Swami Vivekananda proposes the notion of “national individuality”.
What does this term mean? Does it mean that each nation has its own manners, culture, customs, language, traditions, etc.? Or does it mean something deeper?
Swami Vivekananda himself gives the answer – by national individuality he refers to a deeper vitality, a deeper collective consciousness, working towards a shared collective purpose – which in turn is unique within the many purposes that different nations fulfill.
My hypothesis: The central driver for transition to a new order will be the shift from ‘acquisition’ to ‘assimilation / usage/ value leverage’.
This means that people will and must learn to use resources better, especially in the context of an extended global recession. This includes all kinds of resources: goods, knowledge, natural resources, and human resources.
Society is facing a dual challenge.
On the one hand, it is facing the challenge of transforming the conditions in which it lives – poverty, hunger, infrastructure, roads, sustained economic and social transformation, dealing with the effects human prosperity such as climate change, rising inequality, etc.