An Easy To Read List of Bucky Fuller’s Principles For
Making The World Work for 100% Of Humanity.

Most people see that not everything works well in the world and I am often asked: “what can I do about it?”


Comprehensive thinker Bucky Fuller’s drive was to “make the world work for 100% of humanity”; Taking inspiration from an article (The Anticipatory Leader: Buckminster Fuller’s Principles for Making the World Work for 100% of humanity) published in 2006 in The Futurist & written by Medard Gabel & Jim Walker, I have compiled and summarized an easy to read list of Bucky’s leadership principles. This list gathers in one place some of the most important aspects of Bucky Fuller’s thinking and reflections about what a single, seemingly powerless individual can do, and how he or she can get started, to change the course of events humans have unwillingly set unto themselves.




Think comprehensively, act locally:

  • Identify the most important thing to do at this extraordinary moment, and do it.
  • Zoom out: “spy” the most remote fundamental cause that needs to be changed or revolutionalized. (You can “dig deeper” with the following posts studied previously by The Bucky Call: Start with the Universe, and also this one: Scenario Universe.)
  • Change the environment, not the people; that is respect & trust the individual and his decisions.



Anticipate the future:

  • Tune in on trends – Technological, world resources, human needs – Tune out the noise.
  • Respect LAG & gestation times, understand the second derivative of speed: accelerating acceleration.
  • Focus on a vision of what the world should be like; everyone’s basic needs, eternally regenerative, safe from war and social injustice.



Be a “trim tab”, an individual that can initiate big change.

  • Design and build artifacts that will change the environment and alter Man's behavior and habits

    Design and build artifacts that will change the environment and alter Man's behavior and habits

    Be a trim tab, leverage, do more with less. Have faith in the individual’s ability to build artifacts, tools and creative responses that “will move the rudder”.


  • Know where the ship is, where it is heading, currents, winds, tides; where the ship ought to be going; when and where to apply pressure.



Take individual initiative:

  • See what needs to be done that nobody else is attending to.
  • Anti “Big Man”, anti central planning or authority; we all should be leaders, at least of our own lives.



Ask the obvious and naive questions:

  • Ask simple and naive questions to initiate change. Why do we do things this way? —we always did it that way!
  • With our expanding technical resources, why can’t we commit to feed, clothe and shelter all passengers aboard spaceship earth?
  • Why don’t we simply look at how nature builds things, and then build our own structures accordingly?



Do more with less:

  • What is wealth? money is not wealth; capital is seeking true productive wealth; wealth that knows how to do more and more with less and less.
  • Create more output with less input, gain influence.
  • True wealth = resources + know how applied to needs.
  • We can only learn more, never less – as knowledge & understanding grows, so does wealth.
  • The zero sum game of commodities is scarcity; human creation & ingenuity to do more with less creates abundance. (If you want more information about Malthus and Malthusian Principles, I invite you to read The Bucky Call Darwin Anniversary Special study materials that you can find at: Natural Selection and the Malthusian Principle or Competition for Limited Resources).
  • Live off our daily sun generated energy income, not by spending off our balance sheet energy savings (fossil fuels). Understand “cosmic cost accounting”. Measure actual human gains, not financial statements.
  • Money is a tool for making artifacts that will make the world work for 100% of humanity.



Seek to reform the environment, not man:

  • Change the environment, leverage in infrastructure, not in habit ridden man.
  • Reforming the environment will have a large impact on human behavior.



Thank you Dear Reader for reading this far; I kept the last principle of this “Bucky Bucket” list for you, it is now your turn and a “not to be wasted” opportunity for you to:


Solve problems through action:



Bucky Fuller

-Richard Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller.



  • What do you see that needs to be done that nobody else is attending to?
  • What do you need to learn to be effective in attending to it in a highly efficient and inoffensive-to-others manner?
  • What problem solving action are you willing to take?



Please consider sharing the thoughts triggered by this article, or the actions and intentions that you have undertook by leaving a comment, this may inspire somebody and, maybe, trigger a “chain reaction” for the benefit of all…


If you are not too sure what you could do at this point, please allow me to suggest one first easy step that you can take right now: It will instantly put you in motion towards awakening your awareness: click on the link to subscribe via RSS or e-mail to receive updates from TheTrimTab.




Other related (hand picked) articles & postings that you may like:

  • A Better World Project. We are now 10 years into the 21st century and guess what: Progress? Not at all my dear…
  • Opening The Bucky Call To All. Is it reasonable to suspect you are interested in becoming an active part of The Bucky Call?
  • The Bucky Call. A study of Critical Path, Bucky’s starting point and road map for a world that works for all.



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16 Responses to “Bucky Bucket”
  1. Damien says:

    A youngpup does so much and knows so little…
    But the good news is “We can only learn more, never less” so…youngpup is the solution!

  2. Fred Dupont says:

    Thank you for visiting “YoungPup Damien”, welcome aboard, you will enjoy the ride.
    Thank you for reporting a few glitches on TheTrimTab.com, I have corrected them.

    You are correct about the accumulation of the sensorialy experienced special cases that we harvest along the way & call learning… if you read Critical Path, as I suggested a while ago, you already know that we are all like babies only armed with our senses and our curiosity to gather the information from the local universe in our attempts to solve problems… so, as you say, “young pup” is not far off the mark.

    If not, please grab a copy or view parts of it on Google books.

  3. Patti says:

    I’ve heard there is enough, there just isn’t enough for greed. Living within our means leaves enough for all. This includes our hogging of natural resources. I have a friend attempting to harness energy from the ocean deeps. His method would not only provide power/energy, but has fresh, pure water as a byproduct.

    With brilliant thinking like his, the world may live past this current me, me, me time and become a place where everyone can live to their fullest potential. That would indeed by a Utopia.

  4. Leo Dirr says:

    Fred,

    Thanks for your interest in my blog. I’ve responded to your questions in my comments section.

    But the basic answer is that, yes, I really was planning on doing this today. And I’m disappointed it didn’t happen. If you would be interested in helping me spread the word when the story finally does get published, I’d love to have your help.

    Leo

  5. James Burgin says:

    Fred, this is a wonderful appraisal and accessible intro to Bucky’s work. Thank you so much for all the inspiration that this offers – it is truly valuable and timely.
    You have inspired me to see new meaning to my current project where @BettyPearce and myself @JamesBurgin are creating new ways to help people sleep well. You may like to check it out at http://www.SoundsLikeSleep.com.
    Perhaps good sleep is the ultimate leverage to set up precession in our lives?

    James

  6. Fred Dupont says:

    @ James Burgin, thank you for your kind words, I appreciate your support and readership. I am glad that the work of Bucky Fuller inspires you and that you found value in this list; I am delighted that you took action and left a reply, this directly speaks to my heart.
    “Perhaps good sleep is the ultimate leverage to set up precession in our lives?”
    That I don’t know, but after I visited your site, I am ready to believe it…

    @ Patti, Thank you for your comment: Utopia or oblivion, that is the whole idea around Critical Path… TheTrimTab is about raising awareness and as you brilliantly point out, humanity has, for the first time in history the ability to chose to “make it”.
    I hope you, Patti, make it to your fullest potential.

    @ Leo, thank you for dropping by; I’ll help you, please send me the story when it is out.

  7. It was close to 20 years ago that I first learned about R. Buckminster Fuller from best-selling author Robert Kiyosaki. Over the years, having attended so many of Robert’s seminars, I’ve learned about Bucky’s Generalized Principles and his many other innovative concepts. Bucky’s brilliance was and is such a gift. So thank you for making the wisdom & knowledge of Bucky available to inspire others and to help our world. This site is a trim tab, to be sure, but Fred, so are you. Thank you!

  8. LisaH says:

    Hey Fred – love this page and have made it my homepage. Best way to be reminded and create thinking time around being a Trim Tab and a solver by doing more with less!

  9. Fred Dupont says:

    Thank you for your visit and your kind words, appreciate. Taking action, as you did by leaving a comment and “promoting” TheTrimTab to your homepage magically puts you in motion towards being a trim tab yourself.
    Thank you for that.
    Fred

  10. Laura Simmons says:

    I hate to admit this, but the principles here elude me for the most part. Maybe because I see the nature of many human beings (greed) as being the obstacles and not the environment.

    Plus I am not sure what you consider the “environment”. Clarification is sorely needed. As far as living within your means goes, that depends on who you are referring to and what you consider a necessity. Unfortunately when you get rich people expect you to do certain things like having a cottage in the Hamptons and entertaining, etc.

    I see getting people to look at different view points as the greatest challenge. We ultimately all benefit when all of humanity is feed, clothed, educated and have accessible health care.

  11. Robyn says:

    Hi Fred

    Very helpful article.

    I believe to help the world is to help my own community first.

    I looked at leadership & co-ordination issues,
    then focused on nature to come up with practical solutions.

    This article has been helpful for current projects that I am working on.

    and have placed a link to my blog.
    Have a good day

  12. kje says:

    Thanks for introducing me to Bucky! I’d never heard of him before. Fascinating fellow..

  13. Yemoonyah says:

    Thanks to this intro to Bucky Fullers work. I’ve only always known the geodesic domes he developed. Now I will finally read up on him a bit.

  14. Visionary, poetic, moving, overwhelming … I’ve learned of Bucky only in the past year and have been drawn to learn more but didn’t know where to start. This is a well-portioned intro.

    I love the trim tab concept; it reminds me of the starfish story about making a difference (http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~fulmer/starfish.htm).

    One of my beliefs is that each of us has a unique gift which, if done diligently and sincerely, would make the world work perfectly. My job is to help people delivering that gift through business to clarify and communicate it. I’m not sure “nobody else” is attending to it, but I trust that it’s the thing I’m supposed to be attending to.

    And I subscribed. :-D

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