lack of ingenuity of the current ideas is a key part of the problem: we keep trying to tackle the big challenges in the same ways but with far too little results. NARDIS ideas question the status quo and help us to actively look for different approaches. New NARDIS ideas and organizations, therefore, are not outside of the current reality but form an integral part of it and try to steer the current course in a different direction. Replacing current dogmatic thinking with a new dogmatic approach will not really help us. Replacing all the current ideas with new ideas is probably not only impossible, it would more than likely not be desirable either. We need more variety, not less. By coming up with new ideas and realizing these, we can infuse more variation into the current, onesided ideas landscape and thus enlarge our chances of truly changing our world.”
Won't the current and new ideas clash? “Occasionally they will clash but that does not have to be bad per se. There will be continuous interaction anyway. New NARDIS ideas and organizations will have to be able to stand their ground alongside the current ideas and organizations. Economic NARDIS ideas will have to be realized within the current economic reality. New companies should therefore be able to operate alongside current ones. Just as new ecological and social NARDIS ideas should be able to operate within the current social and ecological reality. If we succeed in coming up with many new NARDIS ideas and realizing these, in time, they could begin to influence current ideas. Current
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ideas and organizations could gradually become more direct democratic and more sustainable... Who knows, if we are able to realize a lot of NARDIS ideas and we persist over a longer period of time, then the balance could gradually shift and doing things direct democratically and more sustainably could become the new normal. Without a doubt, not everyone will agree. There will be resistance from within the current ideas and organisations and not everyone will want to or be able to join in. It will undoubtedly cause friction from time to time. After all, every change faces resistance. Changes in the past have also had their fair share of opposition and this will also be the case today and tomorrow. How will this friction manifest itself? That is still a matter of conjecture. Let's first get as many NARDIS ideas on the rails as possible!"
What is the main difference between new and current ideas? “NARDIS ideas are new, action-oriented, realizable and impactful, but above all they are direct democratic and sustainable. That’s probably the main difference with the current ideas. When we, ordinary people, realize ideas in a direct democratic and sustainable manner, we create a better and more humane world. When we do that within our local communities, then the people within that community will reap the benefits. When new NARDIS initiatives start to blossom all around the world, we can over time create substantial global impact.”
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Shouldn’t we try to introduce newness in as many areas as possible? “Doing everything anew will probably not work. Creating and realizing a whole series of new economic, ecological and social NARDIS ideas is already a good place to start. Even though NARDIS focuses on the economic, the ecological and the social, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue your fantastic new technological or political idea. Got an idea like that? Great. Go for it. The more new ideas we try to realize, the better. Although it can be good though to be on your guard in the pursuit of an idea that fits in closely with the current ideas. Before you know it, you might get stuck again in the current merry-go-round. Beware that your idea doesn’t contribute to the problem rather than the solution.”
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… on direct democracy. Does direct democracy even work? “Why wouldn’t it? As humans, we are perfectly capable of making decisions based on equality. Such decisions are usually more qualitative even! But admittedly, direct democracy is easier to organize when the group isn’t all that sizable. A good indicator is this: as long as all individuals within an organization can still know each other personally, direct democratic decision-making is very well achievable. 150 seems to be the magic number. Within a group of fewer than 150 people, you can relatively easily organize workable direct democratic decision-making. As groups grow larger, it becomes a bit more difficult and cumbersome. When a group becomes too large, it may be good to divide it into several smaller groups. You could also decide to begin using a deliberative democratic model: a representative group of individuals is then assembled from the larger organization. This group is given a mandate to reach a decision on a certain topic with the outcome being accepted by the rest of the organization. Another approach could be to set up a structure of delegation: different direct democratic groups could then appoint a delegate to represent the group. Different (direct) democratic models could be tested, but in general the adagio in direct democracy is: “small is beautiful.”
Why are small groups better? “The evolutionary biologist and anthropologist Robin Dunbar states that people are able to maintain stable social relationships with around 150 people. As a group grows beyond this, the need for more rules and standards typically arises. 76
Communities of hunters and gatherers - from prehistoric times to the present day - therefore had and have usually between 75 and 150 members. The strength of the group lies within the number: large enough to survive but not too large to become alienated from each other. Our early ancestors survived for millennia like this: in mini-societies that were very egalitarian. Very... direct democratically, actually.”
Doesn’t direct democracy lead to chaos?” “Running things direct democratically doesn’t mean there is no more authority. But authority is interpreted differently. Within the direct democratic organization, authority is obtained based on expertise, not on title or hierarchical function or even ownership. Anyone with more expertise or knowledge within a certain domain can therefore weigh more on the discussion. As such, decision-making can be influenced by expert views, even though individuals still get to decide independently. In that respect, the direct democratic organization is genuinely meritocratic.”
If direct democracy is so wonderful, shouldn’t we try to apply this to as many domains as possible? Also within politics? “More direct democracy in as many different domains as possible is a good idea for sure. Both within our current companies and other organizations there are fewer and fewer reasons to stick to the current hierarchical model. More direct democracy, also in politics, does seem like a good idea, although it is somewhat outside the scope of “How we can save our world” and NARDIS. NARDIS focuses on new organizations in the economic, ecological and social domain. The current political structures and institutions could be harder nuts to crack. But if you 77
think you’ve spotted an opportunity in the political domain, feel free to do your thing.”
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… on sustainability Are we even still allowed to do anything if we want to live an ecologically sustainable life? “Whatever we do, there will always be impact on the environment. Taking into account any possible ecological impact on all future generations is simply not workable or viable. If that would be the objective, it would soon become clear that we are not able to do anything anymore. But we can definitely set a time horizon for doing things much more sustainably, namely the next two generations, our children and grandchildren. Two generations is tangible for everyone. Look at the previous generations that have had a direct impact on your personal development and life: your parents and your grandparents. A perspective that takes into account the next two generations is therefore also very useful, tangible and concrete. The positive impact that you create for them, you can still partly experience yourself. If you do that for your children and grandchildren, and your children then do that for their children and grandchildren, and then they do it again for their children and grandchildren, and then they again... ... then we’re in for a very long sustainable ride.”
How about economic growth? “The ability of the planet to renew itself has long been surpassed by economic growth. To compensate for our ecological footprint, we would actually need one and a half earth. Let’s be clear: that we don’t have. There is no planet B. The idea of permanent economic growth is actually quite strange: no system grows infinitely, except our economy? 79
Perpetual economic growth is more than likely a myth. In itself, that should not be all that problematic. Living a full, happy life in a more static economy is perfectly possible. Although it will require us to adjust our idea of “wealth” and “being rich”. One thing that seems to be unescapable, though: we will have to consume differently and less. Continuing down the current path is no longer an option. We urgently need to become better guardians of our planet. Our current economic system is exhausting the people and the planet. It’s high time to bring the ecological, economic and social domains back in balance. Doing so requires us to rethink the way we work and live. We will have to rethink the way we interpret and redistribute wealth. NARDIS can help with that.”
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… on the new company. What’s so economy?
problematic
about
our
current
“The current economic landscape looks a lot like a monoculture. But just like any monoculture, this economic variation too is very vulnerable! It systematically depletes the soil from which it derives its revenue: us (the people) and our planet. If we want to have a more stable and sustainable economy, we need to create more economic variation. Economic NARDIS ideas like the new company do exactly that.”
What about the current companies? “Not every current company is a bogeyman. Many small and mediumsized (family) businesses are already trying to implement sustainable policies. However, the larger a company becomes, the harder it often turns out to be to operate ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. Just consider the many multinationals that set up fiscal structures to evade taxes. There’s nothing socially sustainable about that, quite the contrary. Such anti-social practices absolutely need to be eradicated.”
Do we even need new companies? Can't we just transform the current ones? “Changing a company is a very difficult exercise: the current ways of thinking and doing things is too ingrained. According to experts, one in two change processes in organisations fail. With this in mind, it makes more sense to get things straight right from the start. That will be easier within new companies that we build from the ground up. 81
Also, there is one element about the new company that is going to be practically impossible to implement in just about every current enterprise: the ownership of the company. The new company is a company without private owners. But I doubt there will be many owners of current companies willing to give up their share in their company. The big separation in most current companies is between shareholders and non-shareholders. In other words: do you own a part of the company or not? But this division creates a strange and sometimes perverse effect: the employees who ensure the company can operate - who create the company’s revenue and profit - depend on the “good will” of the shareholders if any and, if so, how much profit is shared with them. Even though most of these shareholders have very little to nothing to do with the company and its activities: they just own a share. The new company throws that principle overboard.”
What current economic challenges could the new company possibly solve? “Clearly, we will not be able solve all our economic challenges with new companies alone. But new companies can tackle a wide range of current challenges: •
A more equal distribution of wealth within the new companies can help decrease the gap between rich and poor.
•
By working more sustainably, the negative impact on the ecosystem can be limited.
•
By constantly looking for the right balance between individual and group interest, individualism can be curbed.
In addition, the direct democratic and sustainable nature of the new company can lead to... •
More equality in the workplace
•
More involvement of all employees 82
•
A fairer distribution of wealth
•
An internalization of external environmental costs
•
Fewer people who drop out due to stress and burnout
•
...
New companies will not solve all of our problems, but they can help remedy many. Don’t forget, we can probably come up with a whole host of other economic NARDIS ideas besides the new company as well.”
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… on change. Isn't it naive to think that ordinary citizens like us can change the world? “Maybe so. But it is just as naive to believe that we can get the world back on track by relying solely on more technological innovation and more politics. Despite the availability of all these green technologies, our global ecological footprint continues to grow, without any prospect that it will decrease any time soon. Despite all the political decision-making, the ecological, economic and social challenges remain immense. Unless there is intensive, sustained effort from all of us, any attempt for change risks being insufficient. To achieve real, sustainable change, we need to think and act differently. In "Towards a sustainable society", this is referred to as "hegemony": how we think and what we do, from individual over social organisation to institution. Change within society and the current hegemony is always possible and even inevitable, but at the same time not obvious: hegemonic change usually happens slowly and from the bottom up, not the other way around. We, citizens, are therefore the main lever for change. When we change, hegemony changes. When we think and act more sustainably, our world becomes more sustainable. "Towards a sustainable society" zooms in on how hegemony determines how we think and what we do, as individuals, social organisations and institutions. It look at the ways a sustainable counter-hegemony can lead us away from the current hegemony and thus put us on the road towards a sustainable society. In a way, it is a preliminary study and theoretical foundation to “How we can save our world”.”
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Is change – especially such radical change – even possible? “Everything changes. Hardly anything (maybe even nothing) remains static forever. The world is changing us and we are changing the world. And each of us can make a difference. Many major changes in our history came about when ordinary citizens took action and started to get organized. And many of those big changes started with one individual and one idea that was turned into action. One idea can set off a whole series of dominoes. The more NARDIS ideas we come up with and realize, the better our chances of changing and saving our world.”
What about direct action and protest actions? Are these NARDIS? “Direct actions – think about local protest groups or movements like Occupy or Extinction Rebellion – can be very useful to create awareness or generate an immediate outcome. For example, direct action can be used to shake up public opinion or to try and stop an unsustainable activity quickly. But direct action and protest actions are not necessarily NARDIS ideas. Direct actions awaken public opinion and often succeed in stopping unsustainable activities in the short term. They often arise out of necessity: for example, the need to respond quickly to an acute problem. Although there are some similarities (both are action-oriented, often sustainable and organised direct democratically), there are also important differences: many direct actions are temporary, which can make them less impactful in the longer term. Many direct actions appeal to a somewhat "alternative" audience, whereas NARDIS aims at the common citizen who is concerned about the state of our world and where it is heading. Ideally, NARDIS ideas are realised and sustained by ordinary people. As such, together, we build a 85
counterweight to the current ideas and ways of acting. We need to keep doing this for a long time: you don't think and act differently from one day to the next, it takes time. Direct actions and protests are therefore not necessarily NARDIS ideas: besides some similarities, there are also important differences. But direct actions will have to continue to play their role”
Isn’t this a utopian attempt to return to a longgone past? “No, NARDIS ideas are not an attempt to return to earlier times. Even when we recycle old ideas, it's important to transfer these to today. What once was, cannot be again. The world and context within which we think and act is constantly evolving. NARDIS is future-oriented. However relevant an analysis of the past may be, what matters is what we do today with the aim of achieving a result tomorrow. NARDIS is not a nostalgic return to a long-gone past: it is an action plan for a new, sustainable and direct democratic world.”
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Addendum 3 Planet Titanic
Sometimes it feels like we're all stuck on our very own Titanic. Our ship [our planet] is making water [is heating up], but we’re not really worried. After all, we think and believe this ship can’t sink. Also, there are technicians on board [innovators who develop green technologies] who claim to be able to close the holes in the ship. They are, however, not quite sure about this [many technologies have yet to be developed] and they do not know whether there will be enough time to carry out the repairs before the ship runs full of water and sinks [before the earth warms up more than 2° C]. The captain [politics] thinks that everything will be fine and simply continues to follow the current route [they simply continue the current socio-economic policies].
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In the meantime, the band continues to play on deck [we, citizens, continue to be entertained]. The question now is this: what do we, the passengers [the citizens of this world], do? Do we trust that everything will be fine and so, do we continue like before? Or are we going to roll up our sleeves and take action? For example, we could join hands and make a chain of people to pour water out of the ship’s hold with buckets. We could also throw unnecessary ballast overboard as much as possible so that the ship doesn’t continue to sink that fast. Or do we do nothing and instead go back to sunbathing, trusting the experts [the innovators and politicians] will get the job done in time. But what if we could make the boat lighter by throwing ballast overboard [consume less] and scooping water from the hold [realize new sustainable ideas]? What if the boat began to sink more slowly as a result, which might also give the technicians some extra time to close the cracks... Perhaps, together, we [citizens and innovators and politicians] can prevent our ship from sinking with all hands. We should also consider that the situation is not the same for everyone. The passengers who have a cabin above the water line [the developed countries], are in more luck: they’ll be able to hold out longer. But the majority of passengers [the developing countries] are far less fortunate: because they can only afford a cabin below the waterline, they’ll be inundated firstly [they’ll experience the consequences of global warming firstly and more fiercely]. The more water our Titanic makes [the more our planet heats up], the less habitable it will become for everyone. Passengers from the lower decks of the ship [the people in the developing countries] will be hit first and hardest. Out of necessity, they will start to move to the upper decks of the ship [to the developed countries]. Because of that, the situation on the upper decks will deteriorate quicker and soon all passengers [all inhabitants of our planet] will be worse off.
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We only have one ship [one earth], we can’t dock anywhere else [there is no planet B]. The reality is: we are all in this together [every citizen of the planet, in the developed as well as the developing countries]. If we do not want to perish, or end up in some apocalyptic scenario, we should all to take action. After all, the challenge is multifaceted: the holes in the hull of the ship [global warming] can sink the ship [make the planet unliveable]. But before that happens, the relocation of large groups of passengers from the lower cabins [flows of refugees and immigrants from the developing countries] will make the situation at the top [the developed countries] less viable at an accelerated pace. Whether we are still on time to prevent large passenger movements or remedy the complete sinking of the ship [whether we can still avoid a catastrophic global warming that turns the planet into an inhospitable environment for just about all life on Earth] is not really relevant. Doing something is better than doing nothing. Going under while the band continues to play on deck: that’s not who we are or want to be. Relying solely on the captain [the politicians] and the technicians [the innovators] to lead us to safer waters is too risky. We must all chip in. When each of us picks up a bucket and begins to clear water from the hull according to our capabilities, we – passengers [ordinary citizens], captains [politicians] and technicians [innovators of green technologies] – have a better chance of trying to keep the boat afloat. That could give us the extra time we need to repair what can be repaired and make the ship seaworthy again for the next generations. We need all hands on deck!
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References: Photo ‘lightbulb’ by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Photo ‘democracy’ by Antenna on Unsplash Photo ‘poppies in a field’ by Henry Be on Unsplash Photo ‘nutshell’ by Dirk Stael Photo ‘garden’ by Kenan Kitchen on Unsplash Photo ‘people eating a meal around a table’ by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash Photo ‘BARISTA , Bandung, Indonesia’ by Ali Yahya on Unsplash Photo ‘office’ by NESA by Makers on Unsplash Photo ‘jam’ by Wendy Wei via Pexels Photo ‘meal’ by Melissa Walker Horn on Unsplash Photo ‘Titanic’ via Wikimedia.org - Public Domain
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How to stop global warming? How can we save our world? It seems an almost impossible task. Yet we, ordinary citizens, will have to make a difference. NARDIS shows us how. With NARDIS, each of us can create and realize new, actionable, realizable, democratic, impactful and sustainable ideas. Ideas that change our world and preserve and reinforce that which makes us human. What will be your NARDIS idea to save our world?
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