Who Is Ervin Laszlo?

Ervin Laszlo's name comes up frequently in the context of systems thinking, systems theory, and general systems theory. Protégé of Ludwig von Bertalanffy, whose biology text books were used by Hitler, the following is appears on the back cover of Laszlo's book, The Systems View of the World:

A pioneer of systems thinking in philosophy, Ervin Laszlo is an interdisciplinarian and integrator in real life as well as in his writings. Born in Budapest in 1932, he achieved international fame as a concert pianist in his early teens, then turned to science and philosophy a few years later in his search for a better understanding of man and his world. He has degrees in music from the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, and in philosophy from the Sorbonne in Paris (Docteur es-Lettres). He has been a Research Associate at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, Visiting Fellow at Yale, and Visiting Professor at Indiana and Northwestern universities. Currently he is Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York's College of Arts and Science at Genesco. Dr Laszlo is the author of eight books, including his most recent Introduction to Systems Philosophy which opens up the fertile field of systems research for contemporary philosophy.

The following is from The Prophets Conference webpage on the Stanford University website:

Ervin Laszlo, PhD, founder and President of the Club of Budapest, was one of the first representatives in the area of systems philosophy and general theory of evolution. He published nearly 70 books translated into as many as 18 languages. In the course of his long academic career as a professor for philosophy, systems philosophy and future sciences, he worked in teaching and research at a variety of reputable universities in the US, Europe, and the Far East. Laszlo publishes a quarterly scientific journal, WORLD FUTURES: The Journal of General Evolution, and a corresponding book series. He also edited a four-volume encyclopedia. Over 300 articles were published in newspapers and magazines worldwide, including the US, Europe, Japan, and China.

His titles and distinctions include a Ph.D. in “Lettres et Sciences Humaines” from the Sorbonne in Paris, an “Artist Diploma” from the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, an honorary medal from the Kyung Hee University in Seoul, the title of honorary doctor in economic sciences of the Turku School of Economics and Business in Finland, as well as the title of honorary doctor in the area of human sciences of the Saybrook Institute in San Francisco.

His appointments in the past years included research grants at the Universities of Yale and Princeton, professorships for philosophy, systems sciences, and future sciences at the Universities of Houston, Portland State, Indiana, Northwestern University and the State University of New York. Furthermore, his career included guest professorships at various universities in Europe and the Far East. In addition, Laszlo worked as program director for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). On August 08, 1999, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Canadian “International Institute of Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics.”

Laszlo serves not only as President of the Club of Budapest and head of the General Evolution Research Group, which he founded, but is the former President of the International Society for Systems Sciences, an advisor of the UNESCO Director General, Ambassador of the International Delphic Council, member of the International Academy of Science, the World Academy of Arts and Science and the International Academy of Philosophy. He also held and holds positions as a board member or extraordinary member of numerous international associations, including, at one time, the Club of Rome.

A few of the distinguished Honorary Members of the Club of Budapest include the Dalai Lama, Liv Ullmann, H.E. Vaclav Havel, Pir Vilayat Inayat-Khan, Sir Peter Ustinov, H.E. Mikhail Gorbachev, Peter Russell, Dr. Edgar Mitchell, Desmond Tutu, and Peter Gabriel among others of comparable stature.

On the Stanford University web page noted above, “The Prophets Conference” includes the likes of Barbara Marx Hubbard (World Futurist and New Ager), Julie Butterfly Hill (New Ager and environmental extremist), Starhawk (New Ager), and David Hawkins (New Ager and environmental extremist). That these people would proclaim themselves “prophets” is blasphemy in itself.

Not too many people are unaware of who the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev and Desmond Tutu are. Peter Russell is an environmental extremist and New Ager, the author of such books as The Global Brain Awakens.

The Club of Budapest website offers up other names recognized by many as an environmental extremists and New Agers, both as members, honorary members, and as people associated with that body:

[ James Lovelock — who predicted total devastation of earth by the year 2000;

[ Barbara Marx Hubbard — World Futurist and New Ager;

[ Duane Elgin — “a senior staff member of the joint Presidential/Congressional Commission on Population Growth and the American Future and as a senior social-scientist with SRI International. At SRI he co-authored several major studies on the long-range future. These included Alternative Futures for Environmental Planning (for the Environmental Protection Agency), Anticipating Future National and Global Problems (for the President's Science Advisor), and City Size and the Quality of Life (for the National Science Foundation).” (Source: http://www.club-of-budapest.com/members-cm-elgin.htm);

[ Robert Muller — author of World Core Curriculum used in the Robert Muller schools in the United States; president of the Peace University; and associate of the United Nations;

[ Jane Goodall — has lived in the wilds of Africa most of her life;

[ Sir Peter Ustinov — author and actor; UNICEF ambassador;

[ Liv Ullman — actress;

[ Vaclav Havel — Head of State; Czech Republic.

The Club of Budapest website also makes the connection between Ervin Laszlo and the New Age Movement fact, not supposition.

It was for the Club of Rome that J. W. Forrester (mentor of Peter Senge) built the world simulation model called World 3 which, given inputs, was supposed to be able to project future trends. The doomsday environmental book, Limits to Growth by Donella Meadows, was written about these models or scenarios. The fact that none of them were accurate and none of them came true is of little concern to environmental extremists whose real goal is the subjugation of all mankind to the dictates of a few in a system comparable to the feudal system of the Dark Ages.

In sum, all of these individuals, including Laszlo, are proponents and advocates of systems thinking and systems governance as well as the establishment of a one-world government.

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