Whats your world view?
January 8, 2007 3:45 PM Subscribe
I've just recently stumbled upon Spiral Dynamics and it has essentially changed my entire outlook on life. For those of you unfamiliar with SD it is a spiral developmental model of world views with each successive world view being more complex than the last. My question is where are you on this scale, and what it would take for people to think in more complex terms and paradigms.
The scale is as follows:
1. Beige: Semi-Stone Age not generally that active today, dominated by nature and basic survival instincts, acting much as other animals. Results in loose, clan-based survival groups. Famine might result in large numbers of people arrested in this mode. (newborns and senile elderly, mentally ill street people, people in starvation, late-stage Alzheimers, .1% of population)
2. Purple: Tribal animistic, magical, spiritistic, close to the earth and cyclic in outlook. This leads to tribal groupings, focus on rituals to appease ancestral spirits. Blood bonds are strong. Management of PURPLE demands respect for clan rules and allegiances, respect to the clan "leaders." Rewarding someone too visibly can break the group bond with negative consequences. Change must be embodied in rituals, traditions, and symbols. (guardian angels and voodoo-like curses, blood oaths, lucky charms, superstitions, athletic team bonding, 10% of world population, 1% of power)
3. Red: Exploitative Rough and harsh, rugged authoritarianism, finds expression in slavery or virtual slavery, exploitation of unskilled labor. Generally run by a Top Boss and series of proxies, strict division of have's and have not's. Assumption is that people are lazy, must be forced to work. True leaders must suppress natural human tendencies. Currently evident in street life and gangs in inner cities. Motivated by "heroes" and conquest. Feudalism. (Terrible Twos, feudal kingdoms, soldiers of fortune, many rock stars, Power Rangers, rebellious youth, 20% of world population, 5% of power)
4. Blue: Authoritarian Loyal to Truth, which is defined by social grouping. Purposeful and patriotic, leads people to obey authority, feel guilty when not conforming to group norms, try to serve the greater good through self-sacrifice. Works very well in industrial economies. Discipline is strict but usually fair and often public (flogging in Singapore, e.g.). U.S. has shifted away from BLUE industries, which have moved to Mexico, Taiwan, Malaysia, and elsewhere that this BLUE is now strong. BLUE industries will eventually move to Africa, in Beck's opinion. Moralistic-prescriptive management techniques. Organizational structure is pyramidal. (Boy and Girl Scouts, Billy Graham, Puritan American, Confucian China, Islamic fundamentalism, 40% of world population, 30% of power)
5. Orange: Entrepreneurial Personal success orientation, each person rationally calculating what is to their personal advantage. Motivations are largely economic, people are responsive to perks, bonuses, money rather than loyalty, group belongingness, or life employment. Rational capacities allow people to test many options. Competition improves productivity and fosters growth. This is probably the dominant vMeme in America today. Main concerns are autonomy and manipulation of the environment. Usually results in free market economy and multi-party democracy. (Ayn Rand, Wall Street, Rodeo Drive, cosmetics industry, Dallas, trophy hunting, Hong Kong, GQ, Mediterranean yachts, 30% of world population, 50% of power)
6. Green: Communitarian Sensitive and humanistic, the focus with green is community and personal growth, equality, attention to environmental concerns. Work is motivated by human contact and contribution, learning from others. Being liked is more important than competitive advantage, value openness and trust, fear rejection and disapproval. Leaders become facilitators, less autocratic. Hierarchies blur in the move towards egalitarianism with a resulting tendency towards inefficiency and stagnation. Can become so bogged down and ineffectual, though, that people revert to go-getter individualism of orange. (Rogerian counseling, Esalen, GreenPeace, Jacques Costeau, Jimmy Carter, John Lennon's music, Doctors without Borders, ACLU, Ben & Jerry's, animal rights, deep ecology, 10% of population, 15% of power)
7. Yellow: Systemic This is the first vMeme of the second tier (described below) in which there is a quantum shift in the capacity to take multiple perspectives in life. YELLOW is motivated by learning for its own sake and is oriented towards integration of complex systems. Change is a welcome part of the process in organizations and life; YELLOW likes the challenges. It is characterized by systems thinking, an orientation to how parts interact to create a greater whole. Unique talents and dispositions are honored as contributing something valuable to the whole. YELLOW likes engineering complex systems and dealing with ideas. It is also ecologically oriented, but in a more subdued, behind the scenes way. YELLOW thinkers often work on the periphery of organizations, quietly fine-tuning situations and procedures, much to the bafflement of the first tier vMemes. (Hawking's Brief History of Time, chaos theory, eco-industrial parks, Wired magazine, 1% of world population, 5% of power)
8. Turquoise: Holistic Focused on a global holism/integralism, attuned to the delicate balance of interlocking life forces. Synthetic and experiential, emerging focus on spiritual connectivity. Work must be meaningful to the overall health of life. Feelings and information experienced together, enhancing both. Able to see and honor many perspectives, including many of the "lower" vMemes. Structured in multi-dimensional ways. Conscious of energy fields, holographic links in all walks of work and life, urge to use collective human intelligence to work on large-scale problems without sacrificing individuality. (Gaia hypothesis, Ken Wilber's work, Teilhard de Chardin, David Bohm, McLuhan's ‘global village,' Gandhi's idea of pluralistic harmony, not very influential yet, .1% of world population, 1% of power)
I put myself somewhere between Yellow and Turquoise and to be honest it explains and rationalizes many of the problems i've been having when trying to explain my worldview to other people. So to reiterate what i'm looking for: where are you on this scale, and what would it take for people to think in more complex terms and paradigms.
Bigger explanation of Spiral Dynamics here: http://www.spiraldynamics.com/book/SDreview_Dinan.htm
The scale is as follows:
1. Beige: Semi-Stone Age not generally that active today, dominated by nature and basic survival instincts, acting much as other animals. Results in loose, clan-based survival groups. Famine might result in large numbers of people arrested in this mode. (newborns and senile elderly, mentally ill street people, people in starvation, late-stage Alzheimers, .1% of population)
2. Purple: Tribal animistic, magical, spiritistic, close to the earth and cyclic in outlook. This leads to tribal groupings, focus on rituals to appease ancestral spirits. Blood bonds are strong. Management of PURPLE demands respect for clan rules and allegiances, respect to the clan "leaders." Rewarding someone too visibly can break the group bond with negative consequences. Change must be embodied in rituals, traditions, and symbols. (guardian angels and voodoo-like curses, blood oaths, lucky charms, superstitions, athletic team bonding, 10% of world population, 1% of power)
3. Red: Exploitative Rough and harsh, rugged authoritarianism, finds expression in slavery or virtual slavery, exploitation of unskilled labor. Generally run by a Top Boss and series of proxies, strict division of have's and have not's. Assumption is that people are lazy, must be forced to work. True leaders must suppress natural human tendencies. Currently evident in street life and gangs in inner cities. Motivated by "heroes" and conquest. Feudalism. (Terrible Twos, feudal kingdoms, soldiers of fortune, many rock stars, Power Rangers, rebellious youth, 20% of world population, 5% of power)
4. Blue: Authoritarian Loyal to Truth, which is defined by social grouping. Purposeful and patriotic, leads people to obey authority, feel guilty when not conforming to group norms, try to serve the greater good through self-sacrifice. Works very well in industrial economies. Discipline is strict but usually fair and often public (flogging in Singapore, e.g.). U.S. has shifted away from BLUE industries, which have moved to Mexico, Taiwan, Malaysia, and elsewhere that this BLUE is now strong. BLUE industries will eventually move to Africa, in Beck's opinion. Moralistic-prescriptive management techniques. Organizational structure is pyramidal. (Boy and Girl Scouts, Billy Graham, Puritan American, Confucian China, Islamic fundamentalism, 40% of world population, 30% of power)
5. Orange: Entrepreneurial Personal success orientation, each person rationally calculating what is to their personal advantage. Motivations are largely economic, people are responsive to perks, bonuses, money rather than loyalty, group belongingness, or life employment. Rational capacities allow people to test many options. Competition improves productivity and fosters growth. This is probably the dominant vMeme in America today. Main concerns are autonomy and manipulation of the environment. Usually results in free market economy and multi-party democracy. (Ayn Rand, Wall Street, Rodeo Drive, cosmetics industry, Dallas, trophy hunting, Hong Kong, GQ, Mediterranean yachts, 30% of world population, 50% of power)
6. Green: Communitarian Sensitive and humanistic, the focus with green is community and personal growth, equality, attention to environmental concerns. Work is motivated by human contact and contribution, learning from others. Being liked is more important than competitive advantage, value openness and trust, fear rejection and disapproval. Leaders become facilitators, less autocratic. Hierarchies blur in the move towards egalitarianism with a resulting tendency towards inefficiency and stagnation. Can become so bogged down and ineffectual, though, that people revert to go-getter individualism of orange. (Rogerian counseling, Esalen, GreenPeace, Jacques Costeau, Jimmy Carter, John Lennon's music, Doctors without Borders, ACLU, Ben & Jerry's, animal rights, deep ecology, 10% of population, 15% of power)
7. Yellow: Systemic This is the first vMeme of the second tier (described below) in which there is a quantum shift in the capacity to take multiple perspectives in life. YELLOW is motivated by learning for its own sake and is oriented towards integration of complex systems. Change is a welcome part of the process in organizations and life; YELLOW likes the challenges. It is characterized by systems thinking, an orientation to how parts interact to create a greater whole. Unique talents and dispositions are honored as contributing something valuable to the whole. YELLOW likes engineering complex systems and dealing with ideas. It is also ecologically oriented, but in a more subdued, behind the scenes way. YELLOW thinkers often work on the periphery of organizations, quietly fine-tuning situations and procedures, much to the bafflement of the first tier vMemes. (Hawking's Brief History of Time, chaos theory, eco-industrial parks, Wired magazine, 1% of world population, 5% of power)
8. Turquoise: Holistic Focused on a global holism/integralism, attuned to the delicate balance of interlocking life forces. Synthetic and experiential, emerging focus on spiritual connectivity. Work must be meaningful to the overall health of life. Feelings and information experienced together, enhancing both. Able to see and honor many perspectives, including many of the "lower" vMemes. Structured in multi-dimensional ways. Conscious of energy fields, holographic links in all walks of work and life, urge to use collective human intelligence to work on large-scale problems without sacrificing individuality. (Gaia hypothesis, Ken Wilber's work, Teilhard de Chardin, David Bohm, McLuhan's ‘global village,' Gandhi's idea of pluralistic harmony, not very influential yet, .1% of world population, 1% of power)
I put myself somewhere between Yellow and Turquoise and to be honest it explains and rationalizes many of the problems i've been having when trying to explain my worldview to other people. So to reiterate what i'm looking for: where are you on this scale, and what would it take for people to think in more complex terms and paradigms.
Bigger explanation of Spiral Dynamics here: http://www.spiraldynamics.com/book/SDreview_Dinan.htm
This post was deleted for the following reason: chatfilter, adfilter? this is not the place for "poll the audience" questions.
This seems to be more of an advertisement than a question.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:52 PM on January 8, 2007
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:52 PM on January 8, 2007
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posted by mr_roboto at 3:51 PM on January 8, 2007