Cosmos seeks to create a vibrant, diverse ecosystem of participation. Like our actual cosmos, we would be chaotic yet ordered, orbiting magnetically yet on a thin, magical margin of success. To create the ultimate consensual, autopoietic dance, we would create a system held in utmost complexity by an arrangement of tensions astonishingly attuned in just such a way as to allow continuous development (like a universe!) We must balance forces that integrate and draw together with forces that diversify and diverge. There would never be a perfect state attained by the organization–and it isn’t meant to just “grow” mindlessly, either. It is meant to shimmer and dance, to celebrate the experience of life, to develop its self-awareness, in ever growing complexity.
MODELING PATTERNS THAT ENCOURAGE THRIVING
⚛Holistic Self-awareness: Modeling after successful structures & behaviors of living systems (from bacteria to human life to ecosystems). “We observe and model successful patterns that emerge in healthy systems.” Various real patterns are sensed and discussed among members to ascertain how they might be interpreted in the living framework of Cosmos–our combined wisdom informs the structures and behaviors in the system. Through the right combination of hierarchical structures, developmental pathways and enmeshing, networked social linkage, any and all beings intertwined with the system, thrive.
☤ We heal ourselves at all scales through experiential learning, experimental development and compassion for all life. ☤
COMBINING & ENHANCING FORCES
?Exploration. Open-minded conversation in which we explore shared and different areas.
?Sponsorship. “I take an active interest in you and your work; I see you and I uplift you.” Also known as:
?Amplification. “That which you do, that resonates in me, I amplify by sharing, supporting and remaking.”
?Regenerative. “Energy contributed into the system is not extracted, but rather feeds back into increased benefits available to entities in the system.” This is essential to the cooperative business design (members own, control and benefit). It is also a crucial design aspect for siphoning off capital from status quo or “legacy” systems (see: financial ram pump) and “capturing” it into a regenerative system that results in spirals of abundance for users.
☯ Integration & collaboration. “We should strive to integrate our efforts where there is overlap and collaborate to realize the best version possible of what we are creating.” [Ties in with “inter-creative being”]
?Weaving. “How could we benefit from connecting…[____]?” Social and structural norms under competitive capitalism tend to isolate and silo, affecting dehumanization and broken communicative and collaborative capacities. How can we be, instead, relentlessly integrative? How could we all “fit” more creatively together: not by force, but by consensual alignment (harmony)?
This is a major and fundamental strategy of Cosmos, premised on an organismic model in which the organization should “digest and metabolize” threats by integrating 1) the manifest efforts, through partnership, or 2) the ideas, structures, or “bits of DNA” from peers/parallel efforts that are conducive to Cosmos’ mission-fulfillment. We want to play host to a wide range of crucial cross-sector conversations, identifying and bolstering fruitful and unconventional collaborations within our network. We want to consensually integrate with other co-op businesses in the field. And we want our members to be welcomed, engaged and served at the individual level from the time they join the platform.
DIVERSIFYING FORCES
?Diversifying. “Diversification of culture infuses vitality into the community: we embrace difference and creative tensions.”
- New media proliferation through cross-cultural exposure, inquiry, etc.
- Diversifying and freeing capital to serve people’s real interests. We recognize the following forms of capital in our system and in our measures of collective wellbeing: social, intellectual, cultural, experiential, financial and environmental capital. Cosmos’ internal economy (LitCoin) serves the mission by diversifying how people circulate their energies and generate wealth… Any capital, including attention, that can be captured and recirculated within Cosmos strengthens the value of the entire platform: a value which members realize the benefit of through various forms (lower costs, new and improved facilities, greater access to benefits, higher wages, etc.)
♺ Experimentation. Equanimity/willingness to fail. From Agile, “fail small and often.” Also, being a learning organization. Iteration. Adaptability. Using feedback loops to rapidly inform action and growth. Heuristic—building off of our best ideas “as of now,” progressively. See also: Human-centered design.
MAINTAINING STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY (CONTROLLING)
⚒Praxis. Cosmos is a praxis playground for visionary ideas. When faced with stimulating theories, Cosmos urges the question “what is its use value?” That is, can people use it to live better lives? If an idea cannot be used or realized/implemented effectively, what are its merits? How could it be combined or reworked so as to have applicability to the human situation? Thus as a culture do we discourage critique-only discussions which lead down semantic spirals and may challenge people’s minds but do nothing to transform realities.
?Reciprocity. “We develop trust by circulating our gifts generously–and in ways that benefit each and all of us overall.” Fairness. Equity. Honesty/transparency. You get what you give.
⚖ Dynamic balancing. Cosmos would be a set of functions contained in programmed algorithms, the tweaking of which would enable various changes (and cascades of effects) in the system. The more self-aware and self-monitoring the system, the more likely it is to improve and develop. Cosmos will enable autopoetic learning through member participation in adjusting the control algorithms, but it will strive to avoid allowing catastrophic errors that might undermine the whole of the inputs invested. (If this ship must crash, it must crash consensually.)