Taking nature as a
source of inspiration as as an example of a sustainability, we could
build a society that spreads power among the people. Building up in
layers of teams that interact like life on this planet in what we
refer to as a holarchy.
Nature
and its complex interactions
Nature presents a
spectacular array of different types of interacting organisms. For
the micro level of germs to the largest mammals on the planet. These
inactions sometimes work for the benefit of all those involved and
sometimes not. The symbiosis of clown fish and the sea anemone as
well as the oxe pecker and the zebra or even the bacteria we have in
our stomachs all form examples of positive interactions where both
life forms benefit from the other. However, pray / predator and
parasites and well as virus or bacteria caused disease form examples
of interaction where one side looses out to the other.
Interactions don't just
work at the animal lever but at other levels in the natural world;
from molecules and atoms to the way star systems and galaxies
interact with each other producing all kinds of ordered, stable,
structures. We could see a sort of hierarchy of interactions in
nature; from atoms interacting with each other to form molecules and
molecules with other molecules to form parts of cells and then the
cells themselves. We could then look at cells interacting to produce
organs in the body which in turn form a body. People then interact
with other people to form families, clubs, clans and tribes which
then form nations and societies.
All these interactions,
useful or harmful, produce a state of dynamic equilibrium. A
sustainable state that has existed, for life on Earth, for over 4
Gyears.
Parts
and wholes
From such an
observation of nature, Arthur Koestler coined the term “holon” to
describe the part - whole structure of nature where entireties work,
in their own right, autonomously yet join together with others to
form a whole; bridging the gap between the atomistic and holistic
view of nature.
Holons in nature exists
when we find parts that form an integrated part of a whole yet they
work without the direct control of the whole; so the parts exists as
more than appendages and the whole more than an aggregation of parts.
The parts work autonomously, according to a set of rules and
contributing to and overall goal of the whole. They work together to
produce the behaviour of the whole. The parts also have a
self-regulating nature, thus contribute to the stability and
sustainability of the whole.
The cells in our body
form just one example of a holon; they exists in thier own right yet
have organelles forming them as well as forming part of organs. The
cells follows rules; the laws of chemistry. Cells work autonomously
needing no direction form a central source. Cells contribute to the
overall objective of keeping the whole alive and functioning.
Other examples of
holons include the words you read now. A word that forms part of a
sentence, yet has letters composing it. Entities within entities;
parts within wholes which form parts themselves.
When we see such
interactions in nature we refer to the whole set of holons as a
holarchy. It differs from a hierarchy as it has no centralised point
of command at the top. The parts could also exists separate from the
main holarchy. The holarchy as a depth composed of the number of
layers. It also has a span composed of the number of holons on each
layer.
As the holons follows
rules and interact with other holons they tend to self-organise,
working toward the same goals. They can change and adapt to changes
in the world around them, evolving as they do so. The interactions
between holons on the same layer form communications channels that
aid in self-regulation for the parts as well as the whole.
In nature, lower levels
in the holarchy tend to manage simpler, mechanical function such as
everyday living for a cell. Higher levels tend to handle more complex
tasks and have less predictable behaviour patters (such as humans).
Theses higher level functions, such as life or intelligence, tend to
emerge from the lower level functions.
From
Nature to Society: A Holonic Approach to a Moneyless World
We can emulate the way
nature works, forming holons and laying the foundations of a
moneyless world forming a holarchy. For our future society we can
start with individuals on the lower level of a holarchy.
Individuals differ from
one another. They have different skills, knowledge and abilities as
well as interests which can change over time. The difference in
people can work as a strength in a team or group. For a society to
function, we need work done. A team composed of individuals with
different abilities could focus on a problem appropriate to their
combined expertise.
As most people will
have some kind of skill, knowledge and ability, especially after a
number of years of study and training, most people would have a place
in the holarchy where they can make decisions and contribute to the
whole.
Groups working together
would form the next layer of holarchy above the individual. Teams
would work on a local level. Working on the functions and
sustainability of a sustainable community but they could also work
with teams in other communities building the next layer up for a
holarchy, a zone. Each community would then become a sustainable
building block for a world around sustainable society.
Zones, formed from
teams, would work together on tasks that effect a number of local
communities. Zones could link up to form larger teams, called areas,
that work on larger tasks that cover the size of a nation. We can
then build upon the areas to have sectors that work on larger parts
of the planet such as a continent. Sectors could join up to work on
global tasks. Thus, we move in steps from the local to the global
producing a moneyless society where nearly everyone can contribute to
the decision making that effects them through contributing their own
unique set of skills, knowledge and abilities.
Such a holonic society
would need channels of communication and a sense of openness so that
it can self regulate. It would also need a goal that each layer in
the holarchy would work towards autonomously. Each holon need not
work to the overall goal directly but would need compatible goals. A
cell, for example, does not have the goal of keeping the whole alive
but does work toward maintaining itself which results in helping to
keep the whole live.
Summary
From emulating the
layer interactions of nature we could build up a holonic,
sustainable, moneyless, society that gives people the power on a
local level. Form the local level it works towards a achieve an
overall global goal.
