The planetary phase of civilization is a term created by the

Global Scenario Group The Global Scenario Group (GSG) was an international, interdisciplinary body convened in 1995 by the Tellus Institute and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) to develop scenarios for world development in the twenty-first century. Further deve ...

(GSG) to describe the contemporary era in which increasing global interdependence and risks are binding the world into a unitary

socio-ecological system A social-ecological system consists of 'a bio-geo-physical' unit and its associated social actors and institutions. Social-ecological systems are complex and adaptive and delimited by spatial or functional boundaries surrounding particular ecosy ...

. Characteristics of this phase include economic globalization, biospheric destabilization, mass migration, new global institutions, the Internet, new forms of transboundary conflict, and shifts in culture and consciousness.

Background

The notion of the planetary phase of civilization derives from the work of the Global Scenario Group, an international and interdisciplinary body convened in 1995 to examine alternative long-range futures. The GSG synthesized its findings for a non-technical audience in the essay ''Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of the Times Ahead''.Paul Raskin, Tariq Banuri, Gilberto Gallopín, Pablo Gutman, Al Hammond, Robert Kates, and Rob Swart, ''Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of the Times Ahead'' (Boston: Stockholm Environment Institute, 2002), http://www.greattransition.org/gt-essay. See also its sequel: Paul Raskin, ''Journey to Earthland: The Great Transition to Planetary Civilization''. (Boston: Tellus Institute, 2016), http://www.greattransition.org/publication/journey-to-earthland. According to the GSG, the planetary phase of civilization is the third significant transition in civilization, following the shift from

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

culture to Early Civilization, and from Early Civilization to the

Modern Era The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

. The planetary phase sees social organization, the economy, and communications move to the global level. Some argue that it constitutes a new geologic era, the

Anthropocene The Anthropocene ( ) is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change. , neither the International Commissi ...

, in which human activity becomes the dominant driver of changes to the Earth system. The GSG argued that historical transitions have been accelerating. Thus, the duration of the Stone Age was on the order of 100,000 years; Early Civilization, 10,000; and Modernity, 1,000. If the planetary phase takes shape over 100 years, the pattern would continue.

Future scenarios

The GSG groups the possibilities for how the planetary phase could unfold into three broad scenario types: Conventional Worlds, Barbarization, and Great Transitions. Conventional Worlds assume the persistence of currently dominant institutions and cultural values, and Barbarization scenarios are marked by social devolution.

Great Transition Great Transition is used by the Great Transition Initiative and its predecessor, the Global Scenario Group (GSG), to describe a vision of a just and sustainable global future. The term was originally coined by Kenneth E. Boulding in ''The Meaning ...

futures, by contrast, incorporate new institutions rooted in the ascendance of a new suite of values – solidarity, ecological stewardship, well-being – powered by the emergence of a

global citizens movement The global citizens movement is a constellation of organized and overlapping citizens' groups seeking to foster global solidarity in policy and consciousness. The term is often used synonymously with the anti-globalization movement or the global ju ...

as a potential actor to counter the power of transnational corporations, state governments, and mainstream values.

References

External links

Global Scenario Group

by Acharya Ramamurti – an article describing the planetary phase of civilization as one in which the market will shrink in the place of growing civil communalism
"Vision, Courage, and Sustainability"
– An Address by Professor Steven C. Rockefeller

– by Catherine Burton
Paths to Planetary Civilization
– by

Ervin Laszlo Ervin may refer to: *Ervin (given name) *Ervin (surname) *Ervin Township, Howard County, Indiana, one of eleven townships in Howard County, Indiana, USA See also * Justice Ervin (disambiguation) * Earvin * Ervine * Erving (disambiguation) * Erwan ...

Steven C. Rockefeller, "The Earth Charter: Building a Global Culture of Peace," The Earth Charter Community Summits, Tampa, FL, September 29, 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Planetary Phase Of Civilization Globalism Global civilization Economic geography Linear theories Stages of history World government

Background

Future scenarios

See also

References

Further reading

External links