"The Great Turning" by David Korten

Toward the end of his book, "The Great Turning" (pp. 316-322), David Korten lists four convergent imperatives:

1.. Accelerate the awakening of cultural and spiritual consciousness.
2.. Resist Empire's assault on children, families, community, and nature.
3.. Form and connect communities of congruence.
4.. Build a majoritarian political base.

He writes: "These four strategic undertakings are sequential in that each prepares the way for the next. They are also simultaneous in that each is currently in play, developing at its own pace, and contributing to the birthing process."

Korten goes on to describe three Turnings:

1.. Economic Turning
2.. Political Turning
3.. Cultural Turning

While the economic and political successes he lists are mostly local, I noticed what he said about the Cultural Turning:

"There is evidence of an emergent global cultural turning associated with the widespread awakening of the Cultural and Spiritual orders of consciousness…. It is this awakening that makes the Great Turning possible. It finds popular expression in the many economic and political initiatives mentioned above."

To take away the economic power of Empire, voting with our dollars is "One of the most visible manifestations of global civil society," Korten writes.

If it comes down to a matter of survival from the threats of global warming and peak oil, our best chance may be to "be the change" and "walk away from the king."