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Panarchy Panarchy is the idea that 'all of life' (Pan) should gets what is good and right for them. Panarchy implies 'justice'. Each person is important and deserves consideration. This does not mean everybody must be treated the same in all things. A society requires a variety of different kinds of people with different roles and different powers. Nevertheless in some sense all life has value and should be well-treated. Panarchy also implies 'harmony' . The needs of each person to give and to receive can only be met in a society where the needs of everybody to give and receive is in balance. (One person's giving is another person's receiving). This is an ecological principle. In the absence of Panarchy then only the needs of some people are taken into account. Other people may be their slaves. Panarchists are people who value the lives of others and are seeking to create a living environment in which the 'whole-life' (Holos) of the place is accorded significance so that each receives what is good for them. The term includes all those working consciously and effectively to put power in to the hands of those who will use it to good effect. The two processes at work are: a) To spread power about so that people have greater control over their own affairs and b) To ensure that those with power over others have a Holophilic (benevolent) attitude. So the term Panarchist includes (benevolent) Autarchists and other authentic religious or humanitarian movements. Autarchy Autarchy means Self-Rule. Autarchy implies freedom. With autarchy a person has no internal or external impediment to action that it is not able to overcome. Autarchy does not mean that there are no impediments to action at all - but that there are none which are absolutely constraining - none that could not be overcome with some attention and effort focussed upon it. For Autarchy a person needs a knowledge of their environment and Wisdom. They also need Strength to overcome obstacles. They also need to be able work collectively with others where one person alone is not strong enough to overcome obstacles, or where the freedom of one might be gained at the expense of another. Those who seek Autarchy and Panarchy can be called either Autarchists or Panarchists, depending on their main focus of attention. Perhaps Autarchy comes first. Without freedom you have no influence on your fate, whether you live in a happy Holarchic society, or a miserable monocratic one. Thus perhaps at the present time, most should become 'Autarchists'. Autarchists are 'self-rulers', or 'freedom-lovers'. They dedicate their energies to gaining freedom for themselves as individuals, for a community of which they are a part, or for their nation or for the whole of mankind. However distinguished perhaps from other kind of freedom-seekers, autarchists believe that ALL these levels are important. They do not seek freedom by building an authoritarian political machine. They believe that for freedom to come the spirit of autarchy must infect the people. The desire for freedom must burn in their hearts for them to strive for it with vigour. Such an excited people infected with the spirit of autarchy will express such a desire in all aspects of their lives. They cannot be oppressed at one level and expected to be vigorous at another level. Thus most Autarchists start with themselves, and their immediate lives. How can they become free in thought in action? They soon realise they must combine with others for different tasks. Usually they seek to combine at the lowest effective level. The smaller the collective group the easier it can reflect the wishes of the individuals who are a part of it. Also the more the group share a common culture, the easier they will work together. Nevertheless for some tasks this is not possible. Only very wide-scale associations can muster the resources necessary. 05th Dec 2005 - Updated August 2006 - revised March 2009 |
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