The constant promise of growth by Enrique Martínez Esteve

the constant promise of growth by Enrique Martínez Esteve permanence of freedom In its widest conceptual scale, growth may be equated to seeking after liberty, a reaching out to the original, latent understanding and experience of freedom, something we first acknowledge because it is in-built within the energy of the creative pulse all sentient beings experience. The permanence of such freedom is itself inherent to its existence in the human practical and conceptual mind 1 and to its expression in what may be achieved in the transcendental process of going beyond the present state of being. Simultaneously, growth relies for its tangible fulfilment on the potential and probable renunciation of any part of the self it confronts when faced by the impositions presented to us by our surroundings and by other individuals, since an individual’s freedom, in its permanence and ubiquity, inherently holds as much value as that of any other. In other words, practically, our own freedom stops where someone else’s starts. Good, healthy, life-enhancing habits are usually understood to preserve life and to provide a satisfactory, even gratifying environment for growth, for the continuance of humanity and for the fulfilment of the freedom sense in us, in society. Because of this, such habits create the illusion of happiness 2 in the sought for permanence of freedom, something that, we also surmise, can never be truly or fully humanly achieved for sustainable periods of time (therefore, the use here of the word 'illusion'). Negative or bad habits on the other hand, encourage and support the natural cycle of decay and obsolescence bringing humans ever closer to the end of any advantage they may have gained throughout their lives and to a reluctant decline (because opposed to the obvious 'good' of preferable habits) towards death and the annihilation of the desire with the ability to grow. The negative influence arising from these set of habits also reinforces the illusion of permanence, that is, the durability of the process that allows for whatever is achieved or lost. The conflict between these two types of behavioural patterns or habits, the good and the bad (positive/negative, yang/yin, etc.) is played out in the vicissitudes of daily life through the concentrated medium of our own individuality, our self-interest and concern for oneself, one's clan, one’s business, one's country, all under the auspices of the various levels of our own consciousness of being. Such conflict (the point of encounter and intersection between the expression of positive and negative growth 3) necessarily works against the grain of the selfI’ve spoken about understanding in the previous section and will elaborate on knowledge both practical and conceptual later in the book. 2 The birth of the American Dream and the cultural appropriative push into Western societies and many an Eastern one too, may be brought back the Kantian origins of the 1776 Declaration of Independence where the United States of America made known to all the pre-eminence of this conviction and dictum: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 3 or ‘contraction’ in financial terms 1 copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 1 transcending aspirations of the growing human being and his/her freedom in the very familiar and enduring scenarios primarily captured by the realities of competition, struggle, and outright war. growth paradigms Examples of behavioural patterns that effect substantial and wide-ranging negative growth consequences on society are not scant. The post-event summary reports following the Deepwater Horizon crisis of 2010 give a clear indication of what influence habits have on our lives. “The first progress report (May 24, 2010) concluded: ‘This disaster was preventable had existing progressive guidelines and practices been followed. This catastrophic failure appears to have resulted from multiple violations of the laws of public resource development, and its proper regulatory oversight.’” “The second progress report (July 15, 2010) concluded: ‘…these failures (to contain, control, mitigate, plan, and clean-up) appear to be deeply rooted in a multi-decade history of organizational malfunction and shortsightedness. There were multiple opportunities to properly assess the likelihoods and consequences of organizational decisions (i.e., Risk Assessment and Management) that were ostensibly driven by the management’s desire to “close the competitive gap” and improve bottom-line performance. Consequently, although there were multiple chances to do the right things in the right ways at the right times, management’s perspective failed to recognize and accept its own fallibilities ...’” “The third progress report (December 1, 2010) concluded: ‘Once the blowout occurred, additional weaknesses in the system’s barriers and defenses were exposed and exploited to develop the Macondo well disaster. Investigations have disclosed an almost identical sequence of developments resulted in the Montara well blowout that occurred 8 months earlier offshore Australia (Montara Commission of Inquiry 2010).’” The analysis of the factors influencing the disastrous outcome in the Gulf of Mexico distinctly points to the nature of habit creation and perpetuation (not learning from mistakes and failure to continually improve) that we all know well and that we have all experienced first-hand either as managers or implementers within the realms of business but also within relationships. The conclusions are stark: “Analysis of the available evidence indicates that when given the opportunity to save time and money – and make money – tradeoffs were made for the certain copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 2 thing – production – because there were perceived to be no downsides associated with the uncertain thing – failure caused by the lack of sufficient protection. Thus, as a result of a cascade of deeply flawed failure and signal analysis, decisionmaking, communication, and organizational - managerial processes, safety was compromised to the point that the blowout occurred with catastrophic effects.” and “At the time of the Macondo blowout, BP’s corporate culture remained one that was embedded in risk-taking and cost-cutting – it was like that in 2005 (Texas City), in 2006 (Alaska North Slope Spill), and in 2010 (“The Spill”). Perhaps there is no clear-cut “evidence” that someone in BP or in the other organizations in the Macondo well project made a conscious decision to put costs before safety; nevertheless, that misses the point. It is the underlying “unconscious mind” that governs the actions of an organization and its personnel. Cultural influences that permeate an organization and an industry and manifest in actions that can either promote and nurture a high reliability organization with high reliability systems, or actions reflective of complacency, excessive risk-taking, and a loss of situational awareness.” 45 While freedom and the growth associated with freedom remain primary attributes of humanity and pre-exist the habit formation patterns associated with ‘good’ and ‘evil’, paradoxically, such latent, underlying foundation of growth in liberty, when closely identified with habitual models of behaviour and with the laws societies create for themselves, allows humans to iteratively assume an illusory sense of selfdetermination and independence through concentration on the building of the self by attending to its material needs at all costs, and by establishing its supremacy, if at all possible, over the environment and the selves of others. Consequently, this persistent tendency reinforces the grounds for potential ongoing conflict and an eventual personal or societal demise. What goes around, comes around. Conceptually therefore, it may be said that the permanence of freedom that inherently provides the energy and pulse to the human being in his/her growth journey, appears to carry with itself a corresponding tendency to curtail, reduce, and restrict the practical application of liberty beyond the realms of persistent or recurrent conflict. 4 https://ccrm.berkeley.edu/pdfs_papers/bea_pdfs/DHSGFinalReport-March2011-tag.pdf pages 5 and 6 There are several well-known instances of the effects of what the Macondo Disaster Report calls the corporate “unconscious mind” evidenced in catastrophes such as: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-hillsboroughindependent-panel, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infected-blood-inquiry-response-expert-group-summary-report, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-office-horizon-it-inquiry-2020. 5 copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 3 Ultimately, a triumph in human affairs, ‘success’ according to the standards of the world (of habit, not of growth) lies in the development of the lower intelligence, that is, success is attained through trickery or advantage-taking. Achievements are arrived at by means of confusing, luring, misleading, striving with, usurping, short-cutting, and/or deceiving another for temporary self-gain or advantage; in other words, by attributing and facilitating the known causes of negative growth to those individuals and enterprises seen as competing for the same or similar objectives. Why else would we persist in calling for a blanket equality we so often cite and yet find so hard to realise? The factual and historically rich analysis provided by A.J. Pennings on what is perhaps the most quoted business school case study about advantage creation and strategic business foresight, should suffice to illustrate the import of the above statement. “…, in one of the biggest business blunders of all time, IBM did not get an exclusive contract for PC-DOS. Gates pushed for an agreement that would allow them to license the OS to other manufacturers.” and “In one of the most extraordinary business arrangements in modern history, Microsoft leveraged its knowledge of the Intel microprocessor environment to outmaneuver IBM and establish its operating system as the dominant operating system for the PC. In a strategy Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer called, “Riding the Bear,” Microsoft worked with IBM to the point where it was strong enough to go on its own, ultimately becoming one of the richest companies in the world by having their software on nearly every PC in the world.” 6 Who among us has not dreamt of or indeed put into practice similar advantage-taking tactics within business or in relationship building endeavours? growth strategies Whereas our freedom and our natural impulses may allow for an ever-extending growth horizon, the boundaries created by conflict through the individual and corporate interpretation and implementation of growth strategies also provide society with the main outline for the description and prescription of human affiliated behaviour and therefore substantially restrict the scope of any sought-for liberty. Such aspirational freedom and its associated growth can only be attained or regained through the conscious transcendence of self, through the abandonment of both the natural and developed (good and bad) habits and not through their preservation or continuation. 6 http://apennings.com/how-it-came-to-rule-the-world/microsoft-and-the-ibm-pc-case-study-the-deal-of-the-century/ copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 4 There exist other ways to approach business and relationship building, though, admittedly, they are not associated first-hand with commercial endeavours. The higher (most effectual) form of intelligence, when employed over time, can recognise and choose self-denial, even loss, because in doing so, it concedes to its own consciousness that acknowledging the primacy of the 'growth back to liberty' design latent in the human spirit/mind composite is also a valid outcome. Such intelligence also displays the qualities of fearlessness and assurance in the process, promoting a primacy that does assume equity (rather than equality) 7 and that, because of this, chooses to give way rather than impose itself. Whereas business identifies ‘risk-taking’ as one of its most important strategies, the practitioners of the higher or more effectual intelligence being proposed here, or even those – perhaps the majority among us – who do at times opt for this approach, will require what is called ‘courage’ to make such decisions. Both risk-taking (short selling for example) and courage (an outright decision to lose or give away one’s right, ownership, or precedence otherwise identified with obtuseness and blunder) appear to address the same phenomenon: ‘the fear of potential loss’. However, they differ in so far as the first one banks on a market movement redeemable within a foreseeable business cycle, while the second expects no material return on investment from its decision. One of the many examples in point is the motor industry which was fully aware of the electric vehicle and other alternatives as early as the mid-nineteenth century. It had also known about the lethal effects of motor pollution since the mid-20th century. Car makers have known for decades that speed is one of the biggest causes of motor accidents around the world. They know that fossil fuels create dependence and major geopolitical speculation leading to poverty and death across the world. Yet, we find ourselves incapable of shedding such habits: the ‘need for speed’, the abeyance in ‘unconsciousness’ we display when perpetrating and perpetuating environmentally and socially destructive activities, and the artificial need for wealth accumulation beyond necessity and common sense. The higher intelligence can reaffirm the fact that real growth is generated by readying oneself to shed prior accoutrements, prior knowledge, erstwhile conceptions – even apparently good and successful ones – by opening itself up to the possibility of leaving these behind and surging or climbing, as the case may be, into the next stage of advancement. Such intelligence could be compared to a rocket that crosses up into the thermosphere dropping to destruction the thrust engine that got it there, downwards into the lower Both ‘equality’ and ‘equity’ are concepts that carry little if no actual connection to the lives lived on earth by sentient beings. However, ‘equity’ may be considered to be coexistent with ‘the permanence of freedom’ and, as such, better acknowledged as a guiding principle in identifying reality in its purest sense. 7 copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 5 mesosphere, after leaving behind its satellite payload in orbit. Or perhaps more appropriately, intelligence mirrors the movement of a plant pushing through soil upwards but also downwards into its roots (positive and negative phototropism and gravitropism), emerging without direct exposure to the sun yet ever dependent on its light, developing its embryonic stem and leaf systems to produce flowers and fruit, all the way changing and simultaneously shedding the forms of its evolving nature to achieve the fulfilment of all its functions in the creation and production of independent, fertile, self-regenerating seed past the impasse of change, loss, and even death. Light first (whether directly or indirectly through the soil and its constituents), as well as other environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, and soil quality are needed to achieve that cycle completion, but it is the light that governs and provides both mechanics and sustenance for the essential photosynthetic growth succession while signalling explicitly the direction of growth. Similarly, the human mind may continually acknowledge the supremacy of whatever is abundant, unconfined, and ubiquitous (innovation) over and above the influence of memory and habit to enter into its next growth stage, synchronised to the freedom impulse it inherently senses and for which it has been embryonically built. For the most part however, human consciousness is invested in the creation of growth strategies and techniques for addressing individual and societal existential conflict (physical/geographical, socio-cultural, business, and psychological) which recommend the gradual peeling off of layers of past actions – especially unsuccessful or bad ones 8 – and only make sense as practices that acknowledge the human dilemma (good vs evil) and the reality of growth towards liberty in exceptionally biased or one-sided ways. These strategies, despite their popularity, seldom deliver actual growth for the individuals or entities involved. Or else, when delivering growth, the casualties engendered by such measurable results are summarily discarded and/or rarely assessed until they become too obvious and destructive to the enterprises themselves. Since their aim is the ‘stripping off’ of self by the self (a clear conflict of interests), they remain constricted mental toolkits. Freedom, as defined by the thought process underlying such self-focused, selfsufficient practices equates to a 'freedom from something' rather than 'freedom for/towards something'. 9 Their premise is the achievement of growth through contraction, restriction, negation, or out-and-out conflict (usually the case within business and other competitive spaces) rather than through the acceptance of nature and its associated mental and physical processes. 8 Usually called ‘learning from our mistakes’. ‘Freedom from something’ necessarily limits or constricts the span of ‘the permanence of freedom’ our societies have called for and set themselves up to achieve, and, as such, may be considered a contradiction in terms within the conceptual framework they operate. 9 copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 6 These practices work within the realm of illusion pointed to at the beginning of this essay (the relentless push to achieving ‘happiness’ and running from its opposite, whatever we may want to name it) rather than adjusting themselves to the actual pulse of nature evident in the unyielding energy that makes life and growth possible. They remain re-interpretations of the workings of nature adjusted to human technical planning and scheming rather than direct connections to the physically inherited or natural sources provided by the world itself. As techniques, they do not complement growth but curtail it by creating a different set of habits rather than encouraging advancement through an ultimate riddance from habit. 10 Human strategies and techniques are not really helpful in uncovering the more intrinsic, deep-rooted fundamentals ultimately sought by humans which are 'purpose' and 'meaning', themselves belonging to the sphere of transcendence and the permanence of freedom outlined previously. purpose and meaning These two hankerings of the human mind/spirit composite rely almost totally for their intent and import on the unconfined qualities of the spirit. They represent frontiers to be reached both at the individual and societal levels, they suggest stages of growth not yet realised. Therefore freedom, and by extension growth – the inherent and realisable materiality given to sentient beings – can only be successfully sought through transcendence, not through the body, nor the mind (sense, emotion, feeling, and intellect) alone. It is in the pre-existing, embryonic knowledge of freedom, allegedly, the actuality in which the human race was born, and in the growth energy expressed through the creative actions of that reality’s members – not only that of humans, but those of all other sentient beings too – put together with their processes and cycles, their transformations and degrees, it is in such integral understanding where purpose and meaning, identity, may be found. Creating, growing, producing, and giving fruit, being an agent of growth employed in the fulfilment of creativity and not simply promoting a self-centred accumulation of knowledge and/or of wealth in conflict with most others, remains the challenge. The purpose is not delivering a 'paradise' of aloofness and personal happiness but releasing growth fulfilment and a free transfer of the human creative potential/energy to and from others. The resulting ‘growth exchange’ paradigm can then be construed as the only tangible and purposeful privilege enabling humans to live in communities where actual, sensible meaning may be found. Here, ‘getting rid of habit’ is understood to mean a synchronisation with the live habits provided universally by nature and not the re-invention of methods to utilise it. 10 copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 7 Nature, once more, provides the perfect simile. Scientific research into the web of interconnections that make possible vegetative growth reveals patterns of interaction that set out essentially cooperative and innovative behaviours which integrate ecosystems and their growth processes. The following example outlines first the cooperative element in the growth exchange: “Living community with broad consequences Ectomycorrhiza fungi are living on roots of trees, to which they deliver soil minerals in exchange for sugar produced by the plant via photosynthesis. Almost all land plants establish similar kinds of trade with fungal communities of their root vicinity. Mycorrhiza soil fungi play an important role, in terrestrial ecosystems, because they regulate the below round cycling of matter and carbon. In addition, they link different plants together by a common mycelial network that promotes exchanges within the vegetation. Recent studies indicate that mycorrhiza fungi play a crucial role for capturing carbon in soils, which can compensate for the anthropogenic CO2 emissions. For this reason, this kind of symbiosis is not only of interest for biologists and ecologists, but also for climate experts.” But also, the element of innovation: “Genetical innovation engine "The other big part of this story is that the genome of ectomycorrhiza fungi displays a huge turnover of genes that are up regulated during the symbiosis. Many of these genes have no homologs even in closed related species, which indicates that the emerging of the symbiosis was always coupled with massive genetic innovation. Many of these genes are probably involved in controlling the immune system of plants while the root tissues are colonized by fungi”, ... The researchers consider that those genes which are necessary to rule the common life between fungi and plants had to be rediscovered repeatedly, because the ectomycorrhiza symbiosis evolved independently in separated fungal lines during the evolution.” 11 Self-realisation, self-correction, victory, success only gain meaning and purpose in the actualised ability to transfer or exchange energy among members of a community, a partnership, a family, a nation, a world. https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=37213 I’m indebted to Mr Andrew Yip (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-yip/) whose Linkedin post led me to research this parallelism further. 11 copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 8 Such a ‘growth exchange platform’ or playing field occurs inevitably in the world because it is an intrinsic part of its embryonic nature. It generates and requires close interactions and associated opportunities for innovation in its recurring activities. Its realisation represents the acceptance of one’s individual correspondence with the life, the people, and the world one shares and does not only entail conscious effort but the recognition of an intimate relationship with our own consciousness of being, a judgment-culled awareness of growth and how growth works unfettered. but there is growth and there is growth… Aspects of growth that play major part in the choices individuals, businesses and nations make daily are being evidenced through other examples too. These provide a sense of what community is all about while pointing to a type of growth we may not judge desirable. Here is the perspective on the growth or spread of the coronavirus from outside China, from Taiwan particularly, right at the beginning of the pandemic: The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently listed six countries with significant community transmission on their website, including Taiwan. The remaining countries were Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. In addition, the CDC also ranked Hong Kong's tourism warnings as ‘first level’, calling on visitors to Hong Kong to pay more attention to the coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic. There are currently 24 confirmed cases in Taiwan. 12 The CDC website states that ‘community spread’ means that people have been infected with the virus, but that some cases include situations where the origin of the infection and other conditions are unknown. As for the four major signs of community transmission outlined by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the source of infection cannot be found in confirmed cases. The number of local infection cases has far exceeded the number of overseas migration cases. A continuous transmission chain has emerged and a widespread cluster of infections have occurred. The CDC did not list Taiwan as a province of China, but wrote ‘Taiwan’ directly. In its National Tourism Alert today the CDC issued warnings for China as a ‘thirdlevel red’, and Hong Kong as a ‘first-level green’. As for the six countries 12 Taiwan’s population is estimated at 23.8 million people. copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 9 apparently included in the community alert, including Taiwan, was there a travel warning? The CDC will continue to assess the status of the epidemic. 13 One of my internet news one-minute reads dated February 18, 2020, says: Apple may miss mass production schedule for new, cheaper iPhone – Nikkei 14 Another one reads: APPLE CRUMBLES Apple hit by coronavirus outbreak as tech giant admits deadly disease has caused iPhone shortages and low revenues 15 This article goes on to say: Coronavirus has killed over 1800 people worldwide and infected over 73,000 to date. The official figure is disputed however due to a renewed clampdown on free speech in the country leading some to believe that the real numbers are far higher. The closure of factories in China, which make up 25 per cent of global factory labour, is having a massive impact internationally as many firms rely on them for making everything from phones to cars to clothing. Countries importing to Chinese consumers and tourism have already reported suffocating financial growth. There are fears that the crisis could cause Japan to fall into a recession and limit Europe’s already weak growth. 16 The negative consequences triggered by the growth of phenomena that undermines the positive aspect of societal development, but which is, in effect, a type of growth (negative forces, events, trends, etc.), 17 must also be considered in conjunction and with as much, if not greater attention than those that lead society to grow in a positive or orthodox way. Merely concentrating our attention on what makes us richer, healthier, happier, loftier, and or greater is a largely distorted approach when it is clear, no matter what aspect of our planet’s existence we consider, that the growth we all experience has negative as well as positive properties. In dealing with both, we are bound to benefit from paying closer attention, seeking further understanding, and focussing on preparing for what, in the light of history and recurring experience in the realms of health, politics, agriculture, industry, science, or in thought itself, have proven to be detrimental elements within the life cycles of all sentient beings sharing the planet. 13 https://www.ettoday.net/news/20200220/1649999.htm 14 https://www.reuters.com/article/china-health-apple-iphone-idUSL4N2AI3XE 15 https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10984531/apple-hit-by-coronavirus-outbreak-as-tech-giant-admits-deadly-disease-hascaused-iphone-shortages-and-low-revenues/ 16 Ibid. 17 Covid 19 has killed, according to the latest statistics over 7M people around the world. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/#total-deaths copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 10 Acknowledging the precedence of the growth exchange with both positive and negative consequences, the nature and ultimate power of this relationship in daily endeavours, those of self and other alike, through personal, non-judgemental example mainly, may help refocus our activities on to the sun-like splendour of a freedom whose reality we frequently fail to recognise in the growth cycles of our lives. expanding the paradigm To conclude, the reader may find interesting the work by Professor Charles Fine of MIT and the simile he draws between fruit flies and fast clock-speed value chains. Slides 5, 6, and 7 in his lesson presentation are especially relevant to my line of enquiry. 18 Here is his number 7 slide with my captions added in green: Fine provides a business example that extends the growth metaphor into the world of business and industry. He writes, To help clarify this explanation, contrast the keiretsu structure with that of Silicon Valley, the horizontal/modular high-tech mecca in California with an extraordinary high population of fruit flies. In communities of Drosopbila (the real fruit flies, those studied by biologists), individual members are short-lived. Yet their short lives need not lead one to the judgment that the species is unsuccessful in ecological and evolutionary competition. In contrast, the fast clockspeed gives the species many opportunities to adapt rapidly to change. Rather that assessing 18 https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-760b-introduction-to-operations-management-spring2004/lecture-notes/lec16_fine.pdf copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 11 the success of the species by the life span of a single member, we can judge that species by the efficiency with which it passes its genetic material along to the next generation and its ability to adapt that genetic material to new circumstances. 19 The human spirit in search of purpose and meaning repeatedly discovers incredibly strong correspondences and existing natural patterns of universal growth that not only enlighten its perennial discovery journey but also shed a focal light on what our course of action could and ought to be. Again, Fine provides a good example of what governance would look like under that lens: We conclude that regional industrial structures — from Japan's economy to California's — can exhibit similar characteristics of integrality and modularity that we saw in individual organizations. Furthermore, these regional structures seem to exhibit some of the double helix dynamics we saw at the organizational level. Industrial planners at the governmental level, therefore, those tasked with overseeing the welfare of nations and states, can also learn from the fruit flies and the dynamic structures they demonstrate. 20 Using Fine’s model drawn from the study of fruit flies in biology, something he repurposes under the label of ‘double helix dynamics’, we can better understand the proposed interaction between the ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ facets of growth and draw more commanding conclusions as to what line of approach humans may be able to use in taking care of this world. Fine writes: By examining the "molecular" structure of companies— their capability chains — business genetics helps us to understand their mutation, evolution, and eventual survival or demise. Business genetics features the industrial equivalent of the double helix — a model based on an infinite double loop that cycles between vertically integrated industries inhabited by corporate behemoths and horizontally disintegrated industries populated by myriad innovators, each seeking a niche in the wide open space left by the earlier demise of the giants… The business double helix illuminates how these vertical and horizontal epochs determine the fate of companies, industries, and sometimes the economic fortunes 21 Fine, Charles, Clockspeed – Winning industry control in the age of temporary advantage, Perseus Books, Reading, Massachusetts, 1998, page 231 20 Ibid. Page 232 19 21 Ibid. Page 43 copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 12 The examples provided throughout this essay, from the Macondo tale of failure and neglect, through the discovery of behavioural patterns in vegetative growth shown to sustain entire ecosystems, to the adaptive and pre-emptive ability offered in Fine’s simple yet tremendously accurate description of how value chains operate, are all proof of both, the heightened level of awareness, consciousness and potentiality humanity continually displays, as well as of the level of attachment and frequent submission to the habitual it demonstrates in its day to day dealings. Growth represents for many the demise of past endeavours and structures discarded for the sake of innovation or progression. Therefore, growth, as in our earlier plant growth simile, 22 inherently carries the causes of its own casualties, of its own loss. Casualties are themselves guided and supported by developmental movements that may also be attributed the name ‘growth’ despite their negative implications. To assume that, because of their status as casualties or victims, such developments, such growth does not contribute substantially, inevitably, and irreversibly to the overall societal outcome, is equivalent to blindsiding ourselves and casting aside an integral and crucial part of the overall growth paradigm. 22 Search the text for: “Or perhaps more appropriately, intelligence mirrors the movement of a plant…” copyright@enriquemartinezesteve 13