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The Gaian Democracy

© Donna L. Quesinberry

Gaia theory, proposed by British scientist James Lovelock in the early 1970s, has gained advocates throughout the world scientific community. In the United States, Dr. Lynn Margulis of the University of Massachusetts explained the origin of eukaryotic cells through symbiotic relationships among prokaryotic organisms, which revolutionized evolutionary thought in the late 1960s. Gaian theory holds that the Earth can be described as a vast, autopoietic system of many components, all of which have evolved together to enhance and regulate conditions for the perpetuation of life. Gaian Theory sees the Earth's physical, chemical, and biological systems as a single evolving, self-regulating ecosystem. When you apply these principles to human society, you are referring to the individual as a 'holon' (like a team player in a sport activity) capable of thinking and acting independently, but only able to achieve success through holarchy (team cooperation). As each holarchy develops, they begin to be their own holons within the holarchy of a league or association. This forms the network government model where each level is informed and shaped by input from feeder holons. This is a bottom up theory of social development, not a top down theory. Each decision is shaped by unique characteristics of diverse situations of the real world where individual holons interact.

What we are told is that the current hierarchical system is necessary because ordinary people are incapable of organizing themselves--that a lack of power would lead to chaos and that people must be ruled in order to keep them in control of themselves. The Gaian Democracy theory says that the 'real' worse case scenario is the one we are currently facing. It further suggests that if ordinary people do not re-engage in a redesigned political process, we will face a comprehensive system collapse. It may be too late already to prevent an impending ecological catastrophe and Gaian Democracy proponents suggest that the only method with hope of recouping something from the remains is to have a genuine participatory democracy built upon this new system model.

A successful example of an organization that uses this approach of informing, empowering, and enabling everyone involved is Porto Alegre in Brazil, which from a near breakdown in 1989, has become one of the best run cities in the world (maintaining a highly motivated and satisfied citizenry). The people of Porto Alegre are allowed to have direct involvement in its participatory budget; as a result, the city has thrived, becoming more efficient, adaptive, and responsive to societal and environmental needs.