Netocracy
Transition from Money-driven to Knowledge-based Society
Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe,
the more often and the more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them:
the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.
Critic of Pure Reason
Immanuel Kant
- New paradigm of Social evolution in nutshell
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- Social evolution is different from biological evolution in principle, due to existed reason and mind. Human society is not only living, it is a rational system also. Biological evolution proceeds information, social evolution – knowledge. At the end of day Humanity is a result of contradictions between two sub-systems: social being (economy) and social consciousness (human mind & culture).
- From point of view of society as a rational system, the course of social evolution (or the course of human history if you prefer) is simple: To rule society, subjective factor (or human mind and nature) tend to create hierarchical social structure of decision-makers. Expanded knowledge increases complexity of society (objective factor) and periodically re-organise society in heterarchical structure.
- For instance the Feudal socio-economical system, elaborated hierarchy of decision-makers (born to rule aristocracy) from barons to Absolute monarch. Increased complexity of society generates problems, unsolvable by existing power elite. This is so, because of two reasons: a) resolutions of those problems contradict to interests of hierarchy itself; b) the mindset of power elite is already obsolete and inadequate to reality. In this particular case historical solution is in transition from Absolute - to Constitutional monarchy or Republic. In another words inherited rights of succession and political power (decision-making mechanism), which has ruled the society for centuries have been separated. This is transition to new socio-economic organisation – Capitalism.
- The Capitalism has brought two clear heterarchical components – new decision-making mechanism - democracy and free-marked economy. Both are self-regulating mechanisms, operating as negative feedbacks. The Capitalism has extraordinary achievements, especially in creation of wealth, although some people have considered it unfair society due to ruthless exploitation of working class and proposed classless society – Communism.
- For around half of century the Communism transformed Russia from feudal to global power, pioneering in Space exploration. However Communism has monopolised the political power. It has created mechanism of decision-making hierarchy of party’s bureaucrats (nomenclature), resembling feudal aristocracy. Leaders have been worshiped as gods and some of them even mummified as Pharaohs. In fact democracy was turned to partocracy; voting system was marginalised and covered with excessive propaganda and media manipulation. The Negative feedbacks like free media, independent court, etc. components of democracy, which self-regulate social system, have been cut of and replaced with positive feedbacks – political control. So, Communism fails to create classless society. Instead political nomenclature created unsolvable social problems and eventually has collapsed, returning back to heterarchy of free-market and democracy.
- Creation of hierarchy has few symptomatic, interconnected and even subordinated features:
 | Hierarchy monopolise and absolutise one particular social value or component: Roman Empire - slavery, Catholic Church – Christianity; Feudalism – land; Communism and Fascism – political power, Capitalism - financial capital. |
| Increased hierarchy narrowed the number of decision-makers; |
| Hierarchy tend to destroy existed elements of heterarchy covering this process with ideological propaganda and media manipulations; |
| Increased hierarchy, undermine and destroy morality of society; |
| Emerging social problems remain unsolvable because contradict with interest of power elite on top of hierarchy; |
| The power elite became part of the social problems, perhaps the biggest one, because the mindset of decision-makers reflect the past rather the future of society. More over the people on top of the social pyramid mesmerised by power play God and demonstrate clear sociopathic symptoms; |
| To secure and prolong its existence, hierarchy create special institutions for this purpose. Catholic Church created Sent Inquisition, Communism and Fascism shaped cruel political police. In short term those institutions work well, but in long term they accelerate distraction of social system, undermining morality; |
| Resolution of problems is in replacement of existed power elite by people with different mindset, culture and new adequate to new realities decision-making mechanism. This is two-fold transitions: changes in social-consciousness and values (Spiritual or Cultural Revolution) and physical replacement of decision-makers; |
| Both transitions could be peaceful or bloody, but inevitable, doesn’t matter how powerful elite is at the time of transition. This is so, because nobody could beat the system, in this case - social evolution. As a matter of fact the power elite is such regarding base of the pyramid, not regarding objective laws of social evolution. More over in face of social evolution it is powerless and doomed. |
- Twenty-first century Capitalism is very different compare with nineteenth or even twentieth century Capitalism. Modern Capitalism contain all above mentioned symptomatic features of elaborated hierarchy:
| Redistribution of wealth creates new capital based hierarchy of financial barons; |
| Financial capital monopolises and corrupts political power; |
| Neoliberalism in economy combined with geopolitics creates some sort of Absolute capitalism – corporatocracy; |
| Democracy is gradually shifted by corporatocracy. The process of dying democracy is clouded by relentless propaganda, media manipulation, PR actions, brain washing and hypocrisy; |
| Increased hierarchy, undermine and destroy morality; |
| New security measures gradually turn humanity into Big brother society; |
| Emerged global problems remain unsolvable by power elite, because they contradict with interest of corporatocracy and outmoded mindset; |
| New social self-consciousness just surfaces. Accepting that we all are in one boat, create completely new social values. Social movements like Global Justice, Tax Justice Network, Friends of the Earth among others, resemble emerging global conscience. Although nations are formed as states, humanity as a whole is single living organism. Wars are unacceptable distraction of humankind. |
- So, modern society needs people with different mindset. The capitalism is on the brink of transition to new social-economical structure and adequate to complexity of society new decision-making mechanism. Historical solution is in separation of financial capital and political power! (Do you remember separation of the inherited rights of succession and political power 2-300 years ago?) This simple act will change society profoundly. This is transition from money-driven to knowledge based economy, from democratic (collective) to netocratic (collaborative) decision-making mechanism. This separation could be peaceful or bloody, but inevitable, because this is transition from Industrial to “Post-Industrial” society or from Technological to Humanitarian civilisation.
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- This site is dedicated to Social Evolution in general and Social Creativity in particular. We intend to explain, how society evolve, works and transits from one stage to another, how future netocratic society will be implemented and look like in foreseeable future.
- The content is presented in three formats - as Program document (Manifesto of Netocratic Society), four popular essays and comprehensive FAQ.
Go to - Introduction
