Social Inventions
An Innovative Approach To Social Change
By Cecile Andrews
Copyright © 2004. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted here by permission.

In San Francisco, Mary is walking down the street to pick up the Prius she uses in a "car-share" program. Instead of buying a second car, she and her husband pay a monthly fee which covers insurance, maintenance, etc, and then an hourly and mileage fee when she uses the car. Overall, it's saved them a lot of money. (See: www.carsharing.net.)

In Seattle, Tom is opening his front door and bending down to pick up the load of organic vegetables left on his porch earlier in the morning. Tom is involved in "community supported agriculture," a program in which he pays a basic fee to a local organic farmer who then delivers produce weekly. The small farm is able to have some financial security, and Tom has not only saved money, but lost weight as well! (Aren't these the two biggest motivators in America?) (See: www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa.)

In LA, Frank is dragging chairs into a circle in his living room, getting ready for his simplicity study circle. In simplicity circles, kindred spirits come together and help each other figure out how to live more simply: how to work less, spend less, rush less, and spend more time on things that matter -- things like friends, family, community, and creativity. (See: www.simplicitycircles.com.)

Mary, Tom, and Frank are involved in something called "social inventions:" new ways of doing things that help people live more simply, more sustainably, and more cooperatively. Social inventions help people work with others in a fashion that encourages community and caring.

Why are they important? Because we need to develop alternatives to our cutthroat, competitive, uncaring society. We need to experiment and find out how we can live in a new way, with a new vision -- a vision of people living joyfully and in harmony with each other and the earth.

In particular, social inventions challenge the way we view money in this culture. We have become maniacs about money. It's incredible to see what people will do for more money: cheat, lie, and kill, and certainly sell their souls.

And the horrible thing is that this doesn't make them happy! All the research shows that after a certain point, more money does not increase happiness. So we need to show people that there are other ways to live -- interactions where money is not the only motivating force. Social inventions can do this.

Social inventions can help people see that the key to happiness is supportive relationships, meaningful work, a sense of purpose, and self-realization. We can help them see this by letting them experience it -- providing experiences in which people get together and work together in cooperative, caring, and noncompetitive ways. When people participate in a car share program, a community supported agriculture program, or a simplicity circle, they develop a new view of reality, a new belief system that says that human relationships are more important than money.

Sooner or later our culture will come to a point when we are all forced to change and live on less. It might be an environmental disaster. It might be an economic meltdown. At some point human beings will be forced to change their extreme getting and spending. When the crisis comes, social inventions will give us ideas about how to live in a new way.

For more information on social inventions, take a look at the book, The World's Greatest Ideas: An Encyclopedia of Social Inventions, Nicholas Albery, Editor, New Society Publishers, 2001 or visit www.globalideasbank.org.

About The Author

Cecile is the author of The Circle of Simplicity, a founding member of the Phinney EcoVillage (www.phinneyecovillage.net) and directs The Simplicity Circles Project for Seeds of Simplicity.

E-Mail: cecile@simplicitycircles.com
Web Site: The Circle Of Simplicity