The Omega Project

...to facilitate the establishment of an ecologically sustainable New World Order.

Copyright © 2002 by Joseph George Caldwell. All rights reserved. Posted at Internet web site http://www.foundationwebsite.org. May be copied or reposted for noncommercial purposes, with attribution. 11 February 2002; updated 24 July 2002, 28 August 2002, 10 September 2002.

The Vision

o A single-nation global human population of ten million by 2012

o Restoration of the biosphere to its state of five hundred years ago, within a century

The Mission

o To accomplish the Vision, by facilitating the establishment of a single-nation world government that embraces the vision.

Assessment of the Current State of the World, and a Proposed Long-Term-Sustainable Human Population

o Large human numbers and industrial activity are causing a causing a mass species extinction that is destroying many other large species, and is placing the very survival of the biosphere in jeopardy.

o The current world political structure, of over two hundred sovereign nations competing to produce and consume, is a major factor contributing to the destruction of the biosphere.

o The large human numbers and industrial activity are the result of tapping fossil fuels. As fossil fuels exhaust, the human population will fall back to its pre-fossil-fuel level, which is a few hundred million or less. The only real issue to address in the long term is: when human population declines at the end of fossil fuels, will there be no other large animals left on the planet. (If you don’t believe the dependence of today’s human population and the industrial world on fossil fuel, just look around you and remove, in your mind’s eye, everyone and everything that was produced using fossil fuel (as a physical input or an energy input). For most people alive on the planet today, almost everything and everybody will vanish from sight.)

o The world's oil reserves are about half gone. As production starts to decline, global war is likely, producing circumstances favorable to major world political change.

o Solar energy is capable of supporting about 200 million people at a low-energy level-of-living and about 10 million people at a high-energy level-of-living. In order to maximize the likelihood of long-term sustainability of the human population and the biosphere as we know it, it is necessary for the human population to be small -- much smaller than it is today. It has been proposed that a long-term sustainable population that can live in harmony with the rest of the biosphere consists of single-nation technologically advanced population of five million and a primitive (hunter-gatherer) population of five million distributed over the globe. This population is called a "minimal regret" population. Cosmologist Sir Fred Hoyle observed (in his 1966 book, October the First Is Too Late ) that a long-term sustainable global human population would be on the order of ten million people. To move from the present world situation of a human population of six billion to a long-term sustainable population will involve the reduction in current human population by a factor of almost one thousand.

The Strategy

o To disseminate information on the current state of the world ("situation assessment"). This information will be posted at the Internet web site http://www.foundation.bw (or http://www.foundationwebsite.org ) and other locations.

o To advocate the desirability of a single-nation global population of ten million people, i.e., of the minimal-regret population.

o To encourage various groups all over the world to make preparations ("contingency plans") to assume control of the planet in the wake of the coming collapse of the industrial world, and to convince them of the advantage of a “minimal-regret” population in a biologically diverse world over a large population of desperately poor people in a biologically barren world. It is difficult to predict who will survive the collapse of the industrial world, but if many groups are prepared for this and realize the advantage of the minimal-regret population over the current approach to planetary management, the likelihood of one such group’s surviving and being able to assume control and move to set up a single-nation world is greatly increased.

Some Observations on Who Might Rule the Post-Industrial World

o The group to assume planetary control in the post-industrial era may arise out of a current nation, religion, or other group. History has shown that new civilizations often arise from obscurity. In every case, however, their rise to power is the result of military action by a dynamic culture and strong leadership. As historian Arnold J. Toynbee has observed, high points in religious history tend to correspond to low points in secular history, so that one might reasonably believe that the demise of the global industrial world will be followed by a strongly religious era. Some observations / speculations follow on examples of groups of the sort that might be involved in assuming a significant role in planetary management in the post-industrial world.

o Nations. A strong nation is comprised of individuals having a common cultural heritage, language, religion, and the desire and ability to wage wars of conquest. Current nations possessing these characteristics include Japan, Germany, and Russia. In the wake of global war, it is difficult to say what will be left of any of these. Another nation with a strong sense of purpose, plus indigenous technological ability, is Israel.

o Religions. All three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) have strong traditions of military conquest and suppression of competing religions. Of these, the one having the strongest interest in eschatology (theology dealing with the "end times" of civilization) is Christianity.

One candidate for world leadership in the post-industrial world is Scientology . Scientology has a world-view that is generally consistent with responsible planetary management. Its view of the “goal of life,” or “dynamic principle of man’s existence,” is “survival…Man, as a life form, can be demonstrated to obey in all his actions and purposes the once command: “Survive!” The “Aims of Scientology” are “A world without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man if free to rise to greater heights.” These aims can be achieved only in a world without multiple nations, all champing at the bit to outproduce each other. Scientology is a dynamic, global, fast-growing religion whose religious philosophy and world-view are oriented toward making a significant difference in the world. “Scientology is the most vital movement on Earth today…and we will succeed.” (See Internet web site www.whatisscientology.org for more information on Scientology.)

The Scientology Scale of Politics is: Republic, Democracy, Social Democracy, Fascism, Communism, and Anarchy (p. 161, Scientology 0-8: The Book of Basics , by L. Ron Hubbard, Bridge Publications, Los Angeles, 1988). “The cycle of a nation goes in a descending spiral down this scale.” Scientology views a Republic as a higher form of government / social organization than Democracy. See Plato’s Republic for a discussion of the Republic form of government – a social organization that replaces democracy with Guardians (Rulers and Auxiliaries (Military / Police / Executive)) and national traditions with a Foundation Myth.

o Other Organizations. Freemasonry. The global organization with the strongest tradition of secrecy, sense of destiny, and demonstrated ability to establish nations is the Masonic Order (Masonry, Masons, Freemasonry, Freemasons, The Craft). The Masonic Order is a semipublic, semisecret fraternal organization that embraces "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." That organization (and its putative predecessor, the Knights Templar) has demonstrated an uncanny ability to survive under incredible hardships. Its members believe in God and the survival of the soul after death. Its worldwide membership, bound by strong centuries-old oaths and discipline, allegiance to The Craft, and loyalty to fellow Masons, numbers many millions. It has survived centuries with little change in its essential nature. Because of its worldwide geographic distribution and large membership, it will survive global war and the fall of the industrial world. Throughout its history, its members have been heavily involved in government, civil service, the military, and business. In recent times, much of its energy has been invested in charitable causes. Because of its sense of purpose, commitment to structure, and tradition of good works, the Masonic Order is a prime candidate for assuming leadership in the post-industrial world. Other nongovernmental groups might also be considered as candidates, but none of them possesses the "mix" of features (size, geographic distribution, skills, history, culture, etc.) of Masonry, relative to potential ability for planetary management. (Please note that I am not in any way implying that Masonry is concerned with world domination. It is not -- it is at present a fraternal organization concerned with personal morality and charitable works. My interest here is to identify groups that might be able to "pull things together" after global war, and address the tremendous problems that the world is now facing with respect to human overpopulation and mass species extinction. See http://www.msana.com for information on Masonry.)

o Another group with a strong sense of purpose and destiny are the Afrikaners (Boers). The Seer Nicolaas van Rensburg prophesied that Afrikaners would eventually (with help from Germany) assume control of South Africa and form a powerful Christian nation in the wake of a global World War III. See details in Voice of a Prophet by Adriaan Snyman, 1999, ISBN 1-919728-09-0, Vaandel Publishers, PO Box 1736, Mossel Bay (Mosselbaai), 6500, ZAR85 or USD25 postage included, tel. (+27) 44-690-7280, fax (+27) 44-690-7704, e-mail info@vaandel.co.za, http://vaandel.co.za/voice%20of.htm . Excerpts: “The Afrikaner nation faces a great and bright future…. We become a large republic -- larger than anyone could have dreamed of…. ...for we will be a God-fearing nation…. One nation, one language, one crest, and one God…. At the end of time we will also be the last country to fall…. Our Boer nation will not be destroyed, for we have a purpose and a destiny….”

o The groups mentioned above whose current size is comparable to a single-nation planetary-management group (on the order of five million) are the Scientologists, the Masons, and the Afrikaners. None of these groups has, however, a world-view that centers on world domination (planetary management), and none is particularly concerned with global biodiversity or even the local environment. The Republic of South Africa formerly possessed a form of government that resembled a Platonic Republic in some ways, but it relinquished it in the past decade, in “the descending spiral.”

o It would seem unlikely that any large group extant today will form the nucleus of a New World Order, since almost all are committed to economic development and growth, and that is what has brought about the current global disaster. After global nuclear war, the folly of massive industrialization will be apparent to the survivors, and some will strive to set up a new, sustainable, environmentally sound global society. The objective of The Omega Project is to increase the likelihood that this will be accomplished, and accomplished as quickly as possible, by clearly predicting the outcome of the present system, identifying an alternative system that will work, and demonstrating the advantage of an early transition to a new system. This will be accomplished by an educational program that convincingly shows the path on which mankind is currently set and identifies a global population size and composition / organization that is sustainable in the long term. If many people hear the message of the inevitability of failure of the current system (economic development, multiple nations) and the feasibility of establishing a long-term sustainable population, then the survivors of the destroyed industrial world will be motivated and able to set up a new planetary system based on a small human population. It is not the objective of The Omega Project to form the new world order – the principals of the Project will probably be destroyed along with much of the rest of the industrial world as it collapses. Rather, the objective is that so many people will understand the reasons for the industrial and environmental collapse of the world that they will seek to set up a better world in the future, and know what its characteristics are.

o In writing about a future World Order in 1955, Arnold Toynbee observed that it would inevitably be very different from the United Nations Organization . His view was that the new World Order would more likely take shape through the development of some other "older and tougher 'going concern'." History has borne this view out. Current efforts to effect a "world government" along the lines of the United Nations has proved to be a tragic and dismal failure, with respect to saving the planet's ecology and assuring mankind's long-term survivability. "World peace" and a "community of nations" and "economic development" are rapidly destroying the planet's biodiversity and ecological stability ("balance of nature"). As Toynbee noted, the world has witnessed incredible technological and economic success, but has failed politically and culturally. As fossil fuels exhaust, global war is inevitable. The future will belong to a group that is not afraid to wage war. The fate of the biosphere -- and mankind -- will depend very much on whether those who assume control of the post-industrial world are committed to maintaining a small human population. The goal of The Omega Project is to ensure that those who assume control of the post-industrial world will possess a commitment to a small, environmentally sustainable, global human population, and the knowledge to bring it about.

The Synarchic Movement

As the remarks of the preceding section indicate, there is at present no single organization that would appear to possess the characteristics required to play a significant role in planetary management in the post-industrial world. There is, however, a long-standing movement whose goals and objectives are directed specifically toward the activity of planetary management. That movement has had many names and manifestations throughout history, but in recent times (the last 130 years) its principal manifestation has been known as the synarchic movement, or synarchy.

The history of synarchy is rather long and complicated, and it is not the purpose of this article to describe it in any detail. Some Internet web sites that present historical information on synarchy (including earlier manifestations in concept but not in name) are the following:

Saint-Yves d’Alveydre: Synarchy and Secret Societies, by Milko Bogaard, at http://www.rennes-discovery.com/Rennes_Alchemist/synarchy__by_milko_bogaard.htm .

New World Order: The Secret History, at http://www.geocities.com/newworldorder_themovie/theosophy.html .

New Dawn Magazine: Mystery of Shambhala, Part One, by Jason Jeffrey, at http://www.newdawnmagazine.com/articles/mystery_of_shambhala_part_one.html .

An Introduction to the Ordre Martiniste et Synarchique, at http://www.orderofthegrail.org/introduction_om&s.htm .

Because knowledge of synarchy is not widespread, I will summarize some of its basic history/features/premises (see Milko Bogaard’s article for details). Marquis Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre (1842-1909), a French philosopher and political scientist, was alarmed at the rise of anarchy in the world, and developed the socio-political concept of synarchy in the early 1870s as a counter to it. He presented the concept of synarchy in several books written in the 1880s. The basic concept of synarchy is the establishment of a world government that is led by one institution and is based on fundamental spiritual and social principles. In developing his concept of synarchy, Saint-Yves analyzed many different forms of government. His ideas are similar to those expressed by Plato in his Republic, in that government is controlled by an elite group of enlightened individuals (“initiates”). This governing elite controls the religious, social, political and economic institutions. A major source of inspiration for Saint-Yves was the Knights Templar (predecessors of the Masons), which he regarded as history’s ultimate expression of synarchism. Another example of a synarchic society is the ancient Celts, whose leaders were the Druid wise men. Because of the central role of religious philosophy, synarchy is a form of theocracy.

In 1885, Saint-Yves was visited by a group of Indian philosophers, who introduced him to Indian-culture socio-political concepts stemming from the legend of Agharta (or Agartha or Agarttha, or Shambhala, or Shangri-la). Saint-Yves was impressed with these concepts, and in his later life wrote much on ancient culture. He extended his original concept of synarchy to include the concept of hidden spiritual masters, adepts, and initiates. His later writings did much to popularize Eastern occult culture to the Western world, and he strongly influenced many religious philosophers, including Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society, and Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse (“Papus”), founder (with Saint-Yves) of the Groupe Indépendent d’Etudes Esotériques (“School for Occult Sciences,” later renamed Ecole Hermétique), the Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose+Croix, and the Ordre Martiniste (“Martinist Order”).

Saint-Yves’ writings influenced not only Blavatsky’s work, but also that of Alice A. Bailey, Rudolf Steiner (philosopher, scientist and educator; founder of Anthroposophy, Waldorf Education, inspiration for Rudolf Steiner College), Max Heindel (founder of the Rosicrucian Fellowship) and many others, and heavily influenced today’s “New Age” movement.

Synarchy was the essence of the social philosophy of the Martinist movement, which became very influential in the early part of the twentieth century, especially in Russia. In 1934, one of Papus’ followers established the Ordre Martiniste et Synarchique. Because of its similarity to Masonry, as the philosophy of Synarchy grew it attracted the attention of many Masons and there was some interaction between these organizations. In 1934 an international federation of initiatic orders (Rosicrucian, Martinist, and pseudoMasonic) was established that accepted Synarchy as one of its principles (the Universal Federation of Initiatic Orders and Societies, or (from French initials) FUDOSI).

In the early 1900s, a number of synarchist organizations were founded, including the International Synarchist Movement (1919), the Pan-European Movement (1922), and the Synarchist Empire Movement (1932). Through the 1920s and 1930s, initiatic orders were considered a growing threat to the governments of France and Germany, and all initiatic orders, societies and brotherhoods (including Freemasonry) were outlawed by the Vichy government.

The Ordre Martiniste et Synarchique exists today (in small numbers) in a number of countries. The best-known synarchic organizations of the past are Freemasonry and Theosophy. Freemasonry is large (five million members worldwide), but Theosophy is small (estimated 10,000 members worldwide). Today, however, the most vibrant synarchic movements are the New Age Movement, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. (In general, the Christianity of today is not a synarchic movement, since it embraces separation of religion and state. It does, however, expect and await a New World Order and single planetary government.) Organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, and the North America Free Trade Association are not synarchic (in the sense of Saint-Yves), since they have no theological basis (nor are the latter two global in scope). It is noted, however, that Saint-Yves viewed that the first step toward the establishment of a synarchic federation of states would be the establishment of an economic federation of states, such as the case of the European Union.

Saint-Yves described the concept of “root races” and the “Great White Brotherhood,” which were discussed at length by Blavatsky and others (e.g., Edgar Cayce). A “root race” is a human species that occupies the planet for a long time. The current human species (homo sapiens) is the fifth root race. The term “Great White Brotherhood” (or Universal White Brotherhood) refers either to a legendary group of spiritual masters who monitor and guide the planet’s human activities, or to various extant organizations that promote synarchic principles and approaches. See the writings of Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov (web sites http://www.videlinata.ch , http://www.prosveta.com , or http://www.revelation37.freeserve.co.uk/contents/aivanhov.htm ) for more information on the Great White Brotherhood and its philosophy. There are many Internet web sites on root races. Mme. Blavatsky interpreted the concept of root races in a rather different sense from that which is generally accepted. Her views on the relationship of the “Aryan” race to the “fifth root race” contributed to the philosophical foundations of Germany’s Third Reich. The point to this observation is not whether she was right or wrong, but that synarchy can have a tremendous impact in human affairs (e.g., its role in motivating Germany in the Second World War).

Concluding Remarks

o As global fossil fuels exhaust, human population will drop back to pre-fossil-fuel levels – on the order of a hundred million people. Without positive action, the global population will decline to a large number (e.g., 100 million) of very poor people, and all other large animals will be gone. With positive action – effective planetary management – a human population of ten million people can be established, none of whom are in poverty: neither the five-million high-technology nation nor the five-million low-technology (primitive, hunter-gatherer) population distributed over the globe. People who are not in poverty have better potential for spiritual development. And, with early action, the planet’s biodiversity can be saved.

o If a long-term sustainable population is to be established after global war, it will be necessary to destroy all remaining industrial facilities, planet-wide, except for those in the single-nation industrial population. Many people have moral or religious objections to planetary management. No major world religion is concerned with saving the planet’s biodiversity. The synarchic movement is concerned with the establishment of planetary government by a single organization controlled by authorities subscribing to religious principles. The Church of Nature sets forth a theology that justifies and promotes responsible planetary management. Its religious philosophy differs from classical synarchy in that it has no role for economics as a major element of a planetary management system.

o The Omega Project does not advocate or promote war as a solution to the planet’s current environmental and ecological crisis. It is the author’s personal opinion that global war (or some other major catastrophe) is an inevitable consequence of global industrialization, and that the sooner such a war occurs the better it will be for the biosphere. That opinion, however, is not the point. The objective of The Omega Project is to ensure that, in the event that global war does occur and destroys or cripples global industrial civilization, the survivors will see the desirability of establishing a minimal-regret population on Earth. If global war never occurs, The Omega Project will have probably been of little impact – a security precaution or contingency plan that was never needed, like a vaccination for a disease that never occurs, or a lifeboat for a ship that never sinks. It is not clear how a minimal-regret population would ever be established unless some catastrophic event (caused by human global industrialization) occurred to motivate and enable it. If global war does occur, however, The Omega Project will have served a crucially useful function – it will have clearly and unequivocally demonstrated the folly of large human population and global industrialization (since global war did in fact occur), and it will have prepared (sensitized, educated, and motivated) the survivors to establish a minimal-regret population.

o The world has gotten itself into a terrible predicament, and monumental and immediate change will be required to fix the problem and save the biosphere from significant degradation (and assure mankind’s long-term survival as part of it). Because of the “overshoot” phenomenon it is expected that industrial civilization will collapse very suddenly and to a very high degree; and when it does, it is the intention of The Omega Project that the survivors will be prepared to move quickly, and with purpose and conviction and certainty, to a long-term sustainable world of responsible planetary management. Mankind was doomed when its activity reached the point at which it significantly affected, and began to cause significant changes to, the planet’s biosphere. The minimal-regret population will represent a return to a situation in which mankind’s presence has a negligible impact on the biosphere. The pollution and massive species loss will stop. The gross intermingling of humanity that has led to the HIV/AIDS pandemic will cease. At that point, mankind’s long-term survival will be assured.