collective-providence

Collective Providence

Definition

Collective providence is that which allows a collective to provide for its members more than the members could provide for themselves as individuals.

Symmetrical Synergy

When the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, the amount of the whole per part exceeds each part. You get more out than you put in. You get something from nothing.

This phenomenon of synergy is fairly well understood and widely utilized. What is not as well understood is the difference between asymmetrical synergy and symmetrical synergy.

Asymmetrical synergy is when the collective benefits at the expense of its members. A functioning machine might be more than the sum of its parts, but the cogs in that machine do not benefit from their participation. They get used up and worn out.

Symmetrical synergy is when both the collective and its members benefit from their relationship. Not only is the whole greater than the sum of its parts, but the parts themselves are greater for being included in the whole.

Collective providence occurs when there is symmetrical synergy. The collective provides for its members just as the members provide for the collective.

Individualism & Collectivism

It is commonly assumed that collective power requires individual sacrifice, and individual power leads to collective impotence. In other words, individualism and collectivism are assumed to be at odds. This assumption is false.

There exists a category of organizational architectures that yield symmetrical synergy, meaning that the interests of the individual and the interests of the collective are complementary rather than competing.

Necessary Conditions

The following are 3 necessary conditions for collective providence to occur:

1. Collective competence must exceed individual competence in some meaningful way. The whole must actually be greater than the sum of its parts. There must be some sort of true synergy that incentivizes individuals to participate in the collective in the first place. Individuals must recognize the possibility that the collective might serve them better than they can serve themselves.
2. Individual behavior must be sufficiently spontaneous and unpredictable to the collective. What cannot be predicted cannot be controlled. The spontaneity of individuals incentivizes the collective to treat each individual as a self-sovereign being in order to earn their voluntary participation. Without spontaneity, the collective would instead be incentivized to use its power to coerce or manipulate individuals into serving the collective interest irrespective of individual interests. Spontaneity ensures that the collective interest stays aligned with individual interests even as those interests change. This alignment is what allows the synergy to be symmetrical.
3. The collective agenda must be coherent and understandable to individuals. This gives individuals the freedom to interpret collective decisions how they wish rather than merely follow orders, which then frees the collective from the burden of micromanaging everything in a top down fashion. In this way everyone benefits from the creative spontaneity of individuals. This is the symmetrical synergy of the system.