PSU Magazine Winter 1995

Second, consider the imbalance between oc iety and the individual. ocieta l breakdown is reflected in the decline of the bond · of community and in the spread ing cou rge of crime. The e imbalances create an atmos– phere of insecurity, econom ic and physical. Mo ·t would much rather have secu rity, even if it i bought at the cost of democracy and freedom. Timewi e, the situation may be exacerbated by the realization that we are ju t about one Kond rat ieff long-wave beyond the last deep econom ic trough , the Great Depre ion . The convergence of another trough and the mill en nium offers fertile o il fo r a new spate of apoca lypti c prophecie and movement . Demagogues and fundamentali t are ready to exploit popular fears and anxietie , promising phys ica l and economic secu rity, personal safety, and jobs. They find conven ient capegoats, fostering anti-intel lectua l and anti-technology drive . They incite virulent ultranationali m to counter the loca li zation/globa lization trend, hound globa l tribes and initiate wars tO divert attention. The barbarian at the gate pose a clear and pre ent danger to democracy. The Roman Empire wa a quasi-high tech society that gave way tO a Dark Age. In our century an era of Gennan cultural and scientific leadership was fo llowed by the dark forces of Nazi ism. Today we see the in ta– bility following the collapse of the communist empire. 1l1e techno logy-focused "experts" o r technocrats, such as the Harvard economists who offered " o lutions" t0 the soc ietie in tran ition, con tit– ute dramatic warning of the danger of focu ing on the econom ic perspective and ignoring the human per pective . Finally, the ethical dimensions appropri ate to the technological, in titutional and personal perspec– tive [sc ientific logic, ju tice, and morality, re pectively] must be addre sed . It is usele s to expect e ither organ izations or individuals t a sure rational decision making. It i use les to expect either technology r legislation to assu re personal mo rality and commitment to the common good. Thi point need to be stre cd in view of the crime and corruption weakening societies from the U.. to Russia, from Japan to Brazil. O nl y a deep apprec iation of multiple perspectives can achi eve a halance among technical rationality, in titutional fairne s, and per onal morality-thee ence of ethical management. Our di cu sion has focused on multiple perspective , their linkages and their integration.Two hurdles stand in our path: l. Unshakable belief in a single perspective and intolerance of a ll others, in other word , ex trem i m. 2. Manipulation or misuse of multiple perspectives to blur and question all va lues, encouraging moral relativi m and ultimately loweri ng the ethica l leve l. Openness to other view must not mean to lerance of ev il or nihilistic deconstruction that leaves a mora l void. Mismanagement i.8o in our past world of modest population and limited technological power cou ld be to lerated far more readily than it can in the crowded, high-tech global megalopoli of tomorrow. Toc.lay' human heings, with their strong natural reproductive drive and their near space-time horizon, are biologically we ll adapted to their environment of thou and of years ago, not tO that of the 21 t century. But, while our biological evo lution may be nearly compl ete, our conscious evolution ha enormous untapped potential. pecifically, the wiring of the brai n permits amazing adapt ive capability.To survive and prosper in a totally new en vironment, we urgently need new thinking. D Re/Jrinted by permission of the publisher from the article "New Era-New Challenge," by Harold A. Lins tone, appearing in Techno logical Forecasting and Social C hange, Vol 47, No. 1. Copyright 1994 by Elsevier Science Inc. WI TER 1995 13