Fifty years ago it was possible to see the end of oil and even the demise of the automobile. But the progress of minds slows down at times. Preoccupations loom. Generations pass. And we end up in the pickle we are presently in. The president has the illusion that the past is attainable. Of course, he is wrong. No past is ever attainable. It comes back as nostalgia and neurosis. But wise eyes focus on now and the future that is unfolding. That would certainly be the case with smart entrepreneurs.
Bucky
One of the smartest of entrepreneurs was the late Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome and philosopher of the growth from tiny to gigantic.
The man thought, correctly, that things move from the almost nothing all the way up, sort of like birth. Our future lies in getting past the structures of the present world to the structures of a viable future. There are all sorts of twists to this, for example, density matters. So does the height of structures. So do ideas about what makes sense when we ponder what should be private and public.
Hidden profit
Having invested much of my life in thinking of these matters, I am going to make an entrepreneur fabulously wealthy. All he or she needs is the light that goes on when understanding kicks in. Want some hints? Make car-free cities out of malls. Stop making bearing walls and make Lego-like surfaces that can be easily transported and assembled on site.
Eventually, these will be printed out. Evolve urban agriculture so that food of all sorts can be locally produced. Make schools small, mingled, age-free, and voluntary. The nuts and bolts are numerous and none is mandatory save car-free cities and common sense.
Grassroots rules
This will lead to the possibility of a world of local democracies.
But for purposes of this article, the frosting is those Lego-like surfaces. When the creation of one’s habitat becomes Lego-like, within a matrix I will describe, the surfaces themselves will represent the new cars of the future. Need I say more?
I am talking about the world we build when we realize that we are moving slowly because we are literally dragging our feet, unable to commit to the adventurous plan we will need.
My entrepreneur partner will create one of these cybercommunities and life for all will change as a result.
Key values
When the serious conversation begins, I will have to inform all comers that four values must be made the center of this enterprise. Tolerance for the remarkable flexibility, helpfulness for all aspects of it, democracy as its polity, and non-idolatry as its spiritual core, an openness to all nonviolent expressions of spiritual commitment or none at all.
