How Can Systems Thinking Be Applied to Activism?

[Focus Shift]

In the past few months I've been participating in a group whose aim is to raise awareness and put pressure on leadership to counter climate change. I've noticed this kind of activism is rich in the stage green worldview. It's been incredibly insightful to have experiences with this kind of perspective. As a Zoomer myself (I am 23 as I write this) I think our society will probably be dominant in stage green by the time I have children. I also have a few contacts that are in Libertarian circles (and yes, I fully recognize that from an economics standpoint, we need some regulation, and public investment in the educational system, protection of the environment, etc. Leo's criticisms of economic libertarianism are spot on). In the range of political podcasts I've listened to, I've noticed that progressive and conservative activists may have more in common than they realize (particularly the more libertarian conservatives). There are a few "intersections" (to use a leftist phrase) that progressives and libertarians have a mutual interest in, such as ending war, calling out abuse of power by the state and corporations, and ending the war on drugs. Even though there are significant ideological differences between these worldviews, I think some collaboration in these areas would be immensely beneficial. How can systems thinking or spiral dynamics be applied to activism, in order to most effectively implement social change?

[DocWatts]

To start with, making sure that activism has a clear and easily articulable goal that takes in to account the pragmatic realities of the socio-political landscape is one part of it, so political resources and effort can be spent in economical ways.

Understanding Power dynamics is another aspect of this, in order to pressure governments and organizations in efficient and effective ways. This means understanding what institutions that you're trying to influence care about, and how to gain leverage for negotiations.

Having good understanding of where societal Attractors lay (an Attractor being something that is driving how and in what direction systems change) is also important, because it will help to identify and address Root Causes rather than symptoms.

An awareness of how changing a dynamic system can result in unintended consequences is also a part of applying systems theory to activism. 

Related to this, systemic understanding in this regard involves having an awareness of how various problems are interlinked and interdependent.

To use Climate Change as an example, tackling this problem in a productive way will by necessity have to involve democratization efforts that combat the ability for corporations to influence the outcomes of elections, misinform the public, and use lobbying to prevent governments from taking steps to address the climate crisis.

In the United States that would involve working with other groups to prevent the collapse of democracy over the next 5 to 20 years, whether that might be due to a successful coup or through a more gradual process of gerrymandering and voter suppression. The best citizen's lobby in the world won't be able to accomplish much in the US if it backslides in a serious way towards an authoritarian regime.

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by DocWatts

[aurum]

@Focus Shift It’s great that you want people to collaborate. I agree with you, I want to see more collaboration as well.

One of the barriers I’ve seen to that happening is that Us vs Them thinking motivates the general population. Thus, political leaders often learn either consciously or unconsciously that they need to divide people if they are to effective.

Us vs Them thinking also begets more Us vs Them thinking. The more I think libertarians are the enemy, the more I’m motivated to engage in divisive behavior. And the more the libertarians then feel justified in doing the same.

So you get caught in a negative loop that requires a jump in consciousness / Love to break.

Such a jump is usually culturally self-emergent. But we can help it along by doing conscious work and setting an example.

[Focus Shift]

@aurum Absolutely, sometimes it can be a difficult thing to navigate, because every group has their own set of cultural norms. Its taught me to ask questions and become more curious in what other people think. 

[Focus Shift]

@DocWatts Can you elaborate a little more on societal Attractors? 

[DocWatts]

37 minutes ago, Focus Shift said:

@DocWatts Can you elaborate a little more on societal Attractors? 

Emil Ejner Friis, who wrote a book about how metamodernism and systems theory can be applied to politics, wrote an excellent article on the subject:

https://metamoderna.org/attractors-the-guiding-stars-of-historys-winners/

Edited April 26, 2022 by DocWatts

[flyingguitarist]

I think there's a book called 'Systems thinking for social change' by David Peter stroh , maybe that would help you