Emergence of a global brain: For and from World governance
Shann Turnbull
sturnbull@mba1963.hbs.edu
ABSTRACT
This papers posits that the conditions precedent for some sort of global brain like phenomena
emerging depends upon the governance system found in nature spreading in society around the
World. This proposition is based on nature producing new emergent properties as its builds upon
its own complexity. The new properties emerging for and from World governance as it obtains
requisite complexity to match the increasing complexity of society.
The architecture of
complexity in nature is based on communication and control networks that form almost selfgoverning “sub-assemblies” or “viable systems” described as “holons”.
Throughout the
universe, complexity is built up from hierarchies of holons with new emergent properties arising
at each higher level. In this way the increasing complexity of society could result in creating the
conditions precedent for the emergence of the mind of Gaia.
JEL Classifications: B59, D70, G39, L16
Key words: Bounded rationality, Cybernetics, Emergence, Governance, Information, Holarchy,
Holons, Mondragón, Organisational architecture, Science of governance, Self-governance.
Authors affiliations: Dr. Shann Turnbull is the Principal of the International Institute for Selfgovernance based in Sydney Australia and a Fellow of the Institute for International Corporate
Governance and Accountability based at the George Washington University Law School in
Washington, D.C. He is an adjunct at the Macquarie University Graduate School of
Management in Sydney, Australia.
International Institute for Self-governance
PO Box 266,Woollahra, Sydney, Australia, 1350
Ph: +612 9328 7466, Fax: +612 9327 1497, Mobile +0418 222 378
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~sturnbull/index.html
Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
This papers posits that the conditions precedent for some sort of global brain like phenomena
emerging depends upon the governance system found in nature spreading around the World.
This proposition is based on nature producing new emergent properties as its builds upon its own
complexity. The increasing complexity of society provides the incentive for World governance
to be based on the system adopted by nature.
Nature both manages and builds complexity from “holons” [1], also described as “wholes” [2],
“orgs” [3], “sub-assemblies” [4], “viable systems” [5], “entities” [6], “chaords” [7] or “stable
structures” [8]. Holons introduce emergent properties that are quite different from those of their
constituent parts and so provide a basis for new complex phenomena to emerge like a global
brain.
Holons are ubiquitous in nature. They provide the basis for creating complexity from simpler
components with minium perturbations of energy or matter. “The reduction in data transmission,
and in data complexity, achieved by the holonic architecture, is prodigious” [9]. In this way they
economise the amount of information for new emergent properties to arise as well as economise
the information required for biota to survive in dynamic complex and uncertain environments.
The design of the communication and control system in biota, machines, devices, software
programs or society is described as its cybernetic or governance “architecture”. Engineers use
holonic architecture to design complex machines and software [10, 11, 12, 13].
Holonic
architecture provides design criteria for firms [7, 14, 15] and a global brain [16].
The governance architecture of a firm is typically replicated from the dominant pattern found in
its host society. Holonic, or even network architecture, is not the dominant form in modern
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
societies.
Industrial societies are typically based on centralised command and control
hierarchies. The governance of nature is based on decentralism, pluralism and associative
relationships.
The network form of cybernetic architecture found in nature is diametrically opposed to the
hierarchical form of governance that dominates modern societies. However, the compelling
competitive advantages of network firms has resulted in their emergence increasing, as society
becomes more dynamic, complex, and uncertain. This provides the basis for expecting that the
breadth and depth of holonic architecture in society to increase accordingly.
While the
development of the Internet provides a way of enriching the development of communication and
control networks, its contribution in developing human holonic networks is limited by the
limited ability of individuals to process information [17].
During the last half-century, the breadth and depth of holonic business networks has increased.
Firms producing films, music, fashion textiles, financial services, electronic devices and
biotechnology products provide examples as referenced by Jones, Hesterly and Borgatti [18].
Some network firms are also found in traditional industries. However, employees mostly control
these firms [19]. Without a division of power the firm would possess untenable conflicts of
interests. These arise because management has power over workers who have the power to
dismiss management. To avoid such conflicts, sustainable employee controlled firms introduce a
network architecture with a division of power and so checks and balances [19]. Some employeecontrolled firms illustrate complex holonic architecture such as the Mondragón Corporación
Cooperativa (MCC).
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
The MCC illustrates a rich holonic architecture that also provides an evolutionary continuum of
those found in nature. The MCC shows how holons provide the building blocks for creating
higher level holons. This creates a hierarchy of holons described as a “Holarchy” [1]. It is in
this way that nature builds upon its own complexity to create the complexity of life. Refer to the
top seven rows of Table 1 Holarchy: Hierarchy of holons.
[INSERT TABLE 1 ABOUT HERE]
The rows in Table 1 have been divided into three arbitrary “levels” of first, second and third,
which have no intrinsic significance but allows each row to be described as a discipline or a
subject such as physics or chemistry. It will be noted that the holonic component listed as the
“third level” becomes the holonic component of the next “first level”. Rows one to seven are
linked in this sequential manner to show how nature creates its complexity. The remaining eight
rows describes the structures created by humans. But those marked with asterisks do not
typically meet the test of being a holon nor do they maintain linked hierarchies between rows
except for rows 10 and 11 which involves the (MCC).
The holonic architecture of the MCC is richer than that indicated in Table 1 as shown in Table 2,
Holonic architecture of Mondragón. Details of element listed in Table 2 are described by
Turnbull [20]. The Table shows how the MCC holarchy is not only made up of recursive
vertically nested (concatenated) holons but also lateral “support” holons that display identical
recursivity in their cybernetic architecture. Because the same pattern is repeated in slightly
different ways, like with the creation of fractals, the information required for building the
structure is economised. The information required for building the structure represent “rule
forms” [21] or “structural information” [22].
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
[INSERT TABLE 2 ABOUT HERE]
The details of how the various decision-making organs in the MCC are constructed and operate
are described by Turnbull [20] who also describes their cybernetic implication [17].
The
decomposition of decision making labour into a number of different centres in a MCC worker
cooperative introduces distributed intelligence. This reduces the volume of information that
individuals need to process to minimise the problems of information overload and “bounded
rationality”
Bounded rationality refers to human behaviour that is "intendedly rational but only limitedly so"
— emphasis in the original — [24]. The term arises from Hayek [25] who noted that "the
problem of a rational economic order is trivial in the absence of bounded rationality limits on
human decision makers". Williamson [26] explains that:
The physical limits take the form of rate and storage limits on the powers of individuals to
receive, store, retrieve and process information without error. Simon observes in this
connection that "it is only because individual human beings are limited in knowledge,
foresight, skill and time that organisations are useful instruments for the achievement of human
purpose”, quoting Simon [27].
According to Williamson [26]: "Bounded rationality involves neurophysiological limits on the
one hand and language limits on the other". The capacity for the human brain “to receive, store,
retrieve and process information” has been quantified [28, 16, 29 30]. A detailed analysis of
how the decomposition of decision making labour in the worker cooperatives of the MCC can
mitigate the problems of information overload and bounded rationality is provided in Turnbull
[16, 29].
The division of decision making labour also introduces a division of power to
5
Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
introduce checks and balances and interdependencies. Interdependence provides a rational basis
for trust that increases efficiency in organisation as it reduces monitoring processes and costs.
The change from a hierarchical architecture to distributed intelligence inherent in holonic
networks introduces profound advantages. Network organisations provide a way to increases the
variety of decision-making centres, communication channels and control agents. In this way,
unreliable humans can be organised to provide requisite variety in decision-making [32],
communications [33], and control [34] to allow complexity to be governed on a reliable basis
[16].
The defining characteristics of holons are “that in the context of intelligent systems it is essential
that each ‘Holon’ be endowed with its own processing ability, its own autonomy, its own ‘mind’
or intelligence [35].
Mathews [36] explains that holons “display triple characteristics of
autonomy, system dependence and recursivity”. Autonomy depends upon the entity possessing
its own mind or intelligence to economise the need to transact information from other parts of
the system to carry out its task. System dependence is required so when the entity does make a
decision on its own it is in a framework of sustaining the whole system rather than acting against
it. In other words, while autonomy requires the entity to be self-governing, system dependence
means that it must do so in a way that is not inconsistent with the larger system in which it is a
part of the whole.
Recursivity arises when there is self-similarity between the entity and the
system with which it is a part. This is illustrated by groups of MCC firms being governed by the
same type of five decision-making centres found in an individual firm and in lateral support
firms listed in Table 2. The five centres are a “General Assemble, Work Group, Social Council,
Supervisory Board, and Watchdog Board”.
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
Autonomy, system dependence and recursivity can be found in the some of the governance
organs in civil society. The board of directors of a large apartment block could almost become a
self-governing entity subject to weak interactions with an almost self-governing local
government authority. The local government authority could in turn be one of many subsumed
within an almost self-governing State Government that had weak interactions with a Federal
government in countries like the US, Canada and Australia. (This situation is represented in row
13 of Table 1.) National governments in turn could have weak interactions with the United
Nations and a web of other multinational government, multi-national businesses and nongovernment agencies.
When local, state and federal governments exist in a country they possess separately elected
governing organs to create autonomy and self-similarity or recursivity between the three levels.
There are also various processes of system dependence between the levels of government. The
existence of bureaucratic hierarchies in each level also provides self-similarity and so recursivity.
However, the presence of hierarchy in the three levels denies each level being holon and part of
holarchy as explained below.
Mathews [37] points out that a fourth feature flows from the three properties discussed above in
that no part of the system will possess complete information about any other part of the system.
This provides the basis for higher level holons to form by integrating disparate purposeful
entities into a coordinated whole to allow new properties to emerge. However, this process has
not yet occurred in global governance to create the mind of “Gaia” [38]. The reason is that while
the governance architecture within some nations meet the necessary conditions of creating a
holarchy, they do not meet the sufficient conditions discussed below, and in any event the
necessary conditions between nation states has not yet developed.
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
The sufficient conditions for a Holarchy are the “three orders of description that are
characteristic of Holonic systems alone” [39].
The “first order functionality refers to the
question of what holons do; second order functionality to the question of how their tasks are
combined, and third order functionality to the issue of why some process are accomplished and
not others”. These three orders are concerned respectively with the communication and control
channels within the holon, between holons at the same level and between the holon and the
system as a whole. They create respectively, “first order coordination, occurring within holons
themselves; second order coordination, occurring between holons (such as integrative teams);
and third order coordination, which occurs at the level of the total system, feeding its influence
to all holistic levels” [40]. These relationships are identical to those that are used to define three
types of “social capital”[41].
A first order functionality characteristic of holons is their ability to combine both centralisation
and decentralisation of control. In the case of social organisations this allow the decomposition
of decision making labour to minimise information overload and bounded rationality. It means
that organisations are decomposed into almost self-managing cells in which individuals are
multi-skilled to allow multi-tasking. The management hierarchies of local, state of federal
government do not commonly create this first order functionality.
Second order functionality of relationships between holons allows one holon to take over the role
of another at the same level to provide system reliability. Again this is not commonly found in
management command and control hierarchies.
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
Third order functionality is the relationship of a Holon with the whole system to allow operations
to be switched from one part of the system to another to provide flexibility of the system as
whole to respond to changing circumstances. This is also not typically found in hierarchies.
From the above considerations we must conclude that the cybernetic architecture of the various
levels of governments in modern industrial societies that are supported by centralised command
and control hierarchies do not meet the conditions that holonic architecture “alone” provides.
Unless the three orders of functionality exist then the competitive advantages of holonic
architecture cannot be achieved in providing system “responsiveness; learning and adaptation;
and system-wide innovations” [42]. Traditional centralised hierarchies do not have the capacity
for self-renewal as a continuous process like holonic organisations.
However, the increasing complexity of society provides an ever-increasing pressure for these
hierarchies to convert to holarchies. How and why this might be implemented in the public
sector is described in Turnbull [43, 44] and how and why it might be implemented in the private
sector in Turnbull [45, 17] and in either sector in Turnbull [15]. Political pressures for regional
autonomy are creating additional tiers of government. In the UK for example, the process of
devolution is introducing more self-governance to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Mathews [46] states that “the object of holonic organisational design is to create self-adjusting,
self-renewing systems through a continuous process of organisational learning. They provide the
basis for superior performance and sustainability of holonic organisations over conventionally
structured hierarchical organisations.” These advantages provide a basis for expecting holonic
organisational architecture to spread around the globe as the complexity of society increases.
9
Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
The ability of Holonic organisations to act locally and co-ordinate globally is shown by the credit
card organisation, Visa International Inc [7]. This provides a role model for other global
businesses and civic systems of governance. Non government organisations are also developing
holonic characteristics. Holonic networks in the public, non-profit and private sectors can be
expected to increase with the increasing complexity of society. In this way a rich web of
meshing holarchical networks will be created to provide a continuum to the rich web of
holarchies that exist in nature as shown in Table 1.
As a result, World government will need to coordinate this complexity with requisite variety of
complexity. This will create the conditions precedent for the emergence of global brain like
characteristics for and from World governance.
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
Table 1, Holarchy: Hierarchy of holons
In nature (rows 1–7), society* (rows 8–13) and engineering (rows 14 and 15)
*Contains components that typically do not meet the test of being a Holon
Discipline/Subject First level
Second level
Third level
1
Physics
Particles
Atoms
Molecules
2
Chemistry
Molecules
Compounds
Bases
3
Genetics
Bases
DNA
Genes
4
Biology
Genes
Chromosomes
Cells
5
Anatomy
Cells
Organs
Biota/Individuals
6
Environment
Biota
Ecological systems
Gaia (Earth)
7
Astronomy
Earth
Solar system
Galaxy
8
Sociology
Individuals
Families
Communities
9
Organisations
Autonomous
Firms*
Keiretsu /groups
10 Mondragón Co-op Work groups
Social council
General assembly/co-op
11 Mondragón
Cooperative groups
Mondragón
cells/divisions*
Co-operative
system (MCC)
12 VISA Card [7]
Corporación
Cooperativa (MCC) [20]
Member Bank* Regional/functional VISA International
Unit
13 Government
Local
Regions/States*
Nations*
government*
14 Engineering
Components
Sub-assemblies
Machine
15 Software design
Sub-routines
Routines
Object-orientated programs
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Emergence of a global brain: For and from global governance
Table 2, Holonic architecture of Mondragón
Concatenated holons
Intra-support
Productive
Integrity (support) holons
Supports all productive holons Lateral recursivity
vertical recursivity
in the system
Cultural imprinting
60,000
Biological components
(Hezibide Elkartea)
General Assembly
Individuals
(brain, nervous system
Schooling (EPP)
Work Groups
and other support
Social security (Langun-Aro)
Social Council
organs)
Retail store (Eroski)
Supervisory Board
Retail banking (CLP)
Watchdog Council
General Assembly
Trade and professional
General Assembly
Work Groups
schools (EPP)
Work Groups
Social Council
Work experience (Alecop)
Social Council
Supervisory Board
Wholesale banking (CLP)
Supervisory Board
Watchdog Council
R&D (Ikerlan)
Watchdog Council
[23]
165
Firms
[23]
12 Groups or
General Assembly
General Assembly
'Relationship
of Groups
Entrepeneur and imprinter of
Work Groups
Associations'
Group Social Council
'Holonic architecture' (LKS)
Social Council
Group Governing
Supervisory Board
Council
Watchdog Council
Mondragón
Mondragón Congress
Fund for Inter-cooperative
Corporación
Central Social Council
solidarity
Cooperativa
Council of Groups
16