Panarchy

The Panarchy website is at ttp://www.panarchy.com

Panarchy is the pattern of relations that characterizes and defines the next era in human civilization. The totality of these relations - political, economic, social - is what constitutes global governance in the next cycle of civilization. Mark Salter offers this definition: "Panarchy means an inclusive, universal system of governance in which all may participate meaningfully". (http://www.panarchy.com )

"Panarchy, and by extension this website, is not a normative model; it is a descriptive one. Panarchy is not a utopian vision, or an attempt to describe a rational or just world order. Panarchy may not be good or bad, but it is coherent and consistent. Like the Industrial Era, Panarchy demonstrates certain ways of perceiving and interacting with the world throughout its breadth and depth. Panarchy emerges from the analysis of broad patterns of change in the world, which leads to an understanding the dynamics of systems and holarchies. By applying those understandings across all strata of society, we arrive at a description of where civilization is heading -- thus, Panarchy.

Related Book: Gunderson and Holling, Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Systems of Humans and Nature .

Comment by Michel Bauwens: Related to my concept of peer to peer, is the concept of panarchy. The author of the panarchy website Paul Hartzog has a very similar positioning. However, where I differ is that it is in my view also a normative model, it represents a new ethos. And it is not just an automatic development, but is sustained and promoted by a sociopolitical movement, and is and will be fought by others.