We have entered the Planetary Phase of Civilization. Strands of interdependence are weaving humanity and Earth into a single community of fate—the overarching proto-country herein christened Earthland. In the unsettled twenty-first century, the drama of social evolution will play out on a world stage with the perils many and dark premonitions all too plausible.
Still, a Great Transition to a planetary civilization of enriched lives and a healthy planet remains possible. But how? What forms of collective action and consciousness can redirect us toward such a future? Who will lead the charge? What might such a world look like?
"Journey to Earthland" offers answers. It clarifies the world-historical challenge; explains the critical role of a global citizens movement in advancing social transformation; and paints a picture of the kind of flourishing civilization that might lie on the other side of a Great Transition.
In this pivotal moment, the odyssey to a different world is underway yet the ultimate destination depends on choices and struggles yet to come. Acting to prevent the futures we dread is where our work must begin. But the larger task is to foster the finer Earthland we and our descendants deserve.
Author(s): Paul Raskin
Publisher: Tellus Institute
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 138
Author’s Preface
Prologue: Bound Together
Part I Departure: Into the Maelstrom
The long prelude
Out of the cosmos
The second Big Bang
Macro-shifts
The Planetary Phase
A unitary formation
Adumbrations
A turbulent time
Tomorrowlands
Branching scenarios
Dramatis personae
Who speaks for Earthland?
Part II Pathway: A Safe Passage
Peril in the mainstream
Triads of transformation
Through-lines
Rising up
Citizens without borders
Dimensions of collective action
Imagine all the people
Part III: Destination: Scenes from a Civilized Future
One hundred years that shook the world
What matters
One world
Many places
Governance: the principle of constrained pluralism
Economy
World trade
The way we are
People
Time
Education
Spirituality
Social justice
Environment
In praise of generations past
Epilogue: Travelers Agonistes
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index