The Human-Potential Principle

A tragedy of humankind today is that most people fall outrageously short of their potential.  A principle of a great civilization ought to be that it focuses intensely on how to develop the capability latent in everybody.  The more that is done, the more we all benefit from one another.

Today most human beings are trapped in jobs, lifestyles or social conditions in which they develop only a fraction of their potential.  Lives can be wasted in so many ways - drudgery work, watching bad television many hours per day, women being denied the potential that men have, a shop-till-you-drop culture or the conceits of high fashion.  Most people could be far more creative.  The potentials of human capability will become much greater because of the cornucopia of new technology and fundamental changes in the way enterprises are managed.  The most important aspects of new technology are those that make people excited about what they do.  Human capability that we now regard as brilliant will become widespread because of the amplifying power of technology.  Higher forms of brilliance will emerge, and many of those will become commonplace.

The 19th century philosopher John Ruskin preached that machines robbed workers of their nobility, freedom and individuality.  The machines of the 21st century will be the opposite.  Inability to use them will rob workers of their nobility, freedom and individuality.

In the poorest countries, one can walk among multitudes of malnourished eager-eyed kids who have no hope and know that if any one of them had been adopted as a baby and brought up in a good home in Singapore or Rome, he or she might have been a teacher, musician or scientist.  The human-potential principle needs to be pervasive, from the poorest destitute society to the richest high-tech society.

Martin, James (2006) The Meaning of the 21st Century: A Vital Blueprint for ensuring our Future. London: Transworld. (pp. 386, 387).