Collective Action: Absolute Fitness and the Creation of a Global Survival Vehicle

By Russell Blair

"Communication is what makes us human; and if history were written with this simple notion in mind, networks of communication would become the center of attention, and a more satisfactory history of the world (and of all the innumerable subordinate groupings of human-kind) might emerge." William H. McNeill, foreword to The World System: Five Hundred Years or Five Thousand? (1992) We are a global community. It is not a choice. It is a result of the global nature of our problems. Our only choice is between becoming a functional global community or remaining a dysfunctional global community. The premises of this book are: (1) our current capacity for global collective action is grossly inadequate, (2) collective action is facilitated by a common language, and (3) complementary bilingualism can create a global community of communication while preserving linguistic and cultural diversity. The nation-state model uses hegemonic monolingualism for language rationalization (Chapters 5-6). Monolingualism is not an option for aggregations like the EU and the AU or for linguistically diverse countries like India. It is necessary for them to use a new language rationalization policy for linguistic congruence between the aggregate population and the regional institutions of governance: complementary bilingualism (Chapters 7-8). This policy will also allow global language rationalization (Chapters 9-10). Complementary bilingualism does not require the conflict, coercion, and bloodshed that occurred in the establishment of hegemonic monolingualism. It achieves the same congruence without sacrificing linguistic and cultural diversity. Governments resist language rationalization because of the unexamined assumption that linguistic diversity and linguistic unity are irreconcilable. Complementary bilingualism resolves that tension. Only with complementary bilingualism can we become a global community of communication without sacrificing any of our collective diversity. Becoming a global community is crucial to increasing our capacity for the collective action needed to resolve global problems - both current problems and unforeseeable future problems. "The simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all the members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. This point being once reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to all men of all nations and races." Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man (1871) Human groups cooperate with those they perceive as "us" but not with those they perceive as "them." The consequences of a failure to pick the low-hanging fruit of linguistic unity will be less global cooperation, unnecessary conflict, and unprecedented human suffering. Our failure to realize our bilingual potential leaves us divided into thousands of linguistically divided communities. With tremendous and universal benefits, complementary bilingualism can easily be initiated at the multi- state, multi-national, or global levels. The benefits from doing so will be multiple orders of magnitude greater than the effort required.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BR83RCQD
• ISBN13: 9798371525024
• Release Date: December 2022
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.4" x 6.0"