Democracy and Open Space

[Elena A. Marchuk]

Hi Criss,

I did try the address you mentioned, as the idea is looking interesting for
me, but it did not loaded and asked my password.
Do I need any authorithation there?
How can I reach the material about 4N, if possible, please?

Best wishes

Elena


----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Corrigan" <chris at chriscorrigan.com>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 7:04 AM
Subject: Re: Democracy and Open Space


> We had a conversation earlier in the year about forms of convergence and
> action planning that did not require voting.  In February I tried out
> the 4N method that Michael Herman and I hammered out (Michael named
> it...he gets the credit for News Now Next Nuts - and he can have it!).
> It worked really well.  The record of the conversation and the story are
> on The Meta Network at
> http://community.tmn.com/tmn/swebsock/0007715/0679001/CS41/viewitem.cml?
> 22+6+54+23+0+0+1+x#here
>
> Not voting is empowering.  People see what work needs to be done and
> pick up the tasks.  People move by choice to the work that holds the
> most meaning for them, and new structures emerge.  I think voting places
> predetermined boundaries about what needs to happen.  As much as we can
> say that "every issues is still important" voting implies that some
> issues are more important than others, even if things are ranked
> strictly according to where people's energies are at.  The only time I
> have found voting appropriate was at the end of a one day meeting, when
> my sponsor wanted things prioritized.  At that time, we gave each person
> five dots and asked them to rank the most important issues for the
> group.  That was all.  There was no follow up within the OST meeting on
> these issues, they simply ranked them and left them at that.  With a
> clear understanding of what we were doing, no one felt slighted.  But in
> contexts where the voting then leads to groups to work out those issues,
> I have found people generally miffed at the way that whole thing goes.
>
> Maybe it's me (Harrison might think so...he once described the aversion
> to voting as "Canadian.")
>
> Another thing that bugs me about voting is that it says "wasn't that
> Open Space thing interesting?  Okay, let's get back to reality..."  In
> other words, it doesn't model the new reality, but reinforces the old
> one.  I have had people express exactly this disappointment to me.  They
> have said "Oh rats...we were really starting to get somewhere..."
>
> And this "getting somewhere..."  Doesn't that echo John's notion of
> democracy as a journey?  I don't think that democracy IS voting, nor do
> I think that voting in and of itself is democracy.  To reduce one to the
> other removes the role and responsibilities of the citizen to act and
> improve the system.  Perhaps real democracy invites this action.  Voting
> is just a way to see what's popular.
>
> So OST is "democratic" if it invites folks to be citizens, encourages
> them to use their feet, and provides a way for outcomes to unfold
> without domination from powerful interests.
>
> Enough musing for now.
>
> Chris
>
>
> ---
> CHRIS CORRIGAN
> Consultation - Facilitation
> Open Space Technology
>
> Bowen Island, BC, Canada
> http://www.chriscorrigan.com
> chris at chriscorrigan.com
>
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