Why Complex Societies Need Simple Individuals | John Gowdy
Why Complex Societies Need Simple Individuals | John Gowdy
This town ain't big enough for the both of 'em
Appears in this episode
John Gowdy is Professor of Economics and Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He is the recipient of the Herman Daly Award for contributions to ecological economics, and author of Ultrasocial: The Evolution of Human Nature and the Quest for a Sustainable Future.
John joins me to explain how humans, like ants and termites, are “ultrasocial” and what this form of hyper-complex social organisation does to our relationships, our neurochemistry, and our individuality.
He says increasingly complex social organisation leads to a decrease in individual complexity. John argues that rather than environmental destruction and extreme inequality being due to human nature, they are the result of the adoption of agriculture by our ancestors.
Why Complex Societies Need Simple Individuals | John Gowdy
On the relationship between markets and the state, there’s a good explanation by Daniel Schmachtenberger on the video Sensemaking V which has really stuck with me. Basically:
1) The state binds the market through monopoly of violence, making sure it doesn’t descend into exploitation and criminal activity.
2) The people bind the state. This assumes that citizens are actively involved in politics and informed enough to vote for the candidates that represent the interests of the many.
3) The market binds the people. Invisible hand and all that rubbish.
4) There is a functioning 4th estate so that citizens have reliable information.
According to Daniel S. all of these thing need to be in place for a functioning participatory democracy.
Unfortunately it seems that the state and much of the 4th estate have been captured by the market, so we have an oligarchy as John Gowdy says.
Agree with you Rachel that there won’t be much left of civilisation at 3-4 degrees above pre industrial.
I truly like John Gowdy. I do have holdings that I'm building up focusing on wildlife diversity, keeping the market out is a new idea to me, yeah. Iys working by the way.
I also studied Hayek and Austrian Economics. 1982. In a round about way these ideas do take into account of biological resources. Scarcity would lead to higher prices which would lower demand sort of thing. But that's simplistic thinking. I know a lot of people who are professed Austrian economists that seize up when I tell them all money, even the money they have, is the result of this debt-based system. Now I can add it is all at the behest of hierarchy and government! Hahahaha!
As an aside its this debt based system more than anything that allows financing of the machines and infrastructure that are depleting resources, in a biological sense way faster than it can replace itself.
I also have replaced natural selection with natural succession and think all of the oligarchs are about to be violently replaced. Hahahaha!
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