Peace: A Closer Look is Needed

After posting my last blog I have been hoping that someone would challenge my conclusion that not one member of the global workforce is working to maintain the species to which we belong but, instead, are working for the vitality of one or more human organizations that we hope will collectively maintain the species. It is possible that all my readers agree with me. It is also possible that some or all don’t, but I have no way of knowing why they think I am wrong.

Whatever the truth may be on this point, I think we can all agree that no organization can thrive if its welfare is left to chance. This is the reason any leader of an organization will be very sensitive to the presence in the organization of someone who is undermining or not committed to the growth and development of the organization. Those in leadership will make every effort to ensure that this attitude does not gain a foothold within the organization. If we are truly committed to the welfare of our species, or even the welfare of those who must come behind us, we have to address this issue.

The obvious challenge was indirectly presented above. Unlike our organizations no global leader of the human race has been identified. Historically, anyone who has ever attempted to become the global leader of the species has failed in the attempt.

It appears that we have been burdened with a colossal problem but do not have a ready mechanism for solving it. I believe that much can be gained by taking a close look at aspects of our knowledge base that have not been much emphasized.

Science has done much to improve the condition of man. But there is nothing magical about science. Even though we think ourselves to be superior to the other species on the planet the truth is that they have been our teachers. Nothing that humans have accomplished on this planet is original with us. Science itself begins with the fine art of observation. First we observe the other species doing the things they know how to do and we then try our best to apply that knowledge to our own situation. In many instances, e.g. diet, lodging and body markings, we mimic them well. In other situations, e.g. flight in birds, we are still playing catch up. We have observed the efficiency of avian flight but we have not learned to fly. What we call human flight is only an advanced version of a rock being catapulted through the air under controlled conditions.

On the question of the relationship between the plight of organizations and the human species maybe we have not been as observant as we should have been. The organization is truly man’s most potent invention but it is nothing more than a machine with human parts. We learned about group dynamics from observing its operation in the species around us. General Systems Theory is a result of that observation. Maybe it is time for a closer look.