Frequently asked questions

What is OrganicDesign's main goal?

To build the Platform network which is a global network of organisations that operate together as one in alignment with the core values and manifesto to consistently increase the well-being of all sentient beings - this is what we refer to as the common vision. We plan to specify the organisational aspect of this goal in the Platform specification which is a completely technology-independent description, and the Software architecture document aimed at describing a software package that is designed from the ground up to support the requirements of operating a Platform in the network.

How can people get involved?

At the most general level, anyone can be involved simply by being dedicated to the spiritual path and persistently trying to implement it using their own skills, position, connections and resources.

But more specifically, how to get involved in OrganicDesign's implementation of this path involves the following steps:

• Read the Manifesto, the Charter and Values and see if you feel aligned with them.
• If so, create an account.
• Read some of the links in the help to learn about wiki's, MediaWiki and how to use them.
• Read Spontaneous Evolution by Bruce Lipton as this explains why we're designing the Platform network and why it's so important that it be done peer-to-peer.
• Start your own user page introducing yourself, your interests and your skills.
• Keep an eye on the recent changes, site news and browse the concepts in the glossary.
• Use your watchlist to stay abreast of changes to articles and discussions of interest.
• Help us improve our content and begin to partake in the discussions about various aspects that are going on in various article's "talk" pages.

From this point on the path into more involvement will evolve naturally and eventually lead to a specific role in various OrganicDesign projects.

How will the ideas in the OrganicDesign website help make the world a better place?

Our content and system covers three main aspects with respect to this question:

First we try and gain an objective understanding of the current global problems by doing dedicated research and identifying common patterns and principles so that solutions we find will be as widely applicable as possible. An important point about such research is that we must look into actual mechanisms and their bottom lines to build up a reliable objective view of the state of affairs, not a view based on opinion.

Second we're working on a specification defining how organisations can work together as a single network in alignment with a set of values which do not suffer from the problems we've identified such as the economic bottom line problem.

Third, our content includes tools that help us move from the current state we find ourselves in now, to a global society operating in this new way. These tools allow our system to be deployed easily by anyone by using a seed mechanism and making the knowledge as accessible as possible.

What spiritual tradition or principles does OrganicDesign follow?

Various members of OrganicDesign have studied Taoism, Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism amongst other traditions. However, categorising the spiritual truth into one tradition or another leads to trouble because every tradition exhibits notable teachers and scriptures making statements which are not in accord with the spritiual truth or are grossly misinterpreted, for example that we are all "born in sin". Instead we have tried in our manifesto to distil a collection of values that are common to all traditions and embody them into the bottom line of all organisations operating in alignment with our specification.

How can a computer program embody spiritual principles?

Spiritual principles are centred around our relationships with others, and in the context of organisations and civilisation, the way entities relate to one another is a reflection of their systems. If the systems have spiritually oriented values designed into their bottom lines, as the Platform specification is being developed to do, then those systems embody spiritual principles, and in turn any software architecture designed to support these systems also embody those principles.

Aren't these matters best left to the experts to solve?

Exactly, that's why it's so important that a new system of governance be put in place which can evolve freely through the enormous repository of expertise that make up society.

The elite currently making the decisions are not necessarily experts in their fields, they've got to the position they're in by doing the bidding of the financial system with its deployment and maintenance of economic bottom line thinking. Real expertise comes from organisation applied to the many, not from the biased opinions of the few.

The solution that We, the people, really need is a governance system that has proper harmonious values as its bottom line, and that isn't going to come from large-scale centralised organisations or institutions. It has to be built and maintained by us, the people, together.

This sounds like "the cloud" why not just use that?

A huge population of people around the world realise the need to work together in alignment with the common vision, and realise that to do this we need to have full control over our information in our own hands, but at the same time we also need to take advantage of distributed storage. The only answer to really achieving this is peer-to-peer networks, not "cloud" services offered by centralised corporations.

Why we you need privacy if we have nothing to hide?

Privacy is the resource that is made available by Security which in turn is a collection of tools for allowing information and resource to be made available only to selected people or groups. In Organic Design this means that our peer-to-peer network must have a good distributed encryption and authentication mechanism in place so that trust groups can contain private information securely and persistently even when none of the members are online.

Having very good encryption is important because these days more and more sensitive information needs to be stored in a robust distributed way while remaining fully private and under our own control. Examples of such information are passwords and private keys, scanned identification documents, personal correspondence and these days even digital money.

How can our business survive if it doesn't put profit first?

Economist J.K Galbraith noted as far back as the 1950's that short-term profit maximization is a failing strategy for businesses, which instead need to ensure that they adopt long-term survival strategies, which include ensuring that the environment in which they are working is stable before seeking and gaining profit. In this context the approach being taken at this stage is the correct one.

Can this system really scale to large-scale industry and government?

Yes it can. Many of the largest corporations are using exactly the same kinds of systems running on the same open source software. The key is in using simple tools effectively.

What about the workers? Doesn't efficiency threaten jobs?

Efficiency, in the context of science and technology, doesn't threaten "jobs" however it does threaten mundane, repetitive and boring resource management requirements. This in turn helps to support the growth of personal freedom and self esteem and inspires creativity which can lead to new and more fulfilling and rewarding opportunities.

Who will maintain the roads?

As people loose faith in the system it's ability to tax its members reduces and eventually it will be unable to continue maintaining public services. It's important that when this begins to happen that there is a critical mass of people that have the ability to carry out large-scale organisation together. We can see that we're close to this happening now by an all-time low in voting; a lack of voters shows a lack of confidence in the system.

What if there is a better way of doing things?

We believe that there is a better way of doing things than the current model, but we do not have the "silver bullet" nor will there ever be a "fixed" solution. Our stand is that solutions should evolve organically as required from the "bottom up" and that "better ways" shall become apparent and be implemented to suit the circumstances, events and times. (All aspects changeable)

Wouldn't it be more effective to engage in activism?

Rather than putting energy into breaking down structures we disagree with and protesting, wouldn't it be better to develop alternatives instead and increase the level of harmony in society?