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Fluid social change can only materialize if two circumstances are met.
One, the human value system, which consists of our understandings and
beliefs, must be updated and changed through education and thoughtful
introspection. Two, the environment surrounding that value system must
change to support the new world view. The interaction between a person's
value system and their environment is what influences human behavior.
For example, in our culture, "ethics" is really a matter of degree, for
our social system promotes and rewards competition and self-interest.
This perspective doesn't just "lead" to aberrant behavior... it creates
it directly. Corruption is the norm in our society and most people do
not see this, for since the society supports this behavior, it is
considered right and normal... or as a matter of degree. Given this
understanding, there is a fallacy that has emerged where certain groups
are deemed "corrupt" and everyone else is "good". This is the age old
"us and them" world view which has no basis empirically, for it is,
again, all a matter of degree. For example, there is a large movement of
people who constantly talk about "The New World Order" and this notion
that there is an elite group of people who have been trying to take over
the world for a long time and have manipulated society in various ways
to further their goals. This, of course, is true to a certain extent.
BUT, the failure of awareness is that this "group" is not a group at
all. It is a tendency. If you took out all the people at the top who are
engaged in global hegemonic rule, it would simply be a matter of time
before another group stepped in to seek the same ambition. Therefore, it
isn't the individual people or groups that are the problem. It is
actually the conditions upon which those people have been accustomed and
indoctrinated by. Of course, many argue against this view with the
escapist notion that it is "human nature" that causes this competition
and need for dominance. This is unsupported by the facts. In reality, we
are nearly clean slates when we are born and it is our environment that
shapes who we are and how we behave. Therefore, in order for TRUE
change to occur, we must spend less time battling the products of this
sick social structure and more time trying to change the root causes. As
difficult and daunting as it may be to think this way, it is the only
way our world will change for the better. We can continue to stomp on
the ants coming out from under the refrigerator, but until we remove the
spoiled food behind it, they are just going to keep coming.