Difference between revisions of "Living Together Research Proposal"

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[[Category:Living Together|01 Proposal]]
 
[[Category:Living Together|01 Proposal]]
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{{:Living Together/Introduction}}
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Living Together is the name of a multidisciplinary, collaborative research project spanning the social sciences, business, philosophy and information technology. After experimenting with different formats we are now exploring this topic within the format of an academic paper. The researchers involved share an holistic world view and are drawing upon the holistic thinkers and concepts within the aforementioned disciplines to address the question:
  
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== On planet Earth, can we live as one human race (or family) in peace, equality and prosperity? ==
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<big>'''“On planet Earth, can we live as one human family in peace, equality and prosperity?”'''</big>
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''This overarching question is sub-divided into the the following lines of inquiry:''
 
  
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== World Government ==
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We have broken down this overarching question into more specific sub-questions; these give us the main sections of this paper.
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''Can peace be achieved through world government, and if so, how would it operate and how would it be structured?''
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#'''World Government''' - “Can a system of world government help to overcome world conflict and foster equality and prosperity? If so, how would it operate and how would it be structured?”
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#'''Universal Values''' - “Within cultural diversity, can common values be found which can serve as a foundation for world government? Further, which values support the expression of human potential in a way that benefits society to achieve peace, equality and prosperity?”
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#'''Implementation''' - "In terms of organisation, what does it mean to apply universal values and holistic governance?"
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#'''Transition''' - "How can holistic organisations be implemented in the context of current society?”
  
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What are the current ideas of the political science mainstream regarding creating a peaceful, just and prosperous global society? Are these goals even being pursued by political scientists, and if not, what are their goals? The currently popular ideas will involve the strengthening of centralised institutions like the world bank, united nations, world trade organisations and the decreasing role of nation-states which will be required to relinquish authority to said global institutions or even a world government.
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== Aims ==
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The main idea behind Living Together is to examine the question of what kind of global society would be possible if we applied modern information technology to create organisations, guided by universal spiritual and philosophical values. Further, once the requisite values and technologies have been outlined, we will address the implementation of such an ideal within the context of the current global situation. This overall aim can be broken down as follows:
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#To draw together multiple strands of research from various disciplines and create a platform for further research and related projects.
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#To create a vision for a peaceful, just and prosperous global society which inspires the public imagination, by creating stories and scenarios based on the findings of the paper.
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#To create or promote prototype tools and organisations which will help us move toward the vision.
  
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Statistics show that the trend in recent decades has been the disempowerment of national and local government in favour of multinational corporations and global institutions. However, this has resulted in an increase in environmental problems, injustice, political instability and chaos. How is it possible that more of the same will lead to a better result?
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== World Government ==
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'''“Can a system of world government help to overcome world conflict and foster equality and prosperity? If so, how would it operate and how would it be structured?”'''
  
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The question arises: Is it necessary to distinguish between the notion of “world government” in the sense of centralised decision-making and “global government” in the sense of holistic decision-making, which reconciles the needs of the individual and the needs of society. This implies that a system of Global government first and foremost provides the means to empower the individual and would build local, regional and global governance systems upon the cooperation of empowered individuals.  
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We will begin with a review of current political science thought on the issue of world government and isolate the main concepts, functional elements or assumptions involved in the creation of a system of world government. We will perform a critical analysis of these assumptions with a particular focus on how it is proposed that peace, equality and prosperity can be achieved. For this purpose we will introduce principles from holistic thinking to use as guides for assessing the current ideas on world government. We intend to contrast the notion of a centralised, top-down '''world government''' with an holistic, bottom-up '''global government'''. We anticipate this discussion leading to a vision for a system of global government which is aligned with holistic principles. This vision would encompass the main functional elements and technology required for such a system and include scenarios for dealing with a number of common political and economic functions such as policy-making, resource distribution and the provision of currency.
  
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The framework that allows this would need to be a governmental system that harmonises economic, social and political goals and avoids the issue of corruption that stems from secrecy, political representation and hierarchical power structures. The most fundamental principles guiding said system would allow “think global, act local” decisions and would also have “all aspects changeable”. These principles would necessitate transparency with respect to decisions made and resource movements between the organisations that form the global government as well as the possibility of direct involvement by all citizens.
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== Universal Values ==
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'''“Within cultural diversity, can common values be found which can serve as a foundation for world government? Further, which values support the expression of human potential in a way that benefits society to achieve peace, equality and prosperity?”'''
  
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== Philosophical Foundation ==
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This section is devoted to a compilation of clearly agreed upon values to base a system of global government upon. If there is to be a world wide system then clearly the values underlying this system need to span the majority of cultures and religious, spiritual or ethical beliefs. Such values would be universal values since the majority of humanity could agree to abide by them. The golden rule or "law of reciprocity" is an example of this. Further, many spiritual traditions describe wise people, prophets or sages, whose example should be followed and who are in harmony with spiritual and natural laws. It follows that there is a deep-rooted belief in a "right way" or path that should be followed. If there is an objectively ideal path that someone can follow in any given situation, which will be of the most benefit for that person and society, what does that path look like?  
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''Within cultural diversity, can common values be found which can serve as a foundation for a system which supports the unfolding of individual human potential in a way that benefits society?''
 
  
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=== Notes ===
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We will also address the question of personal empowerment and which elements this comprises, since in a system which operates bottom-up, power flows from the individual out to higher levels of governance. This necessitates a discussion of concepts such as awareness, personal responsibility, choice and commitment to truth. We intend to discuss methods by which the individual may attain empowerment as well as ways in which a system of governance may support personal empowerment.
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*fundamental idea about leadership: 'with power must come wisdom'
 
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**check connection between Guan Zhong, Confucius and Plato. this point is crucial if we concider that plato and his ideas on democracy are the foundation for our understanding of democracy. if he made a connection between power and wisdom a whole lot of questions arises and will make it easier to show why the current system is out of order and in a state of chaos
 
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*elaborate on the importants for us as humanity, but also for us as individuals to understand and become aware of who we are within the big picture
 
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*establish the notion of an universal truth.
 
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* Nothing to be gained through deception - need to show how we are currently deceiving - References in 'The Corporation'
 
  
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;Universal values and cultural value
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== Implementation ==
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Unity is an underlying feeling or values foundation, however cultural values in combination with the political construct of nation-states lead to an emphasis of what separates us, often leading to alienation and conflict. However, at the core of the philosophical foundations of most cultures lies an acknowledgement of certain universal values which go beyond culture. The Golden Rule for instance is referenced by the Old Testament, I Ching, and other ancient scriptures. A summary of universal principles based on fundamental teachings of philosophical and spiritual movements (Buddhist, Taoist, Muslim, Christian, Jewish) will be provided. The adoption of said universal principles allow the individual to understand what we humans have in common and develop a global consciousness.
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'''“In terms of organisation, what does it mean to apply universal values and holistic governance?"'''
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;Regarding the relationship of individuals with society
 
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The goal is a system which supports the unfolding of unique, individual human potential in a way that benefits society. It will be discussed how this issue relates to the question posed by the paper and how it could be addressed.
 
  
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== Implementation and Transition ==
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The philosophical and structural ideas are unified here for their practical implementation. We intend to compile methods and tools which can be applied in a scalable way from personal empowerment right up to the formation of holistic organisations. We will discuss the kinds of organisations that might comprise an holistic world government and the methods and tools that would be required to allow them to operate in accordance with the values outlined in section two and the systems requirements from section one. We assess the requirements they will need to fulfill such as personal empowerment, decentralised project management, currency creation and provision of identity and trust.
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''Having discussed the philosophy and systems required, how do these things get implemented in the context of current society and how do we get from here and now to there and then?''
 
  
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=== Notes ===
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== Transition ==
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*Discussing the benefits of parallel implementation for both ways. Sustainability - social, environmental and economic
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'''"How can holistic organisations be implemented in the context of current society?”'''
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*Discussing platforms and sanctuaries using established terms, such as co-working groups, urban communities, social and business networks
 
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*Discussing existing groups and current achievements, point to further synergies and potential connections
 
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*implementation first part of section 3, transition part 2 - parallel development expresses how this transition happens
 
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*implementation part starts with historic part and then goes through different examples existing one and imaginary ones
 
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*parallel and 'step-by-step' model for transition. current system is moving aspects and organisations into the new way - new form of revolution which became possible because of inet, worldwide com wasn't possible before that
 
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*inet and web offers examples of new ways of working together and operating organisations which still need to be integrated on a broader level of society; currently no major corporate or governmental institution operates in accordance with those new forms of organisation and cooperation
 
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*need for organisational systems that people use and get beyond current business model of deception and profit
 
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*implementation section shows how section two(philosophy) is represented in organisations, business, etc.
 
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*examples for the new way: skype, wikipedia, 'farm', open source development
 
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*show how new developments interconnect - platform development, peer-to-peer, peer based organisation
 
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*list source(s) for given examples?
 
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*express benefits of peer based and co-op instead of competitive
 
  
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;Parallel development
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We will deal with the the issue that there seems to be no top-down way to implement bottom-up solutions. We intend to tackle this issue by finding existing organisations which are already in alignment with universal values and assess which tools would help these organisations move toward a full expression of universal values; in other words "How can existing organisations be unified and harmonised?".  We will close with a look at current technologies that can help us achieve this goal, with the requirements from the "Implementation" section in mind. We intend to focus on web-based technology to facilitate collaboration, workflow systems, the semantic web and peer-to-peer technology. We will recommend areas of further research and development to move toward software that facilitates personal empowerment with an intuitive interface and also allows the easy formation of holistic organisations. We will assess the feasibility of creating prototype organisations or working with existing, aligned organisations, which could help us further refine the design specifications of the software.
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In this section the philosophical and structural ideas are unified for their practical implementation. The trend of progressive alignment of people who already have a global consciousness through various forms of cooperation and organisation leading to the development of global culture within the nation-states and world wide. Introducing platform organisations (better cooperative organisations?) and sanctuaries for economic sustainability(first aspect?), networks for travel, trade, knowledge exchange. Integration and higher levels of governance will arise from this network in parallel with existing socio-economic systems.(emphasise the benefit for all of parallel development?)
 
  
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== Key Terms ==
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*[[w:Holism|Holism]]
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*[[w:Systems Thinking|Systems thinking]]
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*[[w:Ethic_of_reciprocity|Golden rule]]
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*[[w:Integral_thought|Integral thought]]
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*Centralisation
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*[[w:Subsidiarity|Subsidiarity]]
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*Top-down
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*Bottom-up
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*[[w:Political_power|Political power]]
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*[[w:Empowerment|Empowerment]]
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*[[w:Secrecy|Secrecy]]
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*[[w:Transparency (humanities)|Transparency]]
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*[[w:Universal values|Universal values]]
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*[[w:Social Ecology|Social ecology]]
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*[[w:Human Ecology|Human ecology]]
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*[[w:Peer-to-peer (meme)|Peer-to-peer]]
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*[[w:Open_source_governance|Open source governance]]
 
__NOTOC__
 
__NOTOC__

Latest revision as of 03:15, 24 January 2008

Living Together is the name of a multidisciplinary, collaborative research project spanning the social sciences, business, philosophy and information technology. After experimenting with different formats we are now exploring this topic within the format of an academic paper. The researchers involved share an holistic world view and are drawing upon the holistic thinkers and concepts within the aforementioned disciplines to address the question:

“On planet Earth, can we live as one human family in peace, equality and prosperity?”

We have broken down this overarching question into more specific sub-questions; these give us the main sections of this paper.

  1. World Government - “Can a system of world government help to overcome world conflict and foster equality and prosperity? If so, how would it operate and how would it be structured?”
  2. Universal Values - “Within cultural diversity, can common values be found which can serve as a foundation for world government? Further, which values support the expression of human potential in a way that benefits society to achieve peace, equality and prosperity?”
  3. Implementation - "In terms of organisation, what does it mean to apply universal values and holistic governance?"
  4. Transition - "How can holistic organisations be implemented in the context of current society?”

Aims

The main idea behind Living Together is to examine the question of what kind of global society would be possible if we applied modern information technology to create organisations, guided by universal spiritual and philosophical values. Further, once the requisite values and technologies have been outlined, we will address the implementation of such an ideal within the context of the current global situation. This overall aim can be broken down as follows:

  1. To draw together multiple strands of research from various disciplines and create a platform for further research and related projects.
  2. To create a vision for a peaceful, just and prosperous global society which inspires the public imagination, by creating stories and scenarios based on the findings of the paper.
  3. To create or promote prototype tools and organisations which will help us move toward the vision.

World Government

“Can a system of world government help to overcome world conflict and foster equality and prosperity? If so, how would it operate and how would it be structured?”

We will begin with a review of current political science thought on the issue of world government and isolate the main concepts, functional elements or assumptions involved in the creation of a system of world government. We will perform a critical analysis of these assumptions with a particular focus on how it is proposed that peace, equality and prosperity can be achieved. For this purpose we will introduce principles from holistic thinking to use as guides for assessing the current ideas on world government. We intend to contrast the notion of a centralised, top-down world government with an holistic, bottom-up global government. We anticipate this discussion leading to a vision for a system of global government which is aligned with holistic principles. This vision would encompass the main functional elements and technology required for such a system and include scenarios for dealing with a number of common political and economic functions such as policy-making, resource distribution and the provision of currency.

Universal Values

“Within cultural diversity, can common values be found which can serve as a foundation for world government? Further, which values support the expression of human potential in a way that benefits society to achieve peace, equality and prosperity?”

This section is devoted to a compilation of clearly agreed upon values to base a system of global government upon. If there is to be a world wide system then clearly the values underlying this system need to span the majority of cultures and religious, spiritual or ethical beliefs. Such values would be universal values since the majority of humanity could agree to abide by them. The golden rule or "law of reciprocity" is an example of this. Further, many spiritual traditions describe wise people, prophets or sages, whose example should be followed and who are in harmony with spiritual and natural laws. It follows that there is a deep-rooted belief in a "right way" or path that should be followed. If there is an objectively ideal path that someone can follow in any given situation, which will be of the most benefit for that person and society, what does that path look like?

We will also address the question of personal empowerment and which elements this comprises, since in a system which operates bottom-up, power flows from the individual out to higher levels of governance. This necessitates a discussion of concepts such as awareness, personal responsibility, choice and commitment to truth. We intend to discuss methods by which the individual may attain empowerment as well as ways in which a system of governance may support personal empowerment.

Implementation

“In terms of organisation, what does it mean to apply universal values and holistic governance?"

The philosophical and structural ideas are unified here for their practical implementation. We intend to compile methods and tools which can be applied in a scalable way from personal empowerment right up to the formation of holistic organisations. We will discuss the kinds of organisations that might comprise an holistic world government and the methods and tools that would be required to allow them to operate in accordance with the values outlined in section two and the systems requirements from section one. We assess the requirements they will need to fulfill such as personal empowerment, decentralised project management, currency creation and provision of identity and trust.

Transition

"How can holistic organisations be implemented in the context of current society?”

We will deal with the the issue that there seems to be no top-down way to implement bottom-up solutions. We intend to tackle this issue by finding existing organisations which are already in alignment with universal values and assess which tools would help these organisations move toward a full expression of universal values; in other words "How can existing organisations be unified and harmonised?". We will close with a look at current technologies that can help us achieve this goal, with the requirements from the "Implementation" section in mind. We intend to focus on web-based technology to facilitate collaboration, workflow systems, the semantic web and peer-to-peer technology. We will recommend areas of further research and development to move toward software that facilitates personal empowerment with an intuitive interface and also allows the easy formation of holistic organisations. We will assess the feasibility of creating prototype organisations or working with existing, aligned organisations, which could help us further refine the design specifications of the software.

Key Terms

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