THE EXPERT WITNESS: A view from the bridge of Spaceship Earth (part four-A)

By John F. Sase, Ph.D.
Gerard J. Senick, senior editor
Julie Gale Sase, copyeditor

“What you do with yourself, just the little things you do yourself, these are the things that count.”
—R. Buckminster Fuller, 20th century American polymath

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
—Jane Goodall, English primatologist and UN messenger of peace

In this first half of Part Four of a four-part series, we maintain our intellectual high road in the aftermath of an electoral cycle that has left many of us reeling with PSED—Post-Election Stress-Disorder.

Continuing our view of the best and the worst of humanity at this time, we stand in the company of the American architect, Systems Theorist, and author R. Buckminster Fuller through his classic book “Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth” (Simon and Schuster, 1969).

Many members of our audience have read this work and some of us have been fortunate enough to hear Fuller speak at the many universities that he visited during the early 1970s. After reading his mind-blowing book and experiencing “Bucky” Fuller in person, I (Dr. Sase) internalized what he taught us.

Though I did not understand much of it at the time, I have grown with it over the past four decades along my own path of learning.

This series, then, is the result of my understanding and desire to share this information with the legal community at this pivotal time in our history.

Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?

In Part One, we introduced Fuller through a brief biography and a review of his thoughts on Comprehensive Propensities and the origins of Specialization. In brief, Comprehensive Propensities address the need for long-distance thinking in order to anticipate generational socio-economic changes. Also, we discussed the relative differences between the Generalist Great Pirates and the Specialists who served them in preceding centuries.

In Part Two, we considered the transition from the Age of the Great Pirates to the Modern Age through a discussion of Comprehensively Commanded Automation, which has evolved through the integration of scientific fields, the development of the computer, and a growing awareness of our place in the universe in this century. In Part Three, we discussed Fuller’s General Systems Theory and Analysis, his concepts of Synergy and the Universe as Energy, and the application of these theories and concepts to Increasing Wealth.

Due to the weight of the material, we have divided Part Four of this series into two monthly sections. This month, we will explore Fuller’s model of Integral Functions (we promise to have zero mathematics in our discussion). This model considers how we have grown as a human society through recent centuries to where we now stand globally. This present state has come about through a series of Industrial-Age wars that have left us with more advanced technologies in their wake and, hopefully, with a better understanding of ourselves.

The Integral Functions of Human Development

If any of our Founding Fathers had committed our national wealth to the endeavor of bouncing radar impulses off of the moon in 1810, they surely would have been locked away in an asylum for lunatics. However, this response may not surprise us since the total capital wealth in the United States at that time amounted to a mere $3 billion. In contrast, our current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $17 trillion represents a growth of more than 5600-fold (including inflation).

When Fuller published “Spaceship Earth” in 1969, he stated that it was virtually impossible to comprehend the changes in the world that we would experience over the next half-century. Fuller speculates that either we no longer would be aboard our Spaceship Earth or that humanity will have recognized our frailties and reorganized itself accordingly. In doing the latter, we effectively would realize that we can afford to accomplish anything that we wish because we cannot afford to do anything else. He expounded that we would be “physically and economically successful and individually free in the most important sense.” The readers of this article may assess the success of Fuller’s speculation for themselves.

Fuller projects that we no longer would be struggling on a divisive “you-or-me” basis at this point in time. He asserts that we would be able to “trust one another and be free to cooperate” spontaneously and logically. As we progress along this path, Fuller tells us that we need to continue to develop a more realistic accounting system for our Global Economy, such that the highest-paid craftspeople in China and India are on par with their contemporaries in North America and Northern Europe. Fuller cites this equalization as necessary for the development of a fair balance of trade.

One myth that has begun to break down during the past half-century is the belief that wealth comes from individual bankers and capitalists. Fuller reminds us that, during the Vietnam War, these bankers counseled our political leaders by relying on the assertion that we could not afford to support both the war and the programs of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” simultaneously. The mythical concept promoted here was that wealth was disbursed from what Fuller calls a “magically secret private source.”

The Survival of the Fittest?

The doctrine that emerged from those who survived the Great Depression was that a free and healthy individual does not want what Fuller describes as a “handout” or to be “on the dole.” Millions of well-trained, healthy men and women born in the prosperity of the 1920s survived the Great Depression and World War II. As the war ended, they exited military service and returned home to a post-war society that told them that they were unfit because they could not get a job in civilian society. The dilemma of this situation countered the Darwinian Code of “the survival of the fittest.”

In response, our solution came in the form of the GI Bill, which sent members of this generation to universities, colleges, and trade schools en masse. Politically, this bill was promoted as a “dignified fellowship reward” for the wartime service of that generation. However, the resulting legislated “reckless spending” nevertheless produced billions of dollars in wealth through gains in both educated intelligence and know-how. Fuller asserts that these events “synergetically augmented the spontaneous initiative of a generation and opened an era of the greatest prosperity that humanity has ever known.”

The Industrial Age

This transition to our Industrial Age occurred gradually over two centuries and transformed the United States and other countries. Pre-twentieth century wars removed agrarian workers from the fields and put them into military service.

These farmers-turned-soldiers devastated the source of agricultural wealth. In contrast, the era following the American War between the States marked the expansion that united the East and West Coasts by rail. This was accomplished by using the industrial production that centered in the manufacturing of rails, railcars, and locomotives that took place in Detroit and Pittsburgh. Before the commencement of the first full Industrial-Era War, the railroad-building centers of the world had begun transformation to automotive production. The Armistice of 1918 represented the beginning of what was a 20-year ceasefire. We now can consider the two world wars as one war with two separate parts. The major participants in “the World War—Part I” emerged from it with increased capabilities for industrial production. The Armistice postponed the warfare for two decades until misguided investment found its way into “the World War—Part II.”

Nevertheless, all of the industrial countries involved in the war emerged with greater wealth than they had possessed during the 1920s and 1930s. Bombs and fires destroyed obsolete buildings but left the machinery and metal materials inside virtually unscathed.

After the war, the special-purpose tools used for armament production were redirected toward the creation of a synergetic general-tool complex. The substitute technologies developed were more productive than those destroyed. Metal that came from razed buildings and from a surplus of obsolete aircraft, tanks, and warships was reinvested into higher-performance tools. During the 1930s, Germany and Japan began to build up their respective armaments for the fighting that would commence in September 1939. Both countries and their allies lost the war. However, though they suffered a tremendous destruction of buildings, they retained much of their tooling and scrap metal. In the long run, Germany and Japan emerged as what Fuller calls the “postwar industrial winners.”

World Industrialization

Since human prehistory, we have applied our intellect and intuition toward the discovery of generalized principles of the universe.

Rather than relying upon what Fuller notes as an “integral set of tool capabilities of human hands for pouring water into the mouth,” humans have used externalizations of the original integral functions to invent vessels in which to carry water and from which to drink. Fast-forwarding to the last century, tools of the past extended the range of conditions for the effective employment of fundamental principles to create the computer brain.

We have used our minds to develop these computers, which have exceeded human capacity, speed, and tirelessness while being operable under extreme environmental conditions. Through our minds, we temporarily employ our integral equipment to develop specialty functions that we quickly transfer to detached tools. We decentralize our functions into what Fuller calls a “world-around-energy-networked complex of tools,” to which we refer as world industrialization. We make America great by helping to make the whole world, our Spaceship Earth, great for all.

The (W)rap

What is the takeaway from all of this for attorneys and other professionals? As we learn to evolve our tools and materials in order to produce and consume more wisely, we can attain Sufficient Affluence in a Sustainable Economy. In order to do this, Fuller tells us that we need to maintain a synergetic general-tool complex. From this complex, we can continue to evolve our technology in order attain our vision of the future. In doing so, we can utilize this technology for the good of all, not for just a select few on our Spaceship Earth. A wise development and use of this technology will lead to a growth of wealth that is measured not just in the form of precious metals and material goods. On our planet, our true wealth is found in the abilities, education, and skills that we possess as human beings. We hope that our future will be one of unity, tolerance, and mutual respect.

Next month, we will conclude Part Four of this series with Fuller’s views on the Regenerative Landscape as we struggle to move beyond our perilous age of divisiveness and struggle toward a future in which we can begin to generate new wealth rapidly without destroying our environment. As Fuller suggests, we will fly by generalized principles that govern the universe as we “attempt competent thinking… for comprehensive understanding.”

May our reading audience enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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PDF copies of this article will be posted at www.saseassociates.com. In addition, we post original and curated videos related to Economics on www.Youtube.com/VideoEconomist.
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Dr. John F. Sase has taught Economics for thirty-five years and has practiced Forensic and Investigative Economics since the early 1990s. He earned a combined Masters in Economics and an MBA at the University of Detroit, and a Ph.D. in Economics at Wayne State University. He is a graduate of the University of Detroit Jesuit High School. Dr. Sase can be reached at 248-569-5228, www.saseassociates.com, and www.Youtube.com/VideoEconomist.

Gerard J. Senick is a freelance writer, editor, and musician. He earned his degree in English at the University of Detroit and was a supervisory editor at Gale Research Company (now Cengage) for over twenty years. Currently, he edits books for publication and gives seminars on writing and music. Senick can be reached at 313-342-4048 and at www.senick-editing.com. You can find some of his writing tips at www.YouTube.com/SenickEditing.

Julie G. Sase is a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. She earned her degree in English at Marygrove College and her graduate certificate in Parent Coaching from Seattle Pacific University. As a consultant, Ms. Sase coaches clients, writes articles for publication, and gives interviews to various media. Ms. Sase can be reached at sasej@aol.com.