Life beyond economics: Learning systems and social capital

There is a growing recognition in communities across the globe, which a fundamental rebellion is brewing. This challenge to convention reflects two fundamental tenets: (a) that the essential activity of being human is not the setting and seeking of goals of resource allocation, but the establishment and maintenance of relationships; and (b) that learning about our world involves experience, spiritual insights, values, emotions, and disposition, as well as ‘pure’ reason. Relationship building, it is argued, is the essence of social capital, while learning is its currency. Evidence is provided in support of the contention that we are fast moving ‘beyond economics’ as an expression of total human endeavour, and this i s related to the notions of a risk society and what is referred to as reflexive modernity. The challenges of the globalisation of risk, and thus the risks of globalisation, are explored from a perspective of ‘appreciative systems’, and this notion is itself investigated through the perspective of learning systems.