WORLD SYSTEMS: SHOULD WE STILL THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX?

Chuck Swoboda on a forbes.com website wrote that “You’ll never find the best ideas until you recognize there is no box.” And l completely disagree because “the box” exists. Further in the article, another statement reads, “Think like there is no box” and l can’t refute this because it does admit that there is a box, but we should act like it doesn’t exist. However, that is not a good line of thought because the box does exist. Unquestionably, this is a metaphor that represents so many things but this article will interpret “the box” as the world and its systems.

The point of the matter is not to think either within or outside the box, what we need to do is question the box. The aim of this mental concept is to construct ideas, innovations, and solutions outside of societal norms. Therefore, in order to accomplish this we need to question the box. Many call it a conspiracy theory, but l would like to think of it as ‘creative curiosity’.

Understanding the origins of the systems of the world

 – WHERE does the box come from:

To develop sustainable innovations, we need to understand where the world is coming from. New ideas are the birth of new social, technological, political, and economic constructs, but before we embrace the new, we need to understand the old. The systems of the world have been shaped by a belief system, both rational and irrational concepts because of the repetitive nature of occurrences. For example, we believe in seasons and daytime and nighttime because the sun comes out, then sets and the moon comes to shine in the dark night- ushering in dawn again. So, we are now comfortable to make the conclusion that day and night time is inevitable, to the extent that we plan for future days and future nights. Another example is the nature of human conception. For millennium years we have seen how a human being is formed as a consequence of a male seed being inserted into the female to meet with the egg, thus producing human life. So, in essence, world systems, theories, principles, and laws are created around the repetitive nature of certain actions. This means that to understand where “the box” comes from, is to understand that repetition breeds familiarity which then creates laws and systems.

Questioning the systems of the world

-WHY is it a box

Instead of thinking outside the box, or thinking like there is no box we should be questioning the box. We can not develop creative ideas without acknowledging the current systems because every idea is subject to the current systems. Its like putting new wine into old wineskins, both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. It’s as good as nothing, infact nothing is better than something created to fail. There is a very thin line between questioning and challenging world systems. Questioning is seeking answers and a deeper revelation and understanding of it. In my first year in college, my Political Science 101 professor taught us that, “ Politics is WHO, WHEN, WHY and HOW”. It means, Who did what, When they did it, How they did it and Why they did it. Politics is how the world relates with each other, using power, influence and systems as channels for growth, development and what we call life. So politics is ineffective without a questioning system. I don’t believe in challenging the system before questioning it, because not only is this approach doomed to fail but it contradicts society. By this l mean before bringing new ideas, structures and innovations we need to have an open, free, and fair dialogue with policymakers and policy watchmen. This will help us question contemporary systems and policies. Questioning the system means we need answers, and it also means governing bodies should be able to open up to answering the questions as well as changing the systems if the questions are unsatisfactory.

Questioning the world systems also means practicing creative curiosity. I came up with this concept because l believe it exists. Being intentionally inquisitive will help you identify loopholes in the systems that will aid in your construction of ideas that are an actual need. Because after all, sustainable innovation is birthed from need.

DO WE NEED this box?

We do! As much as young people like myself question the current state of economies, politics, etc., we need to understand that the current world systems were framed by factual and existential phenomena. The world systems allow room for development and not necessarily for ‘construction’. By this l mean that instead of starting our innovations and ideas from scratch we have a world view of what works and what doesn’t, so we are essentially building from that instead of starting from scratch. That’s why l trust that we need the current systems, not just to judge and be unsatisfied but to learn from and use them as a guiding light for a productive future. I remember talking to someone last week and l told them that lam carefully observing the current African leaders. As much as young people accuse them of hope deferred, l think there are where they are because of something they know that we don’t- maybe a skill. So, observing them with an open mind and learning, in order to build from that will make me a greater leader in the future.

WHAT can we do with this box?

If you haven’t already realized, l don’t believe we should think outside or inside the box. I emphatically disagree with also not acknowledging that “the box” exists. I am of the opinion that we should see what we can do with the box. As l stated earlier, this box is emblematic of world systems. So, what can we do with this box because it’s here! Should we wrap it up? Should we use it as a storage box or a gift box? Should we cut it up and get creative with it? I think we should expand this box. There are certain systems that you can’t fight. Even if you decide to you might spend your entire life doing so and it might as well count for nothing. I don’t mean we should always agree with the status quo but we need to use it as a base for better decision-making and better policy-making to allow for diverse and creative thinking. By this, we grow our box so that we don’t have to think outside of it because already there is space enough for everyone inside it!