Arresting the collapse of the city through systemic education: A case study of melbourne

Abstract

Though it is claimed that Melbourne is one of the most liveable cities in the world, a systemic examination, based not on mechanistic and utilitarian foundations but on a humanist, systemic science reveals that a variety of modalities of its social fabric are threatened and will drive the city to eventual collapse. As usual, the worst impacted are the most defenceless: the poor, the elderly and especially the young. We propose that an education that emphasises vision and ethics and that integrates the humanities with the natural sciences in a systemic approach should be the prime instrument of intervention. We describe a new Master of Arts degree designed on these principles to re-orientate young professionals towards the community and away from big business and commerce. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.