Overview

The Mess How much trouble is our species and our planet really in? What is the shape of our predicament? What's likely to happen next? How can we think creatively about the interconnected problems we face (climate, health, energy, governance, economy, etc.) without getting overwhelmed by their complexity and uncertainty? How can we get ready for whatever is coming next? What can we do practically, at local, national and international level, in business and in the community? What sort of help does resilience offer? What does it mean in practice? How can we design resilience? What happens when we do? As we pass the 7 billion mark, we are currently using the resources of about 11/2 Earths to support our collective lifestyle. But we only have one Earth. How can we design and vision one-planet living? THE MODEL: This book sets out a model for asking these questions and generating answers. The World System Model offers the clearest way yet of examining and understanding the interconnected problems we face - and of formulating creative and transformative ways of approaching those problems. THE GAME: This book also explains how to make the model immediately accessible to any group (school governors, city councillors, health service managers, concerned citizens, boards of directors, UN High Commission). It describes The IFF World Game with brief Case Studies showing how it has already been used in eight different situations from a national economics research council to a city school. He goes on to examine the kind of resilient and adaptive solutions that can be most helpful to us - whether they are applied at the level of the school, the city or the planet. Since so many of us (both human and other beings) have to live on this planet together, he sets out our best hope yet of finding sustainable ways of 'one-planet living'. In all this, he helps us avoid the dangers of: a) denial [ there isn't a problem and, even if there is, economic growth will fix it ] b) depression [ it's too late, things are too bad, we can't do anything ] c) repression [ things are so bad we must close our borders and all carry firearms ] In place of these all-too-familiar responses, the book proposes a transformational response that will allow us to prepare for the threat of multiple disasters/synchronous failure and - if that happens - enable us to recover in ways that make our communities stronger and more resilient. International Futures Forum aims to restore practical hope and provoke wise initiative . This book achieves that aim beautifully.

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9781908009463

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Tony Hodgson's career-long consulting experience spans the public, private and voluntary sectors internationally: from Hewlett Packard and Statoil to the National Health Service. He has taught on the Executive MBA at The London Business School and he helped facilitate the foundation of SOL International (the Society for Organizational Learning). Tony is also a founder member of International Futures Forum (where he is World Modelling Research Coordinator) and he is researching new ways of thinking about the future and acting in the present at the Centre for Systems Studies in the University of Hull.

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