When Nature Speaks, We Should Listen

Hurricane Ian left a trail of devastation that will take weeks to assess, years to repair, and who knows what new adversities will happen in the meantime. According to scientists, climate change likely did not cause Ian, but it did intensify it. Unless we implement far more fundamental instruments of correction, we had better prepare for much worse, since when nature speaks, we should listen.

The ferocity of storms is growing, wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense, and droughts are vanquishing rivers and lakes. The more we interfere with nature and disrupt it through wanton exploitation, the more we trigger aggressive and extreme phenomena.

The ferocity of storms is growing, wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense, and droughts are vanquishing rivers and lakes. The more we interfere with nature and disrupt it through wanton exploitation, the more we trigger aggressive and extreme phenomena.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, “nature” is synonymous with “God.” This does not mean that we should bow down to the wind or the sun like the pagans did, but that we must understand that we are dealing with superior forces here, far stronger than we can ever be. Therefore, we should follow their directives rather than try to dominate them as if we were superior to them.

Their directive is simple: Stay balanced. Nature is telling us that we cannot take for ourselves more than we need because we create deficits that nature takes back with a vengeance. The more we take beyond our needs, the more intense is nature’s revenge. This is why natural disasters are growing more intense.

We should not deny ourselves of anything we need. However, we have become accustomed to getting not what we need, but what we want, and there is a big difference between what we need and what we want.

I believe that America as a country, and the American people, are resilient enough to come through the adversity and make the necessary changes. Florida will recover from the aftermath of Ian, but what happens beyond repairing the physical damage depends on the entire country.

America, the world champion in consumerism, should reroute and lead the world toward a new paradigm: more balanced and sustainable. The focus in the 21st century should shift from improving material life to improving social life. Our material needs have been met; now it is time to meet our emotional needs, and these will be met when we create a society where people enjoy living.

The only way to create an enjoyable society is to foster good connections among people. Consequently, if America can focus on mending the growing alienation among people, it will give people a sense of contentment. This, in turn, will reduce people’s focus on materialism, which will effortlessly curb excessive consumption. People will not feel dissatisfied since their satisfaction will come from social connections rather than material possessions.

There is no limit to the amount of social bonding that people can form; it is the ultimate sustainable resource. If we tap into it, we will find an abundance of power and joy in social connections. Then, instead of exploiting nature to try to satisfy our insatiable wants, we will naturally take only what we need, and direct our positive energies toward each other.

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Economy Today

The start of a new year (according to the Hebrew calendar) is a good time to reflect on the things that decide the quality of our lives. Economy is certainly one of the key factors that determine whether we live well or not. Someone once said to me, “Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ scale.” With that in mind, we should look at what is happening today. First, inflation is soaring, and this is bad news for all of us. Worse yet, we do not know why it is soaring. The war in Ukraine no longer justifies it, there is no pandemic in sight that shuts down the global economy, no shortage of oil, and no other apparent reason for the skyrocketing prices.

People are not getting happier because they have more free time. Even though they have enough money to sustain themselves, their behavior is unbalanced, with exaggerated consumerism, prevalent substance abuse, violence, depression, narcissism, and countless other problems that together turn everything we do against ourselves.

There are countless other problems and changes in the global economy. The job market is changing and fewer people are willing to work office jobs and prefer to work from home. There is a wave of resignations. Employers that were used to selecting from numerous applicants, sometimes have to pay for people to come only to be interviewed.

Another shift is accelerating automation. The shrinking number of people willing to work, especially in low-paying jobs, is injecting fuel into the robotics industry and more and more stages of production are now given to robots.

At the same time, people are not getting happier because they have more free time. Even though they have enough money to sustain themselves, their behavior is unbalanced, with exaggerated consumerism, prevalent substance abuse, violence, depression, narcissism, and countless other problems that together turn everything we do against ourselves.

Therefore, I believe that the root cause for the rising prices, and for the countless other problems I just mentioned, has to do with our relationships with one another. The economy reflects the state of society, and not the other way around. The economy does not cause social crises. Rather, when there is a social crisis, it is likely to disrupt the economy.

The problem is that the more we develop, the more self-centered we become. If you look at all of nature, you will find that the more it develops, the more cooperative it becomes—the exact opposite of humanity.

For example, more developed animals on the food chain have more complicated organisms. These animals then form a complex system where the survival and health of each species depends on the survival and health of every other species.

Our universe is another good example. It evolved from separate particles of hydrogen and helium that condensed into vast and complicated systems of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems, with channels that connect them and transfer matter throughout the universe.

Human society has also evolved impressively over the centuries and has become a global mesh where each part contributes its unique skills to the benefit of humanity. Why then are we not thriving? Because we hate the idea that we are connected; we are utterly self-centered, and the very idea that we are dependent on someone else makes us cringe.

Human society has also evolved impressively over the centuries and has become a global mesh where each part contributes its unique skills to the benefit of humanity. Why then are we not thriving? Because we hate the idea that we are connected; we are utterly self-centered, and the very idea that we are dependent on someone else makes us cringe.

To avoid being dependent, and to assert ourselves as the rulers, we fight against each other. It does not have to be a war between countries; we are fighting all the time: at work, at home with our partners and children, on the road, in the supermarket, and often even in our sleep. We are miserable.

The global economic downturn, therefore, reflects our social disarray. Because we are growing increasingly connected and increasingly self-centered simultaneously, the contradictory trajectories are tearing the fabric of human society. As a result, the economic structure we have built, which relies on mutual support and global supply chains, is breaking up.

The soaring inflation is only the beginning of our woes. Unless we adjust our relationships to match our level of connectedness, we will suffer from shortages that will lead to hunger and social disentanglement.

Our task, therefore, is not to change the economy, but to change the ill-relations we have with one another, which are sickening the global and local economy. The economy will be all well and good when the society is well, and the society will be well when we start seeking how we can help each other rather than hurt each other.

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The Far Right Is Close to People’s Hearts

Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy right wing party has won Italy’s general election, and left wing media in Europe and beyond are up in arms with worry. CNN described Meloni’s party as “the most far-right government since the fascist era of Benito Mussolini.” France 24 declared that “A ‘seismic’ shift” was happening in Europe. Vox announced, “The far right is having a moment in Europe. Actually, everywhere.” And the Wall Street Journal is concerned that “Right-Wing Populism May Rise in the U.S.”

By and large, Europe should stay united, but it should improve the unity they are already in and not break it apart. They should work together on their future, or they might find themselves on par with Third World countries.

There is certainly a shift in Europe. Besides Italy, Sweden also recently elected a Right leaning Riksdag (Swedish parliament), which will likely elect a right leaning prime minister. Bulgaria, too, just had its general election, and there, too, the Right seems to have won the majority.

Even where the Right has not won majority votes, it is gaining popularity. France, Spain, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, and several other European Union countries are seeing rapid strengthening of the Right.

However, I think that what the left wing media, as well as some politicians, describe as “far right” or even leaning toward fascism, is neither “far” nor fascist. It is a natural outcome of people’s resentment to Russia, and a natural shift that is happening anyway. The weakening Russian influence in Europe will instigate more changes and shifts, as many arrangements that were put in place after World War II are disintegrating, so we can expect many more changes to happen. These shifts may well initiate renewed border debates, and conflicts that have been latent until now may resurface.

That said, the newly elected right wing leaders do not see themselves as fascists or extremists. Rather, they regard themselves as conservative and more inclined toward the nation-state than toward the pan-European idea. Either way, I do not see a Mussolini-type leader rising in Italy or in Europe; too many forces would impede such a development.

Europe is facing many challenges: social problems, unabsorbed immigration, economic challenges, shortage of gas, and many other challenges that should worry Europeans more than the political affiliation of this or that leader. By and large, Europe should stay united, but it should improve the unity they are already in and not break it apart. They should work together on their future, or they might find themselves on par with Third World countries.

To emerge from the crisis, Europe must establish real union, unlike the “union” that currently exists, with one or two domineering countries and the rest being forced to obey dictates. Real union means that people in different countries feel united despite the differences in language, culture, and sometimes even faith.

It should not be unity against an external element, such as against Russia’s military or against the American economy. It should be unity because unity itself is a noble value that makes life easy and safe for everyone. Borders, eventually, should be all but eliminated, and economies should be integrated.

Also, the US should become more involved in Europe, but not in an authoritarian manner, but more as an assistant in bringing Europe together. I realize that this is not an immediate scenario, but the direction is clear and the sooner Europe heads toward it, the better it is for the Europeans.

Ironically, it seems as though the Right is the one aspiring for equality these days, while the Left is headed more toward endowing a few dominant figures with the power to govern the rest of Europe. For these reasons, I think that the Right is not far, but actually nearer to people’s hearts, to people’s real sentiments, and presents a healthy process that Europe is experiencing.

Another interesting point is that the newly elected leaders, and generally Right leaning people in both Europe and the US, maintain more favorable views toward Israel. I believe this is so because they see Israel as a partner in what they would like to do in Europe, namely consolidate the nation states rather than disintegrate them, which is where the Left seems to be headed in recent years.

This does not mean that the Right leaning parties strive to break up the EU, but only to cure it from the excessive power held in the hands of a few at the expense of the nation states. Ironically, it seems as though the Right is the one aspiring for equality these days, while the Left is headed more toward endowing a few dominant figures with the power to govern the rest of Europe. For these reasons, I think that the Right is not far, but actually nearer to people’s hearts, to people’s real sentiments, and presents a healthy process that Europe is experiencing.