Harnessing Social Processes for the Common Good
This article argues that harnessing social processes for the common good depends on creating a learning society which will innovate, learn, and evolve in the long-term public interest. In essence, this involves establishing more embedded, interconnected, and interacting, “organic” feedback (sociocyb...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Jagiellonian University in Kraków
2018-06-01
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| Series: | Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/pepsi-2018-0001 |
| _version_ | 1828544503373365248 |
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| author | Raven John |
| author_facet | Raven John |
| author_sort | Raven John |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article argues that harnessing social processes for the common good depends on creating a learning society which will innovate, learn, and evolve in the long-term public interest. In essence, this involves establishing more embedded, interconnected, and interacting, “organic” feedback (sociocybernetic) loops which do not depend on long and distorting chains of “accountability” to distant “representative” assemblies of “decision takers”. Several important steps toward doing this are discussed. However, all depend on undertaking a great deal of adventurous, problem-driven (as distinct from literature-driven) research. By far the most important of these research programmes would be to develop a better understanding of the currently invisible (Kafkaesque) network of social forces that have the future of our species and the planet in their grip … and then to find ways of intervening in that network. It is suggested that this is analogous to Newton first conceptualising physical forces and then showing how to measure, map, and harness them. Answering the question of how work like Newton’s could be funded and conducted in modern society – and especially under current research-funding arrangements – thus emerges as crucial to finding a way forward. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T02:31:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-497d435795e641559b2f4e0d01090e87 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1733-3911 2300-0945 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T02:31:55Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | Jagiellonian University in Kraków |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration |
| spelling | doaj.art-497d435795e641559b2f4e0d01090e872022-12-22T00:41:23ZengJagiellonian University in KrakówJournal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration1733-39112300-09452018-06-0124194910.2478/pepsi-2018-0001pepsi-2018-0001Harnessing Social Processes for the Common GoodRaven John030 Great King St., EdinburghEH3 6QH, Scotland, Telephone: +44 (0)131 556 2912This article argues that harnessing social processes for the common good depends on creating a learning society which will innovate, learn, and evolve in the long-term public interest. In essence, this involves establishing more embedded, interconnected, and interacting, “organic” feedback (sociocybernetic) loops which do not depend on long and distorting chains of “accountability” to distant “representative” assemblies of “decision takers”. Several important steps toward doing this are discussed. However, all depend on undertaking a great deal of adventurous, problem-driven (as distinct from literature-driven) research. By far the most important of these research programmes would be to develop a better understanding of the currently invisible (Kafkaesque) network of social forces that have the future of our species and the planet in their grip … and then to find ways of intervening in that network. It is suggested that this is analogous to Newton first conceptualising physical forces and then showing how to measure, map, and harness them. Answering the question of how work like Newton’s could be funded and conducted in modern society – and especially under current research-funding arrangements – thus emerges as crucial to finding a way forward.https://doi.org/10.2478/pepsi-2018-0001common goodsociocyberneticslearning society |
| spellingShingle | Raven John Harnessing Social Processes for the Common Good Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration common good sociocybernetics learning society |
| title | Harnessing Social Processes for the Common Good |
| title_full | Harnessing Social Processes for the Common Good |
| title_fullStr | Harnessing Social Processes for the Common Good |
| title_full_unstemmed | Harnessing Social Processes for the Common Good |
| title_short | Harnessing Social Processes for the Common Good |
| title_sort | harnessing social processes for the common good |
| topic | common good sociocybernetics learning society |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/pepsi-2018-0001 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ravenjohn harnessingsocialprocessesforthecommongood |