Inventing Governing

Perhaps with different conceptions of governing (decision making) we can do less force fitting of people to structures and more design of conversational and decision making structures to fit people—particular people, in particular places, and particular situations.

This fitting of structures to particularities of decisions is what Ostrom termed polycentric governance. We should every day ask which group or coalition of groups is capable of crafting the best approach to every problem. We must stop dropping problems into incapable slots in fossilized governments. Design government daily to fit the problems at hand base upon the needs of all stakeholders. Change language from "government" into "governing".

Use communication technology to enact polycentric decision making and modify it as we go. Our government processes and structures were build when communication means and rates depended on horses.

Presentation

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REVIEW: "Particular" is used to suggest that requisite variety is available to problem solvers. Their models are as complex as the relevant systems of interest.

Particular people in particular settings talk invent particular solutions. They formalize what they learn into rules, mores, culture and governing.

Particular people create particular business that may become general (no person attached) and global (fitting no particular place).

Unconstrained, power accumulates in unbalanced ways and some are victimized by the more powerful causing the powerful to become more powerful and the less powerful to become even less powerful.

Businesses have more resources and exert self-serving influence on governments which shift their support from citizens to businesses (just bigger person-citizens?!?!). Governments reduce their constraints on businesses and increase constraints on citizens.

That is pretty much where we sit today. Of course civil society can still invent and take care of itself with what is left to them. In fact this is the place of innovation in Clayton Christensen's analysis. That is the only hope on the horizon today, in my opinion.

Mick Ashby asks us to consider systematically, programatically adding ways of becoming ethical. Were we to do that the whole system could come into balance--or into better balance.

So... For me the issues are:

-How to design governing with the particularities of the world in front of us?

Personalized, demystified and humanized.

-How to design processes for continually becoming ethical?

That is the work in front of me, and my friends.

Government is decision making to benefit the whole of society. Business is decision making to benefit fewer than all. Civil society is people each and everyone making decisions alone and together to get through their particular days and lives. Balancing civil society, government and business is a dynamic high wire act. Pay attention. Think about it. Practice. Focus on one to the exclusion of another and we fall. For many there is no net. And I fear there will be no net for our grandchildren.