ABSTRACT
So far, the book has sought to map out some terms of reference by which our economy might be re-united with the eco-system upon which it depends. It began by criticising the disconnected, bureaucratic, over-specialist and egoistic nature of our society. In offering an alternative approach the last chapter suggested that ‘synergy’ could be used as a combined social and industrial performance indicator. While some synergies can deliver practical, material outcomes, others must work to attract participants and engage them, say, at the phenomenological level. This raises the question as to how the performance of metadesign projects might be evaluated, which may not be easy, as an entirely new mode of qualitative benchmarking may be required. It would be helpful to devise a unified calibration system that identifies different modes of synergy at different levels and cross-references them to give a single index. One of the questions this raises is how society might be able to synergise its many levels of synergy. This chapter answers the question by calling for the development of a more sophisticated and coherent culture of organisation. In seeking to adopt a more positive, optimistic standpoint, previous chapters described the need to create new words and grammars in order to bring about an eco-centred society. In his influential theory of a ‘hierarchy of needs’ Maslow (1987) argues that human beings must satisfy what he calls ‘basic’ needs, such as hunger and sex before the so-called ‘higher’ needs. This is sometimes interpreted as a justification for economic growth. In other words, it is taken to mean that citizens must reach a certain level of financial prosperity before they will feel inclined to reduce their level of consumption. While this assumption may be hard to disprove in our own historical terms, we need to assume it is wrong. In short we have little alternative but to take a positive stance, and redesign the way it works. While I am not suggesting that we try to change human nature, it is important to remember that all human activities take place within
a linguistic and cultural framework that moderates and guides the way we behave (see Chapter 5). It is at the deep level of values, beliefs and acquired reflexes that we may re-design our world. Designers in the advertising industry probably understand this better than almost all other professionals. By inviting individuals to contribute more actively to the language, they may feel more inclined to see themselves as co-creators of a shared socio-ecological domain.
