"There can be no serious understanding of politics without an understanding
of developmental psychology."
- Conscious Politics Defined : Leo highlights that conscious politics is distinct from selfish or unconscious politics, as its aim is to maximize consciousness, love, and truth in all political actions and government policies.
- Maximizing Love in Politics : Love, in the context of conscious politics, means having a broad concern for all beings, valuing them intrinsically rather than for personal gain. It goes beyond sentimental ideas to encompass transformative, universal, cosmic love as spoken about by mystics like Buddha and Christ.
- Foundation of Conscious Politics : According to Leo, the base of all political activity is love, even when actions seem harmful or aggressive. Conscious politics recognizes that actions like war or oppression are often motivated by a limited or contracted form of love.
- A Love-Based Approach : Leo argues for a love-based, rather than fear-based, political approach. Politics should not exploit fears but foster a sense of abundance and the belief that everyone can be uplifted.
- Expansive Circle of Concern : Conscious politics adopts a universal circle of concern that extends beyond personal, tribal, or corporate interests to encompass a genuine care for all forms of life and their oppression, without succumbing to a scarcity mindset.
- Universal circle of concern : Leo advocates the idea that political considerations should encompass all beings on the planet, as they are part of our universal self. The recognition that the oppression of any tribe is unjust arises from realizing that but for circumstances, one could easily be a member of that oppressed group.
- Developmental psychology and Spiral Dynamics in politics : Leo underlines the importance of acknowledging the different developmental stages of individuals, which necessitate varied policies. Politics shouldn't enforce a one-size-fits-all ideology but instead, build bridges for mutual understanding and meet people where they are in their development.
- Meeting basic and developmental needs : Conscious politics aims to meet people's basic needs to enable them to engage in self-actualization. It operates on the principle that once people have their material needs met, they can move up Maslow's hierarchy of needs and eventually care about higher concepts like universal love.
- Government's role in individual development : Leo sees the government as instrumental in providing for basic needs and also facilitating self-actualization. This support allows individuals to transcend their conditions, contribute back to society, and perpetuate a virtuous cycle of aiding others to rise.
- Systems thinking in conscious politics : Conscious politics is ecological, holistic, systemic, and meta. It focuses on understanding how complex systems work in their entirety and aims to improve the whole system for the benefit of all members, not just individual personal gain.
- Conscious politics' self-awareness : The approach calls for awareness of biases, deceptions, survival instincts, ego issues, and collective ego. It encourages standing outside of one’s own perspective to objectively assess and critique various political views, including one’s own.
- Addressing "devilry" constructively : Conscious politics involves recognizing and addressing flawed behaviors and corruption, understanding them as survival strategies that have outlived their usefulness. It sees such devilry as aspects of life that must be understood and transcended, not merely demonized.
- Building material and immaterial infrastructure : It starts by addressing poverty and infrastructure (roads, bridges, electric grids, internet access), creating conditions where people can later address higher immaterial needs. Leo emphasizes the cyclical nature of this process, which iterates between inner development and societal contribution.
- Non-reactivity and responsibility in conscious politics : This politics type is non-reactive, non-judgmental, and refrains from turning politics into an identity battle. It emphasizes universal identity and collective prosperity rather than narrow self-interest and calls for personal sacrifices, particularly from the wealthy, for the greater good.
- Appreciating government : Conscious politics involves recognizing and valuing the positive contributions of government and the need to continue building upon the foundations laid by previous generations. It stresses the importance of continued improvement and evolution within governmental structures and functions.
- Wisdom in Governmental Evolution : Societal structures such as government, courts, taxation, and the military possess collective wisdom formed over generations that address historical problems, often unknown to us today. This wisdom should be respected and not haphazardly dismantled without understanding the potential consequences.
- The Role of Social Security : The creation of Social Security was a response to a real issue where a significant portion of the elderly population ended up homeless due to inadequate retirement planning. It reflects one of the government's roles to compensate for people's poor long-term planning and prevent widespread homelessness.
- Conscious Politics' Bold Nature : Conscious politics is not afraid to be assertive and fight for consciousness and against unconsciousness, following examples like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and other activists who, while ideally non-violent, acknowledge that sometimes force is necessary, such as in WWII.
- Radical and Progressive Conscious Politics : In a society plagued by fear and scarcity, conscious politics may seem radically liberal and progressive, as it aims to transform the status quo of ego and devilry. It's not about liberalism per se, but about fostering more love, consciousness, and truth over moderation or neutrality.
- Empirical Approach Over Ideology : Conscious politics encourages testing and empirical analysis of policy changes, such as the impacts of tax cuts on the economy or the effects of gun control measures, to create solutions based on evidence rather than ideological beliefs.
- Educational Role of Government : Government should provide education on history, psychology, economics, and other subjects to empower individuals to build high-quality lives. This could include free online courses on entrepreneurship, responsible drug use, and finding life purpose.
- Root Cause Analysis in Social Issues : Conscious politics advocates for solutions that address the root causes of issues, like immigration, by addressing the poverty and instability in immigrants' home countries instead of relying on simplistic measures like border walls.
- Understanding Backfires of Policies : Conscious politics remains aware of the unintended and counterproductive outcomes of policies, using historical examples like the prohibition of alcohol to illustrate the need for careful consideration before implementing regulations.
- Ineffectiveness of the Drug War : Despite good intentions to prevent drug abuse, the war on drugs backfires by causing significant harm. Leo suggests careful consideration of policies and the establishment of scientific panels to evaluate potential negative outcomes before implementation.
- Valuing Left and Right Perspectives : Leo argues that conscious politics acknowledges valid concerns on both sides of the political spectrum without false equivalency, and balances ideological differences through empirical testing.
- Dynamic Balance in Government : Leo emphasizes the importance of finding a delicate balance between opposing societal elements, like individual vs. collective interests and capitalism vs. socialism, and adjusting them over time as circumstances change.
- Policy-focused Politics : Conscious politics prioritizes policy proposals and systemic change over personality or identity. Leo critiques current media for not seriously discussing politicians' policy propositions.
- Multicultural Tolerance and Open-Mindedness : Leo advocates for a conscious political mindset that is genuinely curious and willing to explore and understand multiple perspectives without conforming to any single ideology.
- Measuring Societal Success Beyond Economics : Leo suggests new metrics to measure happiness, development, consciousness, love, and health, instead of just economic growth indicators like GDP or unemployment rates.
- Economic Responsibility : Conscious politics calls for economic responsibility, budget balance, and sustainable solutions rather than unchecked spending.
- Innovative Governance to Match Technological Progress : According to Leo, governance should be innovative to match the rapid pace of technological advancement, rather than relying on outdated legacy systems.
- Addressing Wealth Inequality and Environmental Concerns : Wealth inequality and environmental degradation are viewed as significant issues in conscious politics, seeking to create a robust middle class and address climate change.
- Government Transparency and Accountability : Leo stresses the importance of making government actions transparent and accountable to avoid secretive and manipulative practices by agencies like the CIA and NSA.
- Infrastructure for Physical and Spiritual Development : Conscious politics supports the construction of physical infrastructure such as roads and the internet as a foundation for further spiritual and educational development.
- Intellectual Honesty in Policy Making : Conscious politics involves admitting when policies fail and being open to policy revision and improvement, highlighting intellectual honesty.
- Non-Militaristic, Defensive Warfare : Conscious politics prioritizes peace and avoids unnecessary wars, while recognizing the need for defensive military action if attacked.
- Unity and Avoiding Division : Leo emphasizes that conscious politics seeks to unite people by focusing on common human desires and values expertise and experience in leadership.
- Long-Term Visionary Leadership : Visionary and selfless leadership, exemplified by figures like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, is a cornerstone of conscious politics, prioritizing long-term societal welfare over short-term gains.
- Bold and Proactive Approach : Conscious politics is characterized by bold and proactive leadership that anticipates future challenges and addresses them head-on.
- Polar Opposite of Unconscious Politics : As a final note, Leo contrasts conscious politics with the practices he attributes to Donald Trump, characterizing them as the epitome of unconscious politics guided by selfishness and low levels of development in various human capacities.
- Bias in conscious politics : Leo admits he's biased towards consciousness and love, not adhering to complete neutrality, much like Jesus, Martin Luther King, and Gandhi weren't neutral but advocated for change and were considered radicals for challenging the status quo.
- Visionary aspect of conscious politics : Leo argues that conscious politics is not utopian but visionary, with a long-term horizon focusing on societal changes over decades rather than just the immediate election cycle.
- Incremental nature of societal change : He emphasizes that societal evolution happens through intellectual advancements and incremental changes, not all-or-nothing revolutions, and suggests that the advancement of conscious politics is gradual and ongoing.
- Progress despite regressions : By highlighting progress in gay rights and racial inequality in the US over the past 30 years, Leo underscores that societal improvements are real, although they often ebb and flow with setbacks.
- Building on the past and learning from 'mistakes' : Leo views past societal 'mistakes', like slavery and government shortcomings, as lessons that help create better future structures, contributing to government evolution and societal growth.
- The roots of conscious politics : He insists on understanding the structural, root problems and solutions rather than getting absorbed in superficial content or dogmatic ideologies, with conscious politics being an inevitable aspect of human and governmental evolution.
- Personal responsibility in conscious politics : Leo calls for individuals to deepen their understanding and embody the principles, as conscious politics begins with personal maturity and consciousness.
- Upcoming practical application : Leo teases part 4 of the series, where he plans to present specific, currently implementable policy proposals that embody the principles he's been discussing, to improve lives and elevate consciousness.