A Different Future: From Competition to Co-operation, from Consumption to Contribution

Table of Contents:
TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE 8 INTRODUCTION 9 ECONOMIC MELTDOWN 13 The legendary chessboard 17 Would the real culprit please own up 21 Governments 21 The Bankers 22 Corporates 25 Me, myself and I 29 Does economic prosperity make us happy? 34 The Happy Planet Index 34 Shifting values 39 LIMITATIONS OF LIMITED 44 World energy consumption 44 Black gold - oil 49 Food consumption and arable lands 54 Meat Demand 60 Fish stocks 61 The state of forests 63 Water 64 THE POINT OF NO RETURN 67 Climate Change 68 The 1 Degree Celsius scenario 72 The 2 Degree Celsius scenario 72 The 3 Degree Celsius Scenario 73 The 4 Degree Celsius scenario 75 The 5 Degree Celsius + scenario 76 THE POLITICS OF CLINGING ON 79 The problems facing politics 84 National politics in a global world 86 The political system 90 Some are more equal than others 92 The voting system 92 The inequality of equals 93 Economic inequality 96 VIRTUAL VALUES AND ETHICS 102 Political social circumstances 104 Economic social circumstances 106 Belief and Faith 108 Faith in Science 113 Ecological social circumstances 116 Scientific social circumstances 118 Technology and social change 120 THE WHIRLPOOL OF SCIENTIFIC CHANGE 125 The M25 effect 126 Modern communication overload 127 Maintaining the status quo 128 Change for the sake of change 129 Throw away technology 132 The rise of the machine 134 Real change through technology 135 Technology and Rare Earth Metals 136 The pursuit of certainty and right and wrong 138 The role of science in facing today's issues 139 The certainty of scientific uncertainty 141 The science of right and wrong 144 A VISION FOR A DIFFERENT FUTURE 149 Why things must change 150 A vision for a different future 154 Approaches 154 Motivations 156 Values and Behaviour 158 Measuring future success 161 'COOPERATIONS' AND THE 'COECONOMY' 167 Balance and the free market 168 Key steps towards a different economy 172 Less is more 173 The economy of the UK 176 Household Consumption 177 Public Spending 180 Corporates 183 'CO-POLITICS' AND 'CO-SOCIAL' 189 Future values - contributionism v consumerism 189 Social future - equity but not as you know it 191 Minimum and Maximum 192 Working balance 194 Investment directed to the future 197 A political future - global co-operation 201 From party ideology to a planned journey towards the future 202 From national politics to international co-operation 203 Environmental science of the future 205 Nuclear fusion 206 Food for thought 207 THE HUMAN CHARTER 210 Values for the future 211 Social values 212 Self-esteem Values 212 Self-actualisation values 213 Economic actions 215 Reduce debt/prevent further debt 215 Buy less, buy less frequently 217 Ecological actions 218 Recycling 218 Renewable Energy 219 Energy efficiency in the home 219 Energy usage 220 Minimise waste 221 Social actions 222 Involvement and participation in the community 223 Supporting the community 223 Social tolerance and cooperation 224 Political actions 225 DECLARATION OF WORLD CO-OPERATION 228 The Declaration of World Unity 229 APPENDICES 235 Appendix 1 Declaration of Independence 235 Appendix 2 Selected Internet Statistics 240 Appendix 3 National Statistics from the UK 243 Appendix 4 Selected Performance Indices 246 REFERENCES 247 TABLE OF FIGURES 249 INDEX 253

About the Author :
Andrew A. Crest is no stranger to world affairs, having travelled extensively around the developed and developing world, experiencing a myriad of different cultures and political systems. An Honours graduate in Economics, he has extensive international business experience and has worked in senior positions in various different industries across Europe and America over the last three decades. He holds a deep interest in world affairs, philosophy, psychology and the sciences, particularly in the context of the evolution of political and social development. A recognised online expert, he continues to be fascinated by the social, political and economic changes that are driven by life in the virtual world. A Different Future is Andrew's debut book and reflects his experience and views of a world that has reached an important cross-road in its future direction. Andrew felt compelled to write A Different Future as the international community continues to stumble from crises to crises in the mistaken belief that the causes are economic in nature and can be resolved through economic policies alone.