Practitioners in international development are constantly engaging social holons in a change process. Change occurs quite differently in social groups than it does in individuals, requiring us to develop different skills and understanding.
Integral Theory distinguishes the difference between psychological development in individuals and social change in groups. The former grows through predictable waves or stages of development, whereas the latter occurs through changes in the social discourse of a group or society. As such, a social group need not formally 'grow' or 'develop' through every single stage, even though individuals that make up that society will. Rather, as the social discourse shifts to include new ideas and values, the 'social center of gravity' shifts to accommodate those new concepts, and may even skip or leapfrog stages. Each individual finds his or her way to align to those new ideas. For example, when a society begins to value separating garbage from recycling and sets up a system to do that, every individual does not (and need not) suddenly shift his or her values regarding recycling. Yet because people are immersed in these new social ideas and values, they often begin to take up new behaviors even though their own consciousness and worldviews have not changed. In this thread, we delve into the nuances of working with these social dynamics of change, applying ideas from Integral Theory as well as other innovative understanding of how the collective evolves.
We intend this discussion topic will help us deepen into the topic prior to a field event we are hosting in Peru in Fall 2012 on this very issue. During this field event we will draw on social psychology, on Wilber's Excerpt D, and on our own field experience to further examine the dynamics of cultures, societies and systems, as well as to learn skills to engage a truly integrally-informed social change.
Join the conversation on this topic in the Discussion Forum, and add your views and insights as we prepare for Peru, and deepen our understanding of social holons wherever we engage in social change.