David Korten teleseminar on From Corporate Empire to Earth Community

Workplace Revolution > David Korten teleseminar on From Corporate Empire to Earth Community

David Korten teleseminar on From Corporate Empire to Earth Community

(3 ratings)

In this compelling call to social action, organizational expert David Korten and IONS host/workplace revolutionary Matthew Gilbert challenge us to question the “stories” underlying the dominant capitalist paradigm. They urge us to seize the cultural power that will enable us to change those stories and – in so doing – change the world.

After more than 30 years working to end poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Korten came to the realization that the deepening poverty, inequality, environmental devastation, and social disintegration he was observing was not limited to developing countries, and that it was caused in large part by corporate-led economic globalization fueled by U.S. political policies. As a result, democracy was being severely undermined and public institutions were unable to maintain any semblance of equity and sustainability.

Korten argues that we do indeed have the power to turn the tide of world affairs, or at least have the ability to seize that power. He identifies three power sources – political, economic, and cultural – with the latter by far the strongest, since cultural power controls the “stories” that create the belief systems that underlie our institutions. The “economic story” (that prosperity requires economic growth) can be overridden by a “cultural story” that stresses our inherent interconnection. He suggests that adding the concept of omnipresent consciousness to the creation debate (intelligent design versus natural selection) could be a particularly effective avenue for changing our cultural story. From this frame of reference, cooperation is the only logical paradigm for civilization, and the legitimacy of the corporate model is dissolved.

This audio presents a carefully reasoned, thought-provoking argument for both the need and the likely success of grassroots efforts to change our world. It is a welcome tonic to the despair threatening so many of us in these troubled times.