Arthur Dahl presents on "Systems Science Beyond Diversity" discussing how diversity alone is not enough and a systems perspective is needed. He provides examples from nature like coral reefs that have high diversity due to cooperation and symbiosis between species. For human societies, diversity is only productive when different groups contribute to governance within a framework of unity and integration guided by justice. True prosperity requires an economic system that embraces diversity and incorporates a moral dimension where wealth serves humanity according to spiritual principles of generosity and justice.

1. KEYNOTE
“Systems Science Beyond Diversity”
Arthur Dahl

2. Systems Science
Beyond Diversity
Arthur Lyon Dahl Ph.D.
International Environment Forum (IEF)
https://iefworld.org
ebbf - Ethical Business Building the Future
http://ebbf.org
ebbf event
4 May 2017

3. Diversity from a systems
perspective
Diversity = the variety of different thing in an
assemblage
A beautiful garden with many different varieties of
flowers, with different colours and shapes adding to
the visual interest
Is that enough?
If it was just the gardener who planted them all side
by side or in some aesthetic arrangement, how
long would that beauty last? Over time, would
some die out and others take over?

4. Diversity without unity
Suppose that you put in the same community people
of a wide variety of races, cultures, languages and
classes, all of whom though that they were from the
superior group. What would that diversity contribute
to efforts to build a sense of community? Quarrels
and boycotts, or worse?
Imagine a zoo, with all kinds of animals in separate
cages, fascinating to admire perhaps, but far from
being a harmonious ecosystem and totally
dependent on the zoo keepers for their survival.

5. Systems Science
What is important in a complex system is not just the
number of different entities and their distinct
qualities, but how they interact.
Will they simply fight until one comes out the winner?
Or do they have a common purpose, with
complementary functions, each contributing to the
well-being and productivity of the whole?
How do they communicate and share information?
Is the system more than the sum of the parts?
Has it evolved higher levels of complexity and
efficiency?

6. Examples from the natural world
What is necessary beyond diversity?
Diversity is the dynamic driver for greater systems
complexity, integration, efficiency and resilience
Through long processes of evolution, and both
individual and group selection, interactions are
selected for that enhance the interrelationships
beneficial for all concerned
The greater the number of potential interactions
among diverse entities, the greater the capacity of
the system to evolve higher levels of complexity

7. Coral reef built through cooperation and symbioses

8. Corals are colonies of animals

9. Living in symbiosis with algae inside them

10. The reef ecosystem has high biodiversity
400 corals, 4000 molluscs, 1500 fish just on the Great Barrier Reef

11. The reef has complex spatial organization

12. Like a city

13. Parrotfish creating space for coral regeneration

14. Resulting in high coral diversity

15. Damselfish cultivates her own food supply

16. Clownfish and anemone help each other

17. Cleaner fish removes parasites in the mouth of big predatory fish

18. The result is a diverse and productive ecosystem

19. Each life form helps to maximize total productivity

20. Systems perspective on diversity
"Much like the human body, the interdependent body of
humanity is composed of diverse elements whose well-
being can only be achieved through integration and
coordination. No cell or organ lives apart from the
human body, and the well-being of each derives from
the well-being of the whole. At the same time, it is the
unity and interdependence of the body’s diverse cells
and organs that permits the full realization of the
distinctive capacities inherent in each.”
ISGP 2012

21. Systems perspective on diversity
“The organic unity suggested by this analogy does
not imply uniformity. On the contrary, the diversity of
the component parts of an organic body permits the
full realization of its collective capacity. Within human
societies, diversity is a source of inspiration,
creativity, productivity, resilience, innovation, and
adaptation. Only when diverse segments of society
are able to contribute appropriately to the
governance of human affairs, within a framework
characterized by unity and integration, will real
prosperity and well-being be achieved.”
ISGP 2012

22. Systems perspective on diversity
“Such unity can only be achieved, however, as
justice becomes the guiding principle of governance
at all levels. An essential expression of justice is the
desire to ensure that every individual and group has
the opportunity to develop their full potential in order
to contribute to the betterment of society. A concern
for justice is thus an indispensable compass in
collective decision making. In the design and
implementation of plans, programs, and policies,
justice is the sole means by which unity of thought
and action can be achieved and sustained among
diverse peoples."
ISGP 2012

23. Renewal of Civilizations
• Diversity builds great civilizations
• Civilizations have always experienced rise and fall
• The decline of an old bankrupt system creates the
opportunity to build a new and better one
• Higher levels of ethnically-diverse civilization are
catalyzed by ethical values from religion
• Building trust among otherwise competing groups,
increasing the level of altruism among leaders, and
providing the foundation and energy for new levels of
organization and efficiency
(Turchin, Peter. 2016. Ultrasociety: How 10,000 Years of War Made Humans the Greatest Cooperators on
Earth. Chaplin, Connecticut: Beresta Books.)

24. Moral dimension to economic life
The economy also needs to embrace diversity
Recent message to the Bahá'í World from the Universal House of Justice, the
supreme Bahá'í administrative body, 1 March 2017
• social conditions today: prolonged suffering
of so many
• deep-seated, structural defects in society
The welfare of any segment of humanity is
inextricably bound up with the welfare of the
whole.
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa)

25. Materialistic vision
of human purpose
• happiness comes from constant acquisition
• the more one has the better
• worry for the environment is for another day
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

26. Seductive messages
Seductive messages fuel an increasingly
entrenched sense of personal entitlement,
which uses the language of justice and rights
to disguise self-interest
- Indifference to the hardship experienced by
others becomes commonplace
- Entertainment and distracting amusements
are voraciously consumed
- The enervating influence of materialism
seeps into every culture
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

27. Economic systems failure
• Each group thinks of its own well-being in isolation
• Economic gain is pursued without regard for the
natural environment
• Avarice and self-interest prevail at the expense of
the common good
• The extremes of wealth and poverty in the world
are becoming ever more untenable
• Unconscionable quantities of wealth are being
amassed
• Income and opportunity are spread so unevenly
• Deepening fractures that affect societies large and
small
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

28. Overcoming the dangers
Unless you strive to remain conscious of its effects, you may to one degree or
another unwittingly adopt its ways of seeing the world
- very young children absorb the norms of their surroundings
- for junior youth, the call of materialism grows more insistent
- adulthood brings a responsibility… not to allow worldly pursuits to blind one's
eyes to injustice and privation
- see past the illusions that, at every stage of life, the world uses to pull attention
away from service and towards the self
- manage one's material affairs in keeping with the divine teachings.
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

29. Moral dimension to economic life
There is no justification for continuing to
perpetuate structures, rules, and systems that
manifestly fail to serve the interests of all
peoples
There is an inherent moral dimension to the
generation, distribution, and utilization of
wealth and resources
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

30. Challenging economic assumptions
A moral perspective challenges these
assumptions:
• that self-interest, far from needing to be
restrained, drives prosperity
• that progress depends upon its expression
through relentless competition
• that the worth of an individual is chiefly in
terms of how much one can accumulate and
how many goods one can consume relative to
others
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

31. Moral dimension to economic life
Wealth must serve humanity and be used in
accordance with spiritual principles
"No light can compare with the light of justice.
The establishment of order in the world and
the tranquillity of the nations depend upon
it." (Baha’u’llah)
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

32. Reorganization of human society
Collective prosperity can be advanced through
justice and generosity, collaboration and mutual
assistance
Every choice one makes—as employee or employer,
producer or consumer, borrower or lender,
benefactor or beneficiary—leaves a trace, and the
moral duty to lead a coherent life demands that one's
economic decisions be in accordance with lofty
ideals, that the purity of one's aims be matched by
the purity of one's actions to fulfil those aims.
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

33. Individual and community action
Everyone can make their own individual and
collective contributions to economic justice
and social progress wherever they reside
Each community has the responsibility to find
ways of addressing the root causes of the
poverty in its surrounding
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

34. The spiritual reality of man
The individual is not merely a self-interested
economic unit, striving to claim an ever-
greater share of the world's material resources
The nobility inherent to every human being is
an ebbf principle
Economic life is an arena for the expression of
honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, generosity,
and other qualities of the spirit
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

35. Moral dimension to economic life
"Man's merit lieth in service and virtue, and
not in the pageantry of wealth and
riches." (Baha'u'llah)
"Dissipate not the wealth of your precious
lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection,
nor let your endeavours be spent in promoting
your personal interest." (Baha'u'llah)
By consecrating oneself to the service of
others, one finds meaning and purpose in life
and contributes to the upliftment of society
itself.
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

36. Higher purpose of economic activity
Ordinary economic activities have the potential to add to human welfare and
prosperity
"Every person must have an occupation, a trade or a craft, so that he may carry
other people's burdens, and not himself be a burden to others." (‘Abdu’l-Baha)
"Wealth is praiseworthy in the highest degree, if it is acquired by an individual's
own efforts… in commerce, agriculture, art and industry, and if it be expended for
philanthropic purposes." (‘Abdu’l-Baha)
“Wealth is most commendable provided the entire population is wealthy." (‘Abdu’l-
Baha)
(Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá'ís of the World, 1 March 2017. Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa.)

37. Moral dimension to economic life
These values will enable the evolution of a
better economic system profiting from
human diversity

38. The Economy Beyond Diversity
Avoiding the traps of one track materialist thinking
Exploring diversity in individual lifestyles coherent
with values expressing our nobility
Diversity in communities addressing root causes of
poverty in their surroundings
Creating diversity in our institutions (businesses)
for wealth creation
Collecting our learning so we can share it widely

39. Keep in mind the moral
dimension to economic life
May you, at the end of this event, keep in
mind this moral dimension to economic life,
that supports and encourages diversity, and
go home with feelings of contentment and
moderation, benevolence and fellow feeling,
sacrifice and reliance on the divine will, as we
all work from the bottom up to transform the
economy and society

40. Questions for
meaningful conversations
Can a systems perspective help you to explain to
others the need to go beyond the materialist and
individualist economic paradigm?
How can we avoid unwittingly adopting the
materialist ways of seeing the world?
What opportunities may be open to you to
experiment with new approaches to your economic
life?