Great Turning
The Great Turning, coined by Joanna Macy, is a shift from the Industrial Growth Society to a life-sustaining civilisation.1 Macy identifies three main narratives of our times: "Business as Usual", upholding the growth economy; "The Great Unraveling", telling the story of ongoing collapse of living structures; and "The Great Turning", which is a civilisational transition comparable to the agricultural and industrial revolutions.2 Macy urges us to recognise what is happening in the world today, and to align our work with the Great Turning and the creation of a life-sustaining civilisation.
According to Macy, there are three dimensions of the Great Turning – that is, three types of actions that are needed for the transition to occur:3
- Actions to slow the damage to Earth and its beings (aka "holding actions")
- Analysis of structural causes and the creation of structural alternatives (aka "structural changes")
- Shift in consciousness (i.e. a profound shift in our perception of reality, as well as in our values and norms)