Our society has slowly grown over the centuries and it will continue to evolve. The task of mankind is to wisely assist its evolution which brings up the question: how has our civilization grown up to this time? What are the elements of this progression? Our discussion here is based upon the last section of Paper 81 starting on page 906 of The Urantia Book.
About twenty thousand years ago there were only two fertile regions on earth, one was in North America and occupied by the American Indians, while the other was in Turkestan, northwest of China and was occupied by a mixed race.[1] The progress of any society depends strongly upon their ability to provide food for their people. In Turkestan the changing climate required them to adapt to the changing situation. They made necessary changes and became a stronger people; this struggle against the elements meant they had to invent ways to cope with their environment and made them a stronger, more versatile people. The people of our continent have had a favorable mix of climate and geography; we have been fortunate indeed.[2] On the one hand this is fortunate because of the mild living conditions, but on the other hand this meant the inhabitants of North America did not need to struggle so much with the elements. While our ancestors in North America had a favorable environment, those in Turkestan had to struggle against adversity; this experience gave them the fortitude to go forth and expand into other regions. In North America the struggles were only with their neighbors which lessened their possibilities for cultural advancement. Even today we have oceans on practically three sides and we have no antagonistic neighbors. This makes us truly fortunate if we exert ourselves and take full advantage of the opportunity.
Another important aspect of the growth of society is the acquirement of capital goods. Social progress has invariably come from the thoughts and plans of those races that have, by their intelligent toil, learned how to wrest a living from the land with lessened effort and shortened days of labor and thus have been able to enjoy a well-earned and profitable margin of leisure.[3] This struggle, this intelligent toil transforms the citizens making them tougher, more capable. The result of this struggle is more leisure, giving them time to think about ways to make their situation even better.
Leisure can be a great thing if it is used properly; when it is utilized to relax, become grounded, renew our ties to those around us and to nature, leisure can be productive. Leisure is a vital part of modern society. All too often our leisure is used to cut ourselves off from society. We seem to just turn our brain off; we might as well be a hound dog sleeping in the shade. These quiet times should be used to think, to contemplate how things can be improved. Leisure is always important for anybody, but it needs to be used wisely, to use our brain to develop better things for ourselves and those around us.
A civilization cannot progress beyond its level of scientific achievements. Learning how to make use of our natural resources such as wind and water was a long process. As each new discovery was made, society gained more control over its environment and it progressed. These discoveries produced increased leisure, which gave people time to think and devise better means of reaching whatever goal they may have. One of the most valuable discoveries was the invention of the printing press, which enabled the spreading of knowledge throughout civilization. Invention always precedes the acceleration of cultural development on a world-wide scale.[4] This brings up the question of what will be the consequences of the extraordinary scientific and technological discoveries of the past century. What will they do to our advance our society? The implementation of the World Wide Web is a discovery that is at least an order of magnitude greater for mankind that the printing press. Our society is currently in ferment because of all these changes. Now might be a good time for society to take a deep breath and think about how we should proceed.
Population density is another factor in the growth of any society. Countries with adequate population can overpower those that are underpopulated; overpopulated countries frequently need to expand by war to alleviate population pressures. The quality of any people is as important as their number. No matter how rich a country’s resources may be, if the intelligence of its people is on the decline they will make little progress.[5] Human resources are a vital component of any enterprise. Having the proper number and quality of members will make any business, country or society run stronger.
Whatever our resources may be, whether they are natural resources, scientific resources, capital resources or human resources, how wisely they are employed is vital to progress. Well-organized and superior minorities have largely ruled this world.[6] Might makes history, this may be physical, intellectual, military, scientific or spiritual power. What we have may not be as important as what we do with what we have. History is the record of what society has done, how it has progressed. History has been written; our goal is to attempt to foresee how today’s action will affect the way history plays out. What will be the future consequences of our actions? How can any unit, individual, country or planet make best use of its resources?
Society revolves around communication with a group of people having a unique language being able to exchange ideas; this societal dependence upon communication means that a common global language is required. When various components of a society have a different language, communication breaks down, becomes impossible. Our planet has a plethora of languages and this symbolizes our disjointed nature. Anything that promotes international relationships needs to be encouraged.[7] Every mortal that anyone on this planet has ever heard about lived on this orb we call Earth. We are one people on one planet. How then can we continue to progress if we ignore this, if we speak in countless different tongues?
In the beginning men worked the land using only their own muscles. Later animals were employed making their work easier. Gradually other labor saving devices were discovered, thus liberating mankind for intellectual pursuits. Science, guided by wisdom, may become man’s great social liberator.[8] When mankind is liberated from drudgery, they can find the liberty to think for themselves; but we need to use this opportunity to think and make the best use of what we have been given. If we acquiesce to the dumbing down process, there will be no progress; our increased leisure must be used productively, not selfishly.
The quality of society’s leaders determines the progress of society; the moral worth of these leaders is guided by the quality of their home life, their social life and finally by their education.[9] We have already discussed the quality of our education, which does not encourage the development of leaders with character. The home life and social life of our youth do not often encourage the development of that strong and moral character required by the leaders of our society.
While the quality of the leaders of society determines the direction of society, it is ideals that direct the spiritual momentum of the future.[10] We can never rise above the level of what we wish to become. Our ideals, what we admire, determine our goals. If our ideals are base, that will determine the direction of our society. What appears to be the direction of our current society? Intelligence may control the mechanism of civilization, wisdom may direct it, but spiritual idealism is the energy which really uplifts and advances human culture from one level of attainment to another.[11]Our society needs more spiritual idealism to assist its drive toward a more equitable world; it is by this path that we can move forward toward a better world for everyone.
Our society houses countless individuals who feel out of place, not knowing where they belong; knowing our place in society is vital to the growth of each individual. It is also vital to society since those who do not find their place are a drag on society instead of contributing to the growth of society; not finding their place in society, they are more likely to turn to crime or public assistance. Helping each person to discover their position in society not only contributes to the growth of society but it also removes an important factor working against society. When workers cannot find their proper place in society they become unemployed, which is a terrible drain on society. No civilization can survive the long-time harboring of large classes of unemployed. In time, even the best of citizens will become distorted and demoralized by accepting support from the public treasury.[12] Modern coordination and fraternal regulation will be more productive than old fashioned methods based on force.[13]
A peaceful society requires cooperation on all levels. The more powerful must cooperate with those less powerful; when any individual or group is left out of society, everyone loses. Survival of the fittest may work in evolution where extraneous branches can be discarded; this does not work in society where each person is important. Everyone must contribute or the entire system may fail. Without effective co-ordination, industrial civilization is jeopardized by the dangers of ultraspecialization: monotony, narrowness, and the tendency to breed distrust and jealousy.[14]
Before mankind evolves to higher and more spiritual levels, society is dependent upon wise and energetic leadership.[15] This leadership must be able to direct the necessary teamwork vital to the maintenance and progress of society. When there are deep differences between segments of society such as we have today, this leadership is difficult to find; under this situation teamwork breaks down and the system becomes unmanageable.
Society is the sum total of all the economic, physical and social interactions of a given group of people. Society is not a divine institution; it is a phenomenon of progressive evolution….[16] We should feel free to experiment with components of society but any changes must be well considered; proposed changes need to be evaluated based upon a consideration of whether they are expected to have a positive or negative affect rather than if they are new or old. One vital aspect of any proposed change to society is nothing should be attempted suddenly. For example the sudden emancipation of all slaves during the Civil War, while it was morally the proper thing to do, resulted in a chaotic transition. Consequences of this action are being felt today more than one hundred fifty years later. On a neighboring planet slavery was abolished at a rate of two percent per year. Using this process there were no problems.[17] Again, wise leadership is vital in any transformation to keep society focused upon making any proposed changes; they must keep the pressure on.
Society grows by learning from the mistakes of the past. Wise leaders are needed to direct and maintain changes based upon wisdom, having an idea of what will work and what will not. Civilization is never really jeopardized until able leadership begins to vanish.[18] This highlights the current status of our society because the number and quality of our leadership is in question; our leaders seem unable to direct any changes and one cause of this inability is the deep divide between opposing segments of society. Our society desperately needs wise leaders to step forward, to provide direction and leadership; otherwise our society will be jeopardized.
Our modern society has certainly progressed relative to ancient history; we truly have made progress, but our gains are in peril unless we take action to minimize the regressive elements of our society. The unstable cross currents in our society are symptoms of an underlying rot. This situation can be addressed using the suggestions described above. It can be done if we are focused upon true values, spiritual values; this can be done if we are sincere in our desire for a more equitable society.
Only by adherence to these essentials can man hope to maintain his present-day civilizations while providing for their continued development and certain survival.[19] The changes of the past have accumulated until today society appears to be plunging blindly forward toward an unknown future. Let us pray for wise leadership.