James Samuel

My ears pricked up when I heard that heads of state and the financial elite are acknowledging that we are in …the “age of damage”, where “social media creates a world of radical transparency”. 
The suggestion by the founder of the WEF summit, Prof Klaus Schwab that: “Capitalism in its current form no longer fits the world around us,” shows the depth of change which social media has brought to our world.

Trading through a Facebook group, is so simple and natural, and after all it’s where the crowd is. After only a few weeks, membership of the “Waiheke Trading” Facebook is up to 660 members, and the Waiheke community are embracing it with alacrity.

New Zealand had one hour of the 24 hour project, which was presented live from the Auckland Museum on Thursday night. Most of the hour was taken up with a 45 minute slide show, and then a few people including myself, were given 60 seconds and a single slide each to bring a message of the work they are involved in.

In New Zealand we have so many opportunities for redesigning our world in a positive manner, and embracing the uncertainty of these times we live in. Be gentle with yourself and each other, do your own research and seek out ways you can become part of the solution. The possibilities for the future are endless, and it’s up to each and every one of us to find where we can or feel moved to contribute, and play our part in singing a brighter and healthier future into existence.

I put facilitating the buying and selling of land, in the same basket as brokers trading on the stock market. Neither contribute much to the general well-being of the community in which they operate. I don’t believe that any cash benefit to the community, of selling Waiheke land (and homes) to the highest bidder, has outweighed the detrimental effects of the changes that have come about, albeit as unintended consequences.

My heart sang last night, to see members of my community look at the challenges of the future, square in the eye, and then with energy and creativity name some creative, and do-able solutions. Here’s a six minute video I put together summarizing the evenings activities. Read on…

The 22 statistics detailed here prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the middle class is being systematically wiped out of existence in America. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer at a staggering rate.

Talk of sustainability is largely futile while we have a global monetary system whose very design widens the gap between rich and poor and forces continual economic growth. To struggle for social justice and reversing of the destruction of our habitat without introducing a diverse and benign money system is largely misdirected effort.

I am most curious what happens when we come across new information, that once understood, begs a change of habit and some new actions. I’ve noticed in myself and others, that information alone is rarely enough to change how we act from day to day. So what does make the difference?

I was seeking some background data in preparation for giving a talk at the Heart Politics gathering on Friday. I found this amazing list of debt data on Wikipedia. At a glance it is clear that there is trouble afoot. Already we are seeing the list of countries in economic crisis growing – Iceland, Ireland, Greece, [...]