Brief blurts about tribes and tribalism — Harold Jarche on “tribal values are not democratic” (2017)

Harold Jarche, an independent consultant who specializes in new organizational models for workplace transformation, ranks among the very few analysts / theorists who have taken TIMN seriously enough that it is used in their writings. I hope to say more about this in the future. Meanwhile, here is one incisive TIMN-related post that not only addresses the T/tribal form but also looks ahead to what the rise of the +N/network form may mean:

“We have observed that the Tribal form (e.g. families, clans) continues to exist even when Institutions or Markets are the dominant organizational form. The challenge today is that many people no longer trust traditional institutions (e.g. church, government, banks) and there is diminishing faith in our Markets (e.g. repeal of TPP, Brexit). What is missing is an appealing network model that represents not globalism but rather internationalism, where diverse people can connect without the intermediation of global platforms and companies running on a market agenda. Platform co-ops are one such option.

“If we want to avoid a return to Tribal conflict and a narrow view of society, we need to build and test alternative network models: now. We are in desperate need of new models for living, working, and learning. The great work of our time is to design, build, and test new organizational models that reflect our democratic values and can function in an interconnected world. Failure by current generations to do so will leave the next ones to deal with the reactionary forces of tribalism, corporatism, and perhaps even fascism.

“Open information and access to our common knowledge assets is required. We can only deal with complex systems and problems collectively. I used to think that the great work to be done at the beginning of this century was the democratization of the workplace. This is no longer enough. Our great work today is the re-democratization of society. Everything is now being communicated, and fragmented, at an electric pace. Change happens quickly in an electric, and now digital, age.”

https://jarche.com/2017/01/tribal-values-are-not-democratic/