Watching our world lope head-on towards the edge of an abyss right now is probably the most disturbing thing I have ever witnessed. Not just because the impending calamity is going to be unpleasant, but more so because the solutions to avoid this catastrophe are so incredibly simple that it's asinine to ponder why we are not undertaking them now.
Call me delusional, like the U.S. Federal Government does, but I have a different perspective on the type of world I would like to see come to fruition. I have some ideas that may alter your preconceived notions, ideas that I hope may press into the burrows of your mind and take root.
It's fairly obvious, to the casual observer, that the crux of today's global problems is the fact that many people think they can morally force others how to live. Instead of talking others into it or demonstrating how it's better, many people utilize the force and coercion of government to MAKE everyone else adopt what they want. The inevitable resulting blow-back has set us on course for destruction.
Altering our current course requires acquiring a new heading. This heading should be an entirely new political and economic system, designed from the ground up, based on moral principles. As ships that lose their bearings become lost at sea, so will we become lost without principles. If we can unify behind the non-aggression axiom, the golden rule, and recognize that other human beings are sovereign individuals with inalienable rights; these bearings will keep us on the correct heading. Through this unification, we can overcome the obstacle of division that prevents us from enacting a solution.
The solution is competition. Instead of a system that burgeons more centralized control and incites a power struggle, it should be a system that empowers individuals to live as they choose, without fostering aggression. We can, in fact, have multiple economic systems functioning simultaneously in harmony with one another. We don't have to force the resistors to be capitalist, socialist, or communist. We can instead focus on building the society that we each desire instead. If it's successful and people are healthy, happy, and have a high quality of life - no force or coercion will be required to attain adoption.
We could have incredibly high-tech sustainable cities. We could have full on communes in some of these high-tech cities. We could have an Anarcho-capitalist free market economy competing peacefully right along side. We could have citizen owned P.U.D. style cooperatives competing in health care, insurance, banking, food, utilities, and other market segments. So long as everyone involved in them does so voluntarily, and people are free to choose what best suits their needs, there is no reason to force anyone to adopt anything. These systems are not mutually exclusive so long as they are all completely voluntary. The freedom to opt-out, by its democratic nature, keeps corruption in check and monopolies at bay. Competition is not a sin.
Imagine the peace when nobody is trying to force others to politically comply. Imagine a system not governed by the political ideology of those in power, but governed by the timeless principles of liberty. Imagine a system where we all get to live how we want to live. Imagine the wealth we could build by multiplying it instead of squandering it through division. Imagine how we could set that course today and arrive there by keeping our bearings.
Imagine that world.