Problem
In Steven Johnson's "The Myth of the Ant Queen," he explains how cities have a "coherent personality" that derives from systematic complexity. For Johnson, cities, like ant colonies, "self-organize out of millions of individual decisions, a global order built out of local interactions" (194). Though Johnson's enthusiasm for self-organizing systems might suggest that larger economic systems-like globalization and free trade-encourage freedom, development, and progress, these seemingly bottom-up systems have had a catastrophic effect upon the environment. In Naomi Klein's "Hot Money," she explains how capitalist ideology has exponentially increased the demand for fossil fuels, forcing the global climate to a tipping point. Likewise, Suzannah Showler examines how the modern addiction to artificial light has brought about the disappearance of the night sky. In each of these "human generated problems" (to use a term from Klein) it is fair to wonder if human beings are "consciously, explicitly, and intentionally" working together to protect our environment. What role have self-organizing systems played in climate change? Likewise, what is the role of self-organization in protecting our environment for future generations?
Texts: Steven Johnson's "The Myth of the Ant Queen," Naomi Klien Hot money. Suzannah Showler Land of living skies.