A New Modus Operandi
Thus far, we have glanced very broadly at the history and structure of the world as explained by Kabbalah. We have described Kabbalah’s view of reality as a single entity, with humans representing the highest level of existence, in the sense that we possess the most intense and most narcissistic desire to receive. It is now time to outline what humanity can do to shift the negative trend, considering that we are irreversibly interdependent and interconnected. And while it is beyond the scope of this book to outline a detailed “bailout” plan for humanity’s present and future crises, we would like to point out some solutions that we believe could be implemented on a broad scale, and if done right, resolve most of our problems.
Although humanity has little experience operating as a global system, since we are used to defining ourselves as individuals or members of factions of society, from family to nation-state, the current situation necessitates that we expand our view. Most of the political and financial leaders in the world already acknowledge this requirement.
Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, for example, addressed this issue in a message to the First Annual Interdependence day on September 12, 2004: “A new era is upon us. In the future…the world will be transformed…by the forces of globalization and the growing interdependence of the world’s peoples. …the more interdependent we become, the more decisions have to be taken not by one nation state alone, but by many, acting together. Unless it is properly managed, this process can entail a ‘democratic deficit,’ as decision makers are further removed from and less accountable to the people whose lives are affected. So the challenge for all of us is to manage our interdependence in ways that bring people in, rather than shutting them out. Citizens need to think and act globally, so as to influence global decisions [162] (The Interdependence Handbook: Looking Back, Living the Present, Choosing the Future, edited by Sondra Myers and Benjamin R. Barber).
More recently, in September, 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown addressed the issue of globalization and global responsibility in several statements. “Each generation believes it is living through changes their parents could never have imagined—but the collapse of banks, the credit crunch, the trebling of oil prices, the speed of technology, and the rise of Asia—nobody now can be in any doubt that we are in a different world and it's now a global age.” [163]
Later, Brown reflected on the background of globalization: “And we know that the challenges we face in this new global age didn't begin in the last week, or in the last months, but in fact reflect deeper changes in our world.” [164]
Brown is right in saying that a deeper change is underway. When Stage Four sets in, it induces collectivism and globality (note that globality is a condition in which the process of globalization is complete, unlike globalism, which compares with imperialism and nationalism). The last stage in human development—becoming like the Creator—cannot be achieved alone. It entails uniting all fragments of Adam’s soul, and through that union constructing the quality of bestowal, which is the Creator. All of us are parts of the desire that was created in Stage Four, the desire intended to achieve the purpose of creation—being Creator-like. Hence, we must reconstruct that broken desire, broken soul, together. And to do that, we must reunite in the sense that we become fully aware of our oneness and begin to experience the truth of our interconnectedness in a very real way, instead of our current, limited perception of it.
[162] The Interdependence Handbook: Looking Back, Living the Present, Choosing the Future, ed. Sondra Myers and Benjamin R. Barber (NY: The International Debate Education Association, 2004), 14
[163] Gordon Brown speaks to Conference, Labour (September 23, 2008): http://www.labour.org.uk/gordon_brown_conference
[164] (ibid.)