And just to churn the pot a bit.... open some space??? An off thought which has pestered me recently. Goes like this. "Structure is only a figment of our imagination. It is our "take" of reality, a flash frame of the passing scene. In our minds it looks solid, even unchanging. But actually it is just a momentary view of the ongoing flow." Or something.
Harrison From: OSList [mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Mezick via OSList Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2015 9:26 AM To: oslist@lists.openspacetech.org Subject: [OSList] The Tyranny of Structurelessness THE TYRANNY of STRUCTURELESSNESS by Jo Freeman aka Joreen I find this essay extremely interesting. I hope you do, too. Here is a pertinent quote, from the essay: "...the idea of "structurelessness" does not prevent the formation of informal structures, only formal ones." Circa 1970. Context: the women's movement. Quick summary of the main points: from the essay... * During the years in which the women's liberation movement has been taking shape, a great emphasis has been placed on what are called leaderless, structureless groups as the main -- if not sole -- organizational form of the movement. * The idea of "structurelessness," however, has moved from a healthy counter to those tendencies, to becoming a goddess in its own right. * Contrary to what we would like to believe, there is no such thing as a structureless group. * This means that to strive for a structureless group is as useful, and as deceptive, as to aim at an "objective" news story, "value-free" social science, or a "free" economy. A "laissez faire" group is about as realistic as a "laissez faire" society; the idea becomes a smokescreen for the strong or the lucky to establish unquestioned hegemony over others. * This hegemony can be so easily established because the idea of "structurelessness" does not prevent the formation of informal structures, only formal ones. * For everyone to have the opportunity to be involved in a given group and to participate in its activities, the structure must be explicit, not implicit. * It is this informal structure, particularly in Unstructured groups, which forms the basis for elites. Just in case you have not yet encountered the full text of this essay, here it is: THE TYRANNY of STRUCTURELESSNESS by Jo Freeman aka Joreen http://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm Regards, Daniel http://www.OpenSpaceAgility.com/about http://www.DanielMezick.com 203 915 7248
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