Premises

1. There is probably a nature of sustainability, akin to a natural law, and all life on the planet is influenced by sustainability, whether or not they understand it

2. As Americans, we have a poor grasp on the nature of sustainability. We struggle to even have a framework for understanding it because it is often at odds with our cultural values and mythologies. Yet sustainability is affecting our lives right now in very real, if mysterious, ways.

3. Ignorance about the nature of sustainability is not neutral—it has serious negative consequences. Without an understanding of sustainability, life is unbalanced, unhealthy, stressful, and deeply unsatisfying. We are also responsible for enormous violence as a result.

4. We can reduce violence and suffering if we strive to understand and embody sustainability.

5 a. A sustainable world is desirable,

5 b. A sustainable world is attainable,

5 c. A sustainable world may in fact be a common evolutionary foundation for human life, and therefore it may be more a matter of recovering embodied wisdom than a matter of scientific discovery, or of novel cultural advancements.

5 d. The more people engage in questioning the meaning of sustainability in their own lives and communities, the more viable a sustainable world becomes.

Themes

Here is a partial list of some of the considerations for sustainable systems that we will explore in the film:

• Holism (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts)
• Systems thinking (thinking in terms of relationships, rather than objects)
• Multiplicity and difference (the importance of having a diversity of experiences)
• Tensions of irreducibility
• Adaptability and responsiveness
• Inclusiveness and transformational dialogue
• Reflexivity (the impact of the observer on the thing being observed)
• Dynamic balance
• Fostering generative action
• Eliminating exploitative behavior
• Orientation to process (rather than product)