Economist and New York Times bestselling Author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman and Hoodwinked

When Rosa Parks stepped from the back of a bus to the front, she broke through barriers of discrimination and socio-political traditions that had been the “norm” for centuries. When Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring she defied most conventional teachings of the time and inspired a global environmental movement. Neither woman had any idea of the impact her actions would have on the world. They each experienced an insight that drove them to try something novel. In following their passions, they collapsed barriers that Rebecca D. Costa refers to as Supermemes.

As I write these words, I am seated in an airplane headed to the “2012 Tipping Point” conference in Vancouver Canada where I will speak about the Mayan Prophecy. Contrary to Hollywood’s interpretation, the Maya did   not predict the end of the world; rather they foresaw this as an era with amazing potential for transformation, a time when human beings can evolve to a higher level of consciousness.

The Watchman’s Rattle echoes the message of the Maya – and incidentally of indigenous cultures in the Amazon, Andes, Himalayas, Asian Steppes, Australian outback, and from many parts of Africa. Every one of these cultures has prophesied that now is the time for humanity to experience the type of insights Costa so eloquently describes. Of course, the implication is that if we fail to do so, we are likely to suffer consequences like those depicted by Hollywood.

The cause of our current environmental, economic, and social meltdown is what Costa identifies as extreme economics and I refer to in my book Hoodwinked as predatory capitalism; it is a system that encourages widespread exploitation to benefit a small number of already very wealthy people. A new geo-political system has emerged; today the CEOs of big corporations, rather than governments, control human and natural resources around the globe, as well as politicians and the media. Their arrogance, gluttony, and mismanagement have brought us to the perilous edge. In their relentless drive to amass ever greater fortunes, they have polluted our air, water, and earth, relegated countless numbers to the ranks of the unemployed, and doubled the gap between the few who live in mansions and the many who are malnourished or starving.

In a parallel development, nearly every person on earth is now connected like never before, through the Internet and cell phones. We have entered a critical time in human history. Most of us have come to understand that we are perched on a shore that is threatened by a mounting wave of economic and environmental disaster. Echoing those indigenous cultures, and adding her own brilliant twists that are based in modern science, Costa tells us that the solution lies neither with our left or right brains; rather, we will pull out of the quagmire only when we encourage ourselves to collectively develop the type of awareness – insights (to use Costa’s term) – that drove people like Parks, Carson, Edison, and Einstein to come up with innovative solutions and also enabled the enlightened Mayan people to desert leaders (who insisted on sticking to the supermemes), leaving them behind in their magnificent – but unsustainable – stone cities and forging new lives for themselves in the mountains and flatlands of Central America.

Since the publication of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man in late 2004, I have spoken at colleges, universities, corporate conferences, and a variety of other venues in the U.S. and many other countries. During these past five years I have been deeply moved and encouraged by changing attitudes, especially among the young and, in particular, the MBA students who will eventually run our biggest businesses. When I met with groups of them five years ago I consistently heard that their goals were to amass fortunes and power. This year is very different. Practically all of them tell me that they want to create a sustainable and just world, one they will be proud to pass on to their children.

We can all agree that we must turn things around. We must abandon our gluttonous, exploitative ways in favor of lifestyles and systems that will bequeath to future generations a world they will want to inhabit.  By definition, we simply must become sustainable.

The Watchman’s Rattle delivers the most important message of our time. It is a call to do as our heroes have done – to open ourselves to insights, new ways of thinking, feeling, acting, and relating to each other and our planet. It is a call to follow our individual passions and use our individual talents to collectively head down a path to a sustainable, just, and peaceful world. It is an invitation to you and me to open our hearts and minds and to take action.