‘thinking to be a problem
October 23, 2008 by Holst Group
Edward de Bono’s Message
Because we often consider ‘thinking’ to be problem solving we do not think much about matters which are not problems. If there is a wide open road ahead of us we do not stop to consider the side roads. This is what I call ‘blocked by openness’. Many things continue because they are reasonably satisfactory so we never think any more about them. A classic example is democracy which is full of faults and limitations but can never be challenged. I can think of at least four ways in which democracy could be greatly improved.
Whose business is it to think about things which are not problems?
Dr DeBono is truly a visionarywith a missionary spirit. I wish people who are supposed to be thinking about the welfare of humankind should take suggestions more seriouly and a global New Think mind should work togather to find options to some of the basic issues disturbing us in the 21st century,such as a more robust form of democracy.
Democracy only functions effectively in the long term if there is a collective ownership of its goals whereby personal interest is secondary. Where self interest or selfishness becomes paramount the functioning of democracy becomes distorted and it will fail to deliver long term collective benefit. In due course those who are governed in a way that creates collective ownership will be successful.