Beyond the Century of Light

Commensurate with the revelation of Bahá’u’lláh and His charge “…upon all mankind to establish the Most Great Peace” 1 is the rapid increase in our deeper knowledge of liberal arts and sciences along with particular technological developments that, when combined with ongoing guidance from Bahá’í institutions, facilitate our efforts to fulfill this mandate.

Just as the Declaration of The Báb on May 23, 1844 2 marked the beginning of the Bahá’í Era during which mankind would enter its Golden Age, 3 the first message—“What hath God wrought?”—sent at almost the same time by Samuel Morse on his newly-invented single-wire telegraph noted the advent of communications by an electronic device on a global scale.

And just as spiritual messages about the Bahá’í Faith have reached audiences in every corner of the globe and its ranks have grown in response, the material means of sharing information, gaining knowledge, understanding context, and making decisions has expanded thereby presenting opportunities for humanity to become more inclusive and unified.

In many of His addresses to audiences during His journey to America in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá characterized the 20th century as the “Century of Light.” 4 He foresaw that scientific and societal progress enveloped within the spiritual forces unleashed by the Bahá’í Faith as it unfolded in the years ahead would lay the groundwork for “the unity of all mankind.” 5

Building upon the pioneering efforts of Charles Babbage (first mechanical computer), Ada Lovelace (the first computer algorithm), and Georg Simmel (first in-depth inquiry into the nature of social networking) among others in the 19th century gave rise in the 20th to the first electronic computer (ENIAC 1945), followed by a rapid succession of developments in computing platforms, computer networking, the birth of the Internet (ARPANET), Artificial Intelligence, personal computers, web browsers, social media, etc. These developments combined with commensurate advances in virtually every field of human endeavor during this same period have transformed how we as humans perceive ourselves, our world, and the consequences of our behavior. Most notably, it has increased our awareness that changes based solely on what we know are insufficient to keep humanity out of harm’s way (like “driving by looking in the rearview mirror”). Accordingly, it has our increased receptiveness to a constant, unwavering spiritual framework—renewed for this age by the authority of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant 6 and represented by the institutions of the Bahá’í Faith—that can lead us safely into an uncertain future.

This matrix of material and spiritual means that evolved throughout the Century of Light, provides humanity with an ideal blend of capability, capacity, and inspiration to draw upon throughout this century. Key aspects of this matrix include:

  1. Widespread understanding about and appreciation for the organizing principles of unity, love, and justice;
  2. Proliferation of powerful “tools” made available through the arts and sciences in the physical world; and,
  3. Uninterrupted spiritual guidance tailored for the exigencies of the present but honoring the overall intent and purpose of human endeavor—achieving the Most Great Peace—and directing the evolution of social systems to this noble end.

In effect, we have a rare opportunity to be both witness and part of the dynamics of social systems as they enter “far from equilibrium” or “dissipative” states that characterize ongoing transformation. Given the times we are in, this opportunity is unparalleled in human history. Armed with organizing principles, physical tools, and a spiritual framework gained during the Century of Light, we are well-prepared as actors / agents to participate in and contribute to the transformation of multiple social systems, simultaneously, as the new World Order 7 continues to evolve. And in so doing our ongoing learning about how to be all-inclusive, interdependent, and collectively responsible for our mutual welfare will inevitably lead to the fulfillment of spiritual prophecy and humanity’s purpose:

… in this wondrous Dispensation the earth will become another earth and the world of humanity will be arrayed with perfect composure and adornment. Strife, contention, and bloodshed will give way to peace, sincerity, and harmony. Among the nations, peoples, kindreds, and governments, love and amity will prevail and cooperation and close connection will be firmly established. 8.

  1. “We have enjoined upon all mankind to establish the Most Great Peace—the surest of all means for the protection of humanity.”
    Baháʾuʾlláh. Tablets of Baháʼuʼlláh, Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Translated by Habib Taherzadeh. 1st ed. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 1978. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/tablets-bahaullah/4#436777914 ↩
  2. “This is 23 May, the anniversary of the message and Declaration of the Báb. It is a blessed day and the dawn of manifestation, for the appearance of the Báb was the early light of the true morn, whereas the manifestation of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh, was the shining forth of the sun. Therefore, it is a blessed day, the inception of the heavenly bounty, the beginning of the divine effulgence.”
    ʻAbduʼl-Bahá. The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ʻAbduʼl-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912. Edited by Howard MacNutt. 2nd ed. Wilmette, Ill: Baháʼí Publishing Trust, 1982, 138. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/promulgation-universal-peace/10#796487182 ↩
  3. “God’s purpose is none other than to usher in, in ways He alone can bring about, and the full significance of which He alone can fathom, the Great, the Golden Age of a long-divided, a long-afflicted humanity.”
    Effendi, Shoghi. The Promised Day Is Come. 1941. Rev. ed, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1980.
    https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/shoghi-effendi/promised-day-come/5#451903766 ↩
  4. “Let this century be the sun of previous centuries, the effulgences of which shall last forever, so that in times to come they shall glorify the twentieth century, saying the twentieth century was the century of lights, the twentieth century was the century of life, the twentieth century was the century of international peace, the twentieth century was the century of divine bestowals, and the twentieth century has left traces which shall last forever.”
    ʻAbduʼl-Bahá. The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ʻAbduʼl-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912. Edited by Howard MacNutt. 2nd ed. Wilmette, Ill: Baháʼí Publishing Trust, 1982, 125-126. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/promulgation-universal-peace/9#193351893 ↩
  5. “Hence the unity of all mankind can in this day be achieved. Verily this is none other but one of the wonders of this wondrous age, this glorious century. Of this past ages have been deprived, for this century—the century of light—hath been endowed with unique and unprecedented glory, power and illumination. Hence the miraculous unfolding of a fresh marvel every day. Eventually it will be seen how bright its candles will burn in the assemblage of man.”
    ʻAbduʼl-Bahá. Selections from the Writings of ʻAbduʼl-Bahá. Translated by Marzieh Gail. 1st ed. Haifa: Bahá’í World Center, 1978, 31-32. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/selections-writings-abdul-baha/3#355125495. ↩
  6. Universal House of Justice. “7 December 1969 – [Letter to an Individual].” Bahá’í Reference Library, https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19691207001/1#472228632. Accessed 20 June 2021. ↩
  7. “The world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.”
    Baháʾuʾlláh. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Haifa: Baháʾi World Centre, 1992. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/kitab-i-aqdas/7#908010112.
    See related “Note 189. this new World Order”—
    Baháʾuʾlláh. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Haifa: Baháʾi World Centre, 1992. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/kitab-i-aqdas/16#851215062. ↩
  8. ʻAbduʾl-Bahá. Some Answered Questions. Translated by Laura Clifford Barney. Wilmette, Ill: Baháʾí Publishing Trust, 1981, 63-64. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/some-answered-questions/5#663848080. ↩

Spiritual Reality and the Human Soul

Humans possess physical bodies and spiritual souls. Endowed with the potential to acknowledge this dual nature bestows upon each person a unique capacity to interact with spiritual reality while still in physical reality.

It should be borne in mind, however, that when the light of My Name, the All-Pervading, hath shed its radiance upon the universe, each and every created thing hath, according to a fixed decree, been endowed with the capacity to exercise a particular influence, and been made to possess a distinct virtue.1

  1. Bahá’u’lláh. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh (Wilmette, IL: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1990 189). ↩

Forgiveness

Because physical reality is a “complex adaptive system of complex adaptive systems,” the behaviors of any one agent influence the choices other agents have either by widening the range of alternatives or clarifying the current set available.

Agents may choose according to physical and natural laws, instinct and reflex, or in a uniquely human sense, by reason and rationale tempered by emotion. But choose they must.

This responsibility to choose foisted upon us puts each of us in a double bind of epic proportions: 1) we are forced to respond to situations created in part through the choices made by other agents in the system we may or may not know, and 2) the behaviors we exhibit through the choices we make will shape the situations facing other agents we may or may not know.

This suggests that others we do not know will make decisions that have a negative impact on our choices for which they are unaware AND there will be consequences of our thoughts, words, and actions which place others we do not know in unpleasantness or peril.

These binds are the seeds of true forgiveness in that we ask for it from those we do not know that we have harmed and grant it to those who have harmed us but do not know.

Where Am I — How Do I Find Out?

My previous post, Where Am I?, presents a number of cosmic possibilities for where one could be. How to narrow the options, though, is a personal decision. One must choose carefully among many reasoned and compelling theories about cosmology even as they are being challenged, revised, or supplanted through new discoveries, developments, and detours. The goal is to settle on whatever instills sufficient confidence to go forward as a “knowledge broker.” 1

Being lost is not a permanent condition. Being found is to confront the primary challenge mentioned above of knowing what integrity is and addressing the confounding questions honestly and openly. Peeling back the onion-like layers of representation that shroud our integrity is an exercise in independent investigation of truth – —a fundamental endeavor for a knowledge broker. 2

Independent Search after Truth, then, becomes the first of three core activities in the pursuit of knowledge:

Furthermore, know ye that God has created in man the power of reason, whereby man is enabled to investigate reality. God has not intended man to imitate blindly his fathers and ancestors. He has endowed him with mind, or the faculty of reasoning, by the exercise of which he is to investigate and discover the truth, and that which he finds real and true he must accept. He must not be an imitator or blind follower of any soul. He must not rely implicitly upon the opinion of any man without investigation; nay, each soul must seek intelligently and independently, arriving at a real conclusion and bound only by that reality. The greatest cause of bereavement and disheartening in the world of humanity is ignorance based upon blind imitation. It is due to this that wars and battles prevail; from this cause hatred and animosity arise continually among mankind. 3

The second core activity is the apprehension of reality through various worlds of perception:

  • material — one that can be perceived through the senses;
  • rational — one that can be perceived through the intellect;
  • historical — one that can be perceived through traditions and narratives; and
  • spiritual (non-material / suprarational) — one that can be perceived through a conduit or postulated as a theoretical possibility, but cannot be tested (observed) or proven with available knowledge. 4

While each realm is valuable in myriad ways, to regard any one of them as a sufficient pathway to applicable knowledge is susceptible to distortion of information and error in judgement. More useful answers emerge from mutually supportive evidence gleaned from several “worlds of perception” (or “multiple intelligences”) 5 and diverse starting conditions.

The third core activity is the adoption of a disciplined, “scientific method” 6 to follow when processing what one perceives in order to achieve a better understanding. This methodology applies in both material and spiritual realities especially when bridging between them as noted in this statement by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

It (science) is of two kinds: material and spiritual. Material science is the investigation of natural phenomena; divine science is the discovery and realization of spiritual verities. The world of humanity must acquire both. A bird has two wings; it cannot fly with one. Material and spiritual science are the two wings of human uplift and attainment. Both are necessary—one the natural, the other supernatural; one material, the other divine. By the divine we mean the discovery of the mysteries of God, the comprehension of spiritual realities, the wisdom of God, inner significances of the heavenly religions and foundation of the law. 7

The diagram below by Keng-Laing Huang 8 illustrates how the scientific method provides a disciplined approach by which an independent seeker can sort through spiritual and material perceptions about any topic and secure a firmer grasp on reality:

Armed with independence, perception and process, one forges ahead as a steeled knowledge broker confident to meet any circumstance during life’s journey. Along the way one learns through the merit of one’s logic, the strength and consistency of one’s narratives, and the perseverance of one’s curiosity and imagination to keep after truth. In effect, one maps one’s place in the cosmos and finds what may have seemed lost.

  1. “I describe myself as a “knowledge broker.” With the pervasiveness of ICT capabilities, the roles we play in our work and relationships to one another are a complex mix of saying our truths, aggregating these diverse points of truth into recognizable frameworks of patterns, and putting theories into action we believe will influence the patterns we see and experience. Knowledge brokers move easily and freely among these three roles depending upon the current circumstances in which they find themselves.”
    Bosserman, Steven L., “Welcome,” Steven L. Bosserman Archives (Blog), August 31, 2005. <https://stevenlbossermanarchives.com/2005/08/25/welcome/> ↩
  2. Bosserman, Steven L., “Integrity and Groundtruth,” Steven L. Bosserman Archives (Blog), August 31, 2005. <https://stevenlbossermanarchives.com/2005/08/31/integrity-and-ground-truth/> ↩
  3. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “Talk at Home of Madame Morey, 34 Hillside Avenue, Malden, Massachusetts, 29 August 1912,” The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912, 2nd ed. (Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1982), 291. http://www.bahai.org/r/693658082 ↩
  4. “Abdu’l-Bahá 1904-1906. “The Four Methods of Acquiring Knowledge”. Some Answered Questions. (Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1981, 297-299). ↩
  5. “The purpose of their performance was three-fold. First, make rhythm and dance integral in the design of the leadership workshop as an appeal to the auditory-musical and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences of attendees, à la Howard Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences.”
    Bosserman, Steven L., “Keeping the Beat with Jump Rhythm Jazz Project,” Steven L. Bosserman Archives (Blog), December 5, 2005. https://stevenlbossermanarchives.com/2005/12/05/keeping-the-beat-with-jump-rhythm-jazz-project/ ↩
  6. “The scientific method is an empirical method of acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century. It involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation. It involves formulating hypotheses, via induction, based on such observations; experimental and measurement-based testing of deductions drawn from the hypotheses; and refinement (or elimination) of the hypotheses based on the experimental findings. These are principles of the scientific method, as distinguished from a definitive series of steps applicable to all scientific enterprises.” <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method> ↩
  7. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. “Talk at the Home of Mr. and Mrs. Francis W. Breed, 367 Harvard Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 23 May 1912,” The Promulgation of World Peace: Talks Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912. 2nd ed. (Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1982). 138. http://www.bahai.org/r/988275660 ↩
  8. Huang, Keng-Laing, “The Science of Living,” BahaiTeachings.org
    February 28, 2020. <https://bahaiteachings.org/science-of-living/&gt; ↩

Where am I?

At various times in our lives many of us ponder far-ranging questions: Where did this material world / universe come from? Are we alone or are there advanced life forms on other worlds? Will the universe expand forever or eventually collapse into nothingness? In other words, where are we, in relation to everything else?

These often spawn existential where am I queries such as: Who am I? Why am I here? What will happen to me? Collectively, both sets of questions make fodder for thinkers and writers in science fiction and fantasy.

They also generate theories and teachings in cosmology — a field of study that thrives in the interface between science and religion.

Wikipedia posits at least three different aspects of cosmology: physical / scientific, esoteric / religious, and philosophical/secular. Optimally, all three would be mutually supportive rather than contentious, as outlined in the previous post titled, Time4Time About-Reboot. But achieving such complementarity requires those investigating cosmological avenues be clear about how they gain insight and understanding and draw conclusions about what they know and don’t know. The search for this clarity blends the more tenseless and abstract “where are we” with the present and personal “where am I” to generate another set of questions that challenges us to place our existence in an all-encompassing “omniverse” however one chooses to define it:

Despite the promotion of innumerable thought experiments, these questions carry no certainty of being quickly answered, if ever. This, then, creates the intellectual space to entertain spiritual perspectives that can explain or offer proofs for the seemingly inexplicable or unprovable. For instance, in the 1880s Bahá’u’lláh, Prophet Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, stated:

As to thy question concerning the worlds of God. Know thou of a truth that the worlds of God are countless in their number, and infinite in their range. None can reckon or comprehend them except God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. 2

Verily I say, the creation of God embraceth worlds besides this world, and creatures apart from these creatures. In each of these worlds He hath ordained things which none can search except Himself, the All-Searching, the All-Wise. 3

These statements are quite prescient considering the field of quantum mechanics out of which the theories of multiverses, Big Bang, Big Bounce, etc. emerged was not named and formalized until the 1920s. Furthermore, they illustrate how intertwined spiritual and material perspectives can point to new places where we are and where I am. It’s an adventure that lies ahead for all of us!

More to follow…

  1. Perry, Philip, “The basis of the universe may not be energy or matter but information,” BigThink (blog), August 27, 2017, https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/the-basis-of-the-universe-may-not-be-energy-or-matter-but-information. ↩
  2. Bahá’u’lláh (1978) 1879-91. “Súriy-i-Vafá”(www.bahai.org/r/861851575). Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh. Chatham, UK: W&J Mackay Ltd. pg. 187. ISBN 0-85398-077-2. ↩
  3. Ibid. pg. 188. ↩

Collective Responsibility

My previous post, Local Timebanking, introduced The Five Core Values of TimeBanking by Edgar Cahn. These organizing principles define the role timebanking plays, both as a platform and set of processes, to account for one’s time invested in “forms of work that money will not easily pay for, like building strong families, revitalizing neighborhoods, making democracy work, advancing social justice.”

In the context of Maslow’s Hierarchy, timebanking helps community members take collective responsibility to assure the basic needs of all members are met. Then, with basic needs in place for all, each member is better positioned to take individual responsibility for personal needs related to quality of life.

The rendition of Maslow’s Hierarchy below illustrates more specifically what community members take responsibility for, individually and collectively:

Key takeaway: the more a community provides all its members with their basic needs, the higher likelihood that individual members will enjoy a higher quality of life by whatever subjective factors each chooses.

In effect, communities that honor this commitment decrease the amount of time its members must dedicate to meeting their basic needs which results in them having more time available for quality of life endeavors.

The post, Time Beyond Basic Needs Builds Human Capital, makes the point that more time consumed above the line in the “quality of life” zone has the social benefit of increasing human capital. In other words, it turns Maslow’s Hierarchy upside down so that more time could be dedicated to pursuits beyond basic needs. The diagram below — a variation on “The Human Enigma” graphic in the post referenced above — highlights how the dynamics between the two hierarchies impact a community and its members:

The community takes collective responsibility to manage the accessibility, availability, and affordability of basic needs for all community members.  To be successful, communities develop strategies and underwrite projects along a localization — globalization continuum to assure needs can be met and minimize risk to member for failure to deliver.

In addition, the community applies advances in technology to the flows of basic needs in order to reduce costs, increase control, and relieve community members from onerous tasks. Effectively, this shifts what community members do with their time from activities below the line to those above the line — time for time — which increases their creativity and expands their horizons. The subsequent uptick in human capital benefits the community, internally, as well as individuals and organizations in regional and global interrelationships.

Key takeaways: Timebanking provides the opportunity for community members to account for the time they invest in projects related to management of basic needs and application of technology. It also enables members to exchange time credits they receive for participating in these projects so they can shift their attention from below the line to above the line endeavors. Furthermore, documentation of the cumulative time invested, exchanged, and consumed by community members establishes a demonstrated value of time and skills that incentivizes other individuals and organizations to become timebanking members and offers collateral in proposals to funding agencies.

In upcoming posts I will explore these in more detail with examples from local timebanks. Stay tuned…

Local Timebanking

My previous post, Conjoined Economies, pointed out how despite the importance of parity between a time-based economy and a money-based economy for the health and well-being of community members, the money-based economy maintains a dominant presence within most social systems. Because of that imbalance, it is essential to bring time-based economy activities out of the shadows and acknowledge their value.

Timebanking provides opportunities for communities to make the time-based economy more explicit at a local level and a stronger partner with (or worthy opponent to) the predominant money-based economy, globally.

The diagram below illustrates how the two economies would relate to one another on more local (smaller circumference) and global scales.

While the organizing principles for a time-based economy are similar, those defining timebanking have several key characteristics, namely: “participation” becomes membership with an account in a timebank; “exchange” becomes use of a specific exchange platform; and “commons” relates to a cooperative or otherwise legal entity as a governance structure. In addition, the general concept of time as the driver for economic activity shifts to more specific notion of an hour of service for an hour of credit.

Timebanking Core Values

TimeBanks USA, founded by Edgar Cahn in 1995, offers a complete package of operating philosophy, materials, software, and support for communities to get involved in timebanking. As an example, below are The Five Core Values of TimeBanking initially stated by Cahn: 1

  1. Asset: Every one of us has something of value to share with someone else.
  2. Redefining Work: There are some forms of work that money will not easily pay for, like building strong families, revitalizing neighborhoods, making democracy work, advancing social justice. Time credits were designed to reward, recognize and honor that work.
  3. Reciprocity: Helping that works as a two-way street empowers everyone involved – the receiver as well as the giver.
    The question: “How can I help you?” needs to change so we ask: “Will you help someone too?” Paying it forward ensures that, together, we help each other build the world we all will live in.
  4. Social Networks: Helping each other, we reweave communities of support, strength & trust. Community is built by sinking roots, building trust, creating networks. By using timebanking, we can strengthen and support these activities.
  5. Respect: Respect underlies freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and everything we value. Respect supplies the heart and soul of democracy. We strive to respect where people are in the moment, not where we hope they will be at some future point.

Note the similarity of the five Core Values to Jay Walljasper’s interpretation of the eight design principles Elinor Ostrom defined for effective governance of the commons quoted in Organizing Principles for a Time-Based Economy.

Timebanking – The Realized Value of Unpaid Time

In accordance with these Core Values, the timebank becomes a venue in which any member has the opportunity to take greater responsibility for unpaid time by doing the following:

  • Document unpaid time in a personal member account
  • Convert unpaid time into a currency according to a rate shared by all members
  • Exchange unpaid time in account for access and usage of resources offered by other members

Timebanking – Benefits

Of course, realizing the value of unpaid time is more about building relationships within local communities than conducting transactions. hOurworld, a self-described “…international network of neighbors helping neighbors,” defines the timebank venue as a place where

Members share their talents and services, record their hours, then ‘spend’ them later on services they want. Everyone’s hours are equal. There is no barter. These are friendly, neighborly favors. Together we are restoring local community currency based on relationships.”

The Hour Exchange Portland lists the benefits of an exchange as follows:

  • Trusting relationships – (trust, reciprocity and civic engagement)
  • Greater access to goods and services
  • Employment references
  • Stronger informal support systems
  • Safety in neighborhoods
  • Increased self-esteem / confidence
  • Greater participation in community events
  • Diminished loneliness
  • Accept help with dignity – knowing you’ll help others in return
  • Building social capital in neighborhoods — Robert Putnam 2

These descriptions of timebanking core values and benefits of an exchange certainly speak to how timebanking can help us progress toward the goals:

  1. Legitimize time-based economy behaviors
  2. Expand symbiotic / synergistic coverage by both the time-based and money-based economies

But there is so much more that timebanking offers as well as numerous platforms, processes, currencies, etc. at work to bring the time-based economy into its rightful position of parity with the money-based economy. Look to future posts that take deeper dives into timebanking and explore the topical landscape of complementary currencies, peer-to-peer relationships, systems change theory in practice, etc. more broadly.

  1. The Five Core Values of TimeBankingEdgar Cahn is the founder of modern timebanking. He noticed that successful timebanks almost always work with some specific core values in place. In his book No More Throw-Away People, he listed four values. Later, he added a fifth. These have come to be widely shared as the five core values of timebanking – and most timebanks strive to follow them. They are a strong starting point for successful timebanking. ↩
  2. Smith, M. K. (2001, 2007) ‘Robert Putnam’, the encyclopaedia of informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/putnam.htm. Last update: May 29, 2012. ↩

Conjoined Economies

In my previous posting, Organizing Principles for a Time-Based Economy, I describe a money-based economy and a time-based economy, each based on very different organizing principles, yet functioning concurrently within the same social system. On the surface their unique principles and purposes may appear to render them mutually exclusive. However, the behaviors each elicits from members can form a healthy dialectic that benefits the shared social system. The resulting symbiosis (perhaps agonism) acts as a mitigating force to keep the social system between gross economic disparity on the one hand and profound personal discontent on the other.

The diagram below builds on diametrically opposed views of Maslow’s Hierarchy introduced in the post, Time Beyond Basic Needs Builds Human Capital, and adds the organizing principles for both economies:

In more evolved forms, each of the conjoined economies would wield comparable power within the same society, hence, same-sized circles of organizing principles on oppositional figures of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Despite the importance of each economy and the necessity of robust interactions between them, those activities in the time-based economy (pale colored organizing principles), are not as explicit nor recognized for their value like those in the money-based economy (dark-colored organizing principles). Furthermore, the sphere of operation for both has room to expand well-beyond the perimeter of the gray oval representing current reality.

These dynamics set in place twin goals moving forward:

  1. Legitimize time-based economy behaviors
  2. Expand symbiotic / synergistic coverage by both the time-based and money-based economies.

And it opens the door for localized, community-based structures to emerge that advance these goals.

Organizing Principles for a Time-Based Economy

My previous post, Time Beyond Basic Needs Builds Human Capital, proposes that advances in technology, e.g., Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, genetics, networks, etc., redefine human capital and how we build it. This trend will impact how we use the limited time we have as living, physical beings on the planet.

Regardless of how long that is for each of us, the minutes we have will be distributed into the five levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy. 1  For many, the bulk of their time will fall into the bottom levels where they struggle to meet basic needs and survive. However, if society partners with technology rather than contends with it, the majority of our time could play in the upper levels of the pyramid where human creativity, inventiveness, and innovation thrive.   Our time and where on Maslow’s Hierarchy we consume it become major metrics by which we measure the effectiveness and efficiency of economic systems in their capability to build and sustain human capital at its most optimal.

The diagram below from Time Beyond Basic Needs Builds Human Capital, superimposes the base-down orientation of Maslow’s Hierarchy onto a top-down version.

These can be expressed as two economies that play out along a continuum. On one end a money-based economy of dystopian design keeps the majority occupied in the lower levels of a base-down Maslow’s Hierarchy. On the other end a time-based economy of utopian design shifts participation by the majority to the upper levels of a point-down Maslow’s Hierarchy.  Regardless, the two economies not only coexist, they have a clear symbiotic relationship between them.

Despite the interrelationships between a money-based economy and a time-based economy,  the organizing principles that define them as well as the behaviors each produces are quite different.  The diagram below illustrates key defining elements in a money-based economy, 2  3 namely, the central role of money and debt with ties to the organizing principles of ownership, consumption, and pacification. This configuration drives most participants to spend the majority of their time, day by day, in the bottom reaches of Maslow’s Hierarchy in a base-down orientation, which sets rather dystopian limits to upward mobility.

Time4Time Presentation.001

Conversely, the diagram below shows organizing principles for a time-based economy 4 in which time occupies the center with links to participation rather than pacification, exchange in lieu of consumption, and commons instead of ownership. This configuration shifts behavior toward the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy in its point-down orientation, which offers a greater degree of freedom for the majority to pursue more utopian ideals.

Time4Time Presentation.002

When these two economies operate in concert with one another, they set the stage for the emergence of a

…commons-oriented mutual-coordination economy where the concepts of ownership and “legal” do not exist. And anything like “money” is not required. But still, common resources require some people or organizational forms (often a committee) to be responsible for them.

Comment by Bob Haugen in Value Flows-Issue #270 on GitHub

Haugen goes on to recommend reading Elinor Ostrom’s 8 Principles for Managing A Commons by Jay Walljasper in On the Commons, October 2, 2011:

  1. Define clear group boundaries.
  2. Match rules governing use of common goods to local needs and conditions.
  3. Ensure that those affected by the rules can participate in modifying the rules.
  4. Make sure the rule-making rights of community members are respected by outside authorities.
  5. Develop a system, carried out by community members, for monitoring members’ behavior.
  6. Use graduated sanctions for rule violators.
  7. Provide accessible, low-cost means for dispute resolution.
  8. Build responsibility for governing the common resource in nested tiers from the lowest level up to the entire interconnected system.

Clearly, Ostrom emphasizes the need for defining who’s in and who’s not, how the rules for use of “common goods” are made, monitored, enforced, etc. This includes “build responsibility for governing the common resource (or “common resource in nested tiers…up to the entire interconnected system”)…” which speaks to the preference for terminology like “responsibility flow” in lieu of “legal flow.”

And that brings us back to the symbiotic nature of money-based and time-based economies within a healthy, adaptive society. Our challenge is not to save one and kill the other, but assure the legitimacy of each for whatever time it takes whereby the basic needs of all are met with enough time left over to enjoy a reasonable quality of life.

Possible steps in how to bring this about will be the topic of upcoming posts.

  1. Lifetime Hours Revisited ↩
  2. Money and Society video ↩
  3. Money and Society MOOC ↩
  4. Time-Based Economics: A Community-Building Dynamic by A. Allen Butcher ↩