Month: August 2011

The battle for sound social structures is a battle of ideas.  Without a social consensus rooted in a common core philosophy there is nothing to hold a culture on a given course.  Not that all, or even a majority, have to embrace a common core philosophy.  There is never a monolithic thought structure within a society.  Even the most doctrinaire cultures have schisms, most notable today, the Shia and Sunni factions within Islam.  They argue between themselves, battle theologically and politically, and even in the most extreme quarters kill one another, but there are causes that can bring them together.

At the founding of our nation, the historians tell us, it was not a majority that was intent on revolution to free the colonies from the tyranny of Britain. Continue reading “Core Social Consensus Essential for Sustainable Systemic Transformation”

Life is comprised of many small changes punctuated from time to time with rapid broad-scale change, usually precipitated by crisis. Incremental change is mankind’s natural preference when it is sufficient to relieve the discomfort of the moment and avoid major adjustments in the status quo.  However, when incremental change is inadequate to address a problem, society will opt for a major system overhaul.  That is to say, from time to time the pressure for change becomes so great that significant transformational change is required resulting in the cataclysmic transformational event, be it reformation or revolution.  Still, incremental change is the normative process and cataclysmic change is the exception.

So, incrementalism happens.  It happens naturally as a matter of course, even in the absence of any purpose or direction beyond that of relieving some minor discomfort.  But, must it only be accepted as the norm or can it actually be used intentionally as a tool to bring about significant transformation by the accumulated effects of many small measures over an extended period of time?  It is not only possible to use incrementalism as a tool but that it is indeed the wisest and most prudent approach in the majority of circumstances.  Later I will make the argument for the appropriate use of the opportunity for cataclysmic change. Continue reading “Incrementalism as a Tactic – Was Moses an Incrementalist?”