The Fifth World:Third Virtue
From The Fifth World
Contents |
[edit] Jeff Vail's Expansion
First, "Virtue is found not in secrecy". Anything that you are doing, that should be done, can be done with full disclosure. Any action that is virtuous will actually benefit from a full and constant exposure to the scrutiny of everyone. Who knows--it might even let someone else provide feedback that illustrates a possible improvement. It also touches back on the concept of ownership: secrecy, as a form of intellectual property, is not accepted. Any information that is of value should be shared freely, as this prevents a relapse into the hierarchy of ownership, and ensures that the information provides its maximum benefit though open access by the entire community.
Second, virtue is not found in "the constraint of freedom". 'Do what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the law' (Crowley). No action should be proscribed that is not itself a "constraint of freedom". In other words, you can't MAKE others act in the way you want them to, and they can't MAKE you. But you're welcome to lead by example...
Third, the "acknowledgement, and accepting responsibility for all costs of one's actions." Ultimately, this comes back to not proscribing the freedom of others. Be aware of the true and total costs of any action (how it impacts others), and then take responsibility for ameliorating those costs--so that you are not constraining their freedom. For example, you'd like to divert a stream for irrigation. You must account for the fact that your neighbor downstream fishes there. Not only account for the cost of the loss of fish for your neighbor, but take responsibility for it: if you can't ameliorate the cost (provide for another source of fish), then you're placing a constraint on your neighbor's freedom, and therefore you must not divert the stream. Remember: you do not OWN the stream, and you should not assert ownership-by-use as it is constraining the freedom of another.
Finally, this virtue offers guidance in the area of punishment. Punishment in the form of constraint of freedom is worthless: it does not take responsibility for the cost of the act that is being punished. Instead, follow the model of most tribal people, and impose a sanction (such as "the silent treatment") that is contingent upon the offender taking responsibility (making up for the cost) for the offending action. This can be tricky: how does someone "make up for the cost" of murder? It's a long discussion, but the ethnographic record demonstrates that tribes do have an effective way of dealing with all forms of transgressions--even murder.
The third virtue is critical, as it provides the groundwork for a society that can enforce its own norms without the "assistance" of hierarchy or a state superstructure.
[edit] In the Fifth World
[edit] Infrastructure
[edit] Structure
[edit] Superstructure
[edit] The Four Virtues
- The First Virtue: Own only that which you must presently use, for all else is deceit. Use little, as virtue is derived from experience, not consumption.
- The Second Virtue: Simplicity is virtue. The most beautiful form of simplicity is the elegant circle of self-sufficient consumption and creation. In all forms of accounting, do not consume more than you have already created.
- The Third Virtue: Virtue is found not in secrecy or in the constraint of freedom, but in acknowledgement, and accepting responsibility for all costs of one's actions.
- The Fourth Virtue: Understanding the universe of connection is virtue. Connect with space through silence. Connect with time through experience. Free yourself from ego through awareness. Protect transcendent beauty.
