(Copied with permission from The Workbook, Summer 1998, pp. 80-81)

About a year ago, a paper of mine was formally accepted for presentation at the Canadian Congress of Learned Societies. A few days later, though, the gatekeepers changed their minds. The person who originally accepted my proposal—a Canadian professor—wrote apologetically that he was TOLD to retract the invitation. Reworking Success, the backcover tells us, was originally written for a Canadian TV lecture series and canceled at the eleventh hour. Given this common background—and the promising title—I anticipated, upon receiving Theobald’s book, a few pleasant hours in the company of a man willing to raise fundamental questions about some of the most important issues of our age. This expectation has been fully met.

Although constrained by the book’s origins as a series of lectures, Theobald’s indictment of current economic realities and thinking is persuasive. Among other things, it is this economic system that is responsible for the growing gap—among and within nations—between rich and poor. It is this system, in Theobald’s view, which is responsible for growing unemployment and social injustice. Moreover, traditional economic theories are based on unrealistic assumptions. We don’t always behave in our self-interest, for example. The GDP—the customary measure of progress—is less reliable than a dowser. Nor can we separate economic problems from social, cultural, and ecological ones, as economists tend to do. The current system may fall into a severe economic slump at any time. It is morally intolerable for some people to be mulitbillionaires while others die from starvation. It generates anger in its victims which in turn leads to many undesirable consequences. Above all, this system leads to non-sustainable, anti-ecological, activities.

Early in his career, Theobald was led by these apparent failures of the economic system to jettison his traditional training as an economist and to adopt a different stance: "It thus became clear to me that the way economic systems are structured both is, and should be, subsidiary to cultural desires." Consequently, the book argues that we need to replace maximum economic growth, compulsive consumption, and international competition with ecological integrity, participatory decision-making, social cohesion, and social justice. We need meaningful and ecologically viable employment, secure incomes regardless of employment, and more leisure.

But how can change be brought about, when "throughout the world politicians largely ignore the winds of change," and when "the gatekeepers controlling the communication processes---politicians, academics, and journalists—often [block] the dissemination of emerging ideas"?

Change will spring from individual and communities, not from central governments. To create positive change, we need to open our minds to new ideas, find common ground among different positions, switch from win/lose to win/win thinking, and enhance ecological viability and social cohesion. This in turn can be done by setting inspiring and worthwhile goals, deciding what can be done, creating coalitions, and acting in a committed manner.

Other necessary steps are curbing population, decreasing production and waste, moving towards servant leadership, enhancing community dynamics, developing new lifestyles, fostering learning-to-learn skills, and really listening to others.

The book ends with a portrayal of a hopeful 2011 scenario. In this scenario, and owing in part to the internet, a new party won the U.S. elections of 2004. The world is now moving to a shorter workweek, more leisure, and less hurried lifestyles. In Theobald’s utopia, small communities are the basis of social structures and political action. There is a more just distribution of wealth, guaranteed minimal income, and ecological balance.

Theobald concedes that the chances of anything like this scenario ever happening are not high. All the same, a more peaceful and joyous world is possible.

If for nothing else, the book is worth reading for its occasional flashes of insight. Here are a few examples: 1. "Class was, and is, the hidden issue in the United States; real poverty and inequality are largely ignored. I sometimes fear politicians encourage tensions around race so the poor will not make common cause across racial divisions." 2. "If I get a standing ovation [in a speech], I have not done my job. I have pandered to the audience, rather than challenging it with important ideas which inevitably make listeners uncomfortable." 3. "The saddest image of education I know is one which describes students as little jugs into which water is poured by the teacher during the semester. At the end of the semester, the students put the water back into the big jug, leaving no trace behind." 4. "I believe that when information doubles, knowledge halves and wisdom quarters."

It is a difficult undertaking, writing holistic books. One tries to draw upon such diverse disciplines as economics, politics, and ecology, yet somehow achieve a successful integration. Theobald’s attempt, probably owing to its origin as a series of televised lectures and to its brevity, is only partially successful. The book tends to shift from one topic to another, in a manner that is sometimes difficult to follow. Key points are seldom sufficiently developed, and can only be fully grasped by those who are already aware of what’s going on. The book’s main flaw is its failure to address—let alone answer—the single most important question of our age: How can Americans bring to an end big business’s control of both their minds (through the corporate and scholarly media) and their politicians (through legal bribery)? It is this ugly and unpopular question that must be raised and answered by those who share Theobald’s dream of a happier, healthier, and wiser world.

Boxed Quotes:

Moti Nissani

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