Power structure insight
Contents
Power structure
Ideogram
This ideogram, which is different from the Power Structure ideogram, is expected to suggest the way of looking that makes all the difference – seeing the socio-cultural systems.
Intuitive idea
Switching the way of looking from problems to systems removes the "wickedness" of our typical issues. A wonderful field of action opens up... This is holotopia's empowerment in a nutshell.
Scope
A century ago the humanity's creativity, or innovation, was focused on the construction of machines. We now expand our vision to much larger 'machines' – the socio-technical systems. And to the possibility to innovate on that scale.
See those things as tools of a new kind. If our best efforts are resulting in problems not solutions – should we not take a closer look at those 'tools'; see if they might causing us problems?
Insight
The power structure insight is best described as three distinct insights.
The first of the three we've rendered as "The systems!" This paraphrase of Bill Clinton's 1992 successful presidential campaign slogan, "The economy, stupid!". It's not the economy. It's the systems! Once this is understood, the old political agendas fade into oblivion – and completely new ones emerge and come to the forefront. This insight suggests why the holotopia is "the new red"...
The second insight, rendered by the power structure keyword and ideogram is that the power structure should best be considered as combining power interests with our ideas and with our own condition of wholeness. The point is that the power interests can modify both.
The third insight is about the evolution of our institutions or socio-technical systems, or power structures: When guided by egocenteredness, or the "free competition", the power structures tend to evolve pathologically, as socio-cultural cancer...
The remedy here is systemic innovation – to innovate on the level of systems.
Imagine a bus without steering and braking controls, and with candle headlights. That's our democracy...
Consequences
Text
Formulation
Text
Story
The story here is about Erich Jantsch, in the context of the Club of Rome's quest for the solutionatique. Norbert Wiener comes in first, to put the ball in play. Yes, our system lacks feedback, and steering. "The headlights are dim, and the steering and braking controls are dysfunctional", observed Engelbart. Jantsch then organized a team in Bellagio...
Action
Systemic innovation. We must first of all develop the CAPABILITY to innovate systems. Knowledge must result in systemic action. THEN we'll have "democracy".
Keywords
systemic innovation;
Prototypes
Holotopia. The GcG and CoZ as precursors.
- Back to five insights.