1. A frightening
new historical era that began in 2008 with the crash of world economies and the simultaneous collapse of trust in governing institutions. 2. A wrenching shift in
human society resulting from 50 years of unsustainable development, over-population, environmental degredation, economic injustice and rapid resource depletion. 3. The growing realization that sophisticated "financial engineering" cannot solve the growing list of real-world problems.