1.1 An historic moment - The Awakening

We are at an historic moment in time, with a responsibility to find a viable solution to the current global and planetary crisis. An historic moment, where calls to action, demands and experiments¹ are urging, and paving the way for, major, radical systemic and cultural transformations.

More than a collection of crises, more than a quest for a new phase of growth, more than the rising obsolescence of a certain “development model”, what is at play here, in our opinion, is a transition to a new ‘civilizational’ era. Such transitions have occurred before, usually over several centuries, such as the ‘transition’². from feudalism to capitalism. Contrary to previous transitions, however, this one must happen much faster, and so demands that we make ethical and informed choices at the risk of having other, much less desirable ones, imposed on us.

The outcomes of the processes and dynamics described here have not yet been determined. We are in no way at the mercy of determinism ; nothing is inevitable, nor is the path pre-ordained. Finding a positive way out of the current global crisis, though, will not happen automatically. Negotiating a transition toward a new order of civilization will require a sustained effort, a renewed consciousness, and concerted actions. The transition will benefit from the many experiments of the past decades and will build on new narratives that allow us to subscribe to a promising future. Our efforts will showcase new institutions and organizational structures, a new legal framework, forging a path for new ways to act and think. The transition must account for the current state of the world, interests, tensions and existing conflicts. However, we cannot proceed without planning to enact concrete actions that will mobilize support for these necessary systemic changes.

We have the choice to implement a social and ecological transition that will make way for a new pluralist civilizational order. It will not come about on its own, and failing this, the human species can add itself to the long list of endangered species, slowly disappearing decade after decade, from the planet’s ecosystems.

This Manifesto is a call to debate. We are adding it to many other writings³that expose current disruptions. We believe that recognizing the magnitude of both the challenges we are facing and the transformations that will be needed to overcome them is essential. We present this Manifesto as a tool. Certain sections are dense, not to mention dry. There have been previous versions⁴and there will be others. We hope it is improved, qualified, and expanded as it becomes nourished by the discussions and experiments it stimulates. The terms in italics are referenced in the glossary of the appendix where certain conceptual discussions have been elaborated.

We are aware that this is not a text for the general public. Though we have not come to that point yet, we will one day ; to imagine a world worth building, we must engage in theoretical debate, confront ideas, experiment, support initiatives, build consensus, and encourage the convergence of various ideological positions.

The challenges and changes we face are manifold An unprecedented climate and environmental crisis (global warming, loss of biodiversity, etc.), disclosed and documented for many years by the IPCCThe health crisis : the COVID pandemic, which was preceded by past epidemics, and which will be followed by future epidemics and pandemicsMass migration : political refugees, refugees from territorial conflicts and, increasingly, climate refugeesAn increase in inequality across the globeA profoundly changing geopolitical contextA rapid rise in the use of digital media and artificial intelligence in almost all spheres of production and of social lifeA rise in identity-based, communitarian and anti-colonial demands, which have been growing for several decadesUnprecedented attacks against women’s rights around the worldA crisis of democracyEconomic and social politics that are increasingly influenced by neoliberalism and neoconservatism along with the spreading of populist ideologiesPolitical and territorial frameworks that are inadequate to support the exercise of democracyA crisis of thought, especially in terms of economics : an inability to rethink the world as anything but one big market These many challenges and transformations are not isolated cases, but rather they feed into each other.

The Manifesto of the Awakening is an addition to the ‘subversive’ voices of the alternative. It supports the work of rebuilding a civilizational order. The Manifesto is a rousing call to our consciousness with the aim of establishing a new emancipatory order, which will be designated here as that of the ‘Awakening.’ An awakening in the sense of rising collectively to act, standing up to free ourselves from the shackles, which until now, though alienating, were considered legitimate and relevant. As such, the Manifesto forges a path to establishing a maieutic modus operandi.

The crisis before us is global and planetary ; all of society’s strengths will need to be mobilized. As we have indicated, human history has known many transitional phases, which have occurred through long periods of gestation and maturing. Though the current transition is well underway, we must accelerate the thinking and planning stage.

More than just another “great transformation”, what’s in progress is a “great transition,” as evidenced by the significance and the gravity of multiple ongoing changes. In the face of these changes, it is important to fully command the advent of the great transition.

To speak of a change in civilization may seem a rather distant prospect considering the ever multiplying challenges at hand and the urgency with which we must take action. We wish to thoroughly emphasize the mindset to which the coming debates and actions must, in our opinion, subscribe. To put it simply, the transition cannot be reduced to turning down the heat and driving an electric car. We will have to “profoundly transform our societies”⁵.

Making superficial adjustments will only waste time if we do not channel our energy in creating a broader, collective vision. Solutions will have to be concrete and quickly implementable. Analysis, though it should be detailed, cannot be a substitute for action,⁶but rather should give meaning to our actions.

As we see it, the ‘transition’ process currently underway requires us to act radically, to be oppositional, critical and subversive, to work urgently with wisdom, humility, moderation and caution, all while taking the necessary time – a paradox – to hold debate. As Alain Denault⁷underlines, a worsening climate crisis will require us to accelerate deliberations and transformations.

Notes

1
See “List of proposals, initiatives and demonstrations” that we have identified so far at the end of the Manifesto.
2
Words in single quotation marks and in italics Apple Chancery font are defined in the Glossary
3
See, for example, Dominique Bourg (2022), Une nouvelle terre, Paris, PUF ; or Bernard Billaudot (2022). Société, économie et civilisation, La Plaine-Saint-Denis, Éditions des maisons des sciences de l’homme associées. Thomas Piketty (2019). Capital et idéologie, Pris, Seuil, chapter 17, Éléments pour un socialisme participatif au XXI 21^e siècle.
4
One of the first versions of the Manifesto was published in the Magazine ACFAS, dossier Bifurcation, on September 22, 2020 : https://www.acfas.ca/publications/magazine/2020/09/manifeste-changement-global.
5
Bernard Lemoult (2022). « Pourquoi les transitions n’avancent pas plus vite ? Excentricité́ et frottement, à la base des progrès sociétaux », Nantes, Collège des transitions.and to do so, we must change our collective representations and think differently about the world.
6
“Once humans have a need to know, they then have a need to believe – that’s to say, to give meaning to their knowledge – and to dream in order to come to terms with change.” (Éloi Laurent (2021). Sortir de la croissance, mode d’emploi, Paris, Les liens qui libèrent).
7
Alain Denault (2022). Moeurs, Montréal, Écosociété.