EVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION
I believe that a lot of what we need in evolving the new methods of
organization required for a new civilization can be learned from the
biological world and from the forces of evolution. An ongoing inspiration
for me is the book "Out of Control - The New Biology of Machines, Social
Systems, and the Economic World" by Kevin Kelly. Below are a few principles
described there.
Essentially our task is to develop a very complex organization, one that
might work for a whole planet. Nature already has such an organization.
However, it seems like we're destined to embody another level of evolution,
once we figure out how to turn our abilities to think abstractly, to
construct technology and to communicate and to learn into something that
adds value to the planet, rather than just mess it up.
It is essentially an exercise in making something from nothing. Putting
pieces together in such a way that a whole emerges that is more than the
parts. That is life. Life forms emerge from dead components in rather
mysterious ways. Complex wonders emerge from simple pieces.
Kevin Kelly compiled, from the edges of biological research and computer
science, what he, somewhat humorously, calls "The Nine Laws of God",
describing some of the principles involved in incubating something from
nothing:
- DISTRIBUTE BEING. Whenever we find something emerging from nothing we
find it arising from a field of many independent and interacting smaller
pieces. The human body is made of many smaller units, themselves consisting
of smaller units, each with their own activities and behavior, all
interacting. A beehive works like that, an economy works like that. And
when the sum of the parts ends up being more than the parts, the extra
being (the something for nothing) is distributed amongst all the parts, to
the mutual advantage of all of them.
- CONTROL FROM THE BOTTOM UP. If everything is connected to everything else
in a distributed network, everything happens at once. This means that
complex issues can be taken care of without the need for a centralized
authority, which would just act as a bottleneck. Overall governance arises
from a multitude of independent acts done in parallel. Control comes from
the bottom and up, from simple, independent acts. Faced with rapid, massive
and complex change, only such an organization is able to adjust well enough.
- CULTIVATE INCREASING RETURNS. To create sustainable organizations, things
must be arranged so that the more we create, the better it gets. Any system
that changes its environment to create more of itself fits in with that
rule. Every principle, idea, model or skill that is used will reinforce
itself, making it more likely to be used again. Sustainable systems would
be those where more of them makes things more workable, rather than making
things break down.
- GROW BY CHUNKING. The way of making complex systems that work is by
starting with simple systems that work. Attempts of creating highly complex
organizations instantly, without growing them, usually fail. It takes time
to grow an eco-system or a civilization, even if you have all the pieces.
Complexity is grown by incrementally assembling simple chunks or modules
that can operate independently.
- MAXIMIZE THE FRINGES. Evolution is based on diversity and heterogenity.
Heterogenous entities or organizations can evolve and grow in the world by
many small adjustments every day. A uniform entity is likely to be the
victim of revolutions and death, because it is all or nothing. Cultivating
the fringes, the diversity, the full range of life, will speed up
adaptation, will increase the resilience of an organizatoin, and is usually
the source of innovation.
- HONOR YOUR ERRORS. Evolution takes many instances of trial and error. To
find what works, we must be able go through many things that don't work. It
can be considered "errors" or it can be considered part of the system of
evolution. To advance from the ordinary requires something new and
different, requires stepping outside the bounds of what is considered
normal. It might or might not always work, but the advances will inevitably
come from taking that risk.
- PURSUE NO OPTIMA; HAVE MULTIPLE GOALS. A complex system doesn't exist for
just one purpose. It can't serve any one agenda exclusively. An adaptive
system must satisfy a multitude of functions, and it doesn't necessarily
serve any one of them most effectively.
- SEEK PERSISTENT DISEQUILIBRIUM. A surviving and evolving system is in a
constant state of being on the edge, continuously adjusting to change and
evolving. It is not just static and stable, and it isn't either in a state
of chaotic change. It is doing something well, and it continuously strives
for doing things better.
- CHANGE CHANGES ITSELF. Even the best organization will necessarily be
changed as it adapts to changes around it. The rules of the game change
along the way. The most adaptable and best surviving systems will have
self-changing rules. Even the rules for change are changing.
All of this applies, of course, to the growth of a new civilization. It is
not about any one agenda, it is about increasing the functioning of the
whole system we're all part of, to the advantage of all of us, and our
environment. It is about all of us working at our optimum in our local
areas, noticing how all of our activities weave together into a bigger
whole. It is about focusing on models and values that create a more
workable system the more we use them. It is about finding pieces of a new
civilization that will work in and of themselves, in addition to being part
of a bigger network. It is about honoring and cultivating the diversity and
multiplicity of approaches amongst us. It is about welcoming all the
unworkable paths we explore on the way to finding what works. It is about
developing a system that works well for all of us, not just perfectly for a
few of us. It is about being open to the change of any rules and principles
we adopt along the way.
- Flemming
o o
/ \------------------ Flemming A. Funch -------------------/ \
/ * \ New Civilization Network / Synchronicity Networks / * \
/ * * \ ffunch@newciv.org / * * \
o-------o----------- http://www.worldtrans.org/ -----------o-------o
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