Solutions

What are the solutions? How can we improve or fix things?

Solutions – First steps that we can do to improve things

There are two main aspects to solutions – micro and macro. They overlap and interact, but treating them separately helps clarify where and how we can act. A third, meso aspect describes the interconnecting range between the two.

Micro solutions are shaped by our beliefs and our choices — things that you and I can do right now, independent of any political or economic systems that are in place. They include the social media platforms we use, how we get around, how we spend and save, what we eat, where we shop, how we gather, talk, and learn, and who we vote for.

Meso solutions emerge where individuals come together in communities, organisations, and movements. This is the level where personal choices compound into collective action — where habits become cultures, and voices become pressure. It includes grassroots campaigns, local institutions, religious communities, clubs, and political parties.

Macro solutions are concerned with systems themselves and involve the structures that shape what is possible at every level below. They span financial architecture, governance frameworks, arbitration bodies, and political and economic systems. Change here is slower and harder, partly because powerful interests often pull in opposite directions — those governing health, energy, or food, for instance, may pursue conflicting goals. Yet macro conditions set the terrain on which micro and meso action takes place, and they are not immune to pressure from below.

No level operates in isolation. Action at any one of them can open space at the others, although you can enact micro solutions now, while the others take increasingly more time to take effect.

Posts or pages tagged with the category solutions suggest practical solutions of any sort. Some political systems are sketched out below as a starting point to understanding them.

My beliefs

Is there a fundamental difference between a religious believer and a follower of the principles of logic? A religious believer nearly always believes in an external force – in several religions called God, who is ultimately in control of events, our lives, and our destiny.  As such the best path to salvation is to believe

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On knowledge

What is knowledge? What happens when we achieve knowledge of something? According to Dictionary.com, knowledge is acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition; the fact or state of knowing; awareness, as a fact or circumstance. I think the meaning of knowledge is fairly clear to most of us. Most

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Precepts to live by

What Precepts should I attempt to live by?   And to what extent should they be followed?

I have written the summary here as a page. Each precept is linked to a post where I explore the precept in more detail. Should there be any others? Should there be less? Should they be in a different order?

The first and most all-encompassing precept must be –

EmpathiseThe Golden Rule or The Ethic of Reciprocity is “Do not treat others in ways that you would not like to be treated”.

Then ….

Respect life – This seems an obvious precept to most people. In some ways this is similar to the first one, and as a result may not be necessary. However when you look into the issues of respecting life, there are many aspects to consider which could be interpreted in many ways. As a result an interesting mind and morality exercise is to explore the meaning of this. Overall I think this precept is subordinate to Empathise, and I find the most difficult moral considerations here are helped if that is so.

Foresight – Act with the intention to leave your surroundings unchanged or better than when you found them. A simple way of viewing this is to imagine your grandchildren will have better lives than you, because of your legacy. Try and consider the long-term consequences of your behaviour or actions. Seemingly harmless events done in the present may have detrimental long-term consequences.

Integrity – Be honest, especially to yourself. In order to achieve this, you need to be honest to others too.

Nurture Community – We are a social animal, and cannot survive on our own. We need others in order to survive, but also for our own mental well-being.

Learning  and discover and enjoy learning in general as a goal in life. Question what you or others believe.

ToleranceI think judging others is a default setting in humans, which is hard to avoid. Maybe that is necessary for a stable society? However a judgement implies that the judge is better and does not err into making the fault of which the judged is accused. In a sense that places the judge on higher moral ground. I think if you dare to pass a judgement, judge someone by their actions, and not their words. Although words can lead to violent actions, racism and bad deeds, freedom of speech is critical to growth, development and understanding. This does not mean agree or do not counter anything anyone says. It means do not silence them, lock them up, or otherwise mistreat someone for what they have said, unless the threat becomes their actions, and not their words.