An Appreciation of David Korten’s Change the Story, Change the Future
by John B Cobb
(This review by John Cobb was originally posted by Open Horizons on April 12, 2018. We share a few excerpts, here, and encourage you to read the entire review and peruse the additional quotes, excerpts, videos, and other related content so thoughtfully selected by Open Horizons to complement John’s review. John’s work and life of service have been important inspirations in David’s life, making this commentary all the more meaningful.)
Excerpts from the Review:
From the title on, the book is rich, convincing, and on target. Many people are doing many good things to affect change. The title correctly tells us that much of this can be coopted into contexts that make their “good things” contribute to the ultimate evil of human self-destruction. We need to change the thought and understanding that provide this context for policy formation and action.
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Korten long ago liberated himself from university orthodoxy and opened himself to what is actually occurring in the world. There, including in the university, he finds the dominant story to be one that encourages the human species to speed its way to self-destruction. Indeed, what is now largely in control is the most powerful form of the story than must be changed.
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In reacting against the dead world of the economist, Korten stresses that we find ourselves in a living world. Whiteheadians emphasize, with Thomas Berry, that the world is not a society of objects but a community of subjects. What is intended by Korten and by process thinkers is virtually the same.
Read the entire Review and related material HERE…