Parable of the Rosebush: WorldBuilding - Glossary of Regenerative Language & Terms

Definitions of Terms in the New Story of the Geotribal Age

<Previous | Table of Contents | Next: WorldBuilding - Cast of Characters >

The words we use influence how we think, act, and co-create the world. As we transition beyond scarcity-driven systems, we need a lexicon that reflects abundance, cooperation, and aligned incentives (ACAI) rather than scarcity, competition, and incentives misaligned (SCIM).

This evolving Glossary of Regenerative Language blends ancient wisdom with emerging ideas in systems change, ecology, and decentralized governance. Help us expand and refine it—because changing language is the first step to changing reality.

🔗 Drop your contributions in the comments! What words do we need for the world we're building?

---

Glossary

---

A

Abundance, Cooperation, Aligned Incentives (ACAI)

The regenerative alternative to SCIM (see definition), where abundance replaces scarcity, cooperation (through coordination) transcends competition, and aligned incentives create systems that support collective thriving and ecological balance.

Abundance Paradigm

A mindset and system shift from scarcity-driven competition to cooperative sufficiency, where resources are shared and regenerated rather than hoarded.

Agent-Centric

A perspective in the regenerative movement that emphasizes the role of individual and collective agents in shaping systems change, recognizing that transformation emerges through decentralized, self-organizing actions rather than top-down control.

Agent-Centric Governance

A decentralized approach to governance where decision-making power is distributed to individual agents—whether people, local communities, or autonomous organizations—rather than centralized authorities. Rooted in principles of self-organization, subsidiarity, and aligned incentives, this model empowers participants to coordinate dynamically, fostering resilience, adaptability, and regenerative collaboration at multiple scales.

Aligned Incentives

Structures where individual and collective well-being are interconnected, ensuring actions that benefit one also benefit the whole.

Anti-Fragile Systems

Coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, systems that don’t just withstand shocks but improve and strengthen in response to them. Regenerative systems are inherently anti-fragile.

Anthropocene

The current geological era, marked by humanity’s impact on the Earth’s ecosystems, climate, and biodiversity.

Anxiety Spiral

A cognitive and emotional feedback loop in which fear and uncertainty reinforce regressive, survival-based thinking. When stuck in this state, individuals and societies default to scarcity, control, and division, leading to reactionary behaviors and stagnation. The antidote is the Creativity Spiral. (see Beyond Anxiety, Dr. Martha Beck, PhD)

AQAL (All Quadrants, All Levels)

A foundational framework in Integral Theory, developed by Ken Wilber et al., that maps reality through four interrelated dimensions—interior and exterior, individual and collective—while accounting for multiple levels of development, perspectives, and complexity in human consciousness and systems.

B

Bioregionalism

The practice of organizing human communities around natural ecosystems rather than arbitrary political borders, emphasizing local self-sufficiency and ecological stewardship.

Biocultural Diversity

The interconnectedness of biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity, emphasizing the role of indigenous cultures in preserving ecosystems.

Biomimicry

The practice of learning from and emulating nature’s time-tested patterns, systems, and strategies to create sustainable and regenerative human designs.

Blockchain / Holochain

Blockchain is a decentralized, distributed ledger technology that records transactions securely and transparently through a chain of cryptographically linked blocks, often used for cryptocurrencies and smart contracts but constrained by scalability and energy consumption.

Holochain is an alternative to blockchain that operates through agent-centric, peer-to-peer networks, enabling distributed applications with greater scalability, efficiency, and adaptability by allowing each participant to maintain their own data while ensuring consensus through validation rather than global replication.

C

Collaborative Commons

An economic and social model where resources, knowledge, and infrastructure are shared equitably rather than owned competitively, as explored by Jeremy Rifkin.

The Commons (Post-Monetary Definition)

The Commons refers to shared resources—both natural and created—that are collectively stewarded for the benefit of all, rather than privatized or controlled by market forces. In a post-monetary society, The Commons expands beyond land, water, and air to include knowledge, technology, infrastructure, and even systems of care. It operates on principles of open access, mutual responsibility, and regenerative use, ensuring abundance rather than scarcity. Instead of being governed by profit-driven incentives, The Commons thrives through decentralized cooperation, trust, and aligned incentives that prioritize collective well-being over individual accumulation.

Conscious Capitalism

A business philosophy that seeks to align profit with ethical practices, stakeholder value, and social responsibility. While it aims to create more humane and sustainable enterprises, it still operates within capitalism’s core dynamics of scarcity, competition, and perpetual growth. These systemic forces inevitably prioritize profit over true equity and ecological well-being, making Conscious Capitalism a reform rather than a transformation. It may soften capitalism’s harms, but it cannot escape its underlying incentives—leaving systemic exploitation intact. Real change requires moving beyond profit-driven models entirely toward post-monetary, regenerative systems based on cooperation, abundance, and aligned incentives. In the end, “Conscious Capitalism” is an oxymoron—consciousness requires transcending capitalism, not trying to humanize it. (see Post-Capitalism)

Conscious Evolution

A concept from Barbara Marx Hubbard that emphasizes humanity’s ability to intentionally guide its own developmental trajectory toward higher levels of cooperation and sustainability.

Community Land Trusts

A legal framework for managing land collectively, ensuring shared ownership and long-term stewardship. (See The Commons)

Confederalism

As defined by Murray Bookchin, a political and social structure where autonomous communities form decentralized federations (see federations definition), cooperating through voluntary associations while rejecting hierarchical state control in favor of direct democracy and ecological stewardship.

Coordination Failure

A situation in which individuals, groups, or systems fail to cooperate effectively toward a common goal, often due to misaligned incentives, lack of communication, or systemic barriers, resulting in suboptimal or destructive outcomes for all involved.

Cosmolocal (see also Kosmolocal)

Refers to a regenerative approach where knowledge, technology, and design are shared globally (cosmo-) while production and implementation are localized (-local) to meet the needs of specific communities in an ecologically and socially sustainable way.

Creativity Spiral

The opposite of the Anxiety Spiral, a state of upward expansion where curiosity, imagination, and problem-solving allow individuals and societies to evolve, innovate, and move toward more complex, interconnected solutions. (See Beyond Anxiety, Dr. Martha Beck, PhD).

Cultural Evolution

The process by which human societies evolve not just biologically but through shifts in language, values, and governance structures, often accelerated by crises or new technologies.

D

Degenerative Systems

Systems that deplete resources, concentrate power, and erode social cohesion, in contrast to regenerative systems that restore balance.

Dissolving Power

A concept explored in The Next Copernican Revolution: Book One and Parable of the Rosebush: rEevolution Z that moves beyond fighting for control of existing power structures and instead renders them obsolete by creating decentralized, cooperative alternatives.

Distributed Networks

Decentralized systems of organization that replace hierarchical control with interconnected, peer-to-peer cooperation (e.g., mycelium networks, blockchain governance).

DNA Replication (Social & Regenerative DNA)

Refers to the process by which core regenerative principles, systems, and cultural frameworks spread and take root in different communities, much like biological DNA replicates life. In the context of regenerative ecovillages, Liminal Villages, and Geotribal networks, this means that foundational ideas—such as permaculture, commons-based governance, mutual credit currencies, post-money systems, and bioregional cooperation—can be transferred, adapted, and evolved across diverse cultures and geographies. However, just as in biological DNA, this replication is not rigid but plastic, allowing each village to modify and express the core DNA in ways that best suit their unique ecological, social, and cultural context. This dynamic process ensures local sovereignty while maintaining a shared genetic code of regeneration, enabling a decentralized yet interconnected movement toward a thriving planetary civilization (Geotribalism).

Doomer Optimism

A perspective that acknowledges systemic collapse while embracing hopeful, community-driven responses to regenerate civilization.

Dynamic Interdependence

Refers to a state of interconnectedness where diverse systems, organisms, or entities continuously adapt and evolve together, creating a resilient and balanced whole through cooperation and feedback loops.

Dystopian Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The idea that by constantly imagining bleak futures, society unconsciously manifests them. Regenerative storytelling offers an alternative.

E

Earthseed Philosophy

Inspired by Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, the idea that humanity must adapt and shape change consciously, rather than resist it.

Eco-Tech Symbiosis

The balance between ecological wisdom and appropriate technological innovation, ensuring progress aligns with planetary health.

Eight Forms of Capital

Refers to a framework that expands the concept of wealth beyond financial capital, recognizing eight interconnected forms: social, material, intellectual, experiential, spiritual, cultural, living (natural), and financial capital, providing a more holistic approach to value, exchange, and regenerative systems.

Elite Panic

The tendency of ruling classes to respond to crises with increased authoritarian control rather than trusting decentralized, community-driven resilience.

Emergent Order

Self-organizing systems that arise naturally in decentralized, cooperative societies without the need for top-down control.

Exponential Technology

Technologies that grow at an accelerating rate (e.g., AI, biotech, blockchain) with the potential to either entrench Molochian forces or be harnessed for regenerative solutions.

Ecovillage Escapism

The tendency for small, self-sustaining communities to disconnect from broader societal challenges, limiting their transformative potential. (See Next Evolution of Ecovillages).

Evolutionary Threshold

A moment in history where humanity must choose between regression into outdated ways of being or a leap forward into a new paradigm. The direction is not predetermined—it depends on collective choices.

F

Federations

Networks of independent but interconnected regenerative initiatives that coordinate and collaborate while maintaining autonomy, fostering resilience through decentralized governance and shared principles. (see Confederalism).

For Fuck’s Sake (FFS)

A vulgar exclamation of “sacred anger” used to express frustration, annoyance, disbelief, or urgency.

Fractal Scaling

A principle in regenerative design where patterns of cooperation and sustainability work at all levels, from local to global. Small-scale, resilient communities mirror larger, interconnected networks.

Freedom and Intrinsic Motivation

In a regenerative community refers to the idea that individuals thrive when they are free to pursue their passions, creativity, and purpose-driven work, rather than being coerced by external pressures such as financial scarcity or hierarchical control. This approach fosters self-organizing, cooperative systems where people are internally motivated by shared values, meaning, and the well-being of the whole community.

Future Archaeology

Examining today’s decisions and actions as if from a future perspective, asking, “What legacy are we leaving behind?”

G

Game A:

The current dominant societal operating system based on competition, extraction, hierarchy, and perpetual growth, often characterized by rivalrous dynamics, short-term thinking, and zero-sum games that lead to systemic instability and ecological destruction.

Game B

A proposed alternative to Game A, emphasizing cooperation, decentralized governance, regenerative post-MMO (money, markets, ownership) economics, anti-rivalry, and long-term sustainability—designed to create a world where human flourishing is aligned with planetary well-being.

Game Theory

The study of strategic decision-making, where individuals or groups interact based on incentives, competition, and cooperation, often used to analyze economics, politics, and evolutionary dynamics. See key elements of game theory:

• Multipolar Trap: A scenario where multiple competing entities, acting in their own self-interest, create a system that no one can escape, even if cooperation would be mutually beneficial (e.g., environmental destruction due to economic competition).

• Arms Race: A cycle of escalating investment in resources, technology, or power between rivals, often leading to unsustainable competition and systemic instability (e.g., military build-ups or corporate AI development).

• Nash Equilibrium: A state in which no player can improve their situation by changing their strategy unilaterally, even if the overall system remains suboptimal.

• Tragedy of the Commons: A situation where individuals, acting in self-interest, deplete shared resources, leading to collective harm (e.g., overfishing, deforestation).

• Prisoner’s Dilemma: A classic example where two rational actors, seeking to minimize risk, end up making choices that lead to a worse outcome for both due to a lack of trust or coordination.

Geotribal Gathering

A regenerative movement and a global convergence of aligned communities working toward a post-monetary, post-capitalist transition. Rooted in the principles of decentralized cooperation, mutual aid, and kosmolocal synergy, Geotribal Gatherings bring together changemakers, visionaries, and planetary stewards to co-create the emerging Geotribal Age. The second Gathering of the Tribes in 2024 in Portugal saw over 500 global citizens unite, igniting a fractal activist movement where thousands of localized Gatherings are now emerging worldwide. These gatherings serve as hubs for regenerative systems-building, cultural renaissance, and real-life confederation of geotribal communities—self-organizing yet deeply interconnected. This is not just a movement; it is the living transition toward a new planetary operating system, where cooperation replaces competition, abundance replaces scarcity, and humanity reclaims its role as a symbiotic part of Earth’s evolutionary story. (visit Gathering of Tribes.)

Geotribal Stage

The future stage of human evolution and consciousness—aligned with the Turquoise Stage of Spiral Dynamics—where humanity transcends rivalrous systems and organizes into a global network of bioregional tribes, united by cooperation, ecological stewardship, and a shared narrative of regeneration.

Geotribal Age

A regenerative future paradigm where decentralized, bioregional communities embrace abundance, cooperation, and aligned incentives (A.C.A.I.), integrating indigenous wisdom, ecological stewardship, and global knowledge-sharing to create a just and thriving world beyond scarcity-driven systems.

Geotribal Networks

Decentralized, interconnected communities that operate on local, bioregional and planetary scales, weaving together regenerative villages, cooperative projects, and aligned movements into a mycelium-like web of resilience and collaboration. Rooted in the Turquoise Stage of Spiral Dynamics and inspired by indigenous wisdom, open-source innovation, and regenerative principles, these networks transcend national borders and hierarchical control, fostering local autonomy while maintaining global solidarity. By aligning around shared values of abundance, cooperation, and ecological stewardship, Geotribal Networks serve as the conceptual infrastructure for a post-rivalrous, post-monetary civilization, where diverse communities co-create thriving, interdependent futures.

Guerrilla Regeneration

Direct-action ecological and social repair movements that bypass institutional barriers to implement immediate change.

H

Hackathons to “Hack Humanity”

Hackathons, in the regenerative and community context, are intensive, collaborative gatherings where diverse minds—activists, artists, technologists, designers, visionaries, wisdom keepers—come together to "hack humanity" by rapidly prototyping innovative, life-affirming solutions. These events focus on developing entirely new systems, structures, and technologies that embody Game B principles—regenerative, cooperative, and post-scarcity models that outcompete and render obsolete the extractive, degenerative frameworks of Game A.

The federation of groups forming HackHumanity.net—including WorldSummit, Envienta, Regen Campus, and others—is an early prototype of how decentralized initiatives can unite through hackathons and mini-summits to address and solve global issues. By hacking the list of Transition Tactics, these gatherings serve as catalysts for breakthrough ideas, fostering the emergence of decentralized governance, mutual aid networks, regenerative finance, and other transformative paradigms.

Holding Actions

One of the Three Pillars of the Great Turning (Joanna Macy); efforts that resist harm and slow down degenerative systems while new structures emerge.

Holonic Systems

Inspired by Integral Theory, structures where individual parts (holons) function autonomously while contributing to a greater whole.

Holonic Clusters

Decentralized, self-organizing networks of interconnected entities (such as communities, organizations, or projects) that function both independently and as part of a larger, synergistic system. Inspired by Arthur Koestler’s concept of holons, these clusters maintain autonomy while collaborating within a greater whole, fostering resilience, adaptability, and regenerative potential across multiple scales.

Heart of the World

A reference to Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where indigenous tribes serve as sacred stewards of biodiversity and planetary health.

Hyperempathy

A condition in Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, where the protagonist, Lauren Olamina, involuntarily feels the physical pain and pleasure of others. It is both a vulnerability and a strength—making her deeply compassionate but also putting her at risk in a violent world. Hyperempathy serves as a metaphor for extreme sensitivity to human suffering, highlighting the burden and potential power of deep emotional connection.

Hyperlistening

The ability to perceive not just words but the deeper meaning beneath them—tone, silence, subtext, and emotional undercurrents. Like Lauren Olamina’s hyperempathy, it is both an affliction and a potential superpower, making it impossible to ignore the shifting zeitgeist and the patterns of a world in transformation. While it can lead to anxiety, absorbing too much of the noise, it can also bring deep insight—hearing the truths others overlook. True hyperlistening means not just tuning in to external signals but also listening to one’s own heart and right-brain intuition, rather than getting trapped in the left-brain loops of fear, logic, and control.

I

Ikigai (Time to Focus on Ikigai)

In a regenerative community refers to creating the conditions where individuals have the freedom, security, and support to pursue their ikigai—a Japanese concept meaning “reason for being.” By transcending scarcity-driven survival modes, regenerative systems allow people to align their passions, skills, and contributions with the needs of the community and the planet, fostering purpose, fulfillment, and collective well-being.

Integral Theory

A framework by Ken Wilber et al., that synthesizes diverse perspectives into a holistic understanding of human consciousness, evolution, and systems transformation.

Integral Consciousness

A framework that synthesizes multiple perspectives, integrating ancient wisdom, scientific knowledge, and systemic thinking.

Intergenerational Collaboration

The recognition that meaningful change requires both the wisdom of elders and the fresh perspectives of younger generations, particularly Generation Z.

K

Kosmos (as opposed to Cosmos)

“Kosmos” is an old Pythagorean term, which means the entire universe in all its many dimensions-physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. “Cosmos” today usually means just the physical universe or physical dimension. So we might say the Kosmos includes the physiosphere, or cosmos; the biosphere, or life; the noosphere, or mind. One of the catastrophes of modernity is that the Kosmos is no longer a fundamental reality to us; only the cosmos is. In other words, what is “real” is just the world of scientific materialism, the world of “flatland,” the flat and faded view of the modern and postmodern world, where the cosmos alone is real.” The Kosmos According to Ken Wilber

Kosmolocal (see also cosmolocal)

Expands on cosmolocalism by integrating multiple levels of consciousness and development, emphasizing that global and local solutions must align with the evolution of both individual and collective awareness across all quadrants and levels (see AQAL).

L

Liberating Structures

A set of participatory methods that foster collaboration, creativity, and inclusive decision-making by distributing control and enabling everyone to contribute meaningfully in groups of any size. See: https://www.liberatingstructures.com/

Liminal Villages

Emerging communities that experiment with regenerative living and serve as bridges between the old world of scarcity and the new world of abundance. (see Liminal Village Italy).

M

Meaning Crisis

The Meaning Crisis, as explored by John Vervaeke, is a civilization-wide breakdown of shared purpose, coherence, and wisdom, resulting from the collapse of religious, philosophical, and cultural frameworks that once provided existential grounding. Without unifying narratives or wisdom institutions, individuals struggle with nihilism, anxiety, and fragmentation, while the attention economy and hyperpolarization further erode collective sense-making. This crisis leaves humanity disoriented, trapped in cycles of distraction, and vulnerable to exploitative systems, highlighting the urgent need for a new, regenerative story to restore meaning and direction.

Meditations on Moloch (Scott Alexander)

A widely influential 2014 essay by writer and psychiatrist Scott Alexander, exploring how self-reinforcing systems — economic competition, political incentives, status games — trap humanity in destructive patterns, even when no one individually wants them. Meditations on Moloch has become a touchstone for understanding why “the system” perpetuates dysfunction, despite our best intentions.

Metacrisis

As described by Daniel Schmachtenberger, the metacrisis is the convergence of multiple existential crises (climate, economic inequality, governance failures) creating a systemic breakdown that requires holistic solutions.

Moloch

As explored by Scott Alexander and Allen Ginsberg, Moloch represents destructive, rivalrous dynamics in which systems become locked into self-destructive competition, leading to ecological and social collapse.

Moloch’s Game

A metaphor for the destructive, competitive dynamics that drive individuals and systems toward self-destructive behavior. Rooted in scarcity, misaligned incentives, and short-term survival strategies, it keeps humanity locked in cycles of fear and rivalry.

Multipolar trap

A scenario where multiple competing entities, acting in their own self-interest, create a system that no one can escape, even if cooperation would be mutually beneficial (e.g., environmental destruction due to economic competition).

Mutual Aid

Mutual Aid is the practice of people voluntarily supporting one another by directly sharing resources, care, and skills without relying on markets, profit, or hierarchical institutions. Rooted in solidarity rather than charity, mutual aid recognizes that survival and wellbeing are collective responsibilities. Unlike transactional systems that reinforce inequality, mutual aid builds networks of trust and reciprocity, embodying post-monetary values in action and serving as a bridge toward a society organized around abundance, cooperation, and aligned incentives.

Mycelium Networks

metaphor for decentralized, interconnected systems of collaboration and communication, inspired by fungal networks in nature.

MMO

Money, Markets, and Ownership (MMO) is the dominant operating system of our civilization, where value is defined by money, resources are distributed through markets, and control is enforced through ownership. While once useful as tools of coordination, MMO has hardened into a system that drives inequality, ecological destruction, and social fragmentation by rewarding accumulation over stewardship, competition over cooperation, and profit over care. It is the root dynamic behind today’s converging crises and locks humanity into SCIM (Scarcity, Competition, Incentive Misalignment). See Post-Monetary Paradigm.

N

Narrative Warfare

The battle over which stories shape our collective consciousness; regenerative storytelling seeks to replace dystopian inevitability with visions of thriving futures.

Negativity Bias

A psychological tendency to focus more on negative experiences and threats than on positive ones. This bias makes it easier to fall into an anxiety spiral and more difficult to maintain an upward trajectory toward creativity and possibility.

Neurodiversity (Cognitive)

Cognitive Neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in human brain function, including differences in perception, learning, and processing, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurological conditions. It challenges the idea of a single "normal" way of thinking and values diverse cognitive perspectives as essential to society. (see below for Cultural Neurodiversity).

Neurodiversity (Cultural)

Cultural Neurodiversity refers to ways of thinking, perceiving, and being that differ from dominant societal norms, often shaped by alternative worldviews, regenerative movements, or nonconventional lifestyles. It recognizes that entire cultures, subcultures, and communities can function in ways that diverge from mainstream cognitive and social expectations, fostering unique forms of creativity, cooperation, and resilience.

This contrasts with Cognitive Neurodiversity (see above). Cultural neurodiversity expands the concept to include collective, systemic, and lifestyle-based deviations from societal norms—such as indigenous ways of knowing, decentralized governance models, and post-capitalist thinking.

O

Obsolete Monetary System

Refers to the current global economic framework based on scarcity, competition, jobs, debt, and perpetual growth, which is increasingly misaligned with ecological limits and human well-being. As automation, regenerative technologies, and decentralized cooperation advance, traditional money-based exchange systems and labor-for-income models become less relevant. The necessity of earning a wage to survive—once a cornerstone of economic participation—diminishes as societies transition toward post-monetary models, such as resource-based economies, commons-based trust networks, and mutual aid open access systems. The transition away from extractive, zero-sum financial structures is seen as essential for humanity’s shift toward abundance, cooperation, and aligned incentives (ACAI).

Obsolete Jobs System

Refers to the outdated paradigm where individuals must trade their labor for income to access basic needs, despite technological advancements that could eliminate unnecessary work. Rooted in scarcity-driven economics, this system forces people into often meaningless, exploitative, or environmentally destructive jobs to survive. As automation, AI, and regenerative models advance, a shift toward post-labor paradigms—such as decentralized cooperation, commons-based systems, and intrinsic motivation-driven work—renders the traditional "jobs-for-survival" model increasingly unnecessary. The transition away from wage dependence is key to unlocking human potential, creativity, and true regenerative contributions to society.

Open Space Technologies

A self-organizing facilitation method that enables groups to collaboratively set agendas, discuss complex issues, and generate innovative solutions in a dynamic, decentralized way. Principles of Open Space Technology are:

• Whoever comes are the right people – The participants who show up are those meant to be there.

• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have – Let go of expectations and embrace emergent outcomes.

• When it starts is the right time – Creativity and insights unfold in their own time.

• When it’s over, it’s over – Sessions end when the energy and discussion naturally conclude.

• The Law of Two Feet – If you’re not learning or contributing, move to another discussion that resonates with you.

These principles create a space of spontaneity, collaboration, and self-organization.

P

Paradigm Shift

A fundamental change in worldview, such as moving from an Industrial Growth Society to a Regenerative Society.

Personal, Local, Global

A framework for systemic change that emphasizes aligning personal transformation, local community action, and global impact, recognizing that regeneration starts within the individual, scales through local initiatives, and ripples outward to influence the world.

Planetary Culture

A society that transcends nationalism, instead embracing humanity as a single interconnected organism within the Earth’s biosphere.

Pollinators (in the regenerative movement)

Pollinators are individuals or groups who travel between communities, projects, and movements, sharing ideas, best practices, and regenerative "DNA" to help different initiatives flourish while adapting to their local contexts. Much like bees cross-pollinate flowers, these cultural and knowledge pollinators spread insights, technologies, and governance models across ecovillages, liminal villages, and geotribal networks, ensuring that regenerative principles evolve, diversify, and take root in different bioregions. They help create living, adaptive networks of transformation, fostering collaboration rather than competition.

Post-Capitalism

Economic and social systems that transcend capitalism’s reliance on money, markets, and ownership (MMO), moving beyond scarcity-driven competition into models based on cooperation, abundance, and regenerative design. It envisions a world where human well-being and ecological health take priority over profit, and where technology, automation, and decentralized networks enable freely accessible resources and services without the need for exploitative labor or market-based exchange. Rather than reforming capitalism, post-capitalism seeks to replace its foundational dynamics—scarcity, competition, and misaligned incentives—with open access, mutual aid, and syntropic systems that allow humanity to thrive beyond the constraints of perpetual growth and wealth concentration. (see Resource-based Economy (RBE) or Open Access Economy (OAE) or a Post-MMO (money, markets, ownership) economy.)

Post-MMO Paradigm

The Post-MMO paradigm is a shift beyond Money, Markets, and Ownership as the organizing logic of society. Instead of locking us into SCIM (Scarcity, Competition, Incentive Misalignment), it reorients humanity toward ACAI (Abundance, Cooperation, Aligned Incentives). In a post-MMO world, value and coordination are not mediated by money or markets but by shared stewardship, open access, and regenerative systems that meet human needs while restoring ecological balance.

Primordial Soup of Transformation :)

A metaphor for the chaotic, creative phase where ideas and systems for a new paradigm emerge.

R

Radically Practical

A mindset that balances visionary transformation with grounded, achievable steps toward a regenerative future.

Regenerative AI

Artificial intelligence designed to enhance cooperation, creativity, and sustainable systems rather than exploitative profit-driven outcomes.

Regenerative Economics

Economic models based on replenishing and sustaining natural and social capital rather than extracting and exploiting.

Resilience vs. Anti-Fragility

Resilience is the ability to withstand shocks, while anti-fragility (Taleb) means systems that improve from stressors, essential for future-proofing regenerative societies.

Regenerative Renaissance (Regenaissance)

A cultural, artistic, and social flourishing based on principles of sustainability, creativity, and mutual care.

Resource-based Economy

A worldwide, resource-based economy is a holistic social and economic system in which the planetary resources are held as the common heritage of all the earth’s inhabitants. The current practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant, counter-productive, and falls far short of meeting humanity’s needs. See Venus Project.

Rivalry / Rivalrous

A dynamic in which individuals, groups, or systems compete for scarce resources, power, or status, often leading to zero-sum outcomes where one party’s gain is another’s loss. Rivalrous dynamics drive conflict, hierarchy, and Molochian forces, reinforcing scarcity, competition, and misaligned incentives (SCIM). These systems, when combined with exponential technology, create runaway feedback loops that risk accelerating societal collapse.

• The opposite is Anti-Rivalry / Anti-Rivalrous – A paradigm where value increases through sharing and cooperation, rather than through competition or exclusion. In anti-rivalrous systems, resources, knowledge, and innovations become more beneficial the more they are used and distributed, fostering abundance, cooperation, and aligned incentives (ACAI). This shift is essential for post-monetary, post-scarcity, and regenerative civilizations, enabling humanity to transcend Molochian traps and create systems that self-reinforce mutual flourishing.

Rivalry vs. Competition

• Competition can be healthy or destructive, depending on the context. It can drive innovation, excellence, and progress when operating within aligned incentives (ACAI) where all parties benefit. Healthy competition exists in games, sports, and cooperative frameworks where the goal is mutual improvement rather than domination.

• Rivalry, however, often implies entrenched, adversarial conflict where one party's success comes at the direct expense of another—a zero-sum dynamic. Rivalrous systems operate within scarcity, competition, and misaligned incentives (SCIM), where actors must undermine, outcompete, or suppress others to gain an advantage, leading to inequality, exploitation, and systemic collapse when unchecked.
  

  Thus, competition can be constructive when embedded in systems that encourage collaboration, abundance, and innovation—but rivalry is inherently destructive when it fuels Molochian forces, winner-takes-all scenarios, and runaway arms races that destabilize society.

S

Sacred Anger

A righteous, purposeful form of anger rooted in a deep moral or spiritual conviction, often driving action against injustice or harm

Scarcity, Competition, Incentives Misaligned (SCIM)

A framework describing the destructive forces that drive Molochian systems, where scarcity fuels competition, and misaligned incentives trap humanity in cycles of extraction, exploitation, and systemic failure.

Scarcity Myth

The false belief that there are not enough resources for all, when in reality, resource misallocation and waste are the real issues.

Semi-Permeable Membrane

In the context of communities and governance structures, refers to a system that maintains a dynamic balance between openness and boundaries—allowing for the selective exchange of people, ideas, and resources while preserving the integrity, values, and cohesion of the community. This principle enables communities to remain adaptive and resilient, filtering out harmful influences while welcoming innovation, diversity, and regenerative contributions.

Sense-making

The process of interpreting complex realities and coordinating collective intelligence to make better societal decisions.

Simplicity on the Other Side of Complexity

A concept that after deep systemic thinking, elegant and efficient solutions emerge.

Social Architecture

Refers to the intentional design of social systems, structures, and interactions that shape how people collaborate, make decisions, and build community, ensuring that relationships, power dynamics, and incentives align with shared values and regenerative outcomes.

Solarpunk

A visionary movement and aesthetic that imagines a regenerative future where technology, nature, and community coexist harmoniously, emphasizing renewable energy, ecological design, and decentralized, cooperative societies.

Spiral Dynamics

A model of human development (see Clare Graves, Don Beck) that maps how individuals and societies evolve through different value systems, culminating in cooperative, global-consciousness stages.

Spontaneously Benevolent

Buckminster Fuller's principle that “when humans get what they need, when they need it, they are spontaneously benevolent,” highlighting the role of aligned systems in fostering goodwill.

Superordinate Goals

Objectives that require collective effort beyond individual or group competition, fostering large-scale cooperation.

Superorganism

A self-perpetuating, growth-driven global system—described by Nate Hagens—where humanity functions like a single energy-consuming entity, prioritizing short-term expansion over long-term sustainability, often at the expense of ecological and social well-being.

Syntropy

The opposite of entropy; the tendency of living systems to self-organize toward complexity, harmony, and regenerative abundance.

Syntropia

The opposite of dystopia—an evolving future of regeneration, harmony, and interconnectedness, where human systems align with nature to create abundance and resilience. Unlike utopia, it is not a perfect or unattainable ideal, but a practical, dynamic process of continuous renewal and adaptation.

Systemic Shift

A transformation that changes the underlying structures of society, not just its surface symptoms.

T

Technofeudalism

A term describing the emerging global system where power is concentrated not in traditional governments, but in a few dominant tech corporations and financial elites who control data, platforms, and digital infrastructure — creating a new kind of digital serfdom marked by surveillance, algorithmic control, and extreme inequality. It’s the evolution of capitalism into a form where ownership and control are increasingly abstract, centralized, and disconnected from democratic oversight.

The Great Simplification

A concept (Nate Hagens) describing humanity’s inevitable shift from infinite growth to systems that prioritize efficiency, cooperation, and sustainability.

The Great Turning

Joanna Macy’s framework for the necessary transition from an Industrial Growth Society to a Life-Sustaining Civilization.

The Three Pillars of Activism

Joanna Macy’s framework for systemic transformation: (1) Holding Actions (resisting harm), (2) Structural Change (building new systems), and (3) Shifts in Consciousness (changing worldviews).

Tipping Point Strategies

Focused interventions that accelerate systemic change by leveraging momentum at critical junctures.

Transformative Metafiction

More than just speculative fiction or visionary fiction. It’s more than just a novel. It’s a living, breathing manuscript that exists not only to tell a story but to create one in the real world. This isn’t the kind of fiction that lets you sit back and consume passively. This is participatory, urgent, and real. It’s a story that acts as both a blueprint and a catalyst, writing reality into existence as it unfolds.

Transgeneration

The passing, or transmission, of knowledge, values, trauma, and wisdom across multiple generations, shaping cultural evolution, societal structures, and personal identity. In regenerative movements, transgeneration emphasizes both learning from ancestral wisdom and addressing and healing intergenerational trauma, ensuring that future generations inherit a healthier, more just, and thriving world. Rooted in Indigenous wisdom, such as the Seven Generations principle, it calls us to make decisions with deep consideration for those who will come long after us. Transgeneration is about long-term continuity and legacy, while intergeneration is about present-day connections and cooperation across generations.

Transgeneration Learning Centers

Educational spaces designed to foster the exchange of knowledge, wisdom, and skills across multiple generations, addressing intergenerational trauma, preserving cultural heritage, and preparing future generations to uphold regenerative and sustainable practices in alignment with the Seven Generations Principle.

Turquoise Stage

The highest tier in Spiral Dynamics, representing global consciousness, systemic integration, and planetary-scale cooperation.

U

Unprecedented Age

The recognition that humanity is facing challenges unlike any in history—climate collapse, rapid technological acceleration, social fragmentation—requiring entirely new solutions, rather than relying on outdated models from the past.

Upward Spiral Evolution

A counterpoint to collapse narratives, highlighting how societies can ascend to higher levels of complexity and cooperation. Crises are opportunities for evolution and transcendence rather than decay.

W

Whole-Systems Thinking

An approach that considers interconnections between all aspects of a system rather than isolating single issues, and all quadrants of reality (see AQAL).

Wisdom

In the context of our metacrisis wisdom is the ability to navigate complexity with discernment, aligning technological power with ethical responsibility and long-term thinking. As Daniel Schmachtenberger warns, “If our technology outpaces our wisdom, that is a system that self-terminates.” Similarly, E.O. Wilson observes, “We have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.” True wisdom is recognizing the forces of Moloch—the dynamics of S.C.I.M. (Scarcity, Competition, Incentives Misaligned) that drive collapse—and shifting toward A.C.A.I. (Abundance, Cooperation, Aligned Incentives) to create regenerative, life-sustaining systems. To avoid self-destruction, humanity must cultivate wisdom at the speed of its exponential tools, ensuring that power is guided by deeper intelligence, ethical coherence, and an understanding of interdependence.

Z

Zeitgeist Shift

A transformation in the collective cultural consciousness, as explored in Integral Zeitgeist and Neotribal Zeitgeist, leading to a new shared reality of cooperation and regeneration.

---

<Previous | Table of Contents | Next: WorldBuilding - Cast of Characters >