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How do movements happen? Where do they come from and what exactly are they made of? How far back do the origins of the Sustainable Movement really stretch?

This book looks at the path taken to get us here, to the start of a new movement, which despite remaining an unproven theory, has for some time, offered great potential. It explains why it’s taken so long to gain the momentum so desperately needed. Then shows how as a brightly lit community, we might collectively set ourselves on a healthier long-term trajectory.

One pattern which emerges amongst these pages is that everything is connected. Every movement, ‘ity’ and ‘ism’ throughout history has led from one to the next, sometimes in sequence, sometimes unison, but always framed by the context of their own time.

Our journey starts 100 years ago at the Bauhaus School, where students and tutors first began to form principles about the designed objects of our world. Absorbing insights from sibling movements such as the Dutch De Stijl, we learn how these once disparate groups connected, and led to the Modern Movement – Arguably the defining cultural movement of the 20th Century.

But why did Modernism succumb to Capitalist forces? And how might a Sustainable Movement growing today learn from these mistakes, to formally leave behind the naivety of our 20th Century predecessors? Partly through a process of repurposing history. This book takes some of the best cultural and design thinking from the last century, and recycles it according to our present day circumstances – demonstrating the foundations for how we think and act now, already lie in our shared past.

Created to inspire a new generation of designers and thinkers. This book shows knowledge from the disciplines of science, economics or technology need no longer be the reserve of specialists, and likewise theories from the discipline of design should no longer be the preserve of the arts. Only activity which blends this wisdom holistically, will provide the most relevant solutions for the future of our world.

For the artist inside all of us, spreading ideas and stories which become adopted by the whole of society, is an action itself which will help build a movement finally fit for purpose this 21st Century. Here in the not so distant future, a Sustainable Movement will need to transition from dream to necessity.

So, dip in and out in no particular order. Only feel the need to read just one or two chapters, or even spend five minutes flicking through some of the quotes and illustrations. There’s something useful in here for everyone. At the very least you might find reassurance which helps to re-inforce what you’re already thinking or feeling. Then perhaps reach out to a friend or loved one, and enjoy talking about the ideas which it sparks together.

A note from the author —

The idea of a Sustainable Movement first captured my imagination around the time President Obama failed to reach a successful agreement at Copenhagen in 2009. Since then, we had the brief success of Paris in 2016, a truly global accord with only two missing signatures. But more recently, ongoing distractions and newer retractions would suggest, at least within the political spectrum, we haven’t progressed very far at all.

Yet grassroots activity has surged over the same timeframe. Uplifting energy is bubbling from untold depths, and it shows all the potential not just to imagine, but also build a better world. This new wave demonstrates the path to a brighter and more mindful future, is unlikely to be provided by politicians, but it is incredibly likely to be led by people just like yourself and your extended network – The same way the Modern Movement sprang to life one century ago.

Our survival on this planet has always been a creative activity, and the means of progression available to us, can equally include re-exploring areas of our own history. This project shows the patterns are to be found absolutely everywhere, particularly within the activity of the last 100 year period. Events this century are guaranteed to play out differently, but paradoxically, they will share many previously experienced themes. Here we stand a greater chance of success, if we keep one eye on the past.

This text certainly doesn’t hold all the answers. But hopefully it does bring to life the feeling there’s something exciting out there which has been building momentum for some time. A movement which wholeheartedly welcomes you to join in and make your own valuable contribution. So please, if you will, let’s go on a quick journey through the past, and start making a different kind of future together.

Richard Z Hooker — 2019

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