What does the world need?
February 2, 2018
The world needs humanity to come together to collectively, cooperatively, and collaboratively define what the world needs, define what it means to be human, and define what it means to flourish. Humanity must understand its own needs and use that understanding as the foundation of its definition of humanity and of flourishing. Then humanity must outline what needs to be done to create a world that fosters flourishing. Once the world needs are defined and their steps outlined, they then must be prioritized and laid out into a plan. Thereby civilization will be guided by a common cause: to thrive and strive for the best. This plan will thus define the purpose of humanity — the meaning of life.
This process will be cyclical — regularly recurring. While the general and fundamental components of flourishing have definitive underlying themes, the specific plans derived from that foundation will vary greatly as the world changes and humanity progresses. Humanity's definition of what is best will reflect the state of the world respectively. As goals are achieved, new milestones will be set in place. All the while, the idealistic revisions will be guided by a drive toward flourishing — toward the well-being and mastery of that which humans have control over.
With a purpose, process, and plan in place, humanity can use its definition of human needs and rights as the basis of decision-making, ethics, politics and governments, scientific research, intellectual and philosophical endeavor, economic systems, social and cultural development, and institutions. By banding together under a unifying series of problems to solve, humanity will bring the world's most imperative issues to the forefront of public attention, informing all on what must be done for them to be successfully resolved, which organizations and people are working on them, and how anyone can contribute to and advocate for the causes.
While it may be revolutionary, this idea is not a new one. Many people and organizations have recognized this paramount purpose and dedicated their efforts and expertise to addressing it.