Guided Evolution of Society: A Systems View (Contemporary Systems Thinking)
`Professor Banathy is the world's foremost expert on  evolutionary design. In this benchmark work he trances our immense  human journey from the earliest hominoids through the emergence of  self-awareness and culture, and down to the present moment when we as  a species must take our evolutionary heritage into our own hands. With  the skill of a lifetime of research and application, Banathy guides  the reader through the principles of evolutionary learning and design  toward a tomorrow in which evolutionary competence can replace  humankind's present blind rush into the future. This is a superb work  that will be of interest to theorists and advanced students  alike.'Professor Allan Combs, Author of "The Radiance of Being", co-author  of"Changing Visions: Human Cognitive Maps, Past, Present and  Future"`People all over the world aspire to practicing democracy, and  yet the democratic ideal of participating in planning and designing  any social system, from cities to national health care, is compromised  by the inability to engage the stakeholders in a meaningful and  productive dialogue. By (re)asserting the fundamental right of human  beings to participate directly in making decisions that affect their  lives, and to guide their own destiny by applying evolutionary  competence and evolutionary epistemology, Banathy's book is a major  achievement!Guided Evolution of Societyis going to change the  way democracy is interpreted in an evolutionary context; it could very  well also alter how it will be practiced in the "New Agoras of the  21st Century."'Aleco Christakis, Ph.D. CEO, CWA Ltd.`There is no more important task for humanity's future than  consciously taking charge of our own evolution. Our times are unique  in that we are being pushed by ecological necessity as well as pulled  by evolutionary opportunity to a higher level of functioning and  purpose as a collective human organism. Bela Banathy brings pioneering  scholarship and multiple modes of learning to the most important and  exciting challenge of our times &endash; becoming self-directed agents  of our own evolution.'Duane Elgin, Author of "Voluntary Simplicity, Awakening Earth,  PromiseAhead"`In this remarkable book, Bela Banathy introduces his readers to  conscious evolution, an emerging phenomenon in the twenty-first  century. One could not ask for a wiser, more dependable guide into  this uncharted territory.'Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Saybrook  GraduateSchool, Co-author, C-editor, "Broken Images, Broken  Selves"`An outstanding guide to the practice of evolutionary  competence, crucial in these times of change and transformation.  Should be read &endash; and followed &endash; by everyone.'Professor Ervin Laszlo, Founder of the General Evolutionary  ResearchGroup and author of "Whispering Pond, The Consciousness  Revolution,and Macroshift"`Guided Evolution of Societyis a highly significant  achievement by one of the foremost scholars of systems science. In it  Bela H. Banathy does a marvelous job of tracing the biological and  cultural development of human species, so clear, complete, and  compelling that the reader's sense of time will never be the same  again. He leads toward and concludes with the finest articulation yet  of mechanisms by which individuals and groups can gain control of  their future. This is a very powerful book.'Professor Gordon Rowland, Ithaca College, Author of "Tripartite  Seed:The Future Creating Capacity of Designing, Learning, and  Systems"