It's time to change how we do EVERYTHING

In 2020, humanity entered Epoch B of its evolution. This isn't "New Age" talk; it's science.

For years I have started speeches with Jonas Salk’s 1973 book, The Survival of the Wisest. In this fascinating yet laborious read, the inventor of the polio vaccine argued that the human species was then passing through an inflection point in the S-curve of its population growth. Up until 1965, human population had grown at an increasing rate, producing a curve that my 7th grade math teacher called "concave up." As of 2020, according to the UN's projections, population is increasing at a decreasing rate, or "concave down." It's expected to level off between 11 and 12 billion people within the next 150-200 years.

As a biologist, Salk looked at this curve and said that the species must be behaving differently in the two sections of the curve. Or, said another way, each part of the curve has its own prevailing value set. He called this the shift from Epoch A to Epoch B of human evolution.

New values for a new epoch

Salk identified survival and growth as central values of Epoch A, since humans were struggling in an often hostile environment. It was too early for him in 1973 to articulate the values of Epoch B. He did say, however, that in Epoch B we needed to reestablish a partnership between what he called "BEING" (the deeper program and purpose for humans as part of Nature, often residing in the unconscious) and "EGO" (the conscious desires of individuals and subgroups as well as the structures they put in place to achieve them). For the past few hundred years at least, EGO has dominated BEING, putting the survival of both at risk. Most succinctly, Salk said that we need to learn to think not just as individuals and subgroups but as the species as a whole.

From our vantage point today, I think we can name two driving values for Epoch B: sustainability and equity. These make sense. Sustainability allows us to live indefinitely within the constraints of our environment; equity allows us to live indefinitely with one another. Of course, these words are not new, and as these values have entered the public discourse they have taken on meanings – often to redress past grievances rather than to create a better future – that they will likely shed as Epoch B takes shape. For the time being, perhaps it suffices to see them simply as answers to the question, "How would we need to behave in order to thrive as a species indefinitely on Earth?"

We all are casualties if the "culture wars" continue

The "inflection point" in human population lasted from 1965 to 2020. During that time, population was a straight line. It was neither Epoch A nor Epoch B; it was the transition period in between. Epoch B values like equity and sustainability entered the discourse, but tainted with Epoch A assumptions and rarely with enough force to shake the bedrock of Epoch A systems.

No wonder the Boomer generation, whose working years overlap with this transition, is the most divided generation we've seen in our country's history. Some in that generation saw the new values emerging: they fueled movements for civil rights, women's rights, and environmental protection. Others in that generation either didn't see the new values coming, or saw them and didn't like them. Like William F. Buckley, they stood athwart history yelling, "Stop!"

Both sides of the resulting "culture wars" need to take a step back and look at what they're doing. To stay on that battlefield is to remain in the death throes of the species. There are no winners in that war.

Obviously, those opposing the new Epoch B values have dug in harder than Salk would probably have anticipated. They deny climate change, they attack "critical race theory" and the Black Lives Matter movement, they fear "white replacement," they put profit over planet. Salk called such views "anti-evolutionary" and he expressed confidence that the mechanism of evolution, natural selection based on fitness, would ultimately prune such fallacies from what he called the "metabiological" domain of ideas and beliefs.

But what about those people that Salk would probably call "pro-evolutionary," people who have adopted values like equity and sustainability and are working to embed them in our systems and structures? These people too need to stake a step back and look at what they're up to. If they are operating in ways that are more consistent with Epoch A, or with the transition period, then they probably need to change.

For example:

• Philanthropies and nonprofits that seek to soften the edges of brutal Epoch A political and economic systems may provide those systems with a "relief valve" that undermines political support for more substantive reform. Obviously we should show compassion, but how many people will suffer in the future, and for how many generations, if the altruism of the early adopters of Epoch B values stalls the fundamental changes we need to make to thrive in Epoch B? Do the altruists believe that Epoch A is "too big to fail"?
• Corporate strategists eager to adapt to a so-called "new normal" of chaos and disruption need to realize that the world is only chaotic because we are still trying to live as Epoch A humans in an Epoch B world. The real "new normal" awaits us on the other side of the chaos, but to get there, we ourselves need to change. What would it look like for companies to embrace Epoch B and to start thinking as the whole species?
• Public sector entities need to examine their fundamental assumptions about their role in the world. When making decisions that impact large numbers of people, or even our survival on the planet, they need to be governed more by a shared vision of the future than they are by the procurement rules and fiscal accountability that have kept them safe in the past. If they follow all the rules and the species goes extinct, then even they will not be safe. What would it look like for government to be driven by a vision they share with stakeholders across the other sectors?

It's not certain that we will make it through

Not every species makes it through the transition we're going through. Fruit flies make it: they increase their population in a confined habitat until the habitat is full, and then they level off. Lemmings, on the other hand, go through a cycle of growth and collapse: large numbers die, and the survivors have to start all over again. Which example will humans follow?

If we are going to make it through, then we have to rethink everything, and that means everybody, even those who are already on the right side of history. Even if your values are spot-on, your methods are probably out-of-date. They come from a period that has ended, either Epoch A or the transition period in which we've all grown up. We're in a different epoch now; we need to be different too.

Get in touch

This "survival of the wisest" discussion used to be an intriguing topic for speeches and articles, but those days are over. We're in Epoch B, and we need to take action. We need to rethink everything. We need to do things differently. So if you are a philanthropy or a nonprofit and want to step into a new role for Epoch B, please contact me. I can help. If you are a company that wants to think as the entire species and get to the other side of the chaos, get in touch. If you are a government agency that wants to drive by a vision of the future rather than by the self-protective rules of the past, reach out.

Together, let's make it through.