Home

Intoduction

Manifesto

Essays

FAQ

 
 
  •  
    Manifesto of the Netocratic Society
     
     
    III. Collaborative Democracy
    (Netocracy)
     
      
    Emergence of Global Community – New Trend of Social Evolution
     
    Society is “a living organism” – evolves becoming more complicated and complex. Throughout history thousands tribes have been “melted” into two hundred nations. Now those nations are in a process of unification called globalisation, creating truly global community. Not surprisingly nowadays global community reach a level of self-consciousness. The people simply realised "we are in one boat",  and problems like global worming, poverty, pollution, deforestation, extinction of species,  surviving of humanity and even planet Earth could be resolved only with global effort.
     
            Virtual Brain and Global Mind
     
    Complexity of modern society is comparable only with the complexity of human brain. So, could future society be organised in a way resembling the structure and functions of human brain?
     
    Perhaps Internet, which was born twenty years ago, is the first significant change in this direction. The Internet is something like global “nerve system”, connecting all human beings in just one network. However the Internet is still not a “brain”. It is a predisposition, facilitating further structural changes in society resembling human brain. The second such change is emerging of discussion forums. Specially designed software facilitates global communication among people sharing similar interests. These communications resemble associations among brain cells exchanging information. The third change is a boom of social networks. Also specialised platforms facilitate not only communications but social activities like dating, entertainment, professional actions etc globally. Social network services resemble specialised areas of human brain. Forth change is creation of repository resembling human memory preserving data for generation to come. A good examples of such repository is www.archive.org, which keep records of websites from Internet and “Google Books Library Project”, which is an effort to scan and make searchable the collections of several major research libraries. (See http://books.google.com/ and  http://books.google.com/googlebooks/partners.html). Perhaps the most significant such change for the time being is wiki movement. Best known wiki based collaborative project is Wikipedia. Thousands of people across the world collaborate to select and organise existed knowledge, creating cyclopaedia, which look a lot like the memory of mankind. Wikipedians (wiki collaborators) work as “brain cells”, resembling processing power of human brain and cognitive functions of human mind. Currently there are around 3000 websites based on collaborative MediaWiki platform (see www.wikiindex.org for last updates), which are truly up-and-coming virtual global brain.
     
    So, very rough idea how global brain and virtual mind work is composition of Wikipedia. Thousands of self-selected, educated people in all fields of human knowledge, across the world collaborate and contribute in creation of single product free of charge, motivated only by high moral standard. The people involved in writing and editing of Wikipedia are known as wikipedians. Similar networks of people could be created to answer more complicated tasks as making-decisions and solving problems. Apparently any member of such network will resemble brain cell and collaborative work will look like association among brain cells. So, think of collaboration as virtual global mind or global think-thank working in real time. Therefore most significant trend in social evolution is emerging mode of collaborative decision-making mechanism, resembling the processing powers of the brain and the cognitive function of the mind.
     
            Individual, Collective and Collaborative Intelligence
     
    Generally speaking intelligence is a capacity of species to respond successfully to changing circumstances in environment. It include a cluster of diverse interrelated capabilities like memory, creativity, learning, and problem-solving. Although the intelligence could be traced back to earlier stages of biological evolution. For our purpose we will look closely on three forms of intelligence  directly linked to  consciousness and self-consciousness. Those form could be found only in humans and society and are base for three forms of decision-making mechanisms  - individual, collective and collaborative, which seems to be with increasing power.
     
    Human individual intelligence is mode of solving problem and making-decisions on personal level.
     
    Collective intelligence accept that a group of people or collective can be more intelligent than its members and in vast majority of cases this is true. Political parties, unions, think-thanks are examples of collective intelligence. The collective intelligence is form of co-operation based on discussions and deliberation. Representative democracy is a sophisticated system based on collective intelligence, which involve general elections and voting systems. Decisions are made in favour of majority, assuming that the true is on this side of deliberation.
     
    The next level in development of modern society is collaborative intelligence. Collective and collaborative intelligence are two different forms of
    intelligence distinguishable by difference between making-decisions and solving problems. In short making-decisions is a way to chose one of several option for action. Solving problem is a capacity to verify information. For instance politicians make-decisions, scientists solve problems to find right solution. Naturally politicians co-operate, deliberate, vote to make-decisions, which is collective intelligence.
    Scientists collaborate to solve a problems. Since Galileo introduced experiment in physics, the natural sciences are build up and develop in collaborative manner. For this purpose they create hypotheses, vigorously testing them on the ground. Once proven they are published as scientific achievement and elaborated by many others.  There are no elections, voting or whatsoever component of collective decision-making mechanism. This is example of typical and most powerful collaborative intelligence.
     
    Facing global problems emerging global community need to use more powerful collaborative intelligence to resolve them. This is not a matter simply of decision-making process, this is a question of solving problems. Therefore elected politicians and voting system are powerless. Hence merging of virtual global brain with collaborative intelligence is only option for society. 
       
    Above mentioned collaboration in writing Wikipedia is a blueprint of creative intelligent network of contributors resembling virtual global brain in action. Similar intelligent network dedicated to solving problems on different levels could find right solutions. This is truly most powerful collaborative intelligence known so far. As a platform they are still in infancy, available for limited corporative projects. Nevertheless emerging of collaborative platforms and decision-making mechanism is a core in transforming society from hierarchical to heterarchical structure resembling virtual global mind. (See www.netsmind.org as a flavour of collaborative decision-making network).
     
    At the first place it is necessary to upgrade collaborative software like MediaWiki adapting to necessity of decision-making process: templates for two, three and even more alternative feasible models of decisions etc. Secondly collaborative problem solving networks (CPSN) need to grow up to level of “critical mass” to become fully functional mechanism. Perhaps some of existed discussion forums and think-thanks will go online, creating CPSNs in an attempt to solve one particular social problem.
     
    In short term CPSNs could act as a jury in jury trail system, confirming which decisions should be implemented. In long term CPSNs will gain “self-consciousness” or will become fully functional global “brain and mind”. As a result CPSNs will act as “global mind” taking most important decisions on all levels: local, national, regional and global. For long period of time collective (institutional) and collaborative (self-selected and truly independent) problem solving and decision-making mechanisms will work in parallel supplementing each other. So, if collective decision-making mechanism is a foundation of democracy, “upgrading” to collaborative problem-solving mechanism should be considered as higher level of democracy or collaborative democracy. At this point society will become self-governing, which is qualitative different from self-organisation of society as a living and rational system.
     
    Although collaborative problem solving are still in embryo. They are truly global virtual think-thanks. Collaborative decision-making and problem solving software is more complicated and still available for limited use as facilitating personal, technical or corporative decision-making. NetsMind.org is a project for collaborative decision-making, dedicated to solving social problems on all levels: global, regional, national and local. It is based on MediaWiki collaborative software and need significant development to specify the cognitive functions of decision-making process.
     
    In resolution of any problem with CPSNs will be involved most competent experts. This is exactly how human brain works - only brain cells, which are "competent" for one particular problem are associated in ongoing process. Human brain does not vote and doesn’t make decision in favour of “privileged group of brain cells”. Hence netocracy will be the first society without governing elite at all.
     
    All people on the planet have equal opportunity to be involved in decision-making networks, but real participation depends of their expertise and creativity. Combining advantages of Western analytical and reason orientated culture and Eastern more intuitive and oriented to wholeness culture CPSNs could generate social self-consciousness in similar way, as individual consciousness emerged 3000 years ago.[1]
     
    Perhaps in very distant future people will be divided not depending on how much they take from society, but how they contribute to society – as “brain cells” or as “somatic cells”. Who knows?
     
    Netocracy or Collaborative Democracy
           
            Description and definition
     
    Governing is mode of making-decisions. For about 10000 years societies have been ruled by single individual: pharaoh, king, emperor etc. This is autocracy. Becoming more complex, society change its decision-making mechanism from autocracy  to democracy, which is collective decision-making mechanism. The  representative democracy includes voting system and final decisions are made in favour of majority. However human brain works in different way. To make a decision most “competent” brain cells are associated and collaborate in an attempt to find a workable hypothesis, which is verified in real practice. There is no voting system at all. This is collaborative problem solving and decision-making mechanism.
     
    In modern society there are clear indications for moving from collective decision-making to collaborative problem solving mechanism.
     
    Downfall of representative democracy is a fact and the democracy simply cannot be reinvented, restored revitalised or unlock because of two core reasons:
    a) The arranged “marriage of convenience” between power of money and political power systematically destroys democracy and apparently there is no prospective for divorce. This "marriage" make politician corruptible in principle.
    b) Representative democracy has limitations, which make it already inadequate to increased complexity of modern society.
     
    As was mentioned above there are only two decision-making mechanisms used by society so far: individual and collective, respectively - two fundamental forms of governing – autocracy and democracy. All well known forms of governing are derivates of those two basic forms, reflecting concrete historical and political situations. However the autocracy is typical for relatively simple Agrarian societies; the representative democracy (collective decision-making mechanism) is typical for more complicated Industrial societies.
     
    Although Industrial society is more complicated compare with Agrarian society, it is “one-dimensional” because dominated today politico-economic system capitalism is based on “one dimension” – profit. Forthcoming future “post-industrial” (or Humanitarian) society will be “multidimensional”, taking into account not simply economic growth, but moral values among many others. Industrial society is based on achievements of natural sciences and technologies. Humanitarian societies will be based on achievements of human sciences. There is no room for ideology or "pragmatism". Ideology based politico-economic systems like communism and fascism are history. "Pragmatic" capitalism crumbling and soon will destroy itself due to unavoidable side-effects - generated injustice, greed, arrogance and hypocrisy.
     
    Not surprisingly nowadays representative democracy become increasingly inadequate to emerged complexity of modern society. Former beauty queen who transformed our world from sleepy to digital village now is an old frail lady already suffering from dementia and nobody could cure her. She will pass away together with existed politico-economic system, as autocracy disappeared together with Agrarian society. 
     
    So, if any stage of Social evolution so far: Agrarian or Industrial society has its own specific decision-making mechanism reflecting complexity of society: individual resp. collective. Therefore the future Humanitarian society, where economy will be based on moral values instead of profit, needs qualitatively different decision-making mechanism and this is collaborative problem solving and decision-making mechanism i.e. - Collaborative Democracy or Netocracy.
     
    The word “netocracy” derives from “net” (web of connections) and the ancient Greek kratos “rule” or “power” and is qualitative new stage of development of decision-making process. This is a new higher form of democracy and should be disambiguate clearly from  the term "netocracy", coined by American magazine "Wired", which  derive from "net" and "aristocracy" i.e. time when the world will be ruled by newly emerged "aristocrats", people familiar and controlling digital technologies. According this concept nowadays power elite of money masters will be replaced by new power elite of technocrats. This is very unfortunate perspective for humanity and hopefully such dystopia will never take place.
     
    Netocracy is a collaborative problem solving and decision-making mechanism. It is completely different compare with collective decision-making mechanism, which is foundation of nowadays representative democracy. There is no straggle for power between ruling and opposition political parties, no professional politics, elected representatives etc. components of representative democracy. Decisions are made by collaboration of self-selected experts to find feasible solution, which is verified by social practice. Netocracy works in favour of society as a whole or as a system, not in favour of “majority” or particular privileged group of people. By definition there is no political parties and voting system at all. Collaborative decision-making mechanism is emerging form of governing adequate to the future global community or times when humanity will be accepted as single living organism.
     
    People involved in CPSNs could be called netocrats. They are self-selected knowledgeable people, forming CPSNs and working in collaboration to solve one particular problem. Netocrats are “brain cells” of emerging virtual global mind. Hence netocracy is a social order with collaborative thinking and decision-making culture where decisions are made in favour of society as a whole, not particular privileged group of people or class. So, the society, which ruling mechanism is based on virtual brain and global intellect can be defined as Collaborative Democracy or Netocracy. Netocracy is self-governing society without governing elite.
     
    Netocracy is a form for social organisation and ruling, where social contradictions are identified and resolved by global self-consciousness. It is a form of a social organization and rule, based on morality as form of global consciousness and global self-consciousness as a mechanism resolving social contradictions. 
        
    Principles
     
    Although netocracy is possible through modern technologies, crucial differences are in adopted principles. CPSNs are organized on six basic principles: a) self-selection based on expertise and capacity, b) heterarchy c) functional dynamics d) transparency, e) social integrity (alienation of decisions from "power of money" and f) separation of decision-making process and implementation. 
     
    Stricture
     
    Autocracy and democracy are based on ideology – religion or politics. These are abstract ideas how society should operate. In democratic societies political parties presenting entire spectrum of social ideas and economical interest, compete among themselves to come to power and rule nations according theirs political ideology, philosophy, programs and economical interest. Netocracy is based on moral values and social science. Any emerging social issue inevitably will form a CPSNs to discus and resolve the problem. These people are not involved in politics and make decisions in favour of society as a whole, not part of it. Therefore decisions are morally based not ideologically biased.
     
    In foreseeable future hundreds similar decision-making networks specialised in all areas of social activities will work in collaboration organising themselves in system resembling living and rational social organism. Some CPSNs will be organised in virtual brain systemizing not only existed knowledge, but will solve social problems, others will operate as social conscience, virtual “immune”, “digestive”, “muscle” etc systems of the future netocratic society. More likely is existed stratas of professional groups and social movements to form or be transformed into decision-making networks. For instance a social network of teachers, policemen, doctors, etc. inter-connected to improve professional standards and performance or international movements like Global Justice, Tax Justice Network, Transparency International, Green peace, Friends of Earth to form decision-making networks of experts and solve concrete problems related to their missions. Such structure gradually will eliminate necessity of political parties and will replace existed voting system as obsolete.  
     
    However there is principle difference. Existing social stratification are divisions according to social factors like status and power, the decision-making networks are based exclusively on moral values. Apparently digital platform will prevent possibilities, bad guys like criminals and terrorist to form their CPSNs. Perhaps a special network dedicated to solve this problem resembling immune system in any living organism will be created. 
     
    Connections among decision-making networks will be more complicated than simple hierarchical subordination. The communications among CPSNss probably will resemble associations in human brain. Communications between decision-making networks and those resembling one particular social system like education, public health, security etc. will resemble communication between brain and body. There is collaboration, but there is no hierarchy. Netocratic society will be without political leaders, presidents, ministers, directors, celebrity icons etc. All people could be considered as “cells” of social organism and will be treated equally, although they could be very different. 
     
    In short, emerging decision-making networks will shape transition of society from Democracy to Netocracy. Technology is simply platform for decision-making network and future virtual global brain & body, but real “mind and physiology” are all living people and human intelligence behind the platform. 
     
    Function
     
    The organization of decision-making network resembles human brain or global intellect, which also is based on above-mentioned principles. Only small number “self-selected” brain cells take part in decision-making process (associations) and they are selected according its “competence”. There is no hierarchy, as brain itself netocracy is heterarchical by organization and functions. Associations are temporally constellations. Decisions are made in favour of organism as a whole, not in favour of particular groups of cells or organs. The final decision is sent to “muscles” for “implementation”. Resources like oxygen and minerals, which are vital for brain cells, do not affect content of decision-making process, as money affect political decisions nowadays.   
     
    Apparently decision-making and problem-solving networks, resembling the very nature of humane brain, will be even more complicated compare with the network dedicated to systematization of existing knowledge. The first such networks should resolve not only the problems they are created for, but number of attended organizational problems like construction and deployment of specific software agents, cognitive architecture and new generation collaborative software. Perhaps first decision-making networks will be based on already existing thousands of mailing lists, replacing email communications with collaboration, intelligent agents exhibiting some aspect of AI, such as learning and reasoning.  
     
    Each citizen on the planet with necessary expertise, background and knowledge could contribute in resolving any problem. The final result of discussion is elaboration of feasible model, which will be experimented and implemented accordingly. If discussed problem form two contradicting opinions, two feasible models should be elaborated and verified. The social practice will proof, which one will be implemented. So, there is no vote and “dictatorship of the majority”, no media manipulations, no lobbyist interests.
     
    Nowadays collaborative projects don't include decision-making process. If some problem appears, decisions are still made by voting. Voting system is an attribute to collective decision-making process. Collaborative decisions are made by verification in social practice. Therefore in case of different opinions two or even more parallel feasible models are elaborated and tested in practice. This is exactly what human brain does. It does not vote; it tested and verified its hypotheses in the practice. Collaborative software is still in infancy and is still not adapted to decision-making process. One option to make collaboration more effective is to follow formal heuristic model.
     
    In the future society people around the globe will be interconnected according capacity of their knowledge as brain cells are, forming millions decision-making networks on all levels from everyday life to resolve social, economic, political, moral and many others local, national, regional and global problems. Communicating they will gain something as spontaneous associations of thoughts and ideas in unveiling the contradictions and possible solutions, keeping in mind all potential aspects and consequences. Perhaps this is something more than a virtual brain respectively global intellect. This is truly netocratic society.
     
    Decision-makers in netocratic society are self-selected ad-hoc groups of people who cannot control the knowledge. They are not “power”, they are “intellectual” elite, and something like brain cells in global mind of society. Human brain is heterarchical structure of “equally presented” neurons.    
     
    In society, which by definition is based on knowledge, respectively – morality, there is no room for class division. Social classes are based on possession of material resources. They are typical for slavery, feudalism and capitalism, but not for “post-industrial” or “post-capitalist” society. The future society will not be hierarchical. In society, where money is out of focus, people will be very different indeed, but not divided along lines of wealth. Capitalist structures will be broken down and netocratic society will be heterarchical. Therefore real challenge is not a technological revolution at all, but changes in the society itself, changes in the existing social culture; transition from nowadays greediness, hypocrisy and corporatocracy to future humanitarian civilization.
     
    Comparison Between Representative and Collaborative Democracy (Netocracy)
     
     
    ¹
    Representative Democracy
    Collaborative Democracy
    (Netocracy)
    1
     Co-operation, deliberation, discussion
     Collaboration (Networking)
    2
     Collective (group) intelligence
     Systemic intelligence
    3
     Typical for Industrial society
     Typical for Humanitarian society
    4
     Decision-makers are politicians
     Decision-makers are experts
    5
     Collective decision-making mechanism
     Collaborative problem solving & decision-making mechanism
    6
     Voting system
     No voting system by definition
    7
     Decisions are made in favour of majority
     Decisions are made in favour of society as   a whole
    8
     Consensus based decision-making
     Elaboration of feasible model (hypothesis)
    9
     Decisions are based on logic
     Decisions are based on wisdom
    10
     Level - local & national
     Level - local, national, regional & global
    11
     Decisions are politically motivated
     Decisions are scientifically  based
    12
     Decision-making mechanism is corruptible in principle
     Decision-making mechanism is not corruptible
    13
     Decisions and social structure - hierarchical
     Decisions and social structure - heterarchical
    14
     Resembling debating parliament
     Resembling operation of human brain
    15
     Society is governed by ruling elite (currently - power elite)
     No ruling elite - self-governing society by virtual brain and global mind
    16
     Economy is based on profit
     Economy is based on knowledge and moral values
      
     
    Transitions from Representative to Collaborative Democracy
     
    The society is a very complicated and complex system and transition from one historic period of development to another stage is multidimensional and could be observed in several aspects or changes in: social structure, economy, fundamental values, decision-making mechanism, power elite, social consciousness, culture etc.
    (See Appendix 3 - Expected Changes in Transitions from Modern to Netocratic Society)
     
            Transition from money-driven to knowledge-based society
     
    Free-market economy creates massive wealth of around 64 trillion a year worldwide, but the price is terrible – destruction of environment and morality, flourishing corruption and organised crime. In money-driven society everything is turned into commodity for sale including human conciseness and integrity. Nowadays political parties and officials are badly corrupted. Self-destruction of this system is inevitable.
     
    Transition in economy or transition from money driven to knowledge-based society, suppose to be most important change in social structure. This is transition from Capitalism to Epistemism or from money driven to knowledge-based society. This is also transition in social structure – from capital based hierarchy to broadly spread heterarchy.
     
    Transition from Agrarian to Industrial society is transition of fundamental values - from land to money. In similar way transition from Industrial to Humanitarian society is transition from money to knowledge. Perhaps this is most visible change in up-and-coming netocracy. In fact all spectrums of social values will be changed gradually, because to survive society has no alternative expect to maintain very high moral standards.   
     
    Nowadays politico-economical concepts like “end of history”, “clash of civilizations”, “shock therapy” are still mesmerised by free-market economy and shape slightly different visions like – neoconservatism, neoliberalism, or "Chicago School" revolution. Present-day free-market fundamentalism resembles ideology of absolute monarchy in agrarian societies, which lead to bloody transition from Agrarian to Industrial society. That’s happen with France and Russia, but was avoided by more liberal British monarchy. So transition from Industrial to “Post-industrial” society is as inevitable as transition from Agrarian to Industrial society. However money-based economy is already in transition to knowledge-based, which insist completely altered economic paradigm. Therefore society need new economy, free from ideology and scientifically based paradigm.
     
    Newly emerged Binary economics (means “composed of two” – humans factor and capital) is fundamentally different from all known economical schools. According to conventional economics ‘free market’ is free, fair and efficient. Binary economics states that the present ‘free market’ is unfree, unfair and inefficient, because ignores the imbalance in power relationships between people. It creates injustice, debts, poverty and misery for the vast majority of people, favouring very few. Generating wealth free market destroys morality and transnational corporations are impelling society toward an uncertain future. The philosophy of binary economics is –“justice, which creates efficiency and an efficiency, which creates justice”. The Binary economics is not a “third way” between socialism and capitalism, as some authors believe. It is “new stage” of evolution of economy, transition from Capitalism to Epistemism or from money-based to knowledge-based society.
     
    Could sound strange for our money-driven society, but in foreseeable future importance of money will diminish and new economy will be based on knowledge. Human brain as blueprint for heterarchical structure, reveal how all 10 trillion cells in the body are supplied by oxygen and necessary minerals without "redistribution" of resources to privileged organs, which could dominate or control rest of organism. Apparently knowledge-based economy will produce and distribute resources to any living soul in very similar manner.
     
    Netocracy as collaborative decision-making mechanism could control material resources without necessity to form new governing elite, respectively new hierarchy. This is so because decision-makers are self-selected ad-hoc for resolving of any particular problems on all levels: local, national, regional or global. Secondly knowledge is spiritual by nature and nobody could control it.
     
    Transition from orchestrated democracy to netocracy
     
    Transition from democracy to netocracy is transition on the level of making decisions -- from collective to collaborative or from political social consciousness to global self-consciousness. This is analogical to period of the bourgeois revolutions that gained the transition from individual to collective rule of the society. Nowadays collective decision-making process is not sufficient and out of date, because political decisions are ideologically biased and are made in favour of part of society. Hence in foreseeable future collective mechanism will be shifted by more sophisticated and adequate collaborative decision-making mechanism – Netocracy. It is not ideological shift and decisions will be made in favour of society as a whole. Some transitions related to globalization are already underway. For instance transition from intensive to extensive development of society has started with technological revolution. Other transitions related to netocracy just emerge. 
     
    People who made decisions throughout history are known as governing elite. Nowadays elite is power elite, which is quantitative and qualitative different level of making decisions. At least governing elite operates on national level; power elite makes decisions affecting global society or humanity as a whole. In general governing elite include "born to rule" aristocrats. Power elite includes "self-made" or “rob to rule” capitalists, who control global resources. Transition from "born" to "self-made" rulers is not too big deal, because "self-made" rulers who also create hierarchy in historical perspective seem to be even worst due to unpredictable outcome of their economical and ideological believes. Apparently future society will eliminate any possibilities of creation of hierarchical strictures prohibiting inheritance of wealth and control of resources by small group of individuals. Today it could seem an impossible shift, but in eighteen-century downfall of aristocracy as governing elite also seem to be "impossible".
     
    Now in the conditions of the transition from stage of accumulation of material wealth to the stage with a most vital problem -- the physical survival of society arise the problem of emergence of new elite with mission to implement this transition and resolve above-mentioned basic contradictions on modern society and advanced Technological civilization. The historic attempt in these transitions shows that the older elite is powerless to solve newly arising problem for survival of the society and new elite must be self-selected. These are people realizing the idea for the role of the global self-consciousness for organization of the society and devoting their lives to survival of humanity. This is elite of knowledgeable people, combining knowledge from concrete field with broad-minded view of the society and nature as a whole. These people are netocrats. Their collaboration resembles the brain in the living body that works for the survival of the organism as a whole, and no simply in interest of some organs and systems as all existing elites did so far. This is "elite" in sense of intellectual capacity, but it is not "governing or power elite", because netocrats do not possess the means of productions or other resources. 
     
    At the present time political and finance elites owns and control material resources and can be defined, as substantial, newly formed elite is functional. The new elite (netocrats) do not own material resources but manage it -- delivering “oxygen and nutrition” to each living cell of social organism. The actions of the new elite will be managed only from moral considerations and will be oriented to the surviving of the society as a whole. The netocrats understand that each individual as any cell of organism is important for society, because each individual cell can start to “degenerate, spread as cancer” and destroy not only the organ, but also the organism as whole.
     
    Therefore, transition from one ruling elite to another or - from capitalists to netocrats is the next feature of expected changes. Nowadays elite includes elected politicians and finance barons, who own and control material resources. Normally decisions are made in favour of social elite. Transition from democracy (corporatocracy) to netocracy, existing elite will be shifted and replaced by new elite – netocrats. The netocrats will make decisions in favour of society as a whole. Gradually with time nowadays power elite of politicians and finance barons will perish loosing its power and functions.
     
    This means the corrupted politicians presented by machinery of political parties to pass away and be replaced by new decision-making mechanism resembling human brain. The existing elected parliament, as all decision-making institutions, gradually will be transformed or replaced by self-selected groups (social networks) of experts (netocrats) according to any specific issue. Final decisions will resolve the problems or will become a law. In fact in distant future netocrats without mediation of politicians will solve all social problems. Remember solving one particular problem the brain use only cells which are associated with this problem.
     
    In this way netocracy as system will self-regulate itself. As far as being consciousness activity we could define Netocracy as a self-ruling society.  This is society, which overcomes the existing hierarchy and creates optimal conditions for self-regulation. Netocracy have "elite" of decision-makers, although this is not governing elite, as we know it from previous stages of social evolution. The financial elite is the last power elite and will pass away with capitalism as socio-economic system. This society will have contradictions, but will be without ideologies, conflicts and wars. A world governed by principles based on social science a morality, and oriented to surviving of the humanity as a living organism. Nobody knows how future society will look like in details, because this entirely depends of decisions of the future netocrats, but no doubt, future society will be fair and beta place to live.
     
    Agrarian and Industrial societies have produced privileged classes or so-called governing elite, which own and control resources (land and money). This is inevitable due to hierarchical structure of society. The knowledge based netocratic society will be self-governing and do not need power elite, because the knowledge is spiritual by nature and nobody could control such resource.
     
    Transition from dominance of politics to dominance of morality
     
    Any socio-economic system has dominant form of social consciousness. So far the change of dominance of social consciousness is transition from mythological to religious (polytheism and monotheism); from religious to political and in foreseeable future dominated at the present political consciousness inevitably will be shifted by dominance of moral and scientific social consciousness. In fact evolution of social consciousness is evolution of culture itself and should be considered key transition equally, perhaps even more important compare with more visible economic transition. Therefore transition of currently dominated political consciousness, to dominance of moral consciousness, is inevitable part of course of social evolution.
     
    As a result ideologies, religious organizations, political parties and leaders, which in our days are deeply corrupted, become needless and with time will vanish, because the collective consciousness, which they offer is inadequate to the new realities in the world. The corporatocracy will disappear and influence of the capitalists and money will be limited to “physiology” of the system – its economy.  In nowadays language, the netocracy is intelligent democracy, because it is based on social science and morality. In foreseeable future political parties will disappear like medieval religious orders and sects. The finance barons will resemble more or less former aristocrats and nowadays landlords and farmers.
     
            Transition from Technological to Humanitarian civilization
     
    Transition from Technological to Humanitarian civilization mean completion of all above mentioned transitions. Transition from Empirical to Technological civilization in Europe stared with Industrial revolution (steam power) and continues at the present with high-tech revolution. This complex transition includes both economic and cultural components and should be considered as economical and cultural revolution.  
     
    Transition from Industrial to “Post-industrial” society is inevitable, because the course of social evolution is a transition from hierarchical to heterarchical social structure; this is transition from democracy to netocracy, from money driven to knowledge-based society and at the end of the day transition from Technological to Humanitarian civilization.
     
    Social evolution and politico-economic revolutions
     
    Revolutions are a qualitative leap in social development and could be peaceful or bloody. Broadly accepted opinion is that social evolution or quantitative accumulations are peaceful and revolutionary or qualitative leaps are bloody. The truth is the opposite - quantitative accumulations are strings of bloody wars extended throughout entire human history, the revolutions or qualitative leaps are very complex transitions, which include many different aspects and most of them are peaceful by nature. Only replacement of governing elite could lead to bloodshed.
     
    The dual nature of money
     
    The money is fundamental or structure-determinating factor for capitalism. Nevertheless in dawn of capitalism the money were only economic tool. The entrepreneurs and elected politicians have been two very different groups of people working for society according their abilities and purpose. Over time some entrepreneurs became very rich and at the beginning of 20th century newly emerged millionaires decided to use power of money for political purpose or to influence existed democratic decision-making mechanism. Two important changes become milestones in unlawful mirage between power of money and political power – privatisation of US Federal Reserve and abandoned of the gold standard around WWI. Thereafter the dual nature of money becomes visible.
     
    On the one hand moneys are most important transmission perhaps the spirit of economy, on the other hand as component of decision-making mechanism the money started to erode and undermine democracy. Elected politicians and political parties need funds to operate properly. Instead of public money they are funded by private sector creating debts especially during election campaigns. Apparently there is clear conflict of interests – once in power parties and politicians repay their debts by legislations and decisions in favour of sponsors instead of voters.   To be elected for second terms politicians need voters and this contradiction is solved with lot of hypocrisy and public manipulations. Moneys are given as gifts, sponsorships, support for ideas projects etc. At the end of the day politicians serve their sponsors instead voters they supposed to represent. Corruption becomes part of the business. For a century this practice made general elections farce and voting system useless, and remain only as tool for manipulation of public opinion. This is the second, evil face of the money.
     
    Bending decision-making process in favour of very few, money gradually destroyed existed heterarchical components of earlier capitalism. Democracy and free-market were degenerated to corporatocracy. Some people defined this situation as “orchestrated democracy”, others as “Inverted totalitarianism”. No doubt nowadays crony capitalism undermines the moral values and threat to destroy environment, society and even the planet itself.
     
    Today society face one terrible dilemma: to survive society should separate power of money from political power and restore democracy as proper decision-making process or alternatively destructing the very fabric of its existence – the moral to self-destruct itself. Such separation seems to be too late to implement perhaps simply impossible. Destruction of society is also unacceptable. So what is a solution?
     
    Dialectic of objective and subjective components in social evolution
     
    Above mentioned situation is not unique in human history. During transition from autocracy to democracy society faced similar problem. For that time structure-determinated value land was monopolized by landlords, political power was hereditary and “born to rule” aristocracy seems to be unshakable and indispensable, because they rule on behalf of God and not only aristocracy, but vast majority of people sincerely believed that society works according to God’s will and monarchy is only possible system. Noting can be done. In the same time complexity of society insisted new more adequate decision-making mechanism. This truly dramatic clash between people believes (human reason) and objective course of social evolution was resolved in very radical and edifying way and demonstrating how objective component of social evolution works:
     
    - Gradually structure-determinating factor land was replaced by money, which are structure-determinating factor for newly emerged economic system – capitalism. 
    - Gradually for about 200 years dominated form of social consciousness – religion, was replaced by dominance of political social consciousness.
    - The absolute monarchy as French and Russian were wiped off by bloody revolutions.
    - More liberal European monarchies like German’s provoked WWI and gone for ever from European political landscape together with smaller European monarchies after tragic lost of the war.
    - British monarchy survive as Constitutional institution surrendering political power to the Parliament and today remain only symbol or perhaps reality soup-opera entreating the general public.
    - Autocracy was shifted out by democracy and free-market economy gives birth to new politico-economic system – capitalism. 
     
    Over time subjective factor (ruling elite) turned heterarchical components – democracy and free-market economy into new money based hierarchy - corporatocracy and intend to complete its creation with so-called New World Order, which by any means is a model of Big Brother society or completed inverted totalitarianism.
     
    The lesson of social evolution is clear. Absolute hierarchies are destroyed by bloody revolutions, liberal monarchies are victims of their own mindset and inadequate decisions, more flexible could survive surrendering their power. “Division of labour” between objective and subjective factors are relatively simple. Objective factor create skeleton of social structure, subjective factor “put flesh on the bones”; objective factor (social evolution) is an “architect”, subjective factor (human reason) is “interior designer”. Now become clear way men-made models of society doesn’t work. In human history from Plato’s Republic to modern models as communism, fascism and emerging New World Order there are around 50 such men-made projects called utopias or dystopias, no one ever been implemented successfully. The reason is simple - subjective factor simply cannot change architecture of social evolution (or God’s will if you prefer). This is exclusively prerogative to Mother Nature.
     
    In fact all rational systems tend to create a hierarchy. At certain point of development they start to generate more problems than capacity to resolve it. They become unable to self-regulate and eventually have collapsed. Human history is full of fallen empires. Most recent example is collapse of communism. As carefully designed hierarchy, modern Wall Street capitalism could collapse virtually by any insignificant event accelerated by domino effect.
     
    All known hierarchies have tried to secure and prolong its existence, creating special institutions for this particular purpose. Catholic Church invented Sent Inquisition, Communism and Fascism – political police. Nowadays capital based hierarchy – tend to create Big Brother society. In short term they seem to work well. In long run however such institutions have just the opposite effect – accelerate the process of destruction.
     
    From point of view of systems theory this is understandable, because existed negative feedbacks, self-regulating the system, have been replaced by positive feedbacks, which eventually have destroyed the system. No doubt the newly crated hierarchy based on ownership of financial capital will follow a similar blueprint. The present geopolitics generates numerous unsolvable problems and soon will be on the brink of such collapse.
     
    Transition from Industrial to “Post-industrial” society is very similar to transition from Agrarian to Industrial society, which has separated hereditary rights and political power establishing new socio-economic system. No doubt emerged dilemma of modern society separation of power of money and decision-making process will be solved following similar pattern of development:
     
    - Gradually money as structure-determinating factor for capitalism will be replaced by knowledge, which is structure-determinating factor for newly emerged socio-economic system – epistemism.
    - Ruling political parties become near identical, no new ideas, just in box thinking. Smaller political parties are different, but they have not any chance to win the general election due to lack of resources.
    - World’s political leaders are mediocre, corrupted and disgraceful.   
    - Politics as ideology and dominated form of social consciousness gradually is replaced by scientific form of social consciousness.
    - Fascism as one of recent models of hierarchical social structure finished like absolute monarchy with physical destruction of the governing elite. 
    - The governing elite of the second hierarchical model – Russian nomenclature surrender their political power peacefully and become capitalists and oligarchs.
    - The mindset of power elite is extremely wrong and out of date. They believe “hegemony is as old as mankind”, therefore the world should be dominated by one nation or at least chosen by God or self-made elite.[2] In fact society is a living creature, which need gentle care.
    - Due to this mindset nowadays geopolitics provokes bloody wars across the world.
    The power elite intend to create an “absolute capitalism”, some sort of Big Brother society and take all possible action to self-destroy itself.
     
    From this point of view the Course of history is a story of creation and rising of the ruling elite, the Course of social evolution is a story of self-destruction of this elite. Therefore the question is not - should be money separated from decision-making process as part of ongoing process of transition from Industrial to “Post-industrial” society or from democracy to netocracy, but how? - In more wise and peaceful way or as a result of bloody event.            
     
    Peaceful transition
     
    Transition from democracy to netocracy could be peaceful and gradual. Imagine criminal court working without jury. Nowadays political reality reflects this situation. Politicians make decisions in favour of very few ("in sake of economy") and nobody could control them due to deliberately destructed democracy, moral and self-granted immunity. Apparently society needs an independent body resembling jury, which will endorse any political decision from point of view of morality. The UN, Security Council, NGOs, etc. officials are part of the system. They are designed to mimic morality. They do not control politicians. In fact they are politicians, controlled by established system of funding.
     
    Such independent body will operate as social concise.  It should be organised as CPSNs of politically impartial intellectuals and should endorse political decisions on all level – local, national, regional, national and global. This is new level of evolution of Democracy. This is Netocracy or self-governing society.
     
    The UN is ineffective, perhaps useless institution, because have been designed as International government and staffed with politicians. One option is the UN to be re-established and act as independent Humanitarian jury, resembling a social conscience. This should be a Jury, which do not make decisions, but endorse them, effectively controlling political institutions and governments. Apparently this is not political body and should be staffed by intellectuals with high moral standard. Humanitarian jury will judge political decisions on all levels – local, national, regional and global. Only decisions approved as moral will be implemented in social practice.
     
    The peaceful transition could follow short and long term programs - Programme Minimum and Program Maximum.
     
    Programme Minimum aims to create feasible model of global mind, elaborate basic principles and digital platform for collaboration. It includes few simple steps:
     
        - Creating proto-model of global mind – collaborative decision-making network and digital platform for collaboration. (See NetsMind.org as a flavour)     
     
        - Developers of MediaWiki platform should adapt the collaborative software to the specifics of decision-making purposes.
     
        - Already existed think tanks and grassroots’ movements like Global Justice, Tax Justice Network and so forth should offer alternative view to official political decisions. For instance TruthRing movement could publish 9/11 Report, alternative to official Report. All such reports should be published in designated website for easy access. The experts of these movements should collaborate on wiki based platform to solve some real social problems.
     
        - The activists and experts of these movements and think-thanks should prepare new Magna Carta, as an Agreement for peaceful transition. This document should outline the rules of the game; will limit the power of politicians and financial barons and secure peaceful transition from democracy to netocracy.
     
    The New Magna Carta couldn’t prevent transition to new organization of society. It will make this transition peaceful and will guarantee surviving of nowadays elite. However drafting such a document as moral charter and legal document by social initiatives as Fabian Society, Global Justice Movements and Tax Justice Network among few others will be very helpful. This document will bring awareness and insight to this crucial point. Apparently the New Magna Carta should be drafted not by existing political or financial institutions, but by dedicated CPSNs representing society as a whole. Alternative transition is bloody one.
     
    Programme Maximum aim to outline the contents of netocratic society and will be designed by netocrats after mastering collaborative technique for collaborative decision-making process.
     
    Bloody transition
     
    Unfortunately nowadays power elite is very unlikely to accept agreement like proposed New Magna Carta, because similar to eighteen-century aristocracy they are powerful, arrogant, greedy, hypocrite and blinded by wishful thinking. They will continue to push society to corporatocracy, where in the end of the day will face the consequences and will perish as 19th century aristocracy.
     
    Bloody transition today doesn't mean civil war or revolution in sense of French revolution of 1789 or Russian revolution of 1917. A revolution does not necessarily involve an armed uprising or the overthrow of a government. In world divided by power, resources, manipulated by media and closely monitored by Big Brother stile of security systems such revolution is not possible. However tightened security does not prevent revolution, it changes the way, in which revolution will take place.
     
    Most likely is highly exaggerated terrorist threat to become a real problem, which eventually will bring political system to collapse. In completed hierarchical structure virtually everything could trigger collapse. In advanced technological environment very few people, possibly single person could make huge damage to political system as single somatic cell in the body could start to degenerate causing cancer, destroying organ itself and even causing death to the organism itself. Therefore investing in fair society is wiser rather than in arms race and controversial security systems. 
     
    Ironically the recent collapse of communism accelerates the fall of capitalism enormously, catalysing ongoing geopolitical process. Firstly, this is an example and illustration of how the carefully created pyramid based on partocracy could collapse as house of cards in few months. Secondly, transition from socialism to capitalism was conducted in criminal way redistributing existed wealth to very few oligarchs and left millions without decent living. Thirdly, expected democracy was never been established. As a result vast majority of people were disillusioned by capitalism at the very beginning and very fast.
     
    Final note
     
    Core of any socio-economic system are economy and politics or decision-making mechanism. The economy is blood stream of society and supposed to "feed" properly all cells to secure their correct function. Decision-making mechanism supposed to work in favour of all people of society as a whole. Interactions between both sub-systems create what is known as Social evolution and Course of history. Therefore the Social evolution has two variables: objective (level of economy) and subjective (social creativity in general or decision-making mechanism in particular). Human history as we know it is a final result of this interaction.
     
    All existed socio-economic systems since pre-historical Hunting and Gathering tend to create hierarchical social structure of decision-makers. They deliberately redistributed created wealth to their own pockets and only objective law of Social evolution periodically wiped out ruling elites replacing them with new form of decision-making mechanism and new players. These revolutionary changes are inevitable because the mindset of the old ruling elite create unsolvable social problems and only solution is this mindset to be replaced by new one more adequate to new reality. 
     
    Recently two such carefully created pyramids of decision-makers ware wiped out. The first one was Hitler's New order, which created pyramid of decision-makers controlling national resources and economy. Their mindset initiated the WWII and was crashed soon after. The Nazi story is an example how political power could change the mindset of ruling elite transferring decent people from normal on the bottom of political ladder to profound maniacs and sociopaths on the very top.
     
    The second one is a pyramid created by communist’s political leaders - party's nomenclature. The collapse of communism is not simply economical blunder. It is consequence of created mindset generating unsolvable social problems and the collapse was predictable and inevitable. Both cases are examples and blueprint of bloody and peaceful transitions from pathological to more adequate to reality mindset, respectively - decision-making mechanism.
     
    Now the third pyramid – The New World Order creates new hierarchy inverted totalitarianism and is near to collapse. The decision-makers are: Money-masters, Robber Barons and Corrupted Politicians, or so-called power elite; people who play God, which mindset already generated number of unsolvable social and ecological problems. In fact the scale of created problems is in direct proportion with incompetence of decision-makers; proposed solutions are measure for the level of their insanity. Depending on how this pyramid will collapse - in bloody or in peaceful way, maybe the history one day will consider them as “fanatics” or “sociopaths” from “political Middle Ages”.    
              
    Perhaps K. Marx will be astonished to realise that in the 21st century, working class is not a “grave-digger of capitalism”. The real gravedigger is the power elite itself. Nobody has contributed to destruction of capitalism more than Neo-cons with their fictional war on terror, mindless ideology of Pax-Americana and destructive geopolitics. However this is unsurprising. Nobody contributed to recent collapse of communism than party’s leaders themselves.   
     
    Mankind is a single living organism. Confrontations and wars among nations are destructive and obsolete. Complexity of society does not tolerate hierarchical structures, because they are subjective and full of tension. Transition to new level of heterarchical social structure is inevitable, simply because it is a part of Social evolution. The power elite is powerful regarding the rest of population, but powerless regarding the Course of social evolution. Society could not be pre-design rationally, because qualitative leaps (revolutions) are unpredictable and more importantly, follow objective laws.
     
    Current financial crisis is only tip of the iceberg. The real problem is political system or decision-making mechanism, which generated this crisis among many others. Therefore fixing existing economic problems with bailouts is a way to prolong agony. The only solution is cardinal transformation from top to bottom in both sub-systems: economy and politics or existed decision-making mechanism.
     
    A broadly accepted cliché is that communism is only alternative to capitalism. Nothing could be fare from the truth. The communism is based on proclaimed equality. Indeed equality makes sense for badly divided capitalist society because it is based on money as structure-determinating factor. However future society will be based on knowledge as structure-determinating value; “equality” will be accepted as granted and cannot be issue at all. Forthcoming paradigm shifts mean replacement of profit-based economy with knowledge-based (ecological) economy, focusing on sustainable development of humanity as a system and above all – replacing the power elite with new decision-making mechanism. This is qualitative different socio-economic system with higher and more effective form of democracy – netocracy, which is self-governing society or society without power elite.
     
    The Manifesto of the netocratic society do not offer final solution, it just point out the direction where solution could be found. The purpose of this Manifesto is to prevent such doomed in advance social engineering attempts like New World Order. Only suggestion is to follow Mother Nature achievements and use human brain as blueprint to understand how evolution itself succeeds to create and combine self-regulating and rational functions in one structure. Apparently future society will resemble virtual human brain and mind, which successfully combine decision-making and redistributive functions in way to keep itself in balance with the environment.
     
    Today nobody knows how exactly knowledge-based (ecological) economy and collaborative decision-making mechanism will work in details, but this is natural. In the 18th century also nobody has been familiar with emerging free-market economy and democracy. So, the future generations will decide how forthcoming society will look like and how will operate. However, no doubt transition from hierarchical to heterarchical social structure is the biggest revolution in human history since Agrarian revolution 10000 years ago. The mission of our generation is only to direct transitional process wisely and peacefully.
     
    Notes
     
    1. According J. Jaynes, ("The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind", 1976) around 3000 years ago human beings had no subjective consciousness and ancient peoples could not "think" as we do today. Primitive thinking is something as hallucinated voices, attributed to the gods. He believes that voices originated in the right brain hemisphere. It is proposed that bicamerality of the brain, the condition of acting on the command of hallucinated 'divine' voices -- represents a specific stage in the evolution of human civilization. Emergence of the consciousness or modern decision-making human beings is result of thousand years of psychological reorganization of human brain as single synergetic organ. The breakdown of bicamerality follows massive social upheaval. The philosophical tradition of the "Golden Age" of Greece (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle) was the recognition that people's thoughts, feelings, and desires were their own. This is the origin of consciousness to which Jaynes refers -- the point at which people became aware of the contents of their own minds as such, and also aware of their ability to control these contents themselves.
     
    Nowadays emerging social consciousness face the similar situation as individual consciousness, 3000 years ago. It is broadly accepted that Humankind is divided into two uneven parts: people with the left hemispheres and people with right hemispheres. The first group mostly lives in the West; the other one is in the Orient and Africa. This division forms two “bicameral” cultures: western, dominated by right hemisphere and east, dominated by the left hemisphere. “Bicameral” thinking of both cultures is very similar to primitive “hallucinating thinking” of ancient people. Only collaboration of both cultures could lead to new stage of social evolution – emergence of social consciousness, as this has happened three thousand years ago with human consciousness. Therefore the crossroad of civilisations is not a clash of cultures as S. Huntington (“The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order”, 1996) predict. It is Unity of two cultures in one synergetic and collaborative decision-making mechanism, which will give birth to social self-consciousness and will lead to new Humanitarian civilization. 
     
    2. Power elite today believe politics is a game like chess and politicians a “players”. There is rules, but people on the top could change the rules during the game.  This is out of date vision and such mindset could extinct only with political dinosaurs.  Brzezinski, Zbigniew., “The Grand Chessboard:  American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives”, New York: Basic Books, 1997.
     
     
     
    •  
    Next: See Essays
     
     
     
     
     

    Copyright ©  D. Tchurovsky 2006-2010

    Last updated - January, 2010