One book that has been most influential to whom I have become is one that came to me by the most circuitous route.  But that is a story for another time.  That book is entitled, “Breaking the Rules,” by Kurt Wright, 1998.   [CPM Publishing, ISBN:  0-9614383-3-9].  Wright’s book is eminently practical because he asks several questions that lead the reader to pragmatic answers.

1)  “What’s right?”   [The word “right” is interchangeable with the word “works” to become, “What works?”]  
2)  “What makes it right/work?”  
3)  “What would be ideally right/workable?”  
4)  “What’s not yet quite right/workable?”  and,
5)  “What resources can I find to make it right/work?” 
 
This is a wonderful example of intuitive inquiry.  Question #1 begins by asking what is working, rather than focusing on what is wrong, which is the usual point of inquiry.  It also asks us to get to the intentions and purposes of the function of our inquiry, and acts much like a review of basics, which often get lost in the shuffle of finding solutions.  Question #2 truly forces us to inspect what motivates the “right working” of the situation.  Again, it forces us to retain what works and isolate what is not working.  Questions #3 asks us to reach into our vision for something that makes us stretch to fulfill for the greater good.  Only then, in question #4 are we guided to discover/reveal the factors that are not working well; and, in #5 we are guided toward the resources that become the change-agents for the improvement we are seeking. 
 
When we use this format of questions, it allows us to examine any topic, and in particular for these Posts, any that involve aspects that are social.  Using this 5-question process coupled with the three values of sustainability embedded in the Schematic for Validating Social Sustainability, we have a very thoughtful methodology of retaining the best of our social institutions, organizations and social processes while pointing us to a state of social sustainability. 
 
Answering the primary question in the title, “What is right?” is then a matter of self-discipline for us as individuals, and as families, communities, counties and cities.  This post particularly leads us to examine our self-discipline to “make our world a better world,” as did our grandparents and great grandparents.  The difficulties of their times made their decisions easier to answer simply because their choices were very limited, compared to ours today.  If you are complacent about your life, your family’s state of existence and see no threat on the horizon, then please overlook my caution.