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From: YakWax@aol.com
To: extropians@extropy.org
Subject: Anarchy and spontaneous order in business and education
Date: Tuesday, July 15, 1997 4:45 PM
Most people on this list agree that anarchy has numerous advantages over
hierarchy, but how far can this go?
Can we have a spontaneous order in business? Could we destroy the
hierarchic
structure that plagues current business practise and have a looser, more
anarchic spontaneous order?
I see this as a possibility, companies could be considered a group of
equally
ranked individuals all serving the same goal. This would be easily
implemented within creative environments, which will probably dominate in
the
near future due to automation.
[Xerox PARC is working on computer systems that will allow companies to be
more spontaneous, ubiquitous computing devices keep track of movement of
people and information and record it. If many people are in the same
room,
the computer classes this as a meeting, the subject of which corresponds
to
information displayed on computers at the time of the meeting. Technology
like this will allow for less paper work and more creativity and
innovation
(which can't be a bad thing)]
To take this a step further: Could these ideas also be applied to
education,
an anarchic schooling system?
I believe this is also possible. Given that pupils have sufficient
motivation to work, generally they are more likely to work in a looser
system. Freedom to work at your own pace and to form orders and groups
spontaneously in order to complete set goals could improve education
immensely.
There has been a long running project in England, which puts children with
behavioural difficulties in a 'school with no rules' (teachers are there
for
when children want to learn, but they are not forced to attend classes).
Generally even children who display the worst behavioural problems start
to
work (breaking the rules gets boring if there aren't any rules).
If pupils are put in to such a anarchic system when they are young
(changing
over halfway through a pupils school life could prove disastrous) the want
to
work for personal reasons (as opposed to being forced to) should develop
at
an early age. After which point pupils can be given infinite opportunity
to
broaden their knowledge and develop creative skills.
It seems to me that the entire idea of being forced to learn is the cause
of
the many closed minds we see today. Allowing people to develop their own
reasons to better themselves could dramatically change our society for the
better.
~Wax
Dear fellow Extrpians,
Possibly creative colaboration and cooperation within a real or virtual
organization owned and operated by its employees might be a more pracical
and effective paln than anarchy?
Please consider this as a meaningful alternative.
Enjoy the dialogue,
AMG