By Mario deSantis, November 23, 1999

We cannot get richer at the expense of others for ever, and if we do, we are doomed to experience never ending human conflicts which will eventually bring a world catastrophe(1). The answer to our inability to a sustained world peace and consequential social and economic development rests on our understanding that our lives and our future are all interrelated. Therefore, we must strive to build social infrastructures where wealth is created to satisfy our needs of being human and a bit away from today's speculative institutions of the stock and financial markets.

The New Economy(2) has broken down the classical theory of Economics, and knowledge and innovation are being recognised as becoming the fundamental driving forces of our social and economic growth. It is a welcome news to realize that knowledge is not a good to be rationed to have value, and that innovation is unfolding our basic aspiration of being alive and creative. In trying to understand the evolving of our social environment I have been particularly moved by the theory of living systems as synthesised by Capra(3), and how this theory is able to grasp the far reaching philosophical statements that "...living systems are cognitive systems(4)...", and that "...problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them(5)..." Learning and creativity are therefore the basic ingredients of human nature and as a consequence we have the responsibility to build social institutions which foster these natural processes.

The recent judicial fact findings against Microsoft(6), and last week-end political stance to break the "digital divide(7)" are encouraging news for a redirection of our business practices, a redirection where knowledge and innovation will be nurtured for the benefit of us all, rather than rationed for the benefit of the few and privileged.

Endnotes

1. Combustion in the Rain Forest: Ecology, Energy and Economy for a Sustainable Environment, L. Klemas, Chemical Engineering Consultant

2. New Rules for the New  Economy, by Kevin Kelly, Wired Magazine Group Inc, Issue 5.09 - September 1999

3 THE WEB OF LIFE, by Fritjof Capra, Anchor Books, 1996

4. Maturana's quote found in THE WEB OF LIFE, by Fritjof Capra, Anchor Books, 1996, page 97. Also, refer to the site: An Introduction to "Maturana's" Biology, by Lloyd Fell and David Russell

5. Famous quotation by Albert Einstein.

6. Judge calls Microsoft a "monopoly", By Joe Wilcox, November 5, 1999, 5:35 p.m. PT

7. USATODAY.com Daily Briefing, Mon, 22 Nov 1999 02:24:48 MST, From: "USATODAY.com" <dailybriefing@topnews.usatoday.com> = Clinton urges broad Internet access, FLORENCE, Italy