Western society, as manifested in the United States of America and elsewhere, is demonstrating self-destructive tendencies. It is also believed that the sense of community, which is enjoyed by few people in America today but which strikes strong chords in people in a wide range of the socioeconomic spectrum, can be used to move society away from self-destructive behavior and into an age of ecological awareness and behavior geared toward the long haul. People must be empowered in a variety of ways so that they can begin the process of social change that can lead to a stable, sustainable, and equitable global society. Minds must be opened to new possibilities and jobs must be created that provide the means for the achievement of those possibilities. It must simply be described, packaged and paid-for.
Empowerment comes, in part, from control over satisfaction of basic human needs.
These needs include shelter, food, security and self-worth. One of the basic human needs that requires constant satisfaction is food. Satisfaction of this need by a community can provide a wide range of opportunities including teaching, employment, enhanced self-esteem, generation of capital, linkages with other communities, urban visual enhancement, and security. Imagining an optimal future allows us to focus the energies we put into satisfaction of our basic needs so that the products we make and use and the processes we create all support our vision of an optimal future, in addition to satisfying an immediate need. One example of a useful tool to help us look beyond immediate needs could be termed a social engine.