As a long time colleague of the author, a “Serial Entrepreneur” in his words, I accompanied him on a three-day trip to Haiti right after their big earthquake. He navigated us around, geographically, culturally, linguistically, logistically, and social entrepreneurially as we tried to see how we could help. That included both diplomatically, on-the-ground, person-to-person or student, while experiencing a hairy nighttime ride down a winding hill, with few lights and no guardrails, and a driver who had been drinking.
There is a huge life story of his catalyzed initiatives, experiences uniquely both in and outside the societal and political mainstream, and readings behind this book. Some of his ideas I recognize but Pathways both has some new ones, and puts them together in new ways.
There is an incredible range of subjects, as well as connections between them, which is not common. I see Planetary Boundaries connected to polarization; policies to world view.
There is uncommon nuance about subjects like carbon sequestration, bioregionalism that does not exclude “national institutions,” both of which have always seemed necessary to me.
Another rare subject is for those of us in the constant “tension” of being in “two worlds” (at least), the mainstream and sustainability/regeneration, and find it difficult to navigate.
Cloud is absolutely right that we will need restoration—in many areas, and to “shift our political imaginations.” One example of the latter are citizen assemblies, a way to increase citizen involvement and stake in our governance. I hope we are up to it as there is no small connection between revitalizing our democracy and every other big problem we have to solve.
The connections made in this book would be invaluable to change agents wishing to minimize unnecessary obstacles, while seeing new possibilities.
Matt Polsky
Long time Sustainability Change-Agent, Sustainability Professor, Perpetual Student