h1n1 pandemic

It's interesting that throughout the social revolution here in Oaxaca in 2006-2007 I never contemplated returning to the United States, yet with the H1N1 flu outbreak I nearly did so. Why? I think the invisibility of this threat, the fact that you could acquire it from anyone and the intense media frenzy made it different. During the movement there were isolated areas of danger you stayed away from, with H1N1 it could be anywhere.

After a few days the panic peaked in the press. My decision not to return taught me a great deal - it allowed me to feel the edges of danger for the second time in three years. It showed me again how that for most people here life goes on regardless. If I remained in the virtual world I could easily project how my life was in danger. If I looked out the window of my house, not a thing had changed. 

For me the net take away from this experience on a world scale is 1) the need for a trusted source of information away from traditional media and government that can respond rapidly at a local level - perhaps World Health Organization designated officials in local areas that post information, 2) a widespresd understanding that these epidemics can start anywhere but their cause is globally linked. Hong Kong did not start SARS and Mexico did not start H1N1. These places should not carry the legacy of these diseases. A better understanding of the complicity and connectedness all regions of the world have with each other is demanded. In North America this is exemplified in the Real News story on H1N1  below:

mark

photo by megan martin

don’t waste a crisis...

We live in extraordinary times. We live at a time when one global paradigm is giving way to a new one. The industrial atomic age is present but giving way to an information and knowledge based paradigm. We are now accustomed to the explosion of new technologies arising in every discipline while at the same time instant, always on communications and interactive media are making the world a much smaller place. Yet these tools have been mostly aimed at producing more goods and services, not directly aimed at improving our lives. We know its time to directly connect our ideas and technologies to a singular end - improving our well-being. But what kind of meta-infrastructure can support the development of real solutions to real needs, simpler lifestyles and local, community based relationships that benefit from global decision-making structures? What structure embraces the empowering nature of these new technologies?

After spending eleven years on Wall Street and another ten or so in technology I was led to social enterprise, also known as social capital or impact investing. Now that social capital is rising as a thriving, emerging market it is important to find the intersection with the new age described above. In fact, I think its high time for an intelligent and lively debate around the economics and ecology behind the social capital markets and how they relate to the existing capital market system now under siege. A rigorous framework to analyze the inherent contradictions arising from the two models is called for as we move toward a long term model of sustainability - suitable to the age ahead. Issues to be discussed include the dynamics of big corporations and what they can learn from small, nimble, transparent social enterprises; philosophies of scarcity versus abundance; the implications of openness and transparency on private property systems and clear definition around the kind of meta-institutional framework to be put in place.

I think its helpful to begin by looking closely at the work of Paul Romer and Joseph Stiglitz, arguably the most respected economists out there thinking about the economy beyond the old paradigms. Both address the potential for new institutional frameworks in the age ahead.

See interview with Paul Romer

See background on Joseph Stiglitz

economy |iˈkänəmē|noun ( pl. -mies)1 the wealth and resources of a country or region, esp. in terms of theproduction and consumption of goods and services.• a particular system or stage of an economy : a free-market economy | the less-developed economies.2 careful management of available resources : even heat distribution and fuel economy.
ORIGIN late 15th cent. (in the sense [management of material resources] ): from French économie, or via Latin from Greekoikonomia ‘household management,’ based on oikos ‘house’ +nemein ‘manage.’ Current senses date from the 17th cent.

According to an interview with Reason Magazine Romer's innovation, expressed in technical articles with titles such as "Increasing Returns and Long-Run Growth" and "Endogenous Technological Change," has been to find ways to describe rigorously and exactly how technological progress brings about economic growth.

In particular he articulates the need to distinguish but link basic research and market innovation and to re-examine the institutional forms most appropriate in encouraging the flow of new ideas - when for example they should flow through market systems and when they should flow freely unencumbered by patent and intellectual property laws. How do you incentivize research and experimentation to develop effective AIDs medications while sharing the public benefit of those breakthroughs with those most unable to afford them?

"If you're going to be giving things away for free, you're going to have to find some system to finance them, and that's where government support typically comes in," Romer says..."In the next century we're going to be moving back and forth, experimenting with where to draw the line between institutions of science and institutions of the market. People used to assign different types of problems to each institution. "Basic research" got government support; for "applied product development," we'd rely on the market. Over time, people have recognized that that's a pretty artificial distinction. What's becoming more clear is that it's actually the combined energies of those two sets of institutions, often working on the same problem, that lead to the best outcomes."

Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize winning ex World Bank Director also known for his public and derisive view of the International Monetary Fund, laid the foundations for the theory of markets with asymmetric information (i.e. markets are not so efficient) which lead to his conclusion there is no "invisible hand."

"The theories that I (and others) helped develop explained why unfettered markets often not only do not lead to social justice, but do not even produce efficient outcomes. Interestingly, there has been no intellectual challenge to the refutation of Adam Smith’s invisible hand: individuals and firms, in the pursuit of their self-interest, are not necessarily, or in general, led as if by an invisible hand, to economic efficiency". (More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stiglitz )

This was finally acknowledged by former head of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan in his testimony before Congress - an amazing admission by the former chairman. See http://www.linktv.org/socap08

Stiglitz new book Stability with Growth: Macroeconomics, Liberalization and Development offers a variety of non-standard ways to stabilize the economy and promote growth, and accepts that market imperfections necessitate government interventions.

But looking at things purely in economic terms leaves me wanting more. Certainly we can’t just rely on a more interventionist government to prevent or redress market failures? On the other end of the spectrum is Douglas Rushkoff who as an independent thinker and writer, articulates the incongruity between the technologies that drive our economy today and the financial structures currently in place. Rushkoff’s background is in media, technology and culture but he is well versed in economic history. His controversial but provocative new book: "Life Inc... how the world turned into a corporation and how to turn it back" is set to arrive soon... for a preview I highly recommendlistening to him speak about these issues.

Rushkoff suggests we approach the new age not just from an economic perspective but from an ecological perspective, one that takes into account the interaction of people with their environment. The speculative economy doesnt just need a fix. It needs to be replaced by a "real economy."

ecology |iˈkäləjē|noun1 the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.• (also human ecology) the study of the interaction of people with their environment.

ORIGIN late 19th cent. (originally as oecology): from Greek oikos ‘house’+ -logy .

According to Rushkoff "The real economy need not suffer in the downfall of the speculative economy. If anything, the real economy has been repressed by the speculative economy. Real farmers have been crushed by Big Agra, real druggists have been crushed by Wal-Mart and real transportation alternatives have been crushed by Big Oil and Big Auto.

The opportunity here, while the big boys are down, is to rebuild the genuine, local commercial infrastructure. To make shoes, clothes, food, education, healthcare and everything else we can in a bottom-up fashion. While speculators enjoy the economy of scale, we inhabit an ecology scaled to the human being that was lost in the corporatist equation."

The economic structures now in place were developed for an older industrial model based on scarcity, the extraction of value from planet and people, a disconnect between management and the stakeholders served, and an underlying value system centered on self-interest. At the heart of this was the corporate structure.

Corporations and the economic system behind it are based on debt instruments marketed as brands to identify with consumers isolated from their communities who rely on mass media and mass markets instead. Money is not earned into existence it is lent into existence, Rushkoff notes, creating an insatiable need to work harder and longer to feed the hand that lends.

Rushkoff argues that the decentralizing technologies fueling the digital age put the power of creation back in the hands of the individual and the community in direct opposition to the very nature of a centralized corporate structure. The digital age allows individuals to be creators of ideas and knowledge, to compare notes and collaborate with communities near and far, to create social capital and currency that may be exchanged for real needs.

But just how exactly do you create enterprises from the bottom up that are locally responsive and responsible and financially sustainable, while at the same time able to take advantage of scale where appropriate, but not forcing it? This is precisely where social enterprises figure greatly into the overall equation. Social entrepreneurs have been experimenting with just such approaches and with greater and greater success. Stonyfield Farms, Body Shop, Calvert Funds, Smith & Hawken, Honest Tea, and Ethos Water are some of the more well-known social enterprises but a very deep pool of these kinds of enterprises can be found around the world in industries like microfinance, fair trade and renewable energy.

Social entrepreneurs and the investors behind them have also been great innovators in the kind of institutional issues Romer suggests are crucial - that is finding a spectrum of approaches on where to draw the line between research and development and market based efficiency, between for-profit and non-profit structures and between local and global strategies.

What we are talking about here is harnessing our countries culture of entrepreneurship and innovation but now directed toward social and environmental ends, or "social innovation." In combination with technological innovation we have the basis for building a real economy at local and global levels that can replace the speculative economy. But it will require us to rebalance our incentive structures through public private partnerships that supports risk taking entrepreneurs set on improving our lives and communities. It will require smart regulation that reinforces new behavior. And it will require new corporate models that makes explicit the bargain of a balanced set of returns - social, environmental and financial. There is real, practical knowledge arising from social enterprise that can be transferred directly at the governmental level potentially through the new Office of Social Innovation, and through the corporate ranks through "social intrapraneurship "- (social entrepreneurs working within large organizations). All of the above needs to be translated into concrete terms and structures.

But let us also take this opportunity to be clear about why we are doing this. Its not because the financial system has collapsed. That is a symptom of our singular focus on economic self interest - increasing individual income levels through more and more consumption. I would suggest our rediscovered purpose in the new age means increasing individual and collective well-being by sharing new ideas and technologies sustainably.

Well being - An understanding or valuation of “human” that takes the whole human being as the basis of valuation not just economic well being.

In my work with Halloran Philanthropies and Hardin Tibbs on well-being we have asked ourselves "How have human needs been met in the past." The industrial-era answer to this question is “by expropriation” – we take what we need from nature and from other human beings. This answer sees the human being as having mastery over nature and as being able through technology to be independent of environment and society. A wiser answer is that we depend on our environment and on other humans. Thus the need to think about ecology - the relation of organisms (people) to one and other and to their environment. Social entrepreneurs are demonstrating how to do this every day.

A shift from focusing on income to well being does not mean accepting less. On the contrary, it means doing more with less through better design and technology. A new paradigm that acknowledges this as our shared American Dream is what will really change the world.

mark

why do you do what you do?

now there is one outstandingly important fact about spaceship earth, and that is that no instruction book came with it. i think its very significant that there is not an instruction book for successfully operating our ship. in view of the infinite attention to all other details displayed by our ship, it must be taken as deliberate and purposeful that an instruction book was omitted. ... so we were forced, because of a lack of an instruction book, to use our intellect, which is our supreme faculty...thus... we are learning how we safely can anticipate the consequences of an increasing number of alternative ways of extending our satisfactory survival and growth - both physical and metaphysical.
r.buckminster fuller

submitted for the wdydwyd project today march 5, 2009

obama office of social innovation

On January 14 Wayne Silby, Founder of Calvert Funds, and I attended a meeting of the Obama Transition Team in Washington DC after being asked to present a proposal for a new Enterprise Impact Investment Vehicle that would create a public - private partnership between private investment managers and the Government to generate more capital investment into social enterprises.

The meeting was hosted by Cheryl Dorsey, President of Echoing Green, Jonathan Greenblat, Founder of Ethos Water, Greg Nelson and Sonal Shaw, Director of Global Development for Google.org, all of whom were volunteering their time for the Transition team.

The administration is looking to develop an office of social innovation that would support social entrepreneurs, social capital and impact investing. The transition team stated their intention not to lead but to support the field and welcomed ideas and knowledge that could help them do just that. The discussion included the need for infrastructure like B-Corp's Global Impact Investing Standard for ranking companies and funds and the need for a common language that can be used throughout all levels of government and that allows the field to be more accessible to a broader audience.

Wayne and I stressed the need for a sustainable, long term vision for jobs with impact and the role new equity capital can have as a catalyst for the field - particularly the opportunity the Government has to provide incentives for private capital to form and that serves as a forcing function for the field. This proposal may or may not make it into the current stimulus package but we hope it will catalyze a dialogue among investors and entrepreneurs that leads to legislation. Another potential avenue includes working with the SBA (Small Business Association).

In his most recent visit to China just befor the meeting Wayne also received interest in the proposal from senior Chinese leaders in partnering with the United States in developing the fund.

Mark

money & meaning

Its always interesting when an idea you had a long time ago finally starts to take shape and then becomes reality. A sense the timing is finally right, an investor (Halloran Philanthropies) willing to take a risk, and a team of people that could carry the whole thing off... 

Social Capital Markets 2008 is an intervention intended to increase the flow of money and attention toward microfinance, fair trade, renewable energy, base of the pyramid, and much more. Just as importantly it is a place where market participants and new players can reflect on the overall field's successes and challenges and construct the future through personal people to people connections. It is the latter that will ultimately be the difference.

The rise in power of corporations with a mandate to maximize financial return for their shareholders in the shortest possible time, often at the expense of human and environmental conditions, has lead to greater acknowledgement of the limits of capitalism in its current form. The recent collapse of Wall Street now makes that clear.

Amidst the market turmoil enthusiastic investors and entrepreneurs are increasingly turning toward a new form of capitalism and philanthropy that recognizes both the power and efficiency of market systems and the opportunity to direct them toward the sustainable exchange of human, social and natural resources and a balanced set of social and financial “returns.” Early efforts by social entrepreneurs and enlightened investors over the past 30 years has given rise to what can be called the “Social Capital Markets” that include affordable housing, renewable energy, microfinance, fair trade, base of the pyramid and others. Particularly in the last few years these markets and the philosophies embedded in them are being accepted by a growing and diverse set of market participants and just may transform our existing system in a way that addresses the massive demographic, social, environmental, technological and cultural changes unfolding around the globe.

This is not just an emerging market, it is a model for reforming our capital market system. All the component parts that make up a financial system are being re-imagined - from the way entrepreneurs approach an opportunity to the way investors choose where to put their money. It is grass-roots and mainstream. It is the woman in Latin America borrowing money to buy a sewing machine and it is the Wall Street firm creating a local currency product to offset volatility in international exchange rates that makes the loan doable. It is the MBA building technology to allow online "face to face transactions" so individuals around the world can work together and it is the long-time energy entrepreneur who now sets his sights on bringing electricity to a rural village in northern India.

Its all occurring on a global sphere, the center of which is everywhere, the circumference nowhere.

paz

mark

Buckminster Fuller Challenge & Whitney Exhibition

Next week I head to New York where the Buckminster Fuller Challenge will award John Todd $100k for his Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia based on a new theory of ecological design and The Whitney Museum will open its retrospective exhibition on Fuller's life entitled "Starting With The Universe." I joined the Board of Directors last January whose members include Bucky's daughter Allegra and grandson Jaime, contemporaries and new members who are taking Fuller's legacy and vision to new heights. To get a sense take a look at the new video:


The Buckminster Fuller Challenge from Buckminster Fuller Institute on Vimeo.


Let me know if you are in NY next week.

Paz
Mark
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oaxaca & oliver sacks - patterns

Oliver Sacks who has lived in and written about Oaxaca recently wrote an article appearing in the NY Times entitled "Patterns." He writes:

"I have had migraines for most of my life; the first attack I remember occurred when I was 3 or 4 years old. I was playing in the garden when a brilliant, shimmering light appeared to my left — dazzlingly bright, almost as bright as the sun. It expanded, becoming an enormous shimmering semicircle stretching from the ground to the sky, with sharp zigzagging borders and brilliant blue and orange colors. Then, behind the brightness, came a blindness, an emptiness in my field of vision, and soon I could see almost nothing on my left side. I was terrified — what was happening? My sight returned to normal in a few minutes, but these were the longest minutes I had ever experienced.

I told my mother what had happened, and she explained to me that what I had had was a migraine — she was a doctor, and she, too, was a migraineur. It was a “visual migraine,” she said, or a migraine “aura.” The zigzag shape, she would later tell me, resembled that of medieval forts, and was sometimes called a “fortification pattern.”

This was a truly beautiful and insightful description of a phenomenon I have experienced for as long as I can remember. I have lived in Oaxaca, Mexico now for over five years, drawn here by some attractive force and random coincidence. Since being here this attraction has become more localized to a particular piece of ground beneath a tree overlooking the pyramids of Monte Alban. I feel as though I lived here at some time. At least something is intimately familiar. Today I recognize that the pattern I see when I experience my aural migraines is a jagged shape similar to the style of patterns found throughout Zapotec culture.

Sacks makes this connection too:

"Migraine-like patterns, so to speak, are seen not only in Islamic art, but in classical and medieval motifs, in Zapotec architecture, in the bark paintings of Aboriginal artists in Australia, in Acoma pottery, in Swazi basketry — in virtually every culture. There seems to have been, throughout human history, a need to externalize, to make art from, these internal experiences, from the decorative motifs of prehistoric cave paintings to the psychedelic art of the 1960s."


He also references hallucinations produced by mezcal, an agave based liquor produced here:

Many years later, as a young doctor, I read a little book (really two little books) by the great neurologist Heinrich Klüver, “Mescal” and “Mechanisms of Hallucination.” Klüver not only culled many accounts from the literature, but experimented with mescal himself, and described geometric visual hallucinations typical of the early stages of the mescal experience: “Transparent oriental rugs, but infinitely small … plastic filigreed spherical objets d’art [like] radiolaria … wallpaper designs … cobweb-like figures or concentric circles and squares … architectural forms, buttresses, rosettes, leafwork, fretwork.”

On my 44th birthday, July 10, 2002, five months before I discovered Oaxaca, I wrote this poem:

44

Thinkin of mom
Waitin for the bomb
Thoughts of fleetin
Things heatin

Scratchin
Crawlin
Reachin
Breathin

Where will I be
Whom will I see
Lay me by a tree
Let me see thee

Before during after now
Don’t know how
But makin a vow
Before during after now

Keep listenin
Keep breathin
Open wide
Slide inside

Move from here
Live without fear
Open your eyes
Strengthen your ties.


I have spent long hours beneath the tree at Monte Alban and at times, when opening my eyes it seems, I have Zapotec-like visions. I wonder what self-organizing activity in the vast populations of my own visual neurons led me to this place and why? I know my attraction has to do with the light here but perhaps there is more to discover through the ancient patterns that decorate the culture here.

Dr. Sacks has given me a lot to think about in this regard:

"What we can say, in general terms, is that these hallucinations reflect the minute anatomical organization, the cytoarchitecture, of the primary visual cortex, including its columnar structure — and the ways in which the activity of millions of nerve cells organizes itself to produce complex and ever-changing patterns. We can actually see, through such hallucinations, something of the dynamics of a large population of living nerve cells and, in particular, the role of what mathematicians term deterministic chaos in allowing complex patterns of activity to emerge throughout the visual cortex. This activity operates at a basic cellular level, far beneath the level of personal experience. They are archetypes, in a way, universals of human experience."

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