Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation February 2012
What is Global Governance? No world government = no global governance But, if governance = provision of public order
Then, other sources of governance: international organizations, agencies, regimes, alliances,
forums, networks, public-private partnerships, etc ...
What is Global Governance? All forms of Global Governance are: Partial and dissimilar Surrogates for the absent world government Attempts to fill the global governance deficit Global Governance = A patchwork quilt of governance
structures and systems
Two Functions of Global Governance 1.
Provision of Public Order
Two Functions of Global Governance 1.
Provision of Public Order
Two Functions of Global Governance 1.
Provision of Public Order
2.
Steering Function
Two Functions of Global Governance 1.
Provision of Public Order
2.
Steering Function
Where are we going? Our only clues: The universalized political commitment to economic
growth More is better
Destination: The Land of Plenty
Where are we going? No roadmap
No realistic destination No one at the wheel
Missing steering function = global governance deficit Finding the answer in the noumenal domain
What is a Complex Adaptive System? Dominant worldview: Newtonian mechanics
But Newton’s laws tell us nothing about: Forests The world economy Stock markets The internet Earth’s climate
Characteristics of Complex Adaptive Systems Huge number of interactive parts Constant energy input Evolution
Threshold effects Emergence
What is emergence? The whole is more than the sum of its parts Example: Human consciousness Supervenience and evolution
Emergence and Global Governance Human society on Earth is a Complex Adaptive System Complex Adaptive Systems can spawn emergent
phenomena Do we have a collective consciousness, a ‘shared mind’?
Does a shared consciousness exist? A clue: Waves of shared emotion Evidence from sociology
Culture supervenes on individual behaviour
Stages of Evolution 1.
Early childhood: Local awareness
2. Adolescence: excitement, gullibility, vulnerability
3. Adulthood: empathic care and responsibility
Where we are now: Adolescence The panacea of economic growth The illogic of perpetual growth
Simple, exciting ideas dominate our evolution, but we
lack a reflexive capability
Two Questions 1.
How can we influence the evolution of our shared ideational space?
2. Where do we want to go?
Answering these questions is the first step toward a new form of global governance
How can we influence the evolution of our shared ideational space? 1. Bottom-up: Open-architecture politics and social media
(participatory democracy) Examples: Occupy Movement, Arab Spring, Russian uprising against Putin, #tellviceverything campaign Mobilize constituencies (youth, boomers)
How can we influence the evolution of our shared ideational space? 2. Top-down
A New Reformation A frontal attack on the “church of everlasting growth” Shift from defence to offence Shift the burden of proof Stake a dogmatic claim to our own future
Where are we going? An ecologically safe and just human society Transition from adolescence to maturity
Transition from bigger to better A stable platform
Four Transitions ď‚— Cognitive: From Newton to CAS
Four Transitions ď‚— Cognitive: From Newton to CAS
ď‚— Political: From muddling through to open-
architecture democracy and noumenal supervenience
Four Transitions Cognitive: From Newton to CAS
Political: From muddling through to open-
architecture democracy and noumenal supervenience Normative: From utilitarianism and moral relativism
to a deeper understanding of the ‘meaning of life’
Four Transitions Cognitive: From Newton to CAS
Political: From muddling through to open-
architecture democracy and noumenal supervenience Normative: From utilitarianism and moral relativism
to a deeper understanding of the ‘meaning of life’ Economic: From the growth model to the SSE model