A weblog with random thoughts and reflections on society and ecology.
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Sunday, January 26, 2003
US & The World
It is amazing to watch the Bush government in their tactics of intimidation. They are systematically eroding the rights of regular people within the US. Anyone suspected of terrorist activities can be arrested and jailed indefinitely, without jury or access to lawyers. Abroad, the most horrendous foreign policies are implemented. It may lead to a break between the US and their allies, and stronger alliances among European and other countries (especially the poorer ones) around the world against US cultural, economical and military dominance. It will most likely be a gradual process - although many new straws are currently laid on the camel’s back.
21:48
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Open Source View
I am reading more about the Open Source movement, including “Rebel Code” about the GNU/Linux system. The Open Source view, having demonstrated its effectiveness in the software area, is now informing social organization and views.
Here are some characteristics of the movement:- Free sharing
Free sharing of information, advice, tools, and software. No secrets.
- Collaborative
Large number people each adding their experience, knowledge and passion to a project. The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
- Self-organization
People self-select, and are free to choose area of focus. This leads to a match between the task and the skills and passions of individuals.
- Distributed Network
Distributed network of people working together same project
- Coordination
Coordination of activities - mainly through the internet (email, interactive websites)
The Global Justice movement use of this approach for social and cultural change. It shows how an international group of people with a wide range of backgrounds (middle-class, workers, academics, indigenous people, human rights activists, environmentalists, farmers etc) can be united in a common cause (move power from corporations to people) and effectively coordinate their activities.
IndyMedia - a global grassroots reporting network.
These are just two of the early expressions of a much larger emerging movement.
13:41
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Monday, January 20, 2003
Systems Theories & Community Groups
Simple rules have complex consequences.
It seems that simple and shared rules are important for social groups to function well - in terms of flexibility, self-organization and emergence. Rules are important for coordination and effective action. Simplicity makes them easily understandable and allows for emergence.
The rules often emergy through group interaction - verbal and/or actions. It is important that they are flexible and emergy through an inclusive process.
During my time as coordinator for Sustain Dane in Madison, Wisconsin, I realized that the core people all shared a basic understanding of organizations and communities as dynamic systems.
Here are some of the basic rules we shared, many of which were implicit and part of the culture that emerged through our activities.
- Freely/actively share information within Sustain Dane and with the large community (no secrets)
- Inclusivity (members with wide range of backgrounds)
- Self-organize into (long or short-term) workgroups focusing on a particular project
- The role of the coordinator is to
- Gently coordinate activities and keep everything flowing (light touch)
- Assisting others - within Sustain Dane and the larger community -so they can do their work better
- Team work (shared decision making)
- Solution focus (addressing difficult issues by focusing on constructive
solutions)
- Partnership approach (with individuals, organizations, and the Earth)
- Respectful communication (in all instances)
01:41
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Thursday, January 02, 2003
Generations or Not
In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, generational differences were often obvious and pronounced. Today, grouping people by age may be increasingly less useful. My sense is that vertical groupings (by interests/worldviews) now are stronger than the horizontal (by age groups). This may be especially true when it comes to interests and values.
Here are some examples from my own life:
I helped organize several discussion groups on sustainability topics in Madison. Participants all had similar interests, values and guidelines for their choices and life, and spanned all age groups from young adults to retired folks. Differences by age lines rarely came up. The same was true for the residents and members of the Zen center I lived at in Salt Lake City, and other groups I have been involved in where people are coming together around a common interest. My friends are similarly from all age groups.
On the other hand, I feel I have little in common with my own age group - apart from those I share a specific interest with (and there are no more from my own age group than any other it seems). It is possible that this is related to my particular situation, but I suspect it is a broader trend.
The sociological findings summarized by Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson in the bookCultural Creatives seem to confirm that this may be more than my experience.
21:50
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