So apparently I never posted my panarchy poster online (from a few years ago).

Sometimes I miss the obvious....

Click on the image for the full-size version.

I am posting this because recently i've been asked about it in conversations surrounding the building of the "#nextnet" ( http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23nextnet ).

While there is a plethora of work on networks and robustness / resilience, there are a few starting points:

Error and attack tolerance of complex networks
Réka Albert, Hawoong Jeong & Albert-László Barabási
NATURE | VOL 406 | 27 JULY 2000

The first requirement when governments need to consolidate control is to prevent horizontal peer-to-peer communication. To this end, the first tactic is to suspend the right of “freedom of assembly” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_assembly ).

In the past, people gathered in public squares and coffee houses. Today, they gather online.

So it comes as no surprise that governments are targeting these spaces.

In the past, people simply moved their meetings to new spaces. I’m hoping we will choose again to do that.

I’ll be over here….

Where will you be?

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In "Options for Managing a Systemic Bank Crisis", Bernard Lietaer continues his interest in sustainable monetary systems. This time around he make a tie to complex systems and makes an important contrast between "efficiency" and "resilience".

Lietaer and I have been on the same page at least as far back as Douglas Rushkoff and I started discussing "open source currency" (Rushkoff http://rushkoff.com/articles/the-feature/open-source-currency/ , Energy Bulletin http://www.energybulletin.net/node/4207 ).

(Clicking the above image will download a pdf file of a larger image.)

In order to understand the complex world emerging around us, it is necessary to have a grasp of the ecological concept of "carrying capacity." This post explains this crucial concept without letting the mathematics distract us from the important points.

Michel Bauwens asked me to discuss bow-tie structures in relation to John Robb's ongoing use of them on his "Global Guerillas" blog. There is so much to say about bow-tie structures and the ways in which the concept is deployed. This article will give a brief background, take a closer look, and end with a note on the importance of bow-ties for the future.

Back in 2004, i wrote a lengthy response to Alexander Wendt's amazing article “Why a World State is Inevitable." (Wendt, Alexander (2003) 'Why a World State Is Inevitable', European Journal of International Relations 9(4): 491-542.), but surfing the web of late has convinced me to bring it forward (finally).

Alexander Wendt begins his paper “Why a World State is Inevitable” with the following concise formulation of his intent: “In this article I propose a teleological theory of the ‘logic of anarchy’ which suggests that a world state is inevitable….” I offer the following equally concise opposition: In this article I propose a teleonomic theory of the ‘logic of panarchy’ which suggests that a world state is not inevitable. I suggest that the stable “state” for
this teleonomic process is a global “complex adaptive system,” or governance network, in which the “logic of anarchy” gives way to the “logic of panarchy.”

http://www.panarchy.com/Members/PaulBHartzog/Papers/Panarchy%20Is%20What...
(folder: http://www.panarchy.com/Members/PaulBHartzog/Papers/ )

I recently read Heart of Dryness (http://www.heartofdryness.com/) by James G. Workman. In an age of permanent drought, this book explores what we might learn from the Kalahari Bushmen about how to manage water resources. The book is well-worth reading, both intellectually and emotionally rewarding.

Circle of Blue is doing a 7-part series of excerpts here: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/heart-of-dryness-revers...

Title: The Five Commons - An invitation to 21st Century wealth-generating ecologies
Authors: Paul B. Hartzog, Sam Rose, Richard C. Adler
Web: The Forward Foundation http://www.forwardfound.org
License: Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike
Ref: FF-2010-4-19

Introduction

 

The Five Commons constitutes an evolving vision of the emerging 21st Century economy. Each of the five commons represents a key area in which transition is apparent.

 

The Forward Foundation hopes that by sharing this vision, people will find clues and insights into new ways of structuring human activity and sustainable living.

 

The Five Commons ( http://forwardfound.org/blog/?q=five-commons )

Resource Sharing - Grounding the 21st Century Economy

Twenty-first century wealth-generating ecologies need to remain robust and flexible in order to allocate resources quickly and efficiently, and to mitigate the effects of constant fluctuations and redistributions. Nobel Prize recipient Elinor Ostrom's work on "commons" provides vital thinking towards a solution: peer governance and information transparency.

http://forwardfound.org/blog/?q=resource-sharing-grounding-21st-century-...