From: Wim Nusselder (wim.nusselder@antenna.nl)
Date: Wed Oct 29 2003 - 21:21:42 GMT
WHAT SHOULD THE ECONOMY BE, ALTERNATIVE VIEW
The best available way to organize that people get what they want is
obviously by maximizing the fourth form of economy, organization by shared
goals and interests, and minimizing organization by 'given' characteristics,
by coercion and by dependence.
The maximum extent of organization by shared goals depends on the complexity
of identity people can achieve. Everyone at least has to think about which
groups they want to belong to and more people than in 'earlier' types of
societies have to be (ideological) leaders themselves to organize these
choices.
Leaders and followers should not be separate 'classes' of people, however,
even though the distinction is necessary to enable the pooling of resources,
division of labour, specialization, economies of scale etc.. Separation
breeds discontent among the 'following class'.
The type of want that is bred by quaternary economy, not to be brainwashed
into wanting what other people
want you to want, can only be satisfied by educating people to grow more
complex identities and be more conscious of what we do. Educational
institutions as we know them now won't do, however. At present educational
institutions are among the institutions most characterized by the
distinction between leaders (teachers) and followers (pupils). They are much
better at making people accept brainwashing and become habitual 'followers'
than at helping them to do without. We will have to re-invent 'education' if
we want it to free people from brainwashing.
I'm not sure whether the organizing principle of quaternary economy (shared
goals and interests) has to change to solve the brainwashing problem.
Probably only if we allow the distinction between leaders and followers to
escalate into a full-scale class-division. At the moment no other organizing
principle is anywhere in
(my) sight. A possible candidate derives from the ability of (some) people
to 'participate' in each other's thoughts and experiences and to experience
being an indistinguishable and inseparable part of whole. Who can feel
brainwashed if one's brain is experienced as inseparable from that of
others?
Highly complex identities imply that people can feel connected with a lot of
different types of other people and at a lot of different levels of
aggregation (local, regional, national, global). That enables maximal
pooling of resources, division of labour, specialization, economies of scale
etc. without necessitating uniformization of wants for everyone. Everyone
can belong to a unique set of groups and communities that all organize
satisfaction of different wants.
Being more conscious of what they do enables people to plan and organize
their world themselves into a more meaningful whole, into a world ever
closer to what they want. Conscious action reduces involuntary dependence on
others.
[to be continued]
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