The Paradigm Shift - American Politics Series

Occasionally in history, an idea emerges that leads to geo-political shifts in thinking.  In the last century, the world was introduced to Marxist theory which mutated into various experiments with Communism.  Often it is not the original idea that is the issue, but a poor implementation that leads to people taking polarizing positions to defend their corner and ultimately way of life.

In examining the political structures of this world, I came to the conclusion that the major problems exist in the way we do things, rather than what we do.  We have a tendency to focus our efforts on key areas at the expense of the rest of the system, as a result this often leads to complications later down the line.  These things come back to bite us, sabotaging the very things we sought to protect.

Having analyzed the problem at great depth, I have developed a solution that by-and-large is all-things-to-all-people.  Today, I will present the basic seed, or idea, to this solution as I feel it has potential to grow into something that actually solves global problems, rather than leading to new polarization of opinion that will serve to divide us.

This is not some new 'ism' (capitalism, communism, republicanism, nationalism, etc); it is agnostic to such social, political and economic structures.  Rather it is best thought of as a decision support system that accounts for human nature, our general weaknesses and limits our ability to sabotage our common interests either through malice or ignorance.

Agents Of Equilibrium

The symbol in the top right hand corner is of Yin and Yang.  Originally from Chinese culture, the symbol has long since spread across the world and carries a meaning for most of balance.  The formal definition is as follows:

In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (also yin-yang or yin yang, 陰陽 yīnyáng "dark—bright") describes how opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

I feel it is a fitting symbol to describe this solution as this idea is all about inclusion, regardless of your social, political or economic outlook in life.  It is about providing everyone with an equal voice, where reason dominates rather than money, position or power.  That, at first sight, seems like the Holy Grail of politics; an unachievable goal of idealism and naivety.

A few decades ago, I may have agreed with that latter position, but our modern world has brought with it a series of tools and technologies that offer a sense of hope that Mankind has never before possessed.

Our current political systems, regardless of how enlightened they appear on the surface, are nothing more than simple abstractions of feral processes.  This world is a reflection of our collective nature in all its glory.  To many, it is nothing short of horrific and a shame to us all.  To others, it is the way of things and each of aspect of our respective societies serves a functional role, be it negative or positive.

In the eyes of the scientific, the enemy is not Russia, ISIS or the latest threat to emerge.  It is simply that of Entropy; an inescapable fact of life.  Time ticks by, things change beyond our control delivering the unknown in its wake.  Fear of the unknown is a powerful motivator, often forcing us to choose the same road time-and-time again, as the consequences are at least familiar to us and an alternative eludes our senses.  Like all roads, with time the geology changes, it crumbles and we must seek a new way.  The unknown invites a sense of chaos, but within the unknown is obviously the solution we seek that is right for this time and place.  Among the chaos, the randomness, lingering in the unknown an order emerges, a new found sense of equilibrium born from a series of correlations; a trainwreck of coincidental beauty lighting the way.

Revolution only brings substantive change in societies with a high degree of oppression.  In Western nations, our biggest issue is trying to get to the latest iPhone before anyone else.  That's not to say we do not have social problems, just that they pale in significance next to events like the Holocaust.  Any objective examination of our modern societies will demonstrate that, for the most part, we are getting things right and learning how to improve our decision making as we move forward.  The key to resolving some of the fundamental problems in our societies is to identify the positive and introduce mitigation strategies to deal with the negative.  This is the corner stone to our modern justice systems, our modern political systems and our modern social systems.  It is when the mitigation strategies cannot keep pace with the negative aspects that we must take action.  That does not mean we throw the baby out with the bath water, but rather we seek a more powerful mitigation strategy that is in line with our social values.  Unfortunately, many jump to extremism as a first choice, even within government.  Thus, we should always be thinking in terms of evolution, not revolution if we are to prevent that and be one step ahead of the game.

Understanding this, we can observe that in many ways modern Western society, including the US, are both founded on and have expanded upon ideas that closely resemble that of Yin and Yang.

The Republic vs. Democracy 

Within the US, a collision of two 'isms' in slow motion has been occurring since the end of WWII.  On one side of the debate has been those who view the founding father's intentions to be the creation of a Representative Democracy.  On the other, those who claim the intentions were to create a Republic.

To me at least, I think the intentions were for people just to be free in the most pragmatic way people could think of at the time.The most interesting observation of the current Presidential campaign is that the main candidates appear to be in the wrong party. If we isolate this to the key themes each has been pushing, let's see what we observe.

Donald Trump is running on a platform of being a voice for the people in government, to represent the views of the average person.  That is actually Representative Democracy, or a Democrat's platform.

Hillary Clinton is running on a platform of continuing to drive special interests and a disconnect from the views of the public.  That is actually how a Republic functions, or the Republican platform.

A perfect example of a group consensus lacking an objective reference point on their political positions.

It tell us that, in the case of the Democrats, they have been progressively electing individuals with increasing right wing views to head their party over the years.  In the case of the Republicans, Donald Trump is an oddity that emerged out of nowhere as he had identified an entire segment of the population whose views were not represented.

This can be compared to getting lost in the forest.  Each of us has a bias in weight distribution that favors one leg or the other.  If we walk far enough, we slowly curve either to the right or left, eventually ending up at our starting position. In the case of the US, it has been a slow lurch to the right wing and ever-increasing focus on special interests that has effectively eliminated the left over the last couple of decades.  So, what is driving Trump's popularity?

One explanation is that Trump has obtained what are effectively Democrats as they had moved to the right wing.  The US has lacked a true Representative Democracy party for almost two decades. This saw this group resorting to Populism as they grew angry.  Having observed a similar phenomenon in Britain, which recently resulted in Brexit, it does explain why Trump and Clinton are neck-and-neck whilst Trump is spending very little.  In the UK, this void was identified by UKIP but no similar third party has emerged in the US.  If the pattern holds, then it is likely that we will see a Trump presidency.

This is supported by the historical definition of the Democrats:

The Democrats' once dominant worldview was classical liberalism, while, especially in the rural South, populism was its leading characteristic. In the 1890s, under the influence of its three-time defeated presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and the Populist Party, the party moved to the left from an economic point of view and, since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, it has promoted a social-liberal platform,^[4] supporting social justice.^[10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)

The other interpretation is that US politics does not match the Right-wing Republican and Left-wing Democrat Model.  That is, there are right-wing Democrats, and left-wing Republicans.  This would suggest that the views of the public have altered since the founding of the US. 

This will require deeper analysis that goes well beyond this article, but my suspicion is that a combination of both these explanations is playing a role.

These slow shifts in 'isms' and transposition of political positions are easily corrected by continuously monitoring personal views and voting behavior against known reference points.  That said, where does that leave evolution of a political party?

I think what we have identified here is the need for some form of shared indicator, both for those in power and the public, to monitor undeclared alterations to political leanings.

Getting A Grip

Anyone worth their salt in Enterprise today will be able to tell you of the transformative nature of Big Data analytics and Enterprise Resource Planning.  As organizations scale, it becomes harder to get a grip on vast amounts of data and a complete picture of the business.  Not many people have time for reading, there is work to do but they must be informed in order to make the correct decisions or reactions to events.  For those not familiar with Big Data, let's give you a 90 second overview:

Over the last decade, major developments in data science, processing of large data sets and visualizations allow managers to have a near real-time view of their Enterprise at a glance.

'Equilibrium' is actually an internal codename for a decision support system and middleware platform to support open government. Consisting of three major components, a data lake solution codenamed 'Styx', a data processing tier codenamed 'Dante' and a UI layer codenamed 'Dimensions'.  Styx is from Greek mythology, it is a river that connects Earth and the Underworld.  Dante is a reference is to the nine circles of hell, which probably sums up any bureaucratic procedure quite nicely.  Finally, Dimensions is a dashboard layer to track every degree of freedom in the entire system to quickly identify problem areas.

The general idea is that each nation will host its own 'Equilibrium' platform as part of its migration towards e-Government.  'Equilibrium' is designed to connect the people with government in a collaborative working environment where everyone takes ownership.  This is not 'government by internet', Dante's role is to crunch the numbers on a given solution, project the future of that solution and move it forward if it is better than the current solution.  Dante has a holistic view of government, in that any given proposal (change request), must fit into the bigger picture and lead to a general improvement across the board, not slant government agendas to meet the needs of a particular group.

So, rather than pushing corporations, think tanks, special interests, etc.,  out of government Dante ensures that their solutions go nowhere if it does not benefit that nation as a whole.  In this system, there are no lobby groups, just an open API to which solutions can be submitted.  Thus, it is possible to have your economic agenda up-and-running within a week.

How does this connect the people with government?  They can do the same thing.  May the best solution win.  With 'Equilibrium' the rule of mob mentality is not suppressed, but rather guided into structured thinking that leads to beautiful solutions.  We want people to exercise their democratic rights, not be exploited in a fashion that only serves the interests of a few.  Or emerge as a populist movement that threatens everyone.  The average citizen, or citizen group, can make use of the APIs but a UI based around Dimensions will provide a consistent interface for publicly generated solutions.

The reference to the nine circles of hell is the hurdles or tests that each solutions must pass.  At a technical level, this is to reduce processing load.  Each submitted change request will be processed against an ever increasing set of constraints to determine validity.  If the solution is worse than previous solutions, it is rejected and processing ends.  If the solution passes each level, or test, it will become current policy.  In the background, Dante will employ the latest developments is machine learning and data mining to create more optimized solutions to current issues.

'Equilibrium' obtains its codename from the international effect.  By linking such systems, each nation obtains a picture of the effects their internal policies have on other nations.  'Equilibrium' will allow collaboration at the international level that will prevent abuses and mistakes that traditionally drive us to conflict.  Everyone will instantly observe the source of a given problem and its projected effects, allowing them to steer their nation through the waters of international relationships with relative ease.

No more will it be about how much money you have, no more will it be about whose ear you have, no more will it be about whose eyes you can pull the wool over.  It will be simply the facts, a strict focus on the issues.

'Equilibrium' thus replaces the notion of a temporary public mandate in quantifiable areas of government, with a permanent public mandate to do the right thing in a holistic sense. ' Equilibirum' also thinks globally, it defines optimal solutions that are in everyone's interests to helps maintain long term international security.

'Equilibrium' will also be the corner stone of international trade, with enough key players and a requirement that all trade partners be 'Equilibrium' compatible the system spreads to all corners of the globe.  In the end, it becomes more about ensuring the health and stability of other nations by acquiring information used to guide domestic decision making.  This way, we constantly reinforce positive decision making globally.

As stated at the beginning of this article, it does not matter under which 'ism' your society is.  The system only assists in making decisions that are in your long term interests.

To provide governments with a workable vision, I will use the press release from Gartner's which highlights the 'Top 10 Strategic Technologies for Government in 2016' (June 29, 2016). This will assist in aligning IT with the needs of the Enterprise and introduce some common pitfalls.

1)     Digital Workplace

The government workforce is increasingly populated with digitally literate employees, from frontline workers to top-level executives. The digital workplace is a business strategy to boost employee engagement and agility through a more consumerized work environment. The digital workplace promotes collaborative work styles; supports decentralized, mobile work environments; and embraces employees' personal choice of technologies.

The Digital Workplace is the foundation of 'Equilibrium'.  To a large degree, much of this is in place already.  This push at this point is break the traditional silo and engage government in collaborative problem solving rather than individuals being a cog in a machine.  This means leveraging modern technology to free staff from the bonds of their desk where they add value in a more creative way.  Over the years, many have come to understand that whilst traditional office environments are productive, they can be soul destroying and even little changes go a long way.  In terms of technology and OS choices, the modern web is agnostic to such stuff, so the decisions should focus on security and what makes an employee most productive.

2)     Multichannel Citizen Engagement

Delivering an effective citizen experience requires a holistic approach to the citizen: (1) using data to capture and understand the needs and desires of the citizen; (2) leveraging effective social media and communications to actively engage citizens; (3) allowing the citizen to engage on his or her own terms; (4) understanding the citizen's preferred engagement channels; (5) affording seamless transitions among channels; and (6) ultimately delivering a more satisfying set of citizen interactions. Adopting a citizen-centric information management strategy with multichannel citizen engagement opportunities will deliver quantifiable benefits.

With 'Equalibrium' much of this remains the same.  There are a range of issues that are non-quantifiable, at least not with currently with publicly available technologies, that will still require extensive debate.  That said, 'Equalibrium' will massively reduce this engagement as people will have direct access to modify government policy through the Dante platform.  There will also be a lot less complaints and pinning-the-tail-on-the-donkey as responsibility is shifted from the government to the individual.

3)     Open Any Data

Open any data in government results from "open by default" or "open by preference" governance policies and information management practices. These make license-free data available in machine-readable formats to anyone who has the right to access it without any requirement for identification or registration. Open data is published as collected at the source ("raw") at the lowest granularity, as determined by privacy, security or data quality considerations. Open data is accessible with open APIs and is not subject to any trademark or copyright.

A highly critical aspect.  Dante will base its projections on both past experience and analytical models.  Thus, to improve confidence in the system, all data must be publicly available.  Any weaknesses in the system are to found mainly here.  With poor data or analytical models, projections will deviate from reality and there will be a temptation to massage both data and analytics models to game the system.  As a classic example, many HFT systems respond to well-known media sources, thus it is possible to manipulate the markets if you have control of those media sources and have quantified the nature of the response.  As a machine, if the inputs are biased, the output will also be biased.  This will be difficult with Dante, but not outside the realms of possibility.  Thus, vigilance is an absolute must at all times.  Much of the expected debate around this in the political world will be analysis of data and analytics models, which is devoid of the usual nonsense we see in modern government.  It is more of a collaborative problem in simulation science, rather than general waffle by people with fixed positions.  Ultimately, data and analytical manipulation will be revealed as the projections deviate from observed reality in due course.  Dante will always maintain two view of the world, where we are expected to be and where we currently are.  Such sources of Data will then have reduced credibility in the eyes of Dante.

4)     Citizen e-ID

As government becomes more digitalized, digital identity will need to become more reliable in order to serve as the core for all digital transactions. Citizen electronic identification (e-ID) refers to the orchestrated set of processes and technologies managed by governments to provide a secure domain to enable citizens to access these core resources or services. Governments should require online authentication and identity proofing, because in-person verification methods are becoming outdated for offering citizens integrated and seamless access to resources and services. This "no wrong door" business model must be able to associate each citizen with one unique and persistent identifier within the bounds of what is culturally acceptable and legally permissible.

The barriers to an e-ID system is mainly two fold.  The first is the tracking of the population by government.  History has show that governments can and do change, thus with a quantified population it becomes possible to isolate segments or in extreme scenarios even conduct mass murder.  The US is no exception to world history, we are all human.  The second barrier is a more modern one.  With advanced AI almost upon us and an entirely digital government, it becomes feasible to create "Virtual Citizens", effectively AI ghosts that can be used to manipulate elections, etc.  With 'Equilibrium' this threat is massively reduced as there is limited value in building towards particular 'isms' as the solutions they would hold would never match the quality already presented by Dante.  Further, you don't need such a group to change things, just provide your solution to Dante and you win.  Thus, e-ID is an important aspect of 'Equilibirum' that ensures the average citizen has a voice in their nation and not something to be frightened of.

5)     Analytics Everywhere

Analytics is the collection and analysis of data to provide the insight that can guide actions to increase organizational efficiency or program effectiveness. The pervasive use of analytics at all stages of business activity and service delivery — analytics everywhere — allows leading government agencies to shift from the dashboard reporting of lagging indicators to autonomous business processes and business intelligence (BI) capabilities that help humans make better context-based decisions in real time.

This is the heart of 'Equilibrium'.  Styx, Dante and Dimensions combine to turn chaos into order.  This is fed information from throughout government, the private sector, the public, military, etc., crunched and turned into projections and assessments.  Internally within government and available through APIs will be a range of visualizations.  What we do require though is a a single unified visualization that presents three key facts regardless of the source (i.e economy, housing, medicare, etc).  Those three facts are where we are currently at, where we do not want to be and a status indicator if these two latter positions are likely to converge.  There should also be a temporal aspect to this, so that the history is captured and a clear list of what factors are causing the deviation.  This way we can zero in on problems very rapidly.  This type of visualization is also at the heart of interfacing with international partners.  The ultimate goal, of course, is to have all indicators nominal across the board in all nations at all times.  This indicates progress.

6)     Smart Machines

In practice, smart machines are a diverse combination of digital technologies that do what we once thought only people could do. While capabilities are evolving rapidly, it already includes deep neural networks, autonomous vehicles, virtual assistants and smart advisors that interact intelligently with people and other machines. Government IT leaders must explore smart machines as enhancements to existing business practices, and possibly as foundations for new public services or ways of accomplishing business goals altogether.

'Equilibrium' is a decision support system designed to provide citizens with a sense of control and ownership over their nation and indeed world.  In time, it is possible for this to evolve to an entirely automated platform, such as a full scale general AI, however, I feel that must be resisted as we are merely going back to top-down government.  The psychology of having a voice, a sense of control, is at the heart of what it means to be human.  Take that away and no doubt this system would last as long as any tyrannical human government regardless of how great things were.  To compensate for this, Dante selects the best human generated solution, preventing major errors and assists, through feedback, the education of others.  Thus, Dante always challenges Mankind to improve his/her intelligence.  This aspect can even be gamified.

7)     Internet of Things

The IoT is the network of physical objects (fixed or mobile) that contains embedded technology to communicate, monitor, sense or interact with multiple environments. The IoT architecture operates in an ecosystem that includes things, communication, applications and data analysis, and is a critical enabler for digital business applications in all private-sector and public-sector industries. The business use cases and adoption rate by government agencies vary according to service domain or program mission. Government business models are emerging that take advantage of the IoT; for example, pay-for-use or subscription-based taxation models, smart waste bin collection on city streets, and the remote monitoring of elderly patients in assisted-living settings.

'Equilibrium' can make use of IoT data to help improve government services.  From assisting with optimizing energy usage, to determining when road side bins should be emptied, there are plenty of additional little roles at the state and local level that can be offloaded to the system.  It also assists in funding allocation to ensure that investment goes to the right areas in society.  With Dante, this is a tricky mechanism.  For example, let's say a local funding pool to support community groups in a given area was completely allocated.  How would Dante determine that your new project was more deserving than an existing one?  Does it have a sense of fixed ethical values?  Does it pay attention to general support in the local area by requesting feedback on proposals?  A combination of both?  It is these little things that make all the difference to many people.

8)     Digital Government Platforms

Governments face constant pressure to improve service delivery and save costs. Digital platforms reduce effort and facilitate user-centric design. These platforms deliver services such as payments, identity management and verification, reusable application services and notifications (for example, SMS and email) that are commonly used across multiple domains. Globally, governments are taking a platform approach to simplify processes, improve citizen interaction and reduce expenditure.

Common sense.  Fragmentation of government services into hundreds of websites, processes, etc., is not a good approach.  Building a consistent mental model, under a single platform for all services, is both more cost-effective and improves end-user experiences.  For inspiration on this, look to Operating Systems, or online Operating Systems such as the Azure portal.  A government is no different in principle, thus there should be a web-based Gov OS.

9)     Software-Defined Architecture

Software-defined architecture (SDA) inserts an intermediary between the requester and the provider of a service so that the service can change more dynamically — in other words, it is the IT equivalent of changing the tires while the car is moving. Adding a layer of software to abstract and virtualize networks, infrastructure or security has proved to be a useful way of deploying and utilizing infrastructure. Applying the same technique to software architecture improves the manageability and agility of the code so that the organization can respond to the fluidity requirements of digital government and the IoT. Some government organizations have begun implementing software-designed infrastructure (SDI), but most are still operating in traditional data centers.

A fancy way of describing a dynamically loading/unloading plugin-like architecture, SDA establishes a framework where services can be encapsulated in such a way that applications are composable at runtime.  It can be compared to loading Photoshop and with a single click it converts itself into Word.  A very powerful practice that allows developers to define applications as meta-data in JSON or XML format.  With libraries full of such encapsulated function, it becomes a matter of uploading a config file to instantly spawn a new application tailored to meet the needs of the public. Whilst the general idea of 'Equilibrium' does specify it, I personally would highly recommend it.

10)   Risk-Based Security

The cybersecurity threat environment is constantly evolving, but it represents only one dimension of a complex, multifaceted set of threats and risks. Government CIOs must adopt a threat-aware, risk-based security approach that allows governments to make knowledgeable and informed decisions about risks in a holistic fashion, allowing for a wiser allocation of resources; more sound decisions about risks and their impacts on government missions, operations, assets and people; and engagement of senior leadership in risk-based decisions.

Four new trends emerged in 2016 with the potential to significantly benefit government performance within the next three to five years. Analytics everywhere, smart machines, software-defined architecture and risk-based security will each challenge governance, human resources management, sourcing and financing practices.

“Many of these technology trends change business models in ways that need to be reflected in more modern policies, especially those related to privacy or regulation,” said Mr. Howard. “CIOs will need to be front and center in providing advice to policymaking bodies and working with industry experts who can consult on options and impacts.”

In the context of 'Equilibrium' I have one thing to add to this.  It should be an ongoing task to provide formal proof for the code, both it correctness and security.  Once formally validated, it should be open sourced.

And Now For The Science

'Equilibrium' has been architected with physics, chemistry and social behaviors in mind.  If everything in our environment can be considered a flow of physical energy, an unfolding chemical reaction, then one of the key approaches to preventing conflict is to provide a path of least resistance that satisfies the conditions of the system.

In our modern world, conflict arises as the result of the polarization of opinion and the ease with which it can be manifested. 'Equilibrium' eliminates opinion in most of the key major areas, whilst still providing a mechanism for people to directly change their nation.  'Equilbrium' does not care about your politics, it only determines if it is functional and better than the current solution.  If not, it shows you why so that you may return with a better solution.  The door to government is always open.  In this way, the path of least resistance becomes Dante, rather than each other.

By quantifying each potential point of contention in our societies and applying similar logic, it should be possible to redirect most of that chemical energy into a productive output, rather than a destructive one.

Thus, whilst the notion of world peace has most of us giggle at it as an unrealistic world view, 'Equilibrium' rearchitects society's behavior to make not only the default position, but a self-reinforcing one on an international scale.

In terms of the economy, 'Equilibrium' promotes 'considerate capitalism' because the projections will demonstrate that, in the long term, each nation working together will lead to a stronger global economy.  That is, it will teach everyone the benefit of delayed gratification.  For nations not in under the capitalist system, 'Equilbrium' will provide extensive information about the wants and needs of a nation and whether that state can provide those in the long term.

How does 'Equilibrium' deal with an 'ism' change between capitalism and communism, or visa versa?  'Equilibrium' presents projections, it does not get in the way of a nation's right to self-determination, nor does allow other nations to apply pressure for regime changes.  That said, remove 'Equilibrium' or reduce its access to data and it will suspend your ability to conduct international trade.  This is not because of external control, this is because 'Equilibrium' cannot determine the impact the rest of the system will have on your nation.  That is, it can't protect your right to self-determination. 'Equilibrium' will also show how to manage the transition a nation between 'isms', besides providing the feasibility study. 

Thus, as these things emerge in the world, they no longer represent the threat they once did. 'Equilibrium' will ensure that foreign property and business holders are properly compensated as part of the developed transition package.  If the social mood changes, 'Equilibrium' will be there to reverse the process and smoothly integrate the nation with the rest of the world.  'Equilibrium' prevents abuses of the population by constantly tracking social indicators directly from the people.  If these social indicators demonstrate issues beyond a certain threshold, 'Equilibrium' pulls the plug on international trade, inviting intensive negotiations at the political level to restore the health of the nation.

With 'Equilibrium' there are no exemptions and no double standards.  All nations are held to the same minimum standards.

Loose Ends

'Equilibrium' deals with the majority of the root causes on conflict in our society, but there are a number that require alternative solutions. 

The first is FX rates, or the fact that currency can be purchased as a commodity.  This is the primary driver in all modern conflicts.  We, as a species, must develop an acceptable mitigation strategy.  At the extreme end, is simply ending the practice of trading currency as a commodity, however, I this is something that will require extensive debate and broad concensus.

The second is the commercialization of the defense sector.  Maintaining positive market growth implies ever an increasing scale of conflict and that is a practice that has limits.  Chiefly, at some point we will cease to exist.  The next 100 years will inevitably see newer forms of WMDs that are much smaller in scale, yet retain the same scale of destruction.  Thus, it is a practice that we must bring to a close.  The most viable solution at present is to buy out this sector with public money and place it under the control of the military.  Dante would maintain a fixed ratio of GDP for the military.  If we have covered all vectors in our society that lead to conflict, then we will have effectively placed all these weapons beyond use.  In time, if the stability holds, we can open discussion on global disarmament.

No doubt there are a range of other factors that lead man to war.  We must review our history, identify and develop mitigation strategies. 

Conclusion

Peace, once the exclusive domain of the hippy and the Church has transcended into a realistic objective with a realizable goal.  All that stands in the way is the will to implement.  Once implemented, the nature of the system removes the necessity and environmental factors that drive us to conflict, ever reinforcing the best possible choices we can make in any given situation.

For thousands of years we have lived with 'isms' of one form or another.  Keeping us quickly locked in a Matrix-style world of common self-deception that slowly sending us to our graves.  Upon us now is a world when that common self-deception has the very real potential of wiping us all out.  We have an opportunity to begin the process of waking up, to cast off this mental obstruction and deliver a world were none are left to rot.

'Equilibrium' will not solve every problem, but it will reduce the liklihood that the major problems will one day soon manifest in a way that is beyond our ability to control.  Obviously, this is nothing more than an idea at this point, one that requires extensive research and ultimately large scale implementation.  Any implementation will flesh out all the detail, but the core of the approach is scientifically sound and many of these techniques have, in some way, been implemented with success before in our current societies.

Further, this solution is not that much of a departure from where we are heading politically anyway at this point.  It just adds a little forethought to create a structure that works for us, rather than against us.

What is your choice, Chaos or Equilibrium?