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Garry Jacobs

Jacobs, Garry

Jacobs, Garry

President & Chief Executive Officer, World Academy of Art & Science; CEO & Chairman of Board of Directors, World University Consortium; International Fellow, Club of Rome; President, The Mother’s Service Society, Pondicherry, India.

Job Title

President & Chief Executive Officer, World Academy of Art & Science; CEO & Chairman of Board of Directors, World University Consortium; International Fellow, Club of Rome; President, The Mother’s Service Society, Pondicherry, India.

Garry Jacobs is an American-born consultant on business management and economic development and President of The Mother's Service Society, a social science research institute in Pondicherry, India. Since 1972 he has been engaged in research on social development, organizational theory, money and employment, as well as studies for the Government of India and state governments. From 1989 to 1994, he was Member-Secretary of the International Commission on Peace & Food (ICPF) and editor of the Commission's report to the UN entitled Uncommon Opportunities: Agenda for Peace and Equitable Development. Since 1995 he is also Executive Director, International Center for Peace & Development, (Napa, CA). As a management consultant, he has worked with major corporations in the USA, Europe and India and  is co-author of two books on the process of corporate growth: The Vital Difference: Unleashing the Powers of Sustained Corporate Success, and The Vital Corporation: How American Companies Large and Small Double Profits in Two Years or Less.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

Origins and Pathways for the Future of the World Academy of Art & Science Strategic Perspectives and Opportunities   ( Human Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for development of a new strategic plan for the work of the Academy to 2030. Its aim is to invite suggestions from WAAS members and partners regarding priorities for future work. It traces the origins and historical development of the Academy leading up to the present and provides an overview of recent activities and emerging opportunities aligned to its mission which were presented at a meeting of the Board of...
Paradigm Change to Human Security   ( Human Security ), ( New Paradigm ), ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract * The global challenges confronting humanity are interlinked and interdependent. They are all global in nature, and none of them can be addressed successfully by individual nations acting on their own. In order to effectively navigate the closely interconnected world that we live in and address its challenges, we need new levels of organization and strategy, and the development of strong and more effective multilateral institutions than we have at present. One of...
Education for Human Security Policy Brief   ( Human Security ), ( Education )
Get Full Text in PDF Executive Summary  This brief identifies critical issues and corresponding policies for effectively introducing the UN concept of human security into the curriculum of global mainstream higher education. Human Security is a comprehensive framework developed by the United Nations for achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. It links them all together into an integrated framework. In order to achieve the goals of Agenda 2030, a dramatic increase is urgently...
Global Movement to Promote Human Security for All   ( International Organizations ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values ), ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Humanity confronts complex, multidimensional challenges to the security of the people and the planet we live on. These threats continue to defy resolution by means of the existing policies, institutions and actions of nations around the world. In spite of unprecedented and remarkable achievements, our sense of insecurity continues to rise. A fundamental change is needed in our concept of security and the strategies, policies and institutional framework by which we...
Missed Opportunities: Ukraine is an UN-finished Story of Global Proportions   ( War in Ukraine ), ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This paper seeks to look beyond the sense of justifiable outrage and horror over the events still unfolding as a result of the war in Ukraine to examine the root causes of the current conflict and the essential issues that need to be addressed in order to end and prevent its recurrence. It challenges simplistic assumptions underlying the sense of pessimism, fatality and inevitability that pervade current thinking so much and which is used to justify the revival...
Process of Social Transformation
Get Full Text in PDF Humanity confronts existential challenges and unprecedented opportunities. Perhaps for the first time in history, there is a broad-based consensus among all the nations and peoples of the world regarding the common essential and desirable goals that need to be achieved—a rapid end to the worldwide pandemic is the most immediate and urgent. The accomplishment of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and urgent actions to halt climate change are vitally needed to ensure longer...
A New Paradigm in Global Higher Education for Sustainable Development and Human Security   ( Transdisciplinary theory ), ( Social Science )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Every institution of higher education and every government is trying to overcome the problems it faces and improve the reach, relevance, financial viability and effectivity of education. But no one is thinking globally for solutions that will be optimal from the perspective of humanity as a whole. The enormous challenges we face in education today can best be solved only by including system-wide action at the global level. A new paradigm needs to be...
Transdisciplinary Theory of the Firm   ( Transdisciplinary theory ), ( New Economics ), ( New Paradigm ), ( Social Science )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract There is an imperative need to reconceptualize the role of the firm in modern society based on a holistic perspective in order to correct the imbalances and excesses generated by a too narrow conception of purpose and the inadequacies of current theory to explain and reveal the underlying process by which firms, stakeholders and society at large grow, develop and evolve in a synergistic, mutually reinforcing and beneficial manner. The concept of the firm as a...
Hedging Planetary Risks: ‘From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Tools of Massive Social and Ecological Innovation’   ( Economic Theory ), ( Money & Finance ), ( Social Welfare ), ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF A first systematization of new financial engineering that can hedge unchecked risks, enable unmet needs and finance our future. Abstract Cost analyses and risk assessments in the Anthropocene era need to differ from those of the past. Future developments now are determined by opportunity costs and planetary risks. We provide a first comprehensive systematization that can serve as a template for blended finance and blended securitization in order to finance our global...
Science as a Social Good   ( Knowledge, Science & Values ), ( Peace and Security )
Get Full Text in PDF Knowledge is power and power lends itself for good or for evil. The World Academy was founded by eminent scientists deeply concerned by the realization that the invention of nuclear weapons posed an existential threat to the future of humanity. Despite their efforts, more than 125,000 nuclear weapons were built during the Cold War and the nuclear genie remains at loose. Concerns regarding the governance of the powers of scientific knowledge remain equally controversial and...
Retrospective and Reflections on WAAS@60   ( WAAS ), ( International Organizations ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values ), ( Peace and Security ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Solution to the complex nexus of problems confronting humanity exceeds the capacity of any individual or small group of individuals or organizations. But it does not lie beyond the capacity of the collective aspiration, intelligence and determination of humanity. The world needs aspirational leadership that transcends the partisanship and limitations of self-interested political, economic and cultural perspectives. It needs people and organizations committed to...
Redefining Multilateralism   ( New Paradigm ), ( Peace and Security ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract There is a compelling need to redefine our conceptions and institutions of multilateralism. Multilateralism needs to be reshaped to take into account the proliferation in the number, variety and diversity of stakeholders acting globally, the volume of international interactions and transactions taking place, and the interdependence and complexity of the engagements between people, organizations, communities, sectors and countries. Multilateralism needs to evolve...
From Limits to Growth to Unlimited Wellbeing: A Revolutionary’s Vision of Wealth and Welfare   ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF Editors’ Note: In remembrance of Orio Giarini, founding Editor-in-Chief of Cadmus, we reproduce key ideas from an article by Garry Jacobs and Ivo Šlaus about his seminal contribution to economic thought which was originally published in the April 2012 issue of Cadmus under a slightly different title, “From Limits to Growth to Limitless Growth”. This provocative title was intentionally chosen by the authors to highlight the confusion between endless material expansion and...
Innovative Financial Engineering to Fund the SDGs - A WAAS Initiative*   ( Economic Theory ), ( Money & Finance ), ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Development needs have primarily been financed through private sector financing, conventional public sector funding and philanthropic commitment. These traditional sources are not sufficient in scale and speed to meet the pressing finance needs. The world community is too busy repairing, stabilizing and refunding the given to maintain the stability of the existing system, relying on a mechanical model. Out-of-the-box approaches which blend in with the given tools...
Global Transformative Leadership in the 21st Century: A Science, Engineering, Technology Integrated and Strategic Perspective   ( International Organizations ), ( New Paradigm ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The goal of this paper is to focus on the Global Leadership Challenge in the 21st Century with an integrated and strategic perspective in science, engineering and technology (SET). “In any crisis, leaders have two equally important responsibilities: solve the immediate problem and keep it from happening again. The COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point. We need to save lives now while also improving the way we respond to outbreaks in general. The first point is more...
Catalytic Strategies for Socially Transformative Leadership: Leadership Principles, Strategies and Examples   ( International Organizations ), ( New Paradigm )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Transformative leadership is the process of consciously accelerating the evolution of global society. This paper provides an overview of initial research findings of the project on Global Leadership in the 21st century (GL21) initiated by WAAS in collaboration with the United Nations Office at Geneva, preparatory to a major conference at UNOG on October 27-28, 2020. The objective of GL21 is to identify fundamental principles of social transformation that can...
Leadership for a New Paradigm: Planetary Moment and Momentum   ( New Paradigm )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This is a unique moment in human history. It is a unique opportunity to generate the momentum needed for rapid transformation of national and global policies and institutions. We are confronted by challenges of a magnitude and urgency greater than ever before at precisely the moment when humanity faces a global leadership vacuum. These complex, multidimensional, interrelated challenges have already generated unprecedented awareness of fundamental flaws in...
Beyond the Nation-State: Failed Strategies and Future Possibilities for Global Governance and Human Wellbeing*   ( International Organizations ), ( Peace and Security ), ( Global Governance & Law )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Over the past 200 years, the evolution of human society has moved inexorably toward greater interaction and interdependence between peoples and nations around the world. More recently the movements advancing free trade, globalization, liberal democracy, multilateral institutions and international cooperation have lost momentum and are in retreat. This unexpected development raises profound questions regarding the future evolution of global society. This...
Global Leadership in the 21st Century
 Get Full Text in PDF Editorial Note: This article is the initial background paper for a 15-month project entitled “Global Leadership in the 21st Century” launched by WAAS in collaboration with the United Nations in Geneva at a one-day roundtable hosted by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, Baku, Azerbaijan on March 17, 2019. The paper explores fundamental questions in order to identify ways to consciously foster and accelerate the development of leadership so urgently needed to...
The Significant Individual, Values and Social Evolution:* How one man changed the world   ( Individuality ), ( Social Science )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Great achievements of the past hold invaluable lessons for the future. Often we deify the leader and celebrate the outcome, but overlook the underlying principles they reflect. The American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s is a testimony to the combined power of an idea, the catalytic role of dedicated individuals and the power of token actions in extreme circumstances. The idea of non-violence and civil disobedience propounded by Thoreau and...
Cryptocurrencies & the Challenge of Global Governance*   ( Economic Theory ), ( Global Governance & Democracy ), ( Money & Finance ), ( New Economics ), ( Global Governance & Law )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The recent explosive development of new forms of digital currency opens up unprecedented opportunities and poses significant regulatory challenges. This new form of digital currency lowers the costs and other barriers to the global movement of money, international trade, foreign investment and speculation, while simultaneously enhancing the anonymity on which tax evasion, money-laundering and other illegal activities thrive. It also liberates the creation...
The Future of Democracy: Challenges & Prospects   ( New Paradigm ), ( Peace and Security ), ( Global Governance & Law )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Unprecedented speed, interconnectivity, complexity and uncertainty are impacting all spheres of global society today, presenting challenges that were not foreseen even a few years ago. The end of the Cold War was interpreted by many as the final victory for democracy and capitalism over authoritarian socialism. A quarter century after the sudden collapse of communism and the emergence of a new democratic consensus, liberal democracy itself is under threat....
The Political Economy of Neoliberalism and Illiberal Democracy   ( Economic Theory ), ( Money & Finance ), ( Social Welfare ), ( New Economics ), ( Global Governance & Law )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The unprecedented opportunities missed at the end of the Cold War have come back to haunt and taunt us in the form of misshapen ideologies and misconceived policies. Discredited notions discarded by history once again raise their heads to be finally buried or bury us. Despite the rhetoric of the Washington Consensus, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of communism and dissolution of Soviet authoritarianism did not mark a final vindication and victory...
Challenges are Opportunities for Korea and the World*   ( Education ), ( Global Governance & Democracy ), ( International Organizations ), ( Peace and Security ), ( Global Governance & Law )
 Get Full Text in PDF This is a time of unprecedented speed, interconnectedness, complexity and uncertainty which pose serious challenges to global peace, security, and sustainable social progress. Prevailing political, economic and social theory, institutions and policies are outdated and unable to cope with the need for change. But this is also a time of unprecedented opportunity for rapid social evolution at the national and global level, akin to the opportunities that led to the...
Quest for a New Paradigm in Economics - A Synthesis of Views of the New Economics Working Group*   ( Economic Theory ), ( Economy & Ecology ), ( Social Welfare ), ( New Economics ), ( New Paradigm )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The remarkable economic achievements of the past two centuries have cast an illusion of omniscience on the discipline of Economics, which even repeated catastrophic policy failures have still not entirely banished. The gap and disjuncture between prevailing economic wisdom and its effective application to promote human welfare and well-being are enormous and widening rapidly. The gap between current economic performance and the economic potential of global...
Integrated Approach to Peace & Human Security in the 21st Century*   ( Law & Human Rights ), ( Employment ), ( International Organizations ), ( Money & Finance ), ( Peace and Security )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Humanity has made remarkable progress during the past two centuries in advancing peace, democracy, human rights, economic development and social equality. The evolution of human relations has progressed far from the time when physical violence, war and conquest were the predominant form of international relations. Diplomacy has evolved from political negotiations at the conference table to mutually beneficial economic exchange and creative cultural...
A Brief History of Mind and Civilization   ( Education ), ( Transdisciplinary theory ), ( Mind, Thinking & Creativity ), ( Social Science ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The rational mind is the highest evolved status of human consciousness. The evolution of mind and civilization has proceeded hand in hand for millennia. The development of new capacities of mind made possible the development of tools, language, agriculture, permanent settlements, towns, cities, religion, trade, transportation, communication, government, law, money, literature and the arts, education, nation states, scientific and technological research. So...
Money, Markets and Social Power   ( Economic Theory ), ( Money & Finance ), ( New Economics )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The future science of Economics must be human-centered, value-based, inclusive, global in scope and evolutionary in perspective. It needs to be fundamentally interdisciplinary to reflect the increasingly complex sectoral interconnections that characterize modern society. It must also be founded on transdisciplinary principles of social existence and human development that constitute the theoretical foundation for all the human sciences. This paper examines...
The Greek Financial Crisis – Theoretical Implications   ( Economic Theory ), ( Global Governance & Democracy ), ( New Economics ), ( Global Governance & Law )
 Get Full Text in PDFAbstract The world we live in is a product of the way we think. Our conception of reality determines what we see and what we achieve. The Greek crisis is not simply a case of high public debt, economic mismanagement or weak political will in Greece or the Eurozone. It is underpinned by economic premises, constructs and resulting practices that promote exactly the type of dilemma Greece faces today. Without addressing these conceptual issues, no lasting solution is...
Overcoming the Educational Time Warp: Anticipating a Different Future   ( Education ), ( New Paradigm )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Education abridges the time required for individual and social progress by preserving and propagating the essence of human experience. It delivers to youth the accumulated knowledge of countless past generations in an organized and abridged form, so that future generations can start off with all the capacities acquired by their predecessors. However, today education confronts a serious dilemma. We are living in an educational time warp. There is a growing gap...
Contours of New Economic Theory   ( Economic Theory )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The need for a paradigm change in economic thought has been well established, but the contours and fundamental characteristics of a new paradigm in economic theory are yet to be worked out. This article views this transition as an inevitable expression of the maturation of the social sciences into an integrated trans-disciplinary science of society founded on common underlying principles, premises and processes. It calls for evolution of human-centered, value...
Uncorking the Future: Transitions to a New Paradigm   ( Global Governance & Democracy ), ( New Paradigm ), ( Global Governance & Law )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article explores issues discussed at three recent WAAS events regarding the process of transition to a new paradigm. The prominent institutions and policies governing the present paradigm are founded upon a bedrock of ideas and values and an abstract, reductionistic mode of analytic thinking detached from people and social reality. Escape from the present blind alley and transition to a new paradigm require adoption of a different way of thinking that is...
Our Common Enemies & Our Best Friends
The re-emergence of dangerous East-West tensions, atrocities in the Middle East, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), bloodshed in Ukraine, traumas inflicted on many chil­dren by war and violence, massive war in Europe becoming imaginable for the first time since the end of the Cold War, violation of current international laws, unfulfilled expectations, missed opportunities offered by the end of the Cold War and in the Middle East, as well as attempts to “solve” them...
Unification in the Social Sciences: Search for a Science of Society   ( Transdisciplinary theory ), ( New Paradigm ), ( Social Science ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The social sciences have contributed significantly to humanity’s remarkable progress over the past two centuries, but the multidimensional crises confronting the world today reflect the need to rapidly move beyond the limitations imposed by the compartmentalization of social science disciplines and the absence of common unifying principles equivalent to those in the natural sciences. Unification of apparently disparate phenomena is a central characteristic of...
Towards a New Paradigm in Education   ( Education ), ( New Paradigm )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract A new paradigm in human development must be founded upon a new paradigm in education. A human-centered educational system is needed whose aim is the fullest development of the capacities of each individual. Today humanity is on the cusp of a major transition in education, our most powerful instrument for conscious social evolution. Quality education can now be made universally accessible and affordable. Equally important, future education must be made...
New Paradigm: The Necessity and the Opportunity   ( Education ), ( New Paradigm )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The multi-dimensional challenges confronting global society today will not lend themselves to resolution by piecemeal sectoral strategies and incremental measures. Their causes are deep, inextricably interconnected and result from deficiencies in values, concepts, institutions, policies and actions. Fundamental change is needed in both thought and action – a new intellectual paradigm that is comprehensive and integrated combined with a new institutional...
The Coming Revolution in Education   ( Education ), ( New Paradigm )
 Get Full Text in PDF "The coming revolution in education is a harbinger of the coming freedom of the individual." There are many kinds and degrees of freedom – political, social, psychological and spiritual. The end of colonialism following WWII liberated a third of humanity from the oppression of foreign rule. The end of the Cold War brought the freedom of democracy to hundreds of millions more in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. The birth of the Internet brought...
Expanding Network of Networks   ( New Paradigm )
 Get Full Text in PDF The World Academy of Art & Science was founded as a network of concerned individuals committed to addressing the multi-faceted global challenges of the modern era. It would appear that a small group of people – no matter how distinguished – cannot expect to have significant impact on problems that span the entire globe and confront all of humanity. But appearances can be deceiving. On closer examination, we discover that each of our members is a member of many...
Actions to Enhance Global Security*: Focus on WMD and Terrorism   ( Peace and Security )
“We need a new paradigm for the 21st century which is not dependent on what worked in the 20th century.”  Get Full Text in PDF Politicians are distracted with the on-going economic crisis and instability. While understandable this is far from the only challenge facing the world. If we are to seize the opportunities of the future then we have to address the legacy of the past and nowhere is this more evident than on defense and security issues. The blunt truth is that security...
New Paradigm in Human Development: A Progress Report   ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
 Get Full Text in PDF The current socio-economic-political paradigm is destroying our most precious capital – natural, human and social. The current paradigm is non-sustainable. It has to be changed! The required paradigmatic change will have to be one of the most dramatic in the history of humankind, comparable to or even more profound than the agricultural, commercial, democratic, and industrial revolutions of the past. Recent WAAS conferences at the United Nations in Geneva and Library...
Reflections on the Future of Global Higher Education - WAAS Conference Report   ( Education )
 Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Education is the most important catalyst of social evolution. Today higher education is in the early stages of a revolutionary transition that will have immense impact on the future of global society. This article presents an overview of perspectives explored at the World Academy's Forum on Global Higher Education conducted at the University of California at Berkeley on October 2-3, 2013. It examines issues resulting from rapid changes in educational...
Freedom and Unity
 Get Full Text in PDF America was founded by immigrants from many nations of diverse political ideals, disparate religious beliefs, social backgrounds (French aristocrats, Irish serfs, Chinese coolies), different races (white, black, oriental), and a multitude of linguistic groups. They shared only one thing in common that bound them to one another – a common quest for liberty, a love of freedom. They discovered that freedom in the New World in a measure never before imagined or realized...
A Revolution and a New Paradigm in Education
 Get Full Text in PDF Knowledge is the sustenance of civilization and culture. Language is the instrument for mental comprehension and transmission of knowledge. Education is the means by which each generation passes on to the next in a concentrated, systematic manner the cumulative knowledge and wisdom acquired in the past. Of all the technologies developed by humanity, none is as powerful and sophisticated as the means we have fashioned to gather, organize, store, share and transmit...
Multiplying Money   ( Money & Finance ), ( New Economics )
This is Part 2 in the Money Series. Part 1 "The Power of Money" is available here. Get Full Text in PDF Abstract   This article is not a comprehensive factual history of money as an economic instrument. It aims rather to present an essential psychological history of the power of money as a social organization or social technology. It explores the catalytic role of money in the development of society and its ever-increasing capacity for accomplishment in both economic and non-...
Steve Jobs: Nobel Laureate   ( Economic Theory ), ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The remarkable achievements of one of the world's greatest entrepreneurs offer profound insights into the fundamental nature of economy and essential missing links in prevailing economic theory. The career of Steve Jobs dramatically illustrates the central importance of human capital in modern economy and the almost incalculable contribution that a single individual can make to technological advancement, social innovation and wealth creation, while enhancing the...
Human Centered Development Perspective   ( Economic Theory ), ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
Get Full Text in PDF Insights from Trieste The Trieste Forum in March 2013 marked a significant milestone in the effort of the World Academy to evolve a comprehensive, integrated, transdisciplinary perspective for addressing global challenges. An initial presentation on the physics of Dark Matter aptly illustrated the need for new thinking in the social sciences. If the most mathematically rigo- rous of physical sciences is compelled to postulate the existence of an unknown, invisible...
In Search of a New Paradigm for Global Development   ( Knowledge, Science & Values )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The World Academy has recently launched an initiative to bring together like-minded organizations and individuals to examine the root causes of the multiple challenges confronting humanity today and formulate a comprehensive strategy for addressing them. Its central premise is that viable, effective solutions can be found to meet the entire spectrum of economic, ecological, political and social challenges by formulation of an integrated perspective,...
Nuclear Threats and Security   ( Peace and Security ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract This article presents highlights and insights from the International Conference on “Nuclear Threats and Security” organized by the World Academy of Art and Science in association with the European Leadership Network and the Dag Hammarskjöld University College of International Relations and Diplomacy and sponsored by NATO at the Inter-University Centre, Dubrovnik on September 14-16, 2012. The conference examined important issues related to nuclear non-proliferation...
Sovereignty and Nuclear Weapons: The Need for Real Sovereign Authority Rooted in the People’s Global Expectations about Survival, Peace and Security   ( Law & Human Rights ), ( Peace and Security ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The current international security framework is based on an incomplete, anachronistic conception of sovereignty shaped largely by historical circumstance rather than principles of universal justice. Evolution of the global community over the past half century necessitates a reformulation of the concept to justly represent the rights of individual citizens and the global community as a whole. The reconceptualization of sovereignty is an essential condition for the...
Editorial: Call for a Revolution in Economics
"The starting point is a human-centered theory of value that recognizes human welfare as the central objective and the creativity of human capital as the ultimate resource and source of all others." The discipline of Economics is at a cross-roads. Either it undertakes a comprehensive reevaluation of its fundamental postulates and a critical reassessment of their utility to solve real world problems or it risks sliding further into irrelevance. It is time for a renaissance of thinking in...
The Power of Money   ( Economic Theory ), ( Money & Finance )
This is Part 1 in the Money Series. Part 2 "Multiplying Money" is available here. Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Although we all use money every day, the nature and functioning of money seem shrouded in commonplace myths and ancient mysteries. Money plays a central role in economics today, yet rarely do we come across a serious, informed discussion of what money really is and what role it plays in the development of society. Money is a remarkable human invention, a mental symbol, a social...
Book review — Money and Sustainability: The Missing Link   ( Books ), ( Economic Theory ), ( Money & Finance )
Get Full Text in PDF A Report from the Club of Rome – EU Chapter to Finance Watch and the World Business Academy By Bernard Lietaer, Christian Arnsperger, Sally Goerner and Stefan Brunnhuber Triarchy Press 2012 This report by WAAS Fellow Bernard Lietaer and his associates addresses important theoretical and practical issues regarding modern monetary systems. The central thesis of the report is that effective monetary systems must optimize performance on two complementary goals — efficiency of...
Crises and Opportunities: A Manifesto for Change   ( Economic Theory ), ( New Economics ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Piecemeal fragmented strategies cannot address the pressing challenges facing humanity today. Economic theory has to be radically reinvented to squarely face the reality of rising unemployment, widening inequalities, growing ecological threats, frustrated social aspirations and unmet human needs. Monetary and fiscal policies are too crude and insufficient to steer the essential change of course required to address multidimensional demographic, ecological, economic...
Recognizing Unrecognized Genius   ( Education ), ( Mind, Thinking & Creativity )
Get Full Text in PDF At the 2012 Global Roundtable conducted in Split, Croatia in July, co-sponsored by the World Academy of Art and Science, the organizers proposed introduction of a new TESLA award for unrecognized genius, an acronym for The Earth Supreme Level Award. This is an important and commendable initiative by philanthropist Hares Youssef which directly ties into the Academy’s exploration of mental creativity and the limits to rationality. While the emphasis of the TESLA Awards will...
New Paradigm for Global Rule of Law   ( Law & Human Rights ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Law is both a condition and a consequence of social development, an outcome of the broader social process, a form of social organization which channels social energies based on the relative strength of past practice and precedent, the present balance of power and emerging social values. Values are the bedrock of social process and the driving force for social activism. Historically, law evolves as a mechanism for conflict avoidance and resolution founded on the...
From Limits to Growth to Limitless Growth   ( Economic Theory ), ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract The publication of the Club of Rome’s landmark report ‘The Limits to Growth’ in 1972 shook the intellectual foundations of social theory and challenged the very premises on which modern economy and prosperity are based. Once set in motion, it led to a revolutionary re-evaluation of human aspirations and economic activities. Among its many consequences, it has stimulated creative minds to look freshly at the underlying processes governing the wealth and welfare of...
Human Capital
Editorial Society is a teeming ocean of human energies and capacities, unorganized but latent with unlimited productive potential. The organization of social energies and capacities converts social potential into Social Capital. Each member of society is a microcosm of human potential – an unorganized reservoir of energies, aspirations, and capacities. The organization of the energies and capacities of each member of society converts human potential into Human Capital. The formed Individual is...
Evolution from Violence to Law to Social Justice   ( Law & Human Rights ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Social development is largely a subconscious process. It expresses ir­resistible human aspira­tions and social tenden­cies but works itself out through a long process of trial and error, advance and retreat, conflict and resolution. Law is a complex phenomenon. The principles and practice of law are a composite of multiple forces – the force of past precedent, established custom and accepted tradition; the force of present political, economic and social power; and the force...
Immediate Solution for the Greek Financial Crisis   ( Money & Finance ), ( New Economics )
“The tremendously wasteful underutiliza­tion of precious hu­man resources and productive capacity is Greece’s most serious problem and also its greatest opportunity.” The recent agreement to write off a substantial portion of Greek bonds only postpones but does not resolve the essential problem. The key to the Greek crisis lies in economy, not finance. Any financial solution that results in further contraction of the economy will only aggravate budget deficits and debt servicing...
Great Transformations   ( Economic Theory ), ( New Economics )
Great landmarks of history are few and far between. Normally they are recognized by scholars only long after the fact. Those in the thick of the fray may often be consciously inspired by the significance of their actions, but rarely does history come to share that perception. The rise of individualism in ancient Greece, its revival during the Italian Renaissance and the radical transformation of society following American, French and Industrial Revolutions retain a claim to lasting significance...
The Great Divorce: Finance and Economy   ( Economic Theory ), ( Money & Finance ), ( New Economics )
Social networking did not begin with the Internet. It is as old as human history. For what we now call social networking is really the evolution of human relationships which constitute the backbone of civilization. The emergence of the Internet is the third giant leap forward in a saga that began with the development of symbolic spoken language, the first great instrument that enabled human beings to evolve beyond their animal ancestry. Second came the invention of money as a symbol of value....
Economic Crisis and the Science of Economics   ( Economic Theory ), ( New Economics )
“Focusing on growth of the part without reference to its impact on the whole is a formula for social disease.”  The American subprime mortgage crisis, the international financial crisis that followed and the European financial crisis presently centered on Greece are all expressions of a deeper and wider crisis that has been preparing to surface for decades. This crisis encompasses not only government fiscal deficits, exchange rates and financial markets but spreads out in...
Inside This Issue
In moments of crisis, all thoughts are preoccupied with immediate remedies to meet urgent needs, rather than reflection on root causes and ultimate solutions. Yet history suggests that it is only when we are under supreme duress that we are willing to put all the cards on the table and consider the comprehensive and fundamental changes needed to effect permanent solutions. Thus, it required the dire circumstances of the Great Crash and the Great Depression to give birth...
The Evolution of Wealth & Human Security: The Paradox of Value and Uncertainty   ( Economic Theory ), ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF Life evolves by consciousness, consciousness evolves by organization. Human life evolves by a progressive heightening of our awareness, expansion of our knowledge, widening of our attitudes, and elevation of our values. This evolving human consciousness progressively expresses itself through the formulation and creation of more complex and effective organization – a seamlessly integrated, organic web of relationships encompassing ideas, knowledge, people, activities,...
The Turn Towards Unity: Converting Crises into Opportunities   ( Global Governance & Democracy ), ( Global Governance & Law )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Human progress is stimulated by external threats and pressures. Values distilled from long experience possess the essential knowledge and power needed for continuous development and evolution. Successive waves of foreign invasions following the collapse of the Roman Empire coalesced the tribes of England into a nation state. Centuries of incessant warfare finally compelled the countries of Western Europe to evolve a regional union within which war has become...
Global Prospects for Full Employment   ( Employment ), ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract* The recent international financial crisis highlights the crucial role of employment in human welfare and social stability. Access to remunerative employment opportunities is essential for economic security in a market-based economic system. As the rise of democracy compelled nations to extend the voting right to all citizens, employment must be recognized as a fundamental human right. In total defiance of conventional wisdom, since 1950 job growth has outpaced...
Inside this Issue
Cadmus Journal has been launched to promote leadership in thought that leads to action. The first issue focused on wealth and welfare and concluded that a paradigm change is necessary - a change as profound as the paradigm change in physical sciences at the beginning of the 20th century and much more profound than the Copernican paradigm change. The first issue of Cadmus identified major issues that need to be addressed by the new paradigm. In this issue Orio Giarini, Ian Johnson and Patrick...
Invitation from the Editorial Board
Fellows of the World Academy of Art & Science, The Club of Rome, and the Pugwash Conferences Dear Friend, By now you should have received the first issue of Cadmus, and we - the Editorial Board - welcome your comments and suggestions. This journal is meant to be interactive, a vehicle for all of us to work together on issues that youdeem important. The development of human-centered economy explored and humbly outlined in the first issue of Cadmus is reinforced by independent endeavors of...
A Project on The Wealth of Nations Revisited
“Leadership in thought that leads to action” is the phrase Harlan Cleveland, President of the Academy from 1991 to 2000, adopted to characterize the mission of the Academy. We — and the world — need it now, more than ever. We need innovative and truly fresh ideas, ideas that can open up new directions in the evolution of Earth and humanity. We need ideas that will enable us to better understand our own cultures within a global context, ideas that will inspire and motivate people and lead us to...
Indicators of Economic Progress: The Power of Measurement and Human Welfare   ( Measures & Indicators ), ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF Table of Contents Introduction Tools and Measures Measures of National Income Need for New Theory Measures and Indicators Characteristics of a Successful Indicator The Problem of Value What are we trying to measure? Alternative indices Components of Economic Welfare Human Economic Welfare Index (HEWI) Composite HEWI Conclusions Endnotes 1. Introduction Right measurement is a powerful instrument for social progress; wrong or imprecise  measurement a source of hazard...
Introductory Paper for a Programme on The Wealth of Nations Revisited   ( Economic Theory ), ( New Economics )
Get Full Text in PDF Table of Contents Introduction Theoretical Discontent From Newtonian to Human-Centered Economics Future of Work Money, Finance & Wealth The Service Economy Scarcity, Surplus & Markets Equity, Freedom & Social Stability Integration of Politics — Economy — Society Essential Issues for the New Economics Endnotes 1. Introduction Civilization is an instrument fashioned by human beings to improve the welfare and well-being of our race through a wide range of...