Plausible Futures of Socialized Risk: Integral Sustainability or Globalized Dystopia?

Abstract

Contemporary corporate and governance structures do not go far enough to protect the public against the socialization of market risks—particularly during states of globalized crises occurring with increased frequency. While many have written about these problematic structures, this article introduces a novel concept of “transunity,” the desired state of a globalized ecosystem that continuously leverages its collective intelligence in harmonious knowledge production and innovation to achieve a shared strategic vision of integral sustainability. This article also describes the required leadership capacity of State and institutional actors capable of leading such an incredible movement of change. What is transunity? Simply put, it is a state of harmonious, yet sovereign, sustained globalized cooperation. The “blue moon” opportunity for transunity arises amid rare catalyzing events that compound existential risks in the short- and long-term, producing a level of destabilization so great, that only a dystopian future is plausible. The key element for producing a transformative outcome is a shared vision extending beyond what is currently known and seen as possible. This article has three goals: First, to explain the current state and its prevailing root causes, highlighting the failure of the current neoliberal system. Second, to introduce and define the concept of transunity, a novel, complex state of harmony enabled in a globalized system of governance whose optimal performance increases with heterogeneity. Finally, the article examines plausible challenges at the edge of chaos—the phase of forming transunity—and the culturally diverse leadership and institutional fortitude required to move into harmonious complexity and actualization of the moonshot vision.