I was recently asked what my ideas were for a new government structure as I was so disparaging about our current western setup. And it’s made me think more deeply about my vision and wish to write it down for clarity and expansion.
Twenty years ago, I read The Aquarian Conspiracy by Marilyn Ferguson and she describes the paradigm shift from hierarchical governance to net or latticed leadership. It made sense to me then and even more sense to me now.
Because now I have actual experience of it. Our children’s Steiner school is run in this way, there is no head teacher but instead a college created by a selection of teachers, refreshed yearly by those who wish to step into the circle.
Not one person makes a decision for the school, everything is discussed and looked at alongside the philosophy and foundation of the school’s and Steiner’s teachings. There are plenty of differing opinions and yet somehow a decision is found, by the intention they all share, which is what is best for the school and our children.
Of course I am not privy to these meetings and I have no idea how easy or hard it can be to reach these satisfactory conclusions but I can tell you what it is like from the outside. I can tell you that there is sometimes frustration that we don’t have instant answers but have to wait for the weekly college meeting (but isn’t that just part of our insane instant gratification model of society?) yet equally it gives us the opportunity to approach any college member with our views or issues, rather than just one person who may not resonate with our personality.
I can tell you that during these past years of crazy, it was amazing to feel the college work hard to accommodate the broad range of fears and needs of both teachers and families rather than a dictate from one ego. It meant that our children survived their disrupted schooling with far less disorder than any other school I have witnessed.
And it makes sense. Why is leadership defined by one person? Why do we have health ministers that epitomise ill health in themselves and have no clue about the value of true wellness? Why do we have education ministers that know only the experience of their own schooling and nothing beyond that narrow border? Why do we have transport ministers that only want a foot in the door of government and so accept this tedious position with no thought to the environmental, social and retail impacts of their infrastructure. I could go on and on…. The leaders of our country are leaders because, more often than not, a bullish charm has pushed them ahead of their peers, not a passion for their subject or indeed, the subjects of society.
What if we completely rethought what a government is? Not a small shift, not proportional representation or any such minor shuffle, but a throw it all up in the air and create something utterly new.
Rishi, Liz, Kier, Boris… they are all cut from the same cloth. I want our country to be held by a circle of experts, passionate about their knowledge and their wish to grow the humanity of our society. A lattice, with no overall leader, but held by a movement of wisdom and expertise, intentionally conscious of the needs of our country and our people, wrapping us safely in the strength of their expansive connections and web.
Can you imagine that?
First published on social media on 30th October 2022