RSA Thursday - Organising and Disorganising

4th Dec 2008; 13:00

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Michael Thompson, from the East-West think tank, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, visits the RSA to discuss his new book Organising and Disorganising.
 
The book builds upon his previous seminal work in the area of Cultural Theory and develops new perspectives on the five fundamental forms of societal life: the hierarchical, the egalitarian, the individualistic, the fatalistic and the autonomous, each of which is a way of disorganising the other four whilst depending on them for its existence.
 
Through a range of examples and analogies Thompson shows how best outcomes depend upon an essential argumentative yet constructive process between these five socio-cultural forms, resulting in what he terms “Clumsy Solutions”.
 
In his talk to the RSA, Michael Thompson will be focusing on how these models might offer new solutions to seemingly intractable problems such as climate change and the credit crunch.
 
Chair: Matthew Taylor, chief executive, RSA

Download information about the LSE Complexity Group Seminar (PDF)

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