permaculture

[Andrew McSwain <aeromax.way@gmail.com>]

"It makes it easier for activists to express themselves, and harder for that
expression to have any impact "-- as opposed to what, a hierchical
organization like a car company? If this is then case, then I disagree.

One of the largest problems with hierchical organizations these days is that
there is too large of a distance between the peons and the decision-makers.
That in a hierchical organization like a car company the activists will get
absolutely no voice at all. In a hierchical organization SOMETHING will
happen. They tend to be good at executing an action of any sort, but in most
cases of extreme hierarchy (like most companies and many activists groups)
they fail at being coping with a dynamic set of circumstances. That's why we
are in the environmental crisis that we are today. TONS of us have known
since the 60s, one could argue that we have known collectively since
Thoreau. Have our opinions, priorities, and perspectives been taken into
account?


first of all: I wouldn't say that dynamical systems are always less
effective. sometimes being more included in the actual processes makes you
feel "empowered." Most corrupt and/or low-productivity participants are a
product of overly mechanistic, rule-based, and one-way pidgeon-holed work
environments: that is, because of too much hierarchy, not too little.

second of all, I would say that a change in culture can help us with our
problems in more disorganized structures. We come from a
long-long-long---long--- history of extremely hierchical systems. When we
got rid of our king, everyone became their own king (instead of a humble and
equal member of a king-less society), we learned to dominate others to the
best of our ability. The situation improved little, and from my own personal
experiences has improved little since.

Everyone wants to build their own sandcastle, but lack the motivation to
construct a town square.

I see have seem the same type of problem in my community organizing
activities and pariticipations: it's all about personal conquest. There is
little room for compromise, listening, or any true reflection or accounting
of "hey. what are our real priorities? Do our behaviors and actions line up
with our priorities to form a reality that completes our mission? The
community organizing effort, or cause, ends up becoming each and every
person's personal sand castle- and everyone feels justified in defending
what they feel is their's.

That's what I feel happened here between the factions.

On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 5:55 AM, Lawrence F. London, Jr.
<lflj@bellsouth.net>wrote:

> On 10/31/2010 5:54 PM, Toby Hemenway wrote:
>
>> One subject we touched on in the recent certification thread was new and
>> old tools for change, and the difference
>> between hierarchical and decentralized organizations and tools. I'd said
>> that I once had high hopes for decentralized
>> leadership tools, like consensus, but was disappointed by how rarely they
>> live up to their promise. I've been
>> skeptical of the value of these and similar methods to actually produce
>> change, and have found the older
>> tools--strong leadership, old-style voting--at least as effective (though
>> I still prefer inclusive versions of these
>> tools to exclusive).
>>
>
> They say that the world is run by those who show up.
> And, freedom of the press belong to those who own one.
>
> However, these thoughts have been circulating lately: a permaculture
> heirarchical oversight organization
> that offers, like a governmental agencies that have no teeth and only can
> offer recommendations at best to
> those who do have the power to put laws, rule and regulations in place.
>
> You vote with your feet. Permaculture teachers, organizations, consultants
> and designers and anyone who would hire a permaculture professional simply
> could require that they have proven expertise, knowledge and a
> certificate(s) of having completed training and fieldwork before being
> hired. This phoo could help those professionals in training by offering a
> set of permaculture standards, similar to the Organic Rule for USDA
> certified organic farms and an outline and description of standard
> coursework that should be required of anyone seeking status as a certified
> permaculture professional. This process could be elevated to community
> college and university level coursework.
>
> Do read my suggestion about the need to recognize and help those who cannot
> afford any training but want to play a significant role in their communities
> as permaculture mentors, teachers, activists (political too, if necessary),
> consultants, designers and local practitioners within a growing community
> of like-minded individuals (this would be so important to so many, just
> think about that if you're thinking about ways to make waves for forge the
> future).
>
>
>  I was catching up on a stack of New Yorker magazines this morning, and in
>> the Oct 4 issue there's an article that
>> fits right in to this conversation, "Small Change" by Malcolm Gladwell.
>> Gladwell is known for his book "The Tipping
>> Point" and in general being a whole systems thinker. He's made the points
>> I would have liked to have made. I was
>> intrigued that he feels network tools aren't good for doing design, and
>> that they are better at preserving the status
>> quo than changing it. So here's a quote from the article.
>>
>> "Unlike hierarchies, with their rules and procedures, networks aren’t
>> controlled by a single central authority.
>> Decisions are made through consensus, and the ties that bind people to the
>> group are loose. This structure makes
>> networks enormously resilient and adaptable in low-risk situations.
>> Wikipedia is a perfect example. . . .
>>
>
>
>> "The drawbacks of networks scarcely matter if the network isn’t interested
>> in systemic change—if it just wants to
>> frighten or humiliate or make a splash—or if it doesn’t need to think
>> strategically. But if you’re taking on a
>> powerful and organized establishment you have to be a hierarchy . . . .
>>
>
> Wonderful thinking!
>
> LL
>
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-- 
Andrew Edwin McSwain
055(11)6785-1176 (São Paulo)
01(501)681-0439 (United States)