Entries in the 'Crisis' Category

“Civilization Basically Stopped Progressing In The 1960s”

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Peter Thiel, billionaire Facebook investor, former PayPal CEO, and Palantir co-founder): “For most of recent human history—from the invention of the steam engine in the late 17th century through about the late 1960’s or so—technological process has been tremendous, perhaps even relentless. In most prior human societies, people made money by taking it from others. The industrial revolution wrought a paradigm shift in which people make money through trade, not plunder.

“The zenith of optimism about the future of technology might have been the 1960’s. People believed in the future. They thought about the future. Many were supremely confident that the next 50 years would be a half-century of unprecedented technological progress.

“But with the exception of the computer industry, it wasn’t. Per capita incomes are still rising, but that rate is starkly decelerating. Median wages have been stagnant since 1973. People find themselves in an alarming Alice-in-Wonderland-style scenario in which they must run harder and harder—that is, work longer hours—just to stay in the same place. This deceleration is complex, and wage data alone don’t explain it. But they do support the general sense that the rapid progress of the last 200 years is slowing all too quickly.”

My Comment: All the years of development after 1960 have not been beneficial for mankind. We need to rise to the next level and strive to achieve goals other than the material ones that no longer can satisfy and benefit us.
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Italy Is On The Edge Of A Precipice

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Mario Monti, Prime Minister of Italy): “‘We stepped away from the precipice before, with the contribution of the political forces and sacrifices of the Italian people – but the hole is growing bigger and it may swallow us up. We are again in a crisis.’”

My Comment: From the edge of a precipice, you can fall down, but  you can fly.
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Everyone Should Know About The Crisis

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Should the basic course of integral upbringing include the subject of the crisis and methods of overcoming it?

Answer: I think that this topic should also be included in the basic course because man exists in a field of information, under the influence of the media that brainwashes him and fills him with all kinds of nonsense, and they say it is possible to get rid of the crisis, to somehow to overcome it and the like.

We must give a person a strong, scientific, social, and mainly psychological foundation, so that he will certainly know and understand that is it possible to overcome the crisis only through our similarity with nature, only if we create an integral, “round” society—a society of reasonable consumption, mutual understanding, balancing people with each other, etc. This is possible only under the influence of the environment.

We need to tell a person all the theories for the solution of the crisis and show a way, through scientific opinions, that none of them can work since they are invented by our egoistic mind that wants to divert us from the truth.

I would say that the majority of these theories are designed to ensure profiting from the continuation of their development, to allow them to sit back and dig in to their own concerns. After all, we see that from the beginning they are not leading anywhere.

Therefore, the topic “Methods of Overcoming the Crisis” must necessarily be included in the basic course of integral upbringing.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/22/12

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Arvut Movement Press Conference

On June 11th, the Israeli Writers’ House in Tel Aviv held a press conference of the social Arvut Movement that brought together representatives from all types of media: newspapers, radio, TV and the Internet: News of the Week, Satellite, Age, Reka, Nine, Zman.com, Mignews, etc.

The representatives of the movement talked about the objectives and basic directions of their activity and responded to questions.

The Arvut Movement strongly proclaimed itself in the hot summer of 2011 when the reality of the “global village” announced itself in the protest movement in the streets of Israeli cities. Integral relationships, which gripped the world, put everyone in very tough conditions and left Israel, with its tangle of problems, no room for error. The crisis quickly dispels the illusions of the past: If we don’t learn to live by new rules, we will be forced to study the science of survival.

And so, the main goal of the Arvut Movement is to consolidate the society on the basis of the principle of mutual guarantee. Disagreements and conflicts should not mislead us, although sometimes they seem unresolvable. We need to rise above what divides us and unite around common solutions to all problems.

The Arvut Movement quickly managed to unite thousands of people from all walks of life. Its materials are published in leading websites; it publishes books and pamphlets, gives lectures and organizes seminars in various organizations. Along with this, the movement focuses its forces on several major projects, covering the widest audiences.

The technique of integral education was developed by international efforts. The educational programs of the movement were presented in UNESCO and the UN. They are already used in U.S. prisons, and Šiauliai University signed an agreement to use the technique of integral education in their educational process.

In the media, the Israeli TV channel Arvut.tv is created on the basis of Channel 66. It serves as the foundation for programs on the subject of mutual guarantee, broadcasting the concept of the unity of society in a variety of genres, without which no modern problem can be solved.

Roundtables in Hebrew and Russian, which are regularly conducted throughout the country, are the flagship project of the movement. This scheme has been already used by dozens of cities, as well as colleges Tel Hai, Beit Berl, the University of Haifa, and even the Knesset (the Israeli general assembly). Here, polar points of view come in contact, and seemingly irreconcilable opponents find common ground.

This summer, the Arvut Movement, together with large public organizations such as the youth movement Scopus, Association of Community Centers, Council of Judea and Samaria, Kulanana, Union of Volunteers, Kenes Sderot le hevrah, youth movement Bnei Akiva, Israeli Students Association, Tnuat a-Noar Be Yisrael, Maccabi Hatzair youth movement, organization Maace, Israel’s Women’s Parliament, and women’s organization Ahoti (“My Sister”), are carrying out a wide campaign called “120 Roundtables: Public Dialogue or a Collective Position.” In the consolidation of society, we cannot do without mutual guarantee, and first of all, it requires a restructuring of values because society cultivates values based on division and stiff competition.

During the summer months, roundtable discussions will be simultaneously held in most cities of the country; they will be attended by representatives from all levels of government. This public campaign will be completed in the Knesset in November.

Of course, journalists had many questions: “Can the idealistic idea of mutual guarantee be combined with the tired society that believes in nothing? Where is the guarantee that a collision with the reality of the Israeli political kitchen does not become bitter disappointment?”

– “We are not an insurance company,” said Zion Alon, a strategic adviser to the movement. “Only one thing can be guaranteed: the failure of the old way has put us on the threshold of degradation.”

“But is not an attempt to negotiate with those who are guilty in this situation doomed to fail?”

– “We focus not on trying to negotiate, but on changing the approach to solving problems,” said Igor Dion, head of the Russian-speaking department of the Arvut Movement. “We find a firm basis of common interests, and only at this level do we begin to agree with each other. Any other approach automatically makes right the one who is strong.”

The word “utopia” sounded repeatedly in the audience.

– In Greek, it means a place that doesn’t exist, explained Emma Sotnikova, press secretary of the movement. “You need to create this place to change the relationship between people. Otherwise, Israel has no future. In the 21st century, in the information age, the “Fourth Power” becomes the first one. So, use it for good,” she encouraged journalists.

After the press conference ended, discussions and disputes continued on the sidelines, which made it obvious that the topics raised by the Arvut Movement were interesting for many of the invited guests.
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The Calls Will Not Help: There Is Nowhere To Grow!

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (George Soros, financier): “Euro-zone governments have around three months to ensure the survival of the single currency,’ billionaire investor George Soros said in a speech on Saturday [June 2nd].

“‘We are at an inflection point. After the expiration of the three months’ window, the markets will continue to demand more but the authorities will not be able to meet their demands. …’

“The European Union is ‘like a bubble’ – not a financial bubble but a political bubble – that could pop as a result of the euro-zone crisis, Soros said.

“‘In the boom phase, the EU was what the psychoanalyst David Tuckett calls a “fantastic object” – unreal but immensely attractive,’ he said.

“’In retrospect, it is now clear that the main source of trouble is that the member states of the euro have surrendered to the European Central Bank (ECB) their rights to create fiat money. They did not realize what that entails – and neither did the European authorities,’ he said.

“The euro-zone needs a European deposit insurance scheme for banks, Soros said, as well as direct financing by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) for banks, which ‘must go hand-in-hand with euro-zone-wide supervision and regulation.’ …

“Soros said that too much blame had been placed on peripheral euro-zone countries such as heavily indebted Greece and Spain, and that creditors like Germany had to share responsibility.

“‘The center’ is responsible for designing a flawed system, enacting flawed treaties, pursuing flawed policies and always doing too little too late. …

“‘The authorities didn’t understand the nature of the euro crisis; they thought it was a fiscal problem, while it is more of a banking problem and a problem of competitiveness. And they applied the wrong remedy: You cannot reduce the debt burden by shrinking the economy – only by growing your way out of it,’ he said.”

My Comment: I am not a financier, but there is nowhere to grow, and the paradox lies in the fact that we are trapped: We have found ourselves in a closed system of complete interdependence, but we act like individualistic egoists in the dark, and that is why we cannot understand why we cannot cope with the crisis. And the crisis is not in our unsuccessful attempts to handle the existing situation, but in the fact that we don’t understand that we have to change our approach, to change our thinking to interconnected and integral, and then we will understand how to break the deadlock.
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Overview Of The Integral Education Course: Family Relationships

Dr. Michael LaitmanToday, essentially there are no family relationships. Even if there is a family, everyone in the family feels as a separate element, independent from his or her partner. Moreover, children feel independent from their parents or at least very much want to be. And parents do not want children to burden them.

Under the rule of egoism, we have unwillingly destroyed the foundation of the family, so-called the building of the family. Therefore, we need to do something about this for the sake of our future. If today up to 70% of young people don’t want to get married and raise children, we are facing by no means a rosy prospect. I am not mentioning the fact that there will be no one to feed the aging population; we are confronting this now, especially in Europe.

We must restore the charm of family life because this doesn’t exist today! Everything is done involuntarily: Women might still want to have children, but men are passive, they want nothing.

Integral upbringing tells a person about the connection between people, leading him to connection with others. He suddenly begins to feel affection and love, feeling towards other people, and starts feeling others more than before. And today, people no longer feel each other; they just communicate via text messages.

Integral upbringing generates good feelings towards others and evokes a kind of feedback sensor: a person becomes more sensitive to how others relate to him, how he relates to how close to or distant he is from others. He begins to respond with more feelings, and thus a sense of need in other people, lost due to egoism, is awakened in him.

He feels a source of warmth, joy, success, and confidence in this, and not in closing himself in his apartment like in a shell, and providing himself with a pension, healthcare, and other programs, so that everything will be fine. The need for warmth, empathy, and mutual contact that integral upbringing cultivates in him will lead him to his desire to recreate a family.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/22/12

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Collapse Of The Economic Pyramid

Dr. Michael LaitmanWhen society becomes more harmonious and kind, we free up a lot of resources. As people begin to treat everything properly and to keep order, we no longer need an army of guards, cleaning personnel, or repairman. A great number of needless jobs go away.

Currently, humanity is winding up the production of unnecessary things. Only the necessary things such as food, clothing, everything a person requires in our world will remain, but within reasonable limits. The economy of the rational consumption is moving towards this anyway. So, there will be a huge army of unemployed people. In any case we will have to somehow balance the population and bring it to harmony and unity. We don’t have a choice and there is no other method.

Currently the entire world economy is built on the “pyramid,” on a network of consumption, and if people stop buying, then everything collapses. This is the pyramid.

Today, we are not facing a crisis, but rather, we are standing before the collapse because the pyramid will still fall. And then what?
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 05/20/12

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The Crisis Of Incompatibility

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What should be the optimal result of our mass dissemination?

Answer: We are speaking about a process: The general population has to realize that they are in crisis, and that the essence of this crisis does not lie in the economy, the financial industry, the family, education, religion, science, or other problems. The crisis is developing within a person and is intended to bring him into balance with a new system that is now revealed in the world. The gap is between me, the egoist who looks at everything from a personal, individual position, and the world, the parts enclosed in greater interconnections. I don’t match the world, nature, and that is why today I am a foreign force inside it. The crisis is the revelation of this incompatibility.

Accordingly, the correction is to become compatible, in other words, to become equivalent to the properties of nature. How can I do this? Nature will not change, the bad phenomena manifested in all the spheres of life will not disappear; on the contrary, they will become stronger, more destructive, and painful.

That is the problem that people must recognize. And then, they will ask themselves: “How can I change myself? What kind of people should we become? Who can give us a method of correction?”

In the end, we bring them to the fact that no changes are possible in the world without an integral upbringing. Only when a person gradually starts to correct himself, will he then change the existing systems. He will transform the financial, economic, cultural, educational, and commercial systems, all this according to the changes within himself.

After all, a person has formed these systems himself on the basis of his egoistic attitude towards the world, and now slowly rising to globalism and interaction by becoming one integrated whole, he will change all that he has built accordingly.

At this point, he doesn’t understand how to realize these changes yet because he has not changed himself; he is not different from the old systems. However, they are already failing and no longer yield the same results as before. Here, we need to explain and prove to people that they cannot climb out of the crisis without internal changes. And then, they will take a course in integral upbringing.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/10/12, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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Overview Of The Integral Education Course: The History Of The Evolution Of The Ego

Dr. Michael LaitmanSince our nature is the desire to receive and to be filled (to fill our corporeal desires for food, sex, and family; and our human desires for money, respect, control, and knowledge), our ego revealed in these desires was constantly developing and determining the advancement of humanity since ancient times until the middle of the 20th century. So, we have been constantly changing, and at the same time changing our society, developing technology, industry, and family and social arrangements, and so on.

Starting from the middle of the 20th century, the ego stopped its linear growth and started to grow round, which means to become egoistically global. And so, we discover that nature around us is opposite from us, that is, it is altruistically global (in bestowal). These two systems are now in a conflict.

Our role is to make sure that they will not be in a conflict and will not negate one another; otherwise, humanity will begin to destroy itself by summoning an undesirable negative influence from nature. It is important that humanity becomes more like nature and in harmony with it.

This means that the development of the ego has reached its end. For a long time, it has pushed us forward; we believed that it was the way to change the world and to do whatever we want with it, and now this has come to an end.

Now the world, nature, is turning against us, demanding that we change. So we have to switch from changing our environment to changing ourselves.

This is very difficult and it is impossible to agree to it, but we see that many people in the world have already reached this conclusion.

The integral education method is built to tell, explain, reassure, and convince people that it isn’t difficult to change one’s self under the influence of the environment and the society. If we operate this way, we will create a harmonious society and a life that will open new heights to us.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/22/12

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Escaping Consumer Society!

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Kenneth Rogoff, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and recipient of the 2011 Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial Economic): “Many, if not all, of the world’s most pressing macroeconomic problems relate to the massive overhang of all forms of debt. …

“Aside from wringing their hands, what should governments be doing? One extreme is the simplistic Keynesian remedy that assumes that government deficits don’t matter when the economy is in deep recession; indeed, the bigger the better. At the opposite extreme are the debt-ceiling absolutists who want governments to start balancing their budgets tomorrow (if not yesterday). …

“Of course, there is an appealing logic to saying that governments should have to balance their budgets just like the rest of us; unfortunately, it is not so simple. Governments typically have myriad ongoing expenditure commitments related to basic services such as national defense, infrastructure projects, education, and health care, not to mention to retirees. No government can just walk away from these responsibilities overnight. …

“Above all, voters and politicians must beware of seductively simple approaches to today’s debt problems.”

My Comment: There is a solution, but not in the plane of economy and finance, but in the change of the paradigm, the view of the world, society, and the goal of life. And the crisis will hit us until we become smarter and accept the future society of reasonable consumption, a society of “The Last Generation,” as necessary.
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