Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do you think of Spain implementing a permanent universal basic income?“

We are quickly transitioning into an era where many of the jobs we once held will become obsolete due to our needs changing, and also due to technology increasingly replacing human resources.

In such a situation, basic income becomes a necessity.

I support basic income provided that it is given in exchange for learning and certain kinds of contribution to society.

Basic income alone, without any requirements on behalf of the receivers, would stagnate society. It would create a society of disinterested and indifferent people who would lack motivation to strive forward in life. The sluggishness and dullness that would envelop society would end up erupting in our faces.

Therefore, in Spain’s case, I would recommend that the government provide courses that receivers of basic income need to complete.

The courses can be used to funnel people into certain jobs or areas of social contribution that would improve Spanish society, and they can also be used to teach people about the history and culture of the country and its people, in order to strengthen its citizens’ identification with the country, and in addition, the courses can be used to teach people about the new globally interdependent conditions we find ourselves in today: how we live in a new era where mutual responsibility and consideration are becoming increasingly essential in order for us all to live safe, calm, happy and healthy lives.

While the courses would ideally seek to develop people into certain areas where they could contribute—from finding new careers better suited to our times, to becoming instructors and aides within this new educational system—the educational process would be beneficial in and of itself.

The leading idea of the educational process is that people will improve their social connections, feel more connected to their country, and build the beginnings of a social network fueled by mutual consideration and responsibility.

The more such a network thrives and grows, the stronger a foundation people will have by which to navigate through any future crises, and also, to inhibit future social dissent and conflict.

About photo by Tom Morel on Unsplash.

Filed under: Economy, Q&A, Quora, Society of the Future - No Comments →

Question: Can we introduce the next stage of our society now? Or will this model manifest itself as we develop, rise, and begin to become integrated in it? Is this process intermittent or gradual?

Answer: I think that we should begin to develop this process ourselves since it has already been described in the writings of great people and there is no reason to refuse what they have achieved. We must use their conclusions and accomplishments and build a system of education and upbringing for all of humanity on this basis.

Question: How will the whole society develop? Some people predict a dictatorship, others see furthering democracy, and there are even views regarding Nazism and fascism, some see rather tough measures and, others, softer measures. But, so far, no actual model has been brought forth for  economic, social, or political relations.

Will that part of society’s life, which concerns the material world and people’s interests, be gradually manifested or can it be modeled now as we move toward the realization of a plan that we understand?

Answer: We must have a social discussion of what we really need and what we don’t. This can be understood by the state of modern society; how much are certain professions and certain consumer goods needed? We know how we pollute the Earth and how all the oceans are contaminated, etc. We need to pause and have a very serious scrutiny regarding our mistakes.

Only after that can we reduce our interference in the world around us and create a system that would work only to provide humanity with essential material goods and maximal spiritual content.
[265524]
From the TV program: “Unemployment In The Post-Coronavirus World,” 5/5/20

Related Material:
Distinctive Characteristics Of The Future Society
Correction Of The World, Part 1
Preparing Experts In Human Nature

Filed under: Crisis, Economy, Globalization, Society of the Future - No Comments →

Question: What employment structure would be optimal? What can be recommended to young people and those who can still be retrained? What should they prepare themselves for in terms of what professions?

Answer: Absolutely everyone will be engaged in spiritual, social, and cultural work. And only a small part of the population, or the whole population but to a very limited extent, will work in factories or in agriculture so that we can feed ourselves, get dressed, put on shoes, create the necessary equipment for this, etc.

All of mankind will understand that it needs to squeeze its egoism and not produce anything superfluous. And this should be the only criterion with which we approach the post-viral state.

Question: Can humanity count on some kind of support from nature to feel this as a favorable reaction to the right actions?

Answer: I am sure of that. As soon as we begin to enter into a mutually correct relationship with nature, we will immediately feel its help, its support, and we will be able to feel happy, harmonious, and integrally developing in it.

And all the seas, oceans, forests, air, the whole flora and fauna will rejoice at our presence, and not shrivel at the sight of us. I wish us all the best of luck!
[265651]
From KabTV’s “Unemployment in the Post Coronavirus World,” 5/5/20

Related Material:
The Most Needed Profession
Upheaval In The Economic System
The Most Popular Profession Of The Future

Filed under: Crisis, Globalization, Society of the Future - No Comments →

From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 5/21/20

Kabbalists divide generations according to the appearance of aspirations for the purpose of creation. In that sense, a new generation began when Abraham the patriarch appeared in ancient Babylon. He made a spiritual revolution and called on his countryfolk to unite and love their neighbors as themselves. Although most of the Babylonians did not follow him, Abraham’s efforts nonetheless created a new nation that was based on that principle and was tasked with continuing his legacy and passing on to the world the principle of love of others.

The next generation begins with the exodus from Egypt. It is a generation of intense recognition of our egoistic nature and a heroic effort of Abraham’s descendants to rise above their egos and unite. In that generation, the principle of mutual responsibility was established in order to solidify the unity among the members of the nation.

In this way, generations continue through the milestones of humanity’s development, but the final development of humanity is only just beginning. COVID-19 is a vivid mark that from now on, every plight humanity will go through, it will go through it together. This means that it is time for all of humanity to rise to the level of love of others. It is a sign that we have become not only connected, but dependent on every single person in the world, even with our very lives. From now on, if we do not establish positive connections, we will feel the ill effects of our negative connections throughout the world, and the demonstration that the coronavirus is giving us is but the prelude, a sample of things to come.

This is called the “last generation,” when every person in the world eventually—not right away—rises to the level of love of others. It is a long process, and its happy end is certain. Nevertheless, the road toward it can be arduous and painful, depending on our willing participation. The more willingly we participate in ushering it in, the sooner it will come, and the better we will feel throughout the transition.

Indeed, the last generation is the first generation of love of others, from which there will be no regression.

[Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash]

Filed under: Facebook, Society of the Future - No Comments →

Medium published my new article “The Technology of Connection”

Moving forward to the next level of social innovation

The current COVID-19 crisis has pushed forward the use of technology to such a degree that every realm of our lives has gone online overnight: services, work, and communications. But the type of innovation now required of mankind stretches far beyond technological, which is only a means, to the realm of true social innovation. Upgrading our human connection, the deepest and most meaningful software of all, is precisely the social innovation which will allow us to survive and safely pass through the 21st Century.

“If we treat others with care and are considerate of the surrounding ecosystem, we will thrive in this integral world by becoming similar to it.”

The global shake-up of the coronavirus has revealed how interconnected and interdependent we really are, and how vulnerable we are in nature’s hands without knowing how to deal with the situation.

Humanity is infected with an exaggerated ego. Each of us desires to be better situated than everyone else and strives to constantly gain control over others. This ingrained egoistic attitude is diametrically opposed to the integrality found in the whole system of nature, as has become increasingly apparent.

We have been struck with a remarkable lesson on empathy: we need to think about the welfare of others because, in a circular system like the one in which we live, my well being depends on the well being of others, and the other way around. Therefore, the method of bridging the contradiction between the singularity of the human ego and the wholeness of nature is in the implementation of improved social interactions among us. Groundbreaking innovation in this realm is an absolute requirement, and the way to accomplish it consists of several stages.

Achieving A Social Breakthrough

First of all, we must realize that we belong to one system, one interconnected global family. Second, we must become aware that our future welfare depends on good relations between us, regardless of nationality, origin, gender or color. Third, we must learn and teach the integral laws of nature which can be synthesized as, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” and implement them among us immediately.

If we treat others with care and are considerate of the surrounding ecosystem, we will thrive in this integral world by becoming similar to it. Our human desires and intentions are the most powerful force in nature and affect everything that happens in the world. Thus, if we human beings change our attitude toward others favorably, we will systematically immunize ourselves against any potential illness or damage.

This is the transformation we need, a pervasive social innovation that transcends any technological breakthrough. If we manifest mutual responsibility, we will discover in nature enough resources to satisfy everyone. No one will fear anything because no one will lack nothing.

Thus, astonishing social innovations will spring from a more internal approach in our relations, from the closeness of our hearts. This new affinity will help us rise together to a level where we can understand the great purpose of life, the essence of our existence, where we are tightly intertwined just as in a network. Therefore, innovative change in the relations between people will set in motion far-reaching influences within the entire system, positively affecting our health, employment, economics, education, and ensuring a good future for everyone around the globe as one big family.

Filed under: Coronavirus, Society of the Future - No Comments →

The world seems to be on a narrow bridge, and the main thing now is not to be afraid of parting with the past. We have another concern: how to meet the future not by colliding with its back, but to competently face the inevitable tomorrow.

“If only everything does not collapse, then it will be restored,” they tell us. And they add, “Someday.” I say “It will not recover.” But collapse is not necessary at all. Each of us has the task of surviving the current period with minimal losses. To do this, we need to save nerves and resources, support others, be able to relax, but not “disconnect.” And most importantly, we need to understand what is happening so that the consequences of the crisis will not take us too much by surprise.

To start, let’s sit down and take a breath. The human being was not created to fuss. He was created in order to think and act. So let’s think: What have we actually lost? What motivated us in that life? What did we live for? What sensible and useful things have we done? What have we prepared for the future of our children?

Quite frankly, we just served each other for money. With zeal or without it, we fulfilled the principle, clearly formulated by our sages thousands of years ago: “Go and profit from each other.” It seemed to us that we were serving ourselves. But what kind of a disservice we rendered to ourselves by exhausting ourselves in a hamster wheel of consumerism, not thinking about anything else?

Imagine for a second if we flew from another developed planet and looked down on ourselves a few months ago, it would not have been a very pretty sight. No, not in the technological sense, but in the very essence of our commotion and bustle. The “benefit” from it, like smog above the Earth, is already starting to disperse. And so, the virus came. “Stop, people,” it tells us. “Look at what you did to the planet and to yourselves. Look beyond the brink of tomorrow.”

If we really look into it without brushing it off, we will see that we were moving not only toward ecological collapse, but before that we would have come to war. In fact, we drove ourselves into the arms of war, into a state of hopeless globalization, into a dead end of contradictions. This is human nature: When a slaughter is brewing, we force it out of our consciousness and at the same time put up with it, even invoke it.

We have not yet reached such an advanced stage, but an avalanche of unbridled consumerism has drawn humanity into the abyss. And, paradoxically, the virus is saving us from it. We are being saved from egoism in need of “absolution,” in resetting consumption markets.

So is it worth going back? What did we forget there? Is there life after the virus?

Now we are getting to know our family, our world, and ourselves again.

Previously, many of us just slept at home, now we live there. We used to browse the Internet for fun, now we connect with each other.

There are several ways. Of course, we want to go back to that hamster wheel with its array of constantly new and different pleasures to look forward to, and are even willing to endure its pains that prod us from behind. But one cannot help but remember the threat of a collapse with rampant crime, the suppression of unrest, interruptions in supply, and the search for the guilty. And finally, we can use this period for reflection.

Of course, not everything is smooth, not everyone can “sustain the blow,”  but the experience itself, the very change of pace, foreshortening, does not bring only a respite? In the cleared weekdays, in an unusual afternoon lull, we hear an echo of something new. We are seated at home, like children at their desks in order to learn something so that this “breaking” would not pass in vain.

In any case, we will be unable to exit the crisis as quickly as we entered it. And what is happening now is not a pause, not a vacation, not a lockdown, it is an awakening. The virus did not knock us out, but shook us well, returned us to reality, gives us an opportunity to carefully take the helm.

Today we are confronted with the need to redefine our values in the dawn of a new era, which requires a different attitude to each other and finding a meaning that we avoided. The wind of change swept away the illusions and is showing us the true picture. So are we really going to let the mind again be clouded by its mirages? Will we reconcile ourselves with the past, with eternal vanity, with external abundance, and with internal devastation?

The world seems to be on a narrow bridge, and the main thing now is not to be afraid of parting with the past. We have another concern: how to meet the future not by colliding with its back, but competently face the inevitable tomorrow.

We, ourselves, have created a rat race, and now we can get out of it without excessive external shocks. After all, the main thing is what is inside: our connections, our relations, our participation, reciprocity. It is enough to realize this, and all mechanisms—social, financial, commercial—will start to restructure according to the new paradigm.

Let’s think about it: Why are we living? How can we build our lives differently, on different principles? The way out of boundless egoism was opened, let’s use it while our egoism is shocked and muted.

Airplanes are on the ground, ships are in ports, we should be at school desks. There is nothing derogatory in this. On the contrary, we have the opportunity to really do something for ourselves.

All our life we were only engaged in running away from the question about it. Worried before death, justifying ourselves to the best of our ability. The virus, however, hints at something else. We cannot run away from death this way. To overcome its line, it is necessary to rise above the egoism that kills us. Our ego limits, gives a flawed and wretched sensation of the world through the demands of our body. Let us feel the world through our internal common structure, through the soul. Then we will see it completely differently, endless, eternal, and perfect.

This has nothing to do with religions. The science of Kabbalah does not advocate any beliefs. It simply develops the soul of a person, and that makes us happy. Now, when we all feel in a common boat, we must put our oars together and head for a world without borders between hearts. Then the remaining barriers that divide people will disappear. Tomorrow’s world is forming now.
[262055]
This article is written by my student Oleg Itzeksen

Related Material:
What Will The World Be Like After The Epidemic?
The Global Pandemic
Coronavirus—A Consequence Of The Imbalance Of Nature

Filed under: Coronavirus, Economy, Education, Egoism, Globalization, Health, New Publications, Society of the Future - No Comments →

Why should I believe Kabbalists?

Comment: Many people can say: “Why should I believe the Kabbalists that the Creator is the quality of bestowal and love?”

My Response: You do not need to believe, you just need to advance society toward this, bring it closer, carefully, and gradually. Why talk about it? Although this won’t do harm, people will not escape. Today they are in such circumstances that there is not much time left for discussion.

Comment: Now, many scientists also say that everything is so subjective that you can neither prove nor deny the existence of the Creator, but you can just come up with many different theories. It’s hard to prove something, as our brain works so that we can accept any theory.

My Response: The Creator is the law of nature. And we must simply realize this law, as the entirety of nature in its integral complexity is called the Creator.

Question: And you are not trying to prove it?

Answer: No. You can’t prove anything to anyone. How can I prove to a young child the existence of something that goes beyond his perception? There is no way. The only thing I can do is to patiently raise him, elevating him to the level where he will see everything and tell himself. Otherwise, no.

Question: So, it is impossible to explain to a person that there are two laws—the law of receiving and the law of bestowal—and when we give to society, we become like the Creator?

Answer: Why not? This can be explained, and very easily. We can see on an inanimate, vegetative, and animal level how these laws are observed, how everything is built on a balance between receiving and bestowing.

However, at the level of society, we do not see this because in it, on the contrary, everything is built only on reception, and bestowal is possible only if I can get even more instead. That is, in society there is no bestowal at all. There is reception camouflaged as bestowal.

This means that the laws of inanimate, vegetative, and animate nature need to be elevated to the level of the state of society, to the human level, and there they must be realized and put into practice.

Therefore, we need to see how this is done, how it can be so that in society reception and bestowal, plus and minus, exist in us in the same way as at the previous three levels. Is it possible or not? This, in principle, is the whole problem and all our misfortunes. If we can do this, then we will have a perfect world.

Here I am not talking about religion, nor about the Creator, nor about anyone. It’s just what the world needs, and today we see it. Let’s try to implement it.
[257559]
From the KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 2/7/19

Related Material:
Building The Future Society, Part 12
Building The Future Society, Part 11
Building The Future Society, Part 10

Filed under: Dissemination, Society of the Future - No Comments →

Not to Harm Society

Baal HaSulam “Building the Future Society,” Item 30:  The freedom of the individual must be kept as long as it is not harmful to society. However, one who wishes to leave in favor of another society must not be detained in any way, even if it is harmful to society, though it should be done in such a way that the society is not ruined altogether.

A person can think, speak, and do everything he wants only if it does not diverge from the direction and intention of society. But if it harms, then he has no place in this society. It’s natural.

Question: Did you and your teacher talk about the principles of the society of the future, or is it still so far from us that one should not think about it?

Answer: It doesn’t matter. These principles automatically flow from what we teach in Kabbalah, from approaching spirituality.

Question: If we take these principles, make a code of certain laws out of them, and offer this to society, will people understand this?

Answer: No, they won’t understand. On the contrary, it can push a person away, because it will oblige him. And if obliged, then this is not good.
[257553]
From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 2/7/19

Related Material:
Building The Future Society, Part 11
Building The Future Society, Part 10
Building The Future Society, Part 9

Filed under: Society of the Future - No Comments →

Outlines of the Future Society

Baal HaSulam, “Building the Future Society, Chapter 3, Item 10: Tokens of due honors should be imparted according to the religion; the greater benefit one contributes to society, the higher decoration one shall receive.

Naturally, others should be encouraged. I have to take and hang medals on my chest so that those people who are still more interested in honor than in loving their neighbors, then via honor, they will be drawn to love others.

Though not everyone is obligated to engage in spirituality but only special people, depending on the needs. Let’s say the Bnei Baruch group of all the millions of people, and the world group of all the billions of people. I do not think that this can be more than a hundredth of a percent of the total population of the Earth.

Just like there are people who engage in science and there are those who use all scientific achievements in practice. It depends on the person, one’s inclinations and desires.

There will be a sort of high-court. Those who will want to dedicate their labor for spiritual life will be permitted to do so by this court.

Everything will be determined by the upper governance because there are many who desire as it is today, for example, in universities. Many people want to be scientists, but not everyone can become one, and therefore strict selection is carried out.
[257546]
From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah.” 2/7/19

Related Material:
Building The Future Society, Part 10
Building The Future Society, Part 9
Building The Future Society, Part 8

Filed under: Society of the Future - No Comments →

Integration at the Level of Love

Baal HaSulam, Building the Future Society, Chapter 3, Item9: In other words: except for the matter of “Love thy friend as thyself,” each nation may follow its own religion and tradition, and one must not interfere with another.

If in the society of the future people will have some kind of religious or philosophical interests, they can easily engage in them.

The main thing is love your neighbor as yourself. This law is several degrees above all other laws, all kinds of conditions and artificial tricks.

The fact that people engage in meditation, imagine the spiritual and the future in the form of social cults, does not matter. The main thing is that there is a connection between everyone at the level of love. For the rest, do what you want.
[257409]
From Kab TV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 2/7/19

Related Material:
Building The Future Society, Part 8
Building The Future Society, Part 7
Building The Future Society, Part 6

Filed under: Society of the Future - No Comments →