*I dunno. Maybe. If this participatory stuff even sorta works out, it oughta become a major magnet for backlash panic about "organized crime, terrorists, kidporn and drug dealers."
*Then again, my most recent science fiction novel is about a world in the 2060s dominated by post-national, global "civil society orgs."
*I'm kind of amazed that political parties don't do this. Why do they allow themselves to have their oxygen stolen by Obama fundraising nets and Tea Party insurgencies? You'd think that political "party" systems would be naturals for "participation."
*One other thing. This business about geezers on the Internet all the time? I can completely believe that. There's gonna come a day, one of these decades, when I can't get outta my chair.
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Participatory+systems:+moving+beyond+20th+century...-a0219900487
Participative Systems in Practice
(...)
"Consider aging. (((Always a good idea.))) The so-called demographic time bomb is a global challenge, which the IMF predicts will dwarf the current financial crisis. By 2050 one in three people in the developed world will be over 60 (one in five globally).
"In the United Kingdom, this demographic shift is viewed almost universally as a source of panic because our 20th century welfare systems were not designed for a world where 60 percent of the population would be over 60. Indeed, the fiscal and social strains on our welfare institutions are already showing.
"The policy dialogue has focused almost entirely on currently offered services and how to limit access through targets, gatekeeping, and so on–all of which are further sponges of limited resources.
"What is striking about the UK over-60 population, however, is their wealth. They own over 80 percent of the United Kingdom's financial assets and are a huge well of talent, time, skills, and knowledge.
"At Participle we asked what would happen if we built a system, with older people, which could pool this vast resource and support participants to live a rich third age. The result is Circle, a membership organization that is alive in London and from 2010 will be scaling nationally.
"Circle is a concrete example of a participatory system and so warrants closer examination. Designed initially with 250 older people and their families, Circle is part social network and part concierge service. The system has a wide network of paid and voluntary helpers that help take care of members' needs, from climbing a ladder to changing a light bulb, to accompanying someone on a hospital visit, to sorting someone's paper work. Members also take part in a wide range of social activities.
"Nothing is too small, too large, or too outlandish for the Circle team. Circle team members do not see themselves as running a traditional service but rather supporting a wide participatory network whose members range in age from their 50s to their 90s and who come from across the socioeconomic spectrum. Members do not sit on boards; they actively collaborate to shape Circle and its activities in real time.
"A low basic membership fee encourages wide membership, while wealthier members have the option to pay more for additional support. This generates a surplus, which is then ploughed back into the network, whose legal framework includes an asset lock. (((?))) At a time of financial crisis, Circle is actually multiplying the resources available on one shared platform, both monetary and non-monetary such as time and skills. (((?!)))
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
"Emerging participative systems, like Circle, can be found across the globe. Successful participative systems are marked by development of a sustainable business model and combination of different types of knowledge and resources to provide a service or social solution.
"Examples include mobile farmer networks in Africa that combine world-leading science, economics, and local knowledge to extend farming techniques and achieve better market prices. Further, Pune University in India is radically extending the concept of a university to harness the participation of villages in developing both new ways of learning and communities of action. Interestingly, many of their efforts are targeted on climate change...."
