In response to Eric, Prof. Tim wrote:
> Eric wrote:
>
>>... how does one create a truly egalitarian organization?
[warning: the following response is being written first thing in the morning without benefit of cerebral caffeination]
...it's my understanding of autopoietic [self-organizing] systems that the parts relate by each contributing to the manufacture and maintenance of other components - ie. each bit is devoted in its function to all the other bits for the continuance of the system.
...this is in contrast to non self-organizing systems where the components contribute to the well being of a dominant factor/entity.
...there is dispute about where the line can be drawn between autopoiesis and externally imposed organization - a fish is an aoutopoietic organization of components, a school of fish may or may not be, a pack of wolves is less certain, a culture less certain still [though I think there may be some merit to looking at memetic networks as self-organizing symbolic systems].
...in any case, organizations which are definitely autopoietic are definitely egalitarian with respect to their constituents
-psypher