#whitepaper Previous: [[11- Why Cardano]] ## Towards Decentralized Civilization ![[oannes.jpg]] In Sumer, one of the earliest known civilizations on Earth, civilization begins with Oannes. The human-fish demi-god brings humans the knowledge of writing, lawmaking, construction, mathematics, and agriculture.  Civilization begins with a **fish**. From Sumer to today, civilization has transformed time and again. We’ve formed complex social and economic systems of great variety. For most of history, civilization transformed slowly over generations, sometimes stagnating for centuries. With technology, the rate of change has become rapid.  We’re living in the exponential stage of civilizational change, kickstarted by the internet and supercharged by blockchains. It is now easy to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate globally with others. With blockchains we also have a trust layer that allows for decentralized organizations, the first block for decentralized civilization.  Our ancestors’ civilizations were dominated by the will of powerful individuals. The decentralized civilization, by its nature, will empower the knowledgeable, the skillful, the curious, and the caring to spread their own culture. Without middlemen and undue censorship. For the common good. ## It Starts within the Individual  > Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.<div style="text-align: right"> Rumi/Mevlana</div> Littlefish Foundation is about the littlefish. Each unique individual. With their skills, desires, and passions. Who they are can’t be contained in job descriptions. Each is infinitely complex, ever changing, dynamic. They strive to become a better version of themselves, hope to provide value to others in meaningful ways, and make life better for themselves and others.  In Littlefish Foundation, this is a journey, the search for **Ikigai**.  ![[ikigai.png]] Let your love guide you. Your weaknesses show you what you need. Your skills are your assets. Use them to help yourself, and others.  > "Your goal in life is to find out the people who need you the most, to find out the business that needs you the most, to find the project and the art that needs you the most. There is something out there just for you."              [Naval](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5W0RQCDr28VSxVZOYJn3f5?si=t2PhcpLnRpGJo6uMv_fM0g&utm_source=copy-link&nd=1) ## Self-Actualization Through Community  Another way to look at this is through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Ikigai is the path to the highest layer of the pyramid: self-actualization. In the Littlefish Foundation, that path goes through community. > Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life forever.<div style="text-align: right">Amy Poehler</div> Community starts by finding others to share, talk, discuss, imagine, create, and build with. Community is the base layer of human interaction. As communal bonds grow, the individual grows. Being part of something greater than yourself is fundamental in the search for being.  ## The Worst Condition Determines the Outcome Littlefish have their strengths. And their weaknesses. When alone, their weaknesses crush littlefish. The world is too complex to do everything alone and be successful. Few littlefish try and succeed.  That’s why community matters. It allows finding others who share values, ideas, and bring complementary skills. With community, weaknesses become strengths. The weakest chain is strengthened.  ## Creating Common Knowledge Each and every one of us is dependent on the discoveries, inventions, and knowledge generated by those before us. We stand on the shoulders of giants. We can only think the way we can because we learned what others have taught us. It is our duty as individuals to respect the common knowledge generated by humanity and to expand it so that others may do the same.  > In vain have you acquired knowledge if you have not imparted it to others. <div style="text-align: right">Deuteronomy Rabbah</div> We believe knowledge should be open for all, not privatized by a privileged group for their own benefit. What is discovered/learned should be shared with everyone. We will be sharing what we learn publicly, helping others create, and build for themselves.  ## Permissionless Innovation With open source and common knowledge, innovation is free to take on its best form. Everyone can participate. The number of possible contributors is maximized. The best can provide value from all around the globe.  This is a massive advantage over classical organizations as captured in [Joy’s Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy%27s_law_(management)): > no matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else<div style="text-align: right">Bill Joy</div> Voluntary participation allows innovation to come from anyone, no matter their primary occupation. We have seen its power in the open source movement: the world runs on open source software. With Teal principles it can be baked into organizational culture. Everyone is free to take on initiative, sense problems, devise solutions, and implement them. Innovation is permissionless in Littlefish Foundation. ## Unity in Design Unity in design. Littlefish Foundation is built with this principle in mind. It means we build with the principle of decentralization, both our software and our organization. Peer to peer networks. Peer to peer work relations. Peer to peer organizations.  It means we experiment in organization building, community building, development, and Action. We try methods to self-manage, run different workshops for community engagement, ideate experimental features, and explore the possibilities of Actions with new ideas.  It means we build tools for our own needs but make them suitable for others. We build manual processes using tools like Miro, play with concepts and processes until we feel comfortable, then build them into software, allowing others to use them. It means all things are made of Action. ## The Importance of Art We believe art must play a foundational role in human society. Not as a second thought to our usual activities of work, study etc. but a primary concern that helps us understand and internalize the events of our time.  > In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And **help to change it.** <div style="text-align: right">Ernst Fischer</div> All Actions can be made beautiful with art. Colonies can employ the services of artists from all over the globe to make their Actions appealing to broader audiences, allowing them further reach and greater support. Next: [[13- The Attributes of Action]]