[P2P-F] Fwd: The taproot of wise democracy

Wed Jan 29 20:01:52 CET 2014

first citation could be the definition of the social knowledge economy ,
with a few words changed ?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tom Atlee <cii at igc.org>
Date: Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 12:19 PM
Subject: The taproot of wise democracy
To: Michel Bauwens <michel at p2pfoundation.net>

  Tom Atlee's Co-Intelligence Journal . The Co-Intelligence Symbol . What
this message is about: "Co-intelligence is the capacity to call forth the w

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. The Co-Intelligence Symbol .

*What this message is about: "Co-intelligence is the capacity to call forth
the wisdom and resources of the whole and its members to enhance the
longterm vitality of the whole and its members." Collectively, a community
has more - and more diverse - information, perspective, and resources than
any individual has. A wise community, a wise leader, and a wise democracy
will use that rich diversity creatively and interactively. The diversity
will then be mutually enhancing rather than mutually problematic. The
appropriate role of the state is to create enabling conditions for that to
happen at all levels and in all sectors and facets of society.*

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. . . Unity and Diversity . . .

.
*Co-intelligence is the capacity to call forth the wisdom and resources of
the whole and its members to enhance the longterm vitality of the whole and
its members.* . . . Tom Atlee

*The appropriate role of the state is to create enabling conditions for
civil society to manage the public affairs of the community.* . . . Rajesh
Tandon
*Deep Democracy and Community Wisdom
<https://go.madmimi.com/redirects/1391015604-2718952814c468478c8b6c1e3ad71733-d7b1717?pa=20085841741>*

by Tom Atlee

A wise person has perspective. They can see the big picture without losing
sight of the small. They can see the part without losing sight of the
whole. They understand the partnerships of day and night, good and bad, the
known and the unknown. They have observed how it all fits together,
including their own limitations and immense ignorance - and that
realization makes them humble, insightful and flexible. They are free to
creatively see and respond to what's actually around them.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to
change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference." This famous
"Serenity Prayer" arises out of, and nurtures, wisdom.

Can communities be wise? Interestingly, a community of people (whether a
group, a company, a town or a nation) is better equipped to be wise than an
individual. This is true despite the fact most of the communities we live
in or with are clearly foolish, small-minded, unconscious and/or
destructive. Truly wise communities (some of which operate on millennia-old
traditions) are seldom seen or publicized by our civilization, preoccupied
as it is with bustling off to its own demise.

As individuals, we are inherently more limited than a community. Although
we can consult books and friends and critics, in the end we are limited to
our own single perspective. We are, alas, only one person, looking at the
world from one place, one history, one pattern of knowing.

A community, on the other hand, can see things through many eyes, many
histories, many ways of knowing. The question is whether it dismisses or
creatively utilizes and integrates that diversity.

Communities are wise to the extent they use diversity well. The wisest know
that every viewpoint represents a part of the truth, and that it is through
the cooperative, creative interplay of viewpoints that the wisest, most
comprehensive and powerful truths emerge. So they engage in that interplay,
that dialogue - a creative controversy or consensus process that winds its
way to wise public judgment.

The best government is that government which enables communities to do this
- to nurture and utilize their wisdom and resources - especially their
diversity - in such a way that they require less and less government.

A community that can manage itself in a wise and sustainable manner is one
that has mastered democracy. They know they can't depend on leaders (from
dictators to saviours, from representatives to experts) to do things for
them. They know that democratic citizens and leaders work best in
partnership with each other, co-creating each other's power. They know that
leaders must be seen as living extensions of their own will and wisdom,
which must be kept active. They know that passive "followership" abandons
leaders, deprives them of the wisdom and creativity of the community, and
opens them up to the corruptions of alienated power.

A democratic community grows beyond dependence and paternalism. In a sense,
the more democratic a society is, the more it has "come of age." Movements
for democracy might even be seen as the maturation process of a culture. A
mature society knows how to handle itself in dynamic context with others,
drawing on its inner resources (its diverse members) and relating
responsively and creatively with its environment.

The more it knows how to nurture and use the rich diversity of individual
views and capabilities within it, the more wise (and democratic) a society
will be. It will resist small-minded leadership and even the dictatorship
of the majority. It will cherish dissent as a wise individual cherishes
doubt - as a door to deeper understanding.

However, as we all know, it is not easy to do something creative with
diverse opinions and experiences. It's much easier to settle for
lowest-common-denominator agreements, press for (or give in to) one-sided
decisions, or enforce thoughtless compliance. But a wise, democratic
society knows that such approaches inevitably overlook important factors
and result in poor decisions. A public rush to judgement is comparable to
an individual jumping to conclusions. In the long run, it only makes things
worse.

So a major activity of a democratic community is developing the skills,
procedures, and attitudes needed for people to jointly create with their
diversity. As more people become artists with these democratic tools, the
community's thinking becomes more wise, their collective behavior more
intelligent and successful.

In this process, communities leave domination and fragmentation (alienated
individualism) behind. Those dysfunctional approaches arise from a false
dichotomy between the individual and the group. In fact, individuality and
community are two facets of the same thing - our alive humanity.
Individuals and communities can only be whole and healthy when they nurture
each other. This is the lesson of deep democracy.

Through building creative partnerships among empowered, deeply unique
individuals and groups, deep democracy enables real community wisdom to
emerge. Peace, justice and fruitful, sustainable lives are natural
concomitants of this process.

Just as a healthy body contains a deep wisdom that enables it to heal
itself and to go about its daily business with energy and intelligence, so
does a deeply democratic society resonate with the creative, healing wisdom
of the body politic.

Good leadership is not a matter of getting everyone to follow you. Good
leadership is helping the group or community make the best out of each
individual's contribution. A good leader organizes or catalyzes a
partnership of thought and action that cultivates and harvests each
member's unique contribution for collective understanding and success. The
best leaders are like the best teachers and parents: They enable their
groups to independently nurture and utilize their wisdom and resources.
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