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The Pluralistic, Worldcentric, or (R)evolutionary stage of Transformation has so far been achieved both Individually and at a Collective Group and Socio-Cultural level. The word "(R)Evolutionary" is a pun, inspired by the Andrew Cohen/EnlightenNext people. This stage then is both activist political Revolutionary, but also spiritually Evolutionary. It represents the rejection of the old exploitative worldview, in favour of a more compassionate approach to others, and more sustainable relating to the environbment. At the risk of too facile a generalization, and confusing a number of unrelated lines of development in a single monolithic wilberesque spectrum, I would tentatively include here altruism, changing society, multiculturalism, and basic individual spirituality. It corresponds to some extent the same as postmaterialism, and to what David Korten calls Cultural Consciousness - "Cultural Creative" who live in an inclusive world see the possibility of creating an inclusive, susutainable, life-affirming society. In Integral Theory correspond to worldcentric, and called "Green" value meme in Spiral Dynamics and "postmodernism" in Wilber Integral Theory . In the co-action compass (Haskell et al.'s Unified Science) the plus plus or upper right corner. Sentientism also begins here. However the fact that Sentientism is higher than most Holistic categories (e.g. New Paradigm, Integral Theory) shows how limited a simplistic linear model can be.
So far there has been some limited Global Transformation, inasmuch as progressive Western society, which embodies these values, has become globalised. Too often however Western globalisation is at a more imperialist level. But the collective movement from a Egocentric/Selfish to a Dualistic/Ethnocentric(Religio/Ideological-centric) to a Worldcentric/(R)Evolutionary stage of spiritual development an evolution is basicxally what the process of Global Systemic Change is all about, and is absolutely necessary for the survival of the Earth as a viable biosphere, and hence of higher human evolution. Humans are extinction proof and can survive in a deteriorating post-peak oil, post-apocalyptric neo-medieval landscape, but no higher evolution would be possible.
Being such an important transformational stage, it is unfortunate but not surprising that the Pluralistic/(R)Evolutionary stage is attacked both left and right, or rather I should say both from those of a more materialistic or reactionary level of consciousness, and those who claim or presume to be of a higher. As far as the lower goes, both religious traditionalism - when of a dualistic persuasion - and secular capitalism and imperialist consumerism, really dislike it, because it exposes their double standards and limitations. More surprising is the fact that certain leaders in the secular Integral movement (I'm thinking Don Beck and Ken Wilber) have attacked pluralism in the hope of forcing people up to the next stage (what they refer to as integral, equivalent to holism). These latter attempts are misguided, and reveal a dualistic consciounsess in the secular integral movement that is, fortunately, not reflected at the grass roots level. Such secular integralists really are only simply serving to further conservative ideologies (
Rescuing the Green Meme from Boomeritis Left, Right or just plain wrong?,
Integral Ideology). In other respects however Wilberians have positive presentation of the Worldcentric stage; indeed Wilber is the one who has popularised the term, which I have here adopted. The following description by Wilber of the Worldcentric stage pretty much exactly agrees with my own understanding (although Worldcentric here would seem to include the Holistic as well; the Holistic in fact is automatically Worldcentric, although Wotrldcentric is not neccessarily Holistic).
"With stage 3, my identity expands once again, this time from an identity with “us” to an identity with “all of us” (the move from ethnocentric to worldcentric). Here I begin to understand that, in addition to the wonderful diversity of humans and cultures, there are also similarities and shared commonalities. Discovering the commonwealth of all beings is the move from ethnocentric to worldcentric, and is "spiritual" in the sense of things common to all sentient beings."
Here are a few correspondences - i.e. the Worldcentric stage described in other evolutionary, psycho-social developmental, and spiritual systems:
Dan Rudhyar / Humanistic Astrology - Transpersonal
Beck and Cowan Spiral Dynamics Green/Pluralistic stage, and to some degree Upper Tier Systemic/Holistic/Integral
A number of representative religions, ideologies, and philosophies at the Worldcentric stage can be given here:
Secular Humanism - Brotherhood of Man - Age of Enlightenment
Religious Ecumenicalism
Natural Selection and other insights - Charles Darwin (rejected anthropocentric human conceit)
Ideals of Baha'i Faith and other universalist religions (nevertheless still have elements of ethnocentric/dualistic "my religion is the true one")
The following are pretty much overlapping, and refer to the same basic cluster of ideologies:
Postmodernist philosophy, progressive political and academic ideology (rational/Apollonian)
60s Counterculture, "Summer of Love", Woodstock, etc (emotional/sensual/intuitive) - Dionysian
Postmaterialism - Ronald Inglehart (Socio-Cultural)
The Great Turning - David Korten (Socio-Cultural/Global/Planetary)
Cultural Creatives - Paul Ray (Socio-Cultural)
Epic of Evolution - Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, etc (rational/intuitive) - Global/Planetary insight)
EnlightenNext - Andrew Cohen - represntative guru group (Mental/Spiritual Worldcentric only; emotionally/ cultically Egocentric)
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