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  We offer a set of social innovations by which to achieve breakthrough progress on the most urgent impossible-seeming issues of society. 
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At the Center for Wise Democracy we offer a set of social innovations, one of which is Society's Breakthrough, a strategy for how "we" (a few of us) can facilitate all of us to solve society's "Monster Problems". "Monster Problems" are existential issues that seem impossible to solve:
  1. National Monsters include partisan gridlock, the growing threat of authoritarianism and the L-curve distribution of wealth.
  2. Global Monsters include the climate crisis, the widespread distribution of weapons of mass destruction, the loss of fisheries, soils, forests, fresh water, etc.

Most people find this claim for society difficult to believe at first.  But some people investigate further until there is the recognition "YIPPIE!! There is a way out of this MESS!" Or the reaction "Heck!! ... This has to happen!" ... We hope you will investigate and have a reaction like this ... And that you will want to help in bringing forward the social innovations presented here and especially this strategy for society.

Many people are starting to discover that all the Monster Problems are interrelated. Sometimes it is called "the Human Predicament" or "the Meta-crisis". In our view the Human Predicament results from how our civilization is entering a new Situation where we have exceeded the carrying capacity of our planet. And how our System, which is competition-based, no longer works in the new Situation. To solve the Monsters and to address the Human Predicament we all need to get involved and work together. 

Our System offers "solution opportunities" for the Monsters ... like educating people about the issues, demonstrating in the streets, enacting new legislation, raising individual consciousness or inventing new technologies, but these have limited effectiveness against the Monster Problems and little effect on the Human Predicament. 

We have developed a set of social innovations which open the door to a risk-free, fast-acting breakthrough approach to resolving the Human Predicament. It provides a way to facilitate all the people to a new level of "collective intelligence." This offers a way to escape the Human Predicament as well as to intelligently address each of the Monster Problems. Because it addresses the problems at a more holistic level than ordinary solutions, we call Society's Breakthrough a "holution". It's a way to facilitate all of us to step back periodically to think creatively and collaboratively, to co-determine what's really going on, to co-create what we want, and to co-design new strategies going forward.

Does this sound impossible to achieve? It's not. We've been experimenting with this approach, the "Wisdom Council Process," for over 20 years. (e.g. two states of Austria have adopted it into their state constitutions.) We know it works at large scale. And if done correctly, the addition of this new conversation will restructure our System away from the competitive system that we call "democracy" to the collaborative system of "true democracy."  Of course, the addition of this new "We the People" thinking process would have far reaching benefits, including a dramatic effect on all the Monster Problems. (See "A Holution to the Human Predicament")

Illustration ... for the U.S. (3.5 min video)

Currently in the United States bitter political battling obliterates the possibility of collective intelligence. Most people feel excluded from democratic participation as elected leaders often represent moneyed interests more than their constituents. How might we (just a few of us) facilitate all the people to come together as a wise and responsible "We the People"?  ... where We reach shared conclusions and provide responsible leadership to elected leaders? Below is a short video describing how this might happen using a Reality TV Show. (3.5 min video):

Examples from Austria

This set of social innovations has been taken up in parts of Central Europe like communities and states in Austria and Germany. Especially the Vorarlberg government uses the Wisdom Council Process, See Seven short videos they sponsored IN ENGLISH. (https://www.buergerrat.net/english-version/) Below is one example, a short video illustrating how the state government of Voralberg in Austria used the Wisdom Council Process to help citizens address and solve a contentious issue: the influx of refugees.

The Social Innovations are ...

  1. Choice-creating ... is a form of thinking where groups face impossible-seeming issues and reach clarity on what is the situation and what to do. Choice-creating is "opposite" to decision-making (See chart of comparison)
  2. Dynamic Facilitation (DF) ...  is a way to reliably facilitate groups into the spirit of choice-creating, where they face difficult issues and achieve win/win unity. 
  3. The Wisdom Council Process (WCP)...  is a way to facilitate large systems of people into the spirit of choice-creating. It combines an ongoing series of randomly selected people, Dynamic Facilitation and opportunities for the public to hear and consider the results. Using it a large system of people (e.g. community, corporation or nation) can face and solve big problems together (i.e. "wise democracy")
  4. ​Society's Breakthrough ... is when we apply the Wisdom Council Process to society itself, global or national.  Here's how a society can transform itself toward collective wisdom — i.e. economics, governance and the culture.

2 min video introduction to the social innovations

New possibilities for you

"Solution" Strategies ...

  1. ​Global society...To solve issues like the climate crisis and to adequately manage other global commons like.soils, fresh water, oceans, the gene pool, overfishing, species extinction, etc.) requires an ongoing, creative, collaborative, whole-system thinking process. ... All of us need to working together as a global "We the People", facing the big impossible-seeming problems, discovering what is the "truth", what we want, and determining the best path forward. To see how this can be achieved requires "Essential Wisdom for solving society's biggest problems." We (a few of us) can FACILITATE this global "We the People" conversation into being.  See Transforming Global Society.
  2. National society  (e.g The United States)  ... The founders of the United States designed a system of government aimed at reason but based in competition. But this 18th century design is breaking down as we become less in-dependent and more inter-dependent, needing to cooperate. How do we preserve the benefits of our current system, yet safely transition to a system based in collaboration? ... See Solving National Issues.
  3. States... The Wisdom Council Process has already been adopted into the constitutions of two states of Austria. There it is being used to help resolve issues like the influx of Syrian refugees, land use planning, etc. So we know it works. ...Here's a way to dramatically reduce partisan wrangling and benefit elected officials by establishing a clear wise voice of the "public will". See Solving STATE issues.
  4. Local towns, cities & communities ... A group of community leaders can implement the Wisdom Council Process at the local level to facilitate "the people" to address and solve difficult issues. See Solving COMMUNITY issues
  5. Organizations ... The Wisdom Council Process can also be used in organizations, churches, conferences and other human networks. (See examples:  a food co-op, a conference, corporations)
To understand this new-paradigm approach most people find it valuable to experience it by taking a seminar. See the seminars on  "Dynamic Facilitation."
Check out "Our Story" of how these social innovations and this whole-system strategy came about.
info@wisedemocracy.org
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