Organizations and Social Force

[rousseau]

A few things are true about any organization (government, corporation, religion etc.)

- They're made up of individuals who are usually dependent on the organization
- The majority of individuals in the organization have very little control over the over-arching direction of the organization
- The individuals in an organization will act in a way towards that organization that, ultimately, benefits the bottom line of their own life, whether or not that means the organization is taken in a better direction

I'm afraid to use a specific example because inevitably that causes micro-discussion about the example rather than the overarching idea, the idea being that once an organization forms, as long as it's profitable for those who sustain it, that organization or system is likely to continue regardless of it's utility or long-term impact, and once it's firmly entrenched in society it's very hard for people inside of it to make a shift, even if they were to want to.

So, systems and organizations as a whole have more power than individuals. The question is: how do you shift the power back to people and make systems more flexible?

 

[rousseau]

The question is: how do you shift the power back to people and make systems more flexible?

I wonder if this is a fundamental flaw in how people organize themselves, and the only way to really make the systems better are to raise the level of discourse and conscientiousness surrounding the organization so that it's held to higher standards.

I mean, you look at some of the Nordic countries and things seem to function in a more humane way because if they didn't, the people would recognize it. I don't know what got them to that stage in the first place, though.. pure luck? .. national wealth?