Accelerated environmental deterioration, systemic inequities and segregation within societies pose an ongoing threat for collective human history. Thus a radical approach is needed to address and resolve the fractures crippling our economies. In Transforming Systems, Arun Maira, lays down three important tenets for anyone aspiring to make the world a better place- systems thinking, ethics of citizenship, and deep listening.
The book emphasises that there needs to be a paradigm shift from the traditional economic mantras of human civilization that encourage human beings to be selfish and relentlessly pursue profit above everything else. Rather, Maira demystifies the fundamentals needed for transformational thinking. He stresses that the governance of companies and countries need a renovated framework of ethical reasoning. The challenge is that ethics present themselves as a dynamic phenomenon, with the nuances of what is considered good and bad undergoing massive change with time and circumstances.
Maira brings his enriched repository of knowledge and experience as a seasoned economist to accentuate the unpredictability of our future that is constantly metamorphosing, and indicates how we can contend with the changes. He implies that businesses, governments and societies need to collaborate effectively in order to combat the formational shifts that are taking place.
Maira underlines that the most beneficial life skill for young people is to master the art of being lifelong learners, empathetic to their own development within an evolving system.
Only when varied opinions are heard and appreciated, and not stifled beneath technology-driven quantitative data analysis, can inherent challenges of social inequality and environmental unsustainability be tackled efficiently.
—————————-
Sattva has been working with various non-profits and social organisations as well as corporate clients to help them define their social impact goals. Our focus is to solve critical problems and find scalable solutions. We assist organisations in formulating their long-term social impact strategy by strategically aligning with business to provide meaningful solutions to social issues.
If you have any such stories or ideas to share, please write to us: impact@sattva.co.in
