The act of changing ones perspective may occur after a significant event in ones life or after conscious acceptance of an alternative meme. Changing an ultraparadigm would be possible after an alternative reality has been collated. If others changed their ultraperspectives to be more in tune with it, then the process has only just begun. This cultural mutation would become a minority within society. It will be a long and arduous process which could take decades or centuries to succeed in becoming the ultraparadigm of an entire culture, let alone the whole world. What is offered here is an attempt to do just that. First, the Confederation of Terra is offered here as the alternative Society megameme to the chaos of postmodernity.

Economics

We must begin with Economics, as it dominates the Society megaparadigm in the postmodern era. In a world of varied cultural memes, economics seems to be the only thing left which holds us together. The dominant greater meme in the postmodern world is Imperialist Capitalism, since the merchants replaced the warlords and the priests as regents of the economic system as well as gaining control of the Society megameme. Its presence is felt throughout the postmodern world. Politics and Religion have been easily replaced by corporations and entertainment. The capitalist inspired Extreme Individualism greater meme dominates Sociality, as the morality of greed and selfishness has replaced cultural and individual moralities world-wide, leaving each of us alone and in competition with one another, divided and easy to control, as well as leaving a fortunate few at the pinnacle of the economic pyramid.

The economic pyramid allows a few merchants to live as gods, while those in the West are kept comfortable, at the expense of those at the bottom. Each human is worth an equal share. For some to have more than others, they have to steal shares from others. The capitalists are stealing their wealth from the bourgeois on the top of the pyramid in America, Europe, and Japan. Those people are, in turn, stealing from the proletariat in the poorer nations of the postmodern world. One quarter of the human population is malnourished, while others simply starve to death because they are born without any worth in a foundational nation-state. This is unacceptable!

The dominant culture, modernity, rides a wave of power fueled by the exploitation of humans under the economic pyramid, the gutting of the planets natural resources, and from the high technology this plunder funds. It is like a giant spider sucking the life out of the world, and it will eventually turn on itself when there is nothing left to devour. The planet will be a wasteland of death and pollution when it is over. The reality which has brought this debacle about needs to be replaced before it is too late.

The greed for individual wealth is not a virtuous motivation for a healthy society. A culture based on greed will eventually unravel as the cooperation which binds the society together is torn asunder. Humans evolved as social mammals and we will become psychotic when separated from others, yet we are becoming more isolated and insulated each day. Since the advent of civilization, we are more reliant on others than ever. None of us could survive for very long without other humans. Making clothes, building and repairing machines, as well as food collection would leave little time for anything else. We need each other. We are all in this together. We must come together to create a more egalitarian distribution of the stuff of life for everyone to share in the bounty.

Egalitarian Socialism is offered as the alternative Economics greater meme to Imperialist Capitalism. Wealth and motivation have to be separated for there to be any peace in the world. Doing something for the greater good of the whole is a healthier motivation than greed. Doing something for the common good can only be accomplished if the participants have a stake in the outcome. Egalitarian Socialism would treat all humans as economic equals, or a world-wide economic fellowship. Every human adult would be paid the same wage regardless of gender, race, age, geography, social position, or vocation. There is no way to justify any other system. No human is worth more than another. A world bank would be founded which would pay everyone periodically by adding the wage to their local account. Credit cards could be utilized for purchases, or for obtaining hard currency, if necessary. This system is egalitarian by giving us all equal purchasing power, and socialist by freeing us from the burden of self-reliance.

Egalitarian Socialism also allows the good aspects of laissez-faire capitalism to work. Currency and free markets are ways in which we all decide what to do with our share. It gives us the freedom to choose from a number of products which must compete with each other. The difference is that this system does not allow any individual to profit monetarily from a group effort. Profits would be collected in the World Bank and distributed equally throughout the world. The excess profits would be distributed to the various levels of governance throughout the world to be spent as that group sees fit. At the world level, some of the profits would be spent on global projects, such as space exploration and terraforming, and local projects, such as work projects and disaster relief. This does not mean that we would be working for the State, because we would eliminate the State.

Politics

The modern Democratic Republic is the dominant meme of the Politics greater paradigm in the postmodern era. It is, by far, the best system utilized for governance yet implemented, but we have also seen its shortcomings under the dominance of Imperialist Capitalism. Democratic Anarchy is the alternative Politics greater meme offered here. The democratic republics are the form of government which employs representatives to make decisions for the group. The democratic aspect of the modern republic is the free and open elections which decide their representative. In a true democracy there would be a free and open referendum to make decisions for the group by the group, or an anarchy, which is governing without a government.

It was next to impossible to implement an anarchy, until the advent of the computer. Representatives are now obsolete. Each one of us now has the ability to stay in touch with local, regional, and world affairs. Information is easily accessed and our votes would be cast via electronic mail. Every human would be able to vote on every issue. Democratic Anarchy is also more in tune with Egalitarian Socialism.

A universal ultraparadigm requires a singular world-wide government. The world is too small for there to be any nation-states, whose borders are obsolescent in the globalizing postmodern world. The political goal of Democratic Anarchy is that the species would be united under the Confederation of Terra, which would be comprised of semi-autonomous cantons (or counties), like the Swiss Confederation. Switzerland is made up of four languages and three religions, yet the Swiss have lived together in peace for 500 years with their canton system. Boundaries should be based on geography, ethnicity, and language. Each canton would be responsible for governing its own affairs. There would also be a regional level to help decide disputes between cantons, and a world level.

The world level would be responsible for a common defense, a common currency, the World Bank, the World Court, and spending profits wisely. The world capitol should be located somewhere in Africa, since that is where our story began. Timbuktu would be a good choice since it is one of our oldest cities, it is also near the geographical center of Pangea, and it would be good for the officials to live in a desert climate to remind them that they live in a fragile environment.

Hierarchical leadership seems to be a human need and it is also quite efficient, so even in an anarchy there would be a need for officials. In Democratic Anarchy, they would no longer be elected by popular vote, instead they would be selected by lottery. A lottery would ensure there are no professional politicians, who seem to loose touch with their roots after spending too much time vying for power and seeking higher office. The lottery would also ensure that all people would be able to assume the role of an official if selected. Natural leaders would be able to lead without official power.

Each community, canton, and region would have a nine member Council of Elders. Each member would have to be over the age of 50 and selected by the lottery. They could serve for one year at the community level, two years at the canton level, and four years at the regional level. The world government would have a similar Council of Elders, but there would also be a chief of state, the Steward. All ten would be selected by lottery and serve for life. Each Council of Elders will be responsible for the implementation of the voters decisions on how to spend their profits, as well as adjudicate civil problems. The Steward has no political power and no age requirement. The Steward is to be our conscience, as well as our advocate, guide, and protector of all life.

The major paradigm of war has changed from primitive cultures fighting amongst themselves for bragging rights, petty theft, and sometimes, bloodshed to primitive civilizations attacking and erasing the other culture, taking their land, cities, and possessions. Civilized societies would wipe out their opponents armies and then impose their cultural reality by terror and force. Modern Society imposed itself through economic pressure after it had conquered the world with the force of its technological military power. From the rifle to the cannon, from the tank to the bomber, from grenades to land mines, from nerve gas to nuclear bombs, from rape camps to death camps, modern warfare has become ghastly. Slowly, we have been learning how to control our violence, by continually restricting warfare and competing, instead, through sports like American Football, and to use that energy for more meaningful tasks. In the postmodern era, warfare between nation-states is strictly forbidden, so the remaining warlords must find enemies within their borders, usually the poor and defenseless, who the warlords hound, torture, and murder.

The Confederation of Terra should not need a professional soldiery, but the warlord mentality will not just fade away. It can be controlled through the discipline offered by the martial arts along with a regimented code of conduct based on honor, justice, and caring. This allows the best of physical competition between humans, especially the males, such as skill, fortitude, and courage, to surface. The Mystic Warriors would be a global organization of the martial arts instructors living in their respective communities, and summoned when needed. They would be able to compete with each other as individuals and in groups. Their hierarchical rank system should be based on ability (combat, strategy, fitness, and experience), and they could only be summoned by the world-level Council of Elders and led by the Steward.

A prison culture is a dying culture. Prisons should be nonexistent. In the Confederation of Terra, there will be no need to steal or accumulate wealth immorally, but that will not curb human depravity. These criminals should be held and tried at the community level. Small crimes should be handled with shaming or shunning. Medium crimes can be dealt with by community service or banishing. Large crimes, such as murder and rape, could be handled with execution or castration. The Council of Elders may wish to review criminal as well as civil cases or they can use the jury system, whichever the locals decide for themselves.

Law enforcement is an extension of the warlord mentality, but there is a need for a local official who will take command when things go wrong. Each community should have a sheriff, who would act as a local Steward. The sheriff would be responsible for making sure the community stays safe. Unlike the Steward, there may be a limit on the sheriffs time in office, set by the community. They will also be the communitys conscience, advocate, and protector. It is hoped that the sheriffs job will be very boring, since the healthy morality of the individual begins with a healthy Sociality.

Sociality

Multi-culturalism, political correctness, international organizations, environmental organizations, multi-national corporations, computer webs, and the United Nations are all examples of how our scope is changing to include everyone, and even everything. We are gradually becoming one tribe, one culture, one civilization, so we may as well start acting like one. Egalitarian Socialism and Democratic Anarchy will go a long way towards that goal, but Sociality will need to be reconstructed after the devastation caused by Extreme Individualism.

Individuality and Individualism are different. Individuality is a product of the random mixing of our genes, memes, and personal experiences, which combine to make each human different and unique. Conformity to the group is expected to some degree through our genes and memes, but the needs of the individual and the needs of the society should be in balance. Individuality should be encouraged, because our growth as a species relies on the mutants and the misfits.

Individualism is an extension of Individuality which revels in the uniqueness to the exclusion of others. The needs of the society are trivial, while the needs of the individual are paramount. If Individualism is carried to the extreme, it leaves us alone with a scope of one. Extreme Individualism is an epidemic in the postmodern era, as merchants, priests, politicians, celebrities, athletes, spouses, and even shoppers and drivers are following the morality of greed and selfishness.

Individuals, families, communities, nations, ethnic groups, race, gender, and social class are ways to divide humans. They are only now being recognized as somewhat fuzzy. Dividing humanity up into smaller and smaller groups makes us easier to control, and Extreme Individualism has made us like sheep ready to be sheared. This division leaves us detached from the suffering of others, which helps perpetuate the system. We need to start thinking as a single tribe. The best way to think as one would be a universal language, but which one?

Mandarin Chinese, Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Arabic, French, Russian, and English have been used in this capacity before, but they carry their cultural memes with them. What is needed is an artificial common language with consciously added memes, which would be able to unite our species in scope. There are many linguistic hurdles, but it should be possible to incorporate most of the human language variations as well as most of the vernacular nuances, especially when faced with so many linguistic extinctions in the continuing globalization.

Over the last 100 years, there have been a myriad of artificial languages. Esperanto is one of the first languages created for the sole purpose of uniting a world culture. Unfortunately, Esperanto is eurocentric in origin and in use. Of the artificial languages, none has shown the potential of what can be accomplished as does Klingon, which was created to sound alien for a fictional warrior race for a television series. Surely, we can create a majestic and eloquent language for a global human civilization.

This new common language would have an alphabet as well as corresponding pictographs, and spoken words as well as hand signs. The alphabet (for the left side of the brain) should be as elaborate as European runes, Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Hebrew. The pictographs (for the right side of the brain) should be as beautiful as Chinese, Egyptian, and Mayan ideograms. The spoken words should be as musical as Arabic and French. The signs should be as creative as Nicaraguan Sign, as well as compatible with common human gesticulations. Common would also incorporate the metric system and Arabic numerals, since they are universal already.

Common should be the epitome of human linguistic skill: beautiful, absorbent, profound, genteel, sexually explicit, and galactic in scope. There seems to be some connection between the language and the way in which the individual thinks. By using the combination of alphabet, pictographs, and sign, Common should give its practitioners an expanded base on which to build their knowledge and self.

Common would be taught initially as a second language. It will then be able to absorb the local languages uniqueness, so as to add to Commons richness and diversity. It is the only way to ensure that these cultural concepts are not lost during globalization. There will have to be a High Common, like High German, so the various dialects will be able to communicate effectively. Over the next millennium, Common would eventually replace all other languages, but not without absorbing many of their idiosyncrasies.

The major paradigms of familial relationships, social relationships, organizations, sexuality, and morality are interrelated. They are all concerned with our relationships to others, but each one of them is unraveling in the postmodern era. Extreme Individualism has caused havoc within Sociality. The family went from an extended family, to a nuclear family, to partial families of divorced parents. The individual is left with too many families to be separated from, with twice and thrice divorced parents. This isolation has been worsened since the community has also disappeared. Neighbors have become estranged and social relationships are then formed with co-workers, but jobs are moved around so often that one never seems to get a chance to stay friends with anyone for long.

Extreme Individualism needs to be replaced quickly. This is where Kung fu-tsu needs to be mentioned again. He was witness to the breakup of the Chinese culture of his time. His solution was to reconstruct the entire Society megaparadigm around a dominant Sociality. He started off by transforming the individual into an Ideal Human. It was his belief that a society full of Ideal Humans would be the Ideal Society.

The first step in becoming an Ideal Human is to embody the Five Virtues: Benevolence (love and caring), Righteousness (justice and faith), Propriety (showing respect for yourself and others), Sincerity (truthfulness), and Wisdom (prudence). Since morality is a learned behavior, these virtues are instilled into the children by their society. If the leaders of the society are virtuous, the people will be also. If the leaders are not virtuous, it will be evident in the society. For Master Kung, leaders are older siblings, parents, teachers, bosses, priests, merchants, and politicians. Everyone should strive to radiate the Five Virtues in their daily lives.

The next step in becoming an Ideal Human is a well-rounded education, which involves all disciplines. Education not only imparts knowledge to the young scholars, but also enculturates them into the society. Schools do not have to be like modern factories or postmodern businesses. They should be like hands-on museums (a place of Muses), in which everyone has access to the great wealth of human knowledge. Children should not have to go to school, they should want to go.

After an extensive school carrier, the Ideal Humans will then take their place in society. This is where roles come in. Roles are extremely important in Confucianism. We must play each of our changing roles well as we age. Our first role is a child, when we become a part of the family, learning from the example of our parents and being proper (or virtuous) sons and daughters. Next, we become students, learning from the example of our teachers and being proper young scholars. Once married, we must assume the role of a proper partner. If we have a child, we must become proper parents, and then proper grandparents. As workers, we must assume the role as a part of the society. All of us cannot be physicians or athletes, we must perform our vocation as if it is as valuable as the others, because under Egalitarian Socialism, it is.

The word proper may scare some of those who know something about Confucianism. Propriety meant subservience to superiors, women had few choices in life, and everyone lived under a rigid hierarchy, but there is still much to learn from Master Kung. Whereas he did not have the luxury of many alternatives, we in the postmodern era are cursed with too many. The Sociality greater meme offered here is titled Alto-Confucianism, not only because Kung had the gumption to attempt a conscious change in his culture, but also because his emphasis on virtue, the Ideal Human, and education as vectors of change are still radical ideas in this era. Alto-Confucianism keeps these life-enhancing ideas at its core, as well as its constructivism, but it also accepts that times have changed, by embracing feminism, globalism, evolution, complexity, and environmentalism, as well as socialism and democracy as a part of the natural maturation process of the human species.

The greatest loss of the postmodern era is our loss of connection to our family and our community. Our economic system has exchanged that natural camaraderie for isolated nuclear families (and partial families) moving constantly. An Alto-Confucian community would encourage its residents to stay put, since people tend to stay where they are valued and loved. We need to put an end to this trend of isolation and give us back our sense of community and place.

Sexuality is the repressed major paradigm within Sociality. Sex is the act of reproduction. It is purposely pleasurable to ensure reproduction. Humans are intelligent enough to be able to enjoy the pleasure without reproducing, but we must be responsible. We must also bring this wonderful boon to our species to the surface. Sexuality needs to come out in the open, which is why we need a more sexually explicit language, since there are little or no verbs for the great variety of the different sex acts. Sex in the postmodern culture, with its multi-divorced parents, molestations, rapes, tortures, dowries, clitorectomies, infanticide, use of titillation by the media, sexual slavery, and selfishness, is not healthy. Healthy sexuality is the act of adults fucking, selflessly giving and receiving pleasure, such as can be found in the Kama Sutra and Tantric practices, and sharing in their birthright as humans.

The minor paradigm of Marriage combines sexuality with family relationships. It has evolved as a way of claiming exclusive rights to your sexual partner. This exclusion halts the friction caused by the mating rituals and allows the couple to settle down and begin a family. Monogamy is recommended, and it must be mastered first before attempting polygamy or open marriages. Divorce should be discouraged with a waiting period of at least one year, and harmful relationships need to become extinct. Homosexual marriages should also be accepted soon, as it is folly to prohibit something which is naturally occurring. As long as all of the people involved are of age and consenting, sexual relationships are ultimately the responsibility of the individuals involved.

The over-population of the planet by the human species is one of the greatest disasters faced by the biosphere. There are simply too many people. The best form of birth control is better economic conditions. Egalitarian Socialism provides that support, but it will then be up to the families to control their size. One or two children is recommended, but none would be best until conditions warrant change. Eventually, the human population should level off as we become more harmonious with our planets environment. Unfortunately, radical means may become necessary, because we may have already gone beyond critical mass, which means we are left with war, famine, and disease as our only other alternatives in reducing the human population. It may become necessary to encourage voluntary sterilization. Also, the nobility of voluntary and assisted euthanasia should be explored as we get old and feeble now thanks to our medical technology, as well as for birth defects, as we switch from quantity to quality.

Abortion is also an age-old moral dilemma which involves the taking of a human life while still in the mothers womb. Society should not force a woman to carry a child she does not want; it would be akin to slavery. We must all be responsible; abortion should never be used as birth control, but it should be an option when birth control has failed. In the future, it may not even be an issue as technology will indubitably come up with some form of birth control which will allow us full sexual freedom and a stable population, until some day when we may be able to control reproduction and disease through Internal Gnosis.

Artists will do whatever they feel like doing. Since art reflects, and even foretells, the condition of a culture, the hope is that Alto-Confucianism and the entire Terran megameme offered here will spark something great out of the artists, as it did in primitive civilizations, and a sublime Age of Harmony will come into being. This change will begin at the core of the Society megaparadigm, the living narrative.

Religion

Once, we had no choice about the living narrative we lived through. We did not even know we had a choice. Each individual lived the reality of their culture, and shared their stories. Since the Enlightenment granted us the freedom of religion, we have been able to choose whichever religion fits to our own beliefs about the true living narrative. This choice is unprecedented in human history. In modernity, the religions competed amongst each other like in a marketplace, but none became dominant because each was too culturally specific, due to the interconnectedness of the living narrative to the other cultural memes.

Christianity has the most advocates, mostly because of its connection to imperialism, but it is splintered into many various sects and denominations. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and the Chinese religions are other Religion greater memes which fit into different cultures for different reasons, and they are just as splintered, then there are the pagan, Sikh, Jain, Mormon, Bahai, and Zoroastrian minorities. One can even choose not to choose, agnosticism, or choose nothing, atheism.

In the postmodern era, Protestant Christianity, the Religion greater paradigm of modernity, has been replaced by Secular Humanism, because it allows the social rituals and ceremonies to continue without a common living narrative. The Humanists are agnostics who are able to suspend the necessity of a living narrative. This Idealist reality suspension sparked the Enlightenment and modernity, since it allows Modern Science to discover what the fuck is going on in the material world without beginning with any false assumptions. This suspended reality also allows modernity to continue due to the lack of any alternatives, which is to the liking of those who benefit from the status quo. Although Secular Humanism has been able to hold us together with a vacant living narrative, it is no longer necessary, because all of the competing living narratives and anti-living narratives have been devitalized, and no one seems to have noticed that we have a new story.