Introduction
We open by exploring the metacrisis and its cultural roots. You will delve into the transformative power of narratives and their role in shaping systems and actions in the world. We share the Culture Hack Labs approach to Narrative-Led Systems Change: Justice plus Onto-Shift, which emphasizes that demands for justice must be paired with a deeper shift in ontologies—the fundamental ways we perceive, relate to, and engage with the world.
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Context: Culture and the Metacrisis
We are in the midst of a metacrisis. At its core, is a crisis of culture. Inequality, ecological collapse, climate change, biodiversity loss, rising authoritarianism, and institutional racism are not just symptoms of systemic breakdowns—they are the result of a deeper cultural paradigm. Culture is the values, belief systems, and ontologies that drive human behavior. …
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Narratives
When you change the narrative, you change the system. Breaking this down: Let’s dive deeper into how narratives function to create reality! Narratives are likemaps— they help us navigate the territory of reality more effectively. The territory is the world we see in front of us —everything we can observe or experience. The map is …
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Systems Change
Justice plus onto-shift is our approach to narrative-led systems change. In order to transition out of the metacrisis, we need to address structural inequities – challenging systems of oppression, redistributing power, and repairing harm. This is the work of Justice. But on its own, Justice isn’t enough. To truly move beyond the systems that …