Baby Boomers and Non-Action

Introduction

Tension exists between science predicting disastrous consequences caused by climate change and economists predicting gains in prosperity that guarantee future well being. Consumers, governments and business maintain their traditional viewpoints about how technological innovation and entrepreneurship will fix any problems. For example, advertisements on TV tell us the American goal is to preserve the value of vast reserves of coal as an energy source that requires only a technological fix and we will have clean coal.

The strategies used today are conservative and rely on business-as-usual practices. These strategies preserve the existing economic system and rely on traditional values. These strategies result in three failures that lead to a system collapse:

1. Failure to anticipate the problem.
2. When the problem arrives, failure to recognize the problem.
3. When the problem is recognized, failure of attempting to solve the problem.
4. When action is taken, failure to actually solve the problem.

Baby Boomers

A poll by Yale University found that seven in 10 Americans believe that “global warming is affecting the weather" and that more than 80 percent of Americans have personally experienced extreme weather or a natural disaster of some sort in the past year." At the same time, Baby Boomers (born 1943-1960) are transitioning into retirement and slowly accepting a lifestyle change.  What do these things have in common?

Boomers are experiencing a loss of position power and action but not transitioning to inactivity. Instead Boomers are seeking and will find their power of participating in society in ways that prior generations did not.  Instead of retiring to a warm climate for leisure time activities, Boomers are going to fulfill their new role in society as the new elders with the power of non-action.

Non-action is not inactivity and not about spending all your time on leisure activities. Boomers with a purpose will engage in non-action activities. An example of non-action is a boycott. Gene Sharp listed 198 non-violent activities that groups use to deal with authority.

Boomers will stay in place instead of moving for retirement.  They will stay connected and anchor themselves near family, friends and community.  Boomers will learn to use the power of renunciation, non-action and non-violence to deal with the failure of government and business to anticipate, recognize, attempt solutions and succeed in solving local and global problems that have catastrophic consequences.

¹ Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking, 2005.

² http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/05/climate-impacts-day-extreme-weather-climate-change_n_1483420.html

³ "Albert Einstein Institution - Publications - "From Dictatorship to Democracy."  Web. 31 May 2012. http://aeinstein.org/organizations98ce.html