I. The Seeds of the Crisis. Chapter 1: With a Map and Compass, and Still Lost

The global crisis we are all facing did not begin with the collapse of our financial system. It was actually in existence long before—rooted deep in human nature. To understand how we can bail ourselves out of this crisis, we need to understand why our own nature puts us on a collision course with nature and with each other.

It was about 9 a.m. when I parked my beat-up Toyota pickup at a parking lot on one of Mount Rainier’s northern slopes, and my friend, Josh, and I stepped out of the truck. Our plan was to hike down to CataractValley, spend the night there, and hike out the next day. The forecast predicted a beautiful, sunny July day, and we were confident that by late afternoon we would be boiling water for supper at the camp...