One basic factor in life seems to be that the biggest brutes are in charge. I see 'progress', and the great human trait of being civilised, as overcoming the fact that "the biggest guns get to rule as they see fit".

Maybe there are other things to be proud of, areas of progress for 'humanity', but the 'brutes rule' is the one that keeps us from becoming something more.
'Brute power' the one thing that keeps the poor 'in their place', it keep racism going strong, it keeps the wrong people in power.
The 2000 election of Bush was won in brutal fashion. Its really just like high school bullies, thats how they play the game - threats, payoffs, , deaths, bully stuff.

Traits of 'the brutes' include:
- hypocracy [often 'religious' hypocracies]
- doing "whatever it takes", consequence is no consequence
- growth, capitalism

GROWTH - this element that is so important to the capitalists will be our un-doing, if BushCo doesn't undo us all first in war and such. Growth cannot continue forever on an finite planet. We have now "grown" everything so suddenly huge that the planet is in shock, it really is.

NOW is the time to find ways to prosper without continued growth, it requires creative thinking, something the'brutes' do not do well. NoGrowth civilisations exist - in europe mostly - and we find that they are generally much more 'civil'. Stability is the key.

STABILITY - this is one of the things we generally crave. It is kept from us by powerfull forces intent on growth.Only brutes resist stability. Economic stability goes against capitalism, a system the creates and rewards the brutes, is made for brutes.
We must find a way to dump capitalism and install stable economics, from which stability in all things can then emerge, in a situation of no growth.
Instead, we will target QUALITY. {read: "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenence"]Quality of everything - our machines [non-polluting]and our food [organics!] and our medicines [no poisen pills], and our environment.
You see, I am not promoting lazyness. Not at all, there is a ton of work to be done. We are putting precious resources into the wrong things, and wasting it too.

I have something to do today - I want to fix the world. But I don't see any openings.... someone else has all the jobs in this field, and they are brutes.
How do we get them outta there?

Karlin.