This is a very informative piece. I was familiar with the fact that late-stage empires show increased totalitarianism but not with the TIMN model. I find the framing of "network technology being used to concentrate market power rather than distribute it" and essentially co-op or prevent "the genuine, Nature-inspired network from emerging" to be key takeaways. I could use a little more clarity on what constitutes "Nature-inspired networks" although from my own experience they are direct relationships with real people in specific locales that engage in freely-chosen shared activities, (music/arts, fitness, gardening) although some have also emerged from voluntary time in digital spaces as well.
I find the Complexity Spectrum helpful for understanding the different layers of currently operative social organization. The dilemma as I see it is whether a threshold majority choose the evolutionary impulse towards the new form of mycelial consciousness (something implying creative effort and some level of self-transcendence) or tip backwards towards the atavistically tribal? This question forms the thesis of a highly insightful book I just finished entitled "Tribal Future of the West" by Mike Maxwell. The thesis is that sovereignty is migrating downward to more local and tribal forms as nation states and institutions lose legitimacy and fracture. How to reconcile "the strong tribal thesis" with the Noospheric-Mycelial R(evolution) is my homework.
This article also helped clarify one essential role of threshold guide to be that of "preserving the conditions under which better worldviews can be selected for"; that essentially we are in a race between the technocratic consolidation of a sclerotic, life-blind market system and free cultural-relational evolution organized around ecological reality. (This is the thesis of another great book called "Value Wars: The Global Market versus the Life Economy" by Canadian Prof. John McMurtry.) I also find the introduction of panarchy theory to provide the fundamental time orientation for threshold guides. We are in a race, a contest, a competition where time is of the essence. The "alpha phase" window will be a brief but potent phase that must be boldly seized and stewarded by all who are cultivating the evolutionary impulse. I see an epic struggle not just between the emerging practitioners of mycelial consciousness and the technocratic controllers but between evolutionary agents themselves as we struggle to coordinate cohesive responses to crisis and lay firm foundations for future builders. Cheers!
I'm going to write an essay on this, because it first needs an understanding of how "coordination fields" have evolved over time, but if you'd like a taster, here is the entry in my research portal with raw notes on Mycelial Coordination: https://bit.ly/My-CF (can take up to 20 seconds to load).
"Tribal Future of the West"
I've not read this book, but from the various descriptions of it, I can tell that the author is not familiar with the evolution of consciousness, a favorite topic of mine. Where I sense he and I differ is he expects a devolution, where I anticipate a Momentous Leap. Both of us will be long forgotten before the history books record who was correct, but I prefer the more evolutionarily coherent narrative. Regressing to tribes is not what the evolutionary trajectory indicates, hence the progression: TIMN.
Where we both appear to agree is that the Market form is over.
"Value Wars"
Another book I haven't read, but I get the basic thesis. Where he and I probably differ is that I see "The Global Market" as an evolutionarily coherent period that was required to accelerate us up the steep part of the S-curve i.e. we shouldn't be so critical of it. We're now reaching the natural limits, hence the peak of the S-curve.
"Race/Contest"
I see this slightly differently in that the outcome of the contest won't be immediately visible. What do I mean?
Simplistically, humanity has repeated the same class-based experiment over and over across the past 12,000 years (since the Neolithic Revolution). Each new experiment involved some form of tribal loyalty in the early phase. I believe collective consciousness has sufficiently evolved such that - for the very first time - it is possible for us to *potentially* break the cycle and make the Momentous Leap to a global values-based civilization. This is a tall order, and there's no guarantee, but I can see the potential. It will require more of us actively cohering around this idea before it even remotely has a chance.
The Decade of Dramatic Disruption will create a choice point for all of humanity. Some will coalesce around the old Market form, probably in 15-Minute and "Freedom" Cities. Others will coalesce around the emerging Network form (from TIMN). We currently identify these as bioregional regeneration projects, but they will mature into a viable alternative to 15-Minute Cities. The "race" is a multi-generational period in which each form competes for survival. The outcome depends on how many of us are ready to come forward courageously during the "alpha phase" window. Hence, Threshold Guides.
Absolutely. The Tribal book is literally all about "devolution," of legitimacy, power, sovereignty. I find it useful as a lens for viewing historical trends and breakdowns, but less so as a "threshold text" as it emerges from a material-centered worldview of historical determinism and recurring, unchanging patterns. One aspect of the book I did find interesting was his extensive documentation of networks of bad actors. He goes into cartels, militias and mafias extensively but treats them as types of "tribes," although now that I am more familiar with the TIMN model I see that he is essentially confirming the point about bad actors appropriating the new social organization form (namely, networks) first, while more nobly-inclined actors arrive later to the party.
The Value Wars book was an important text for me on my intellectual journey and helped me see the mechanisms by which global market coordination is "life blind."
He is basically a Marxist, however, and I now see the limitations of this type of critique when taking into account the much broader historical/evolutionary view of the civilizational S-curve and evolution of consciousness.
Agree about the race/contest point too. We are essentially preparing for the preparers, the Seven Generations to come, all that jazz. But the urgency I feel to kick into high-gear coherent action is real. "Alpha Phase" would make a great band name too!
This is a very informative piece. I was familiar with the fact that late-stage empires show increased totalitarianism but not with the TIMN model. I find the framing of "network technology being used to concentrate market power rather than distribute it" and essentially co-op or prevent "the genuine, Nature-inspired network from emerging" to be key takeaways. I could use a little more clarity on what constitutes "Nature-inspired networks" although from my own experience they are direct relationships with real people in specific locales that engage in freely-chosen shared activities, (music/arts, fitness, gardening) although some have also emerged from voluntary time in digital spaces as well.
I find the Complexity Spectrum helpful for understanding the different layers of currently operative social organization. The dilemma as I see it is whether a threshold majority choose the evolutionary impulse towards the new form of mycelial consciousness (something implying creative effort and some level of self-transcendence) or tip backwards towards the atavistically tribal? This question forms the thesis of a highly insightful book I just finished entitled "Tribal Future of the West" by Mike Maxwell. The thesis is that sovereignty is migrating downward to more local and tribal forms as nation states and institutions lose legitimacy and fracture. How to reconcile "the strong tribal thesis" with the Noospheric-Mycelial R(evolution) is my homework.
This article also helped clarify one essential role of threshold guide to be that of "preserving the conditions under which better worldviews can be selected for"; that essentially we are in a race between the technocratic consolidation of a sclerotic, life-blind market system and free cultural-relational evolution organized around ecological reality. (This is the thesis of another great book called "Value Wars: The Global Market versus the Life Economy" by Canadian Prof. John McMurtry.) I also find the introduction of panarchy theory to provide the fundamental time orientation for threshold guides. We are in a race, a contest, a competition where time is of the essence. The "alpha phase" window will be a brief but potent phase that must be boldly seized and stewarded by all who are cultivating the evolutionary impulse. I see an epic struggle not just between the emerging practitioners of mycelial consciousness and the technocratic controllers but between evolutionary agents themselves as we struggle to coordinate cohesive responses to crisis and lay firm foundations for future builders. Cheers!
Really good feedback, Paul, thank you.
"Nature-inspired networks"
I'm going to write an essay on this, because it first needs an understanding of how "coordination fields" have evolved over time, but if you'd like a taster, here is the entry in my research portal with raw notes on Mycelial Coordination: https://bit.ly/My-CF (can take up to 20 seconds to load).
"Tribal Future of the West"
I've not read this book, but from the various descriptions of it, I can tell that the author is not familiar with the evolution of consciousness, a favorite topic of mine. Where I sense he and I differ is he expects a devolution, where I anticipate a Momentous Leap. Both of us will be long forgotten before the history books record who was correct, but I prefer the more evolutionarily coherent narrative. Regressing to tribes is not what the evolutionary trajectory indicates, hence the progression: TIMN.
Where we both appear to agree is that the Market form is over.
"Value Wars"
Another book I haven't read, but I get the basic thesis. Where he and I probably differ is that I see "The Global Market" as an evolutionarily coherent period that was required to accelerate us up the steep part of the S-curve i.e. we shouldn't be so critical of it. We're now reaching the natural limits, hence the peak of the S-curve.
"Race/Contest"
I see this slightly differently in that the outcome of the contest won't be immediately visible. What do I mean?
Simplistically, humanity has repeated the same class-based experiment over and over across the past 12,000 years (since the Neolithic Revolution). Each new experiment involved some form of tribal loyalty in the early phase. I believe collective consciousness has sufficiently evolved such that - for the very first time - it is possible for us to *potentially* break the cycle and make the Momentous Leap to a global values-based civilization. This is a tall order, and there's no guarantee, but I can see the potential. It will require more of us actively cohering around this idea before it even remotely has a chance.
The Decade of Dramatic Disruption will create a choice point for all of humanity. Some will coalesce around the old Market form, probably in 15-Minute and "Freedom" Cities. Others will coalesce around the emerging Network form (from TIMN). We currently identify these as bioregional regeneration projects, but they will mature into a viable alternative to 15-Minute Cities. The "race" is a multi-generational period in which each form competes for survival. The outcome depends on how many of us are ready to come forward courageously during the "alpha phase" window. Hence, Threshold Guides.
Absolutely. The Tribal book is literally all about "devolution," of legitimacy, power, sovereignty. I find it useful as a lens for viewing historical trends and breakdowns, but less so as a "threshold text" as it emerges from a material-centered worldview of historical determinism and recurring, unchanging patterns. One aspect of the book I did find interesting was his extensive documentation of networks of bad actors. He goes into cartels, militias and mafias extensively but treats them as types of "tribes," although now that I am more familiar with the TIMN model I see that he is essentially confirming the point about bad actors appropriating the new social organization form (namely, networks) first, while more nobly-inclined actors arrive later to the party.
The Value Wars book was an important text for me on my intellectual journey and helped me see the mechanisms by which global market coordination is "life blind."
He is basically a Marxist, however, and I now see the limitations of this type of critique when taking into account the much broader historical/evolutionary view of the civilizational S-curve and evolution of consciousness.
Agree about the race/contest point too. We are essentially preparing for the preparers, the Seven Generations to come, all that jazz. But the urgency I feel to kick into high-gear coherent action is real. "Alpha Phase" would make a great band name too!
Thank you for putting the time to write this. Very informative and tracks with some of my owj understanding.