MANIFESTO FOR AN IMPOSSIBLE FUTURE

  • Humanity is in the midst of crises on all fronts. Besides climate change and ecological fragility, social and health collapses, we’re facing a deep crisis of imagination. When we imagine the future, it is difficult for us to picture it without garbage, without pollution and without millions of people living in extreme poverty. And since this is the future we see, we make it a reality with our day to day actions and inactions, like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

  • Despite the fact that most politicians, economists, and the moneyed elite – with news media as their megaphone – insist that there is no alternative but to continue business as usual, the reality is that there are countless solutions and movements, with millions of people who work every day building the foundations for a better future. 
  • That is why we are living in such a pivotal moment for the history of humanity, we are at a  crossroads. In one direction, the “perpetual economic growth” path leads us to full ecosystem collapse while continuing to sell us false solutions. In the other direction, the dawn  of a new regenerative era that brings together the best of ancient indigenous knowledge, recent innovations, and natural systems to form a path to health, not only for people, but for all life on Earth. 
  • None of these complex challenges can be solved without a major paradigm shift. For example, if we reduce climate change to a CO2 problem, the solution could end up being machines that capture CO2 from the atmosphere or launch particles into the sky to partially block the rays of the Sun. If we reduce the coronavirus to a vaccine issue, the solution might end up being the biopolitical and technological control of our bodies.
  • Knowing that, we need to redesign the systems with a holistic vision. One that is tied to our interconnectedness with all planetary life and an understanding that it is not about saving nature – she would be fine without us – but about saving ourselves by recognizing ourselves as a part of her. 
  • This means an end to viewing nature as an endless resource. It requires going beyond the concept of sustainability, so green-washed by corporate advertising: it is no longer enough to sustain the existing world, it is not enough to stop destroying it. We must actively recover, revitalize, and regenerate ecosystems.
  • The new paradigm implies redesigning our economies, abandoning our obsession with infinite growth, and replacing it with a search for the common good. It implies fighting inequalities and disarming the financial casino, therefore, we will have powerful forces working against us.
  • And it cannot be done without recovering our democracies, hijacked by multinationals and fake news , and encouraging engaged citizen participation to, amongst other things, question who has our data and to what ends are they using it. 
  • The solution is collective and decentralized, and begins in the imagination. But our minds are as polluted as the environment.
  • That’s why  we want to contribute to the creation of a regenerative culture that promotes values ​​that enhance life on Earth. We intend on doing so through the power of stories, which slice through excuses in our minds and tug at our emotions, preparing us for change.
  • We are a self-taught collective. We don’t have all the solutions; we make mistakes and we learn, with more questions than answers. But we do not want to stop learning, and each day we grow. 
  • We are not fatalistic or naïve, but giving up is not an option. We act with the pessimism of the intellect  and optimism of will. We know the chances are slim that we will achieve it, but we’re certain  it´s not impossible, so it´s still worth trying our hardest.
  • Because there is a path that leads us from today to a better future, even if it is the most uncertain. There is a story where we solve our main challenges, with heroes and villains. It is the story of the generation that saved the world in the next decades. .

And we want to be part of that story.

Note: This is a collective manifesto (always) under construction. If you want to contribute comments or suggestions, you can do so as a comment below.

Recommended Reading:

Towards a Manifesto of the ReGeneration- 
https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/50-years-of-earth-day-drafting-a-regenerative-manifesto-5b0f4c909d68

XR Principles and Values-
https://rebellion.global/about-us/ 

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