By Michael Sussman

At the heart of OnTrackNorthAmerica’s work is the advancement of collaboration and coordination as a superior orientation for government and business. But before establishing my own confidence in people’s ability to collaborate and work in the community’s best interests, I had to ponder, as many of us do, “Are people inherently altruistic, or are they self-centered?”

Particularly in America, we have been taught that striving for individual success is best for everyone because, according to the authority on the subject, Charles Darwin, evolution depends on it. “Survival of the Fittest,” implying that humans, like other species, are naturally selfish and that selfishness drives progress, was given its scientific basis. But is it possible that this belief exerts an undue and debilitating influence on society?

It occurred to me to read On the Origin of Species to see what Darwin actually said, not what I had been told he said. What I found was that Charles Darwin didn’t use the phrase “Survival of the Fittest.” Contrary to prevailing belief, he wasn’t highlighting individual competition. He wrote that in nature, the community provides the best perches, food, and resources to those amongst them that are strongest and, therefore, will produce the healthiest offspring. Harmony within the community, not domination of the community, is what he observed. Charles Darwin wrote that individuals in nature are inherently social, and that is what produces well-being for the community.

So, how did we come to misapply Darwin’s transformative work? Why did we orient commerce and governance around competition and mistrust rather than cooperation and trust? What would have us think that we must pit individuals, companies, organizations, political parties, and countries in an endless competition?

We recall that “Darwinism” gained popularity during the mid-19th century, when American and British industrialists sought a belief system to justify their massive accumulation of wealth and power. They sponsored members of a new intellectual field called Social Philosophy to promote a misreading of On the Origin of Species. One of the movement’s leading figures, Herbert Spencer, originated the term “Survival of the Fittest.” Because the public’s access to Darwin’s book was limited, those in power used this misinformation campaign to influence public support for their versions of “Capitalism” and “Democracy.”

We’re all suffering under the influence of Spencer’s false and destructive misinterpretation of nature and, indeed, humanity. Governance and commerce have since developed around an over-reliance on competitive debate, competing factions, and constant jockeying for attention and favors. Competition stifles our collective potential. It is highly inefficient for towns, counties, states, countries, and their businesses to compete with each other. The wisest placement of all components of a sustainable industrial system is only possible through collaboration and coordination.

Of course, competition has its place in sports, games, and some aspects of business. However, orienting our civilization’s primary functions around competition is outmoded and unsustainable. There’s a better way.

As we face environmental stresses and extreme violence that threaten our peace and prosperity, it is more crucial than ever to discard outdated and limiting assumptions and embrace the reality of humanity’s inherent commitment to our community. Let’s redesign our industrial systems for sustainability and our governance systems for workability.

OnTrackNorthAmerica convenes stakeholders in productive dialogue using our question-based dialogue method, IntelliSynthesis®. Questions are inherently interactive, opening our minds to intelligent thought exploration and shared knowledge. By then synthesizing, cataloguing, and utilizing this collective intelligence, diverse stakeholders can solve problems and implement action plans effectively.

Our work is informed by close interactions with over 11,000 individuals across the continent who have overwhelmingly expressed their heartfelt desire for a world that works for everyone. As Darwin discovered 175 years ago, society advances when people strike a balance between useful competition and essential collaboration.

Continue reading “Collaboration Will Take Us Where Competition Can’t”

By Michael Sussman

”Preserving competition in the marketplace,” by itself, is an incomplete regulatory principle that must be augmented with thoughtful collaboration if we are to produce an optimal, sustainable transportation system. When we saw the need for paving muddy roads to and from the railroads in the early 20th century, we missed the opportunity to thoughtfully integrate the newly developing freight highway system with the highly developed rail system. The resulting competition in commerce and public policy triggered a disastrous long-term shrinkage of the geographic footprint of the rail network leading to a suboptimal transportation system.

Coordinating across industries, companies, agencies, and indeed political parties requires respect, collaboration, and consensus-based decision-making processes. Our governing system, however, is structured to manage competing “factions” instead. Competition in the marketplace, competition for government attention, and competitive debate, rather than thoughtful deliberation, have stifled our collective ability to address the thornier issues of our day.
Continue reading “It’s Time to Embrace Collaboration”

by Michael Sussman

Building productive transportation systems can only be accomplished by designing them sustainably. We can’t overcome unavoidable limits on clean air, stable climate, and land by just spending more money. Our new imperative must be moving freight while minimizing its impact on the environment, open space, highway capacity, and the overall costs of building and maintaining infrastructure. Given the differential between trucks and trains in the space they require for moving goods, the environmental impact of their relative fuel usage, and the efficiency of steel versus concrete and asphalt, it is critical that we shift into designing systems that optimize use of these two modes.

The market can only support this if business, government, and community cooperate. This can be accomplished by aligning around whole-system lifecycle measures and sustainable investment strategies.

Considering the pressures of increasing population on land use, transportation congestion, and the environment, three significant evolutions must occur: 1) include shorter supply chain options in planning, 2) ship as much as sensible by rail to benefit from its energy and space efficiency, and 3) proactively think and plan for reduced dependence on fossil fuels. Accomplishing these transformations must include win-win approaches that support existing transportation providers through this transition. Our existing truck, rail, water, and pipeline infrastructure is too vital to strand assets.
Continue reading “The (Only) Path to a World-Class Transportation System is to Design it Sustainably”

By Michael Sussman

In July, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Executive Order B-32-15 directing numerous state agencies to collaborate on and develop an “integrated action plan” by July 2016 that establishes clear targets to improve freight efficiency, transition to zero-emission technologies, and increase the competitiveness of California’s freight system. Caltrans and other state agencies have already solicited comments and are now fully engaged in the development of the action plan. OnTrackNorthAmerica’s intention is that the action plan implement strategies that better deploy freight rail’s economic and environmental benefits.

OnTrackNorthAmerica (OTNA) has been working throughout 2015 to contribute its expertise in freight transportation land use planning to the state’s progress. In light of the significant projected increases in the state’s freight traffic over the next 25 years, California must focus on the optimal integration of freight transportation and land use. Lower emission truck and locomotive engines alone will not be enough. Conserving highway capacity and road maintenance expenses requires an optimal modal balance between truck and rail modes.
Continue reading “Decreasing Transportation Impacts on Land Use and Environment in California”