“It is not feasible to return to the world that was created before these crises. Nor desirable. The looming global climate crisis has also made clear that we cannot carry on with prevalent models of economic growth and international relations. As Einstein said, “To work harder to solve systemic problems with the same ways of thinking that have created the problems is madness”. We will have to unlearn old ways and learn new ways. “Unlearning” is hard. It requires letting go of “theories-in-use” that have produced results.
Like trapeze artists, we must let go of one swing and turn in mid-air to catch another swing not yet within our grasp. Paradigm shifts are also emotionally hard for powerful people, and thought-leaders, in the present paradigm. They risk losing their status and their power to others.
We must plan the next 25 years to India@100 differently. A change plan is a journey to go from point A to B. Google maps cannot tell you the way to go until it knows where you want to go and where you are. Plans for change must be anchored by a clear vision at one end, and by honesty about our current reality at the other.”
~ Arun Maira
Dig deeper
By Raghuram Rajan