Citizen action, or something. an open source model for war

Recently a group came together with some big ideas, nothing less than the proposition that people from around the world can come together, united only by a common intention, and be in a position to affect world affairs.

What took shape at the Gates of Vienna might have seemed outlandish, but in the wake of a small war last summer, and a scandal that followed, the world has changed.

Universal literacy, cheap technology and a global talent pool that guarantees an infinite supply of creativity, passion and genius have brought the world to the edge of a cultural revolution.

But this revolution may not be what you were expecting. It's personal (12 million blogs), and playful (more). That's the good news. But it's also going to put everything on the table in a way that few people are prepared for.

Participants in The 910 Group, though rooted in the counter jihad purpose that brought this particular group of people together, are also aware of themselves as being part of a larger social evolution, beginning with the premise that you don't need permission from anyone to stand up for what you care about.

Participant Christine writes:

... what I think is happening is an “open source” movement in public diplomacy – sort of like the open source software movement of the last decade, where developers decided to work together, on the Internet, voluntarily, to improve software (Linux OS resulted from open source software development).

Some things are just too important to leave in the hands of the experts, or the bureaucrats, or certainly the State Department. If, as Clausewitz said, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means…” , then the asymmetric warfare being waged against Western civilization requires a countering asymmetric “politics” – an internet based, “open source” movement committed counter-attack against the internet based jihadist ideologues.

Unlike the current blogosphere, open source was highly disciplined, in a kind of milling-about, “wisdom of crowds” complex system way – they did have a final product they were working towards, and everyone just kept trying to improve it and use it at the same time.

There's a paradigm shift happening. It's real. It's related in some way to Web2.0 and IVth generation warfare, but it's not simply equivalent to those things. What it ultimately means is still unclear. William Lind argues that it is premature to talk about a 5th generation, and I agree.

From what I have seen thus far, honest attempts to discover a Fifth Generation suggest that their authors have not fully grasped the vast change embodied in the Fourth Generation. The loss of the state's monopoly, not only on war but also on social organization and first loyalties, alters everything. We are only in the earliest stages of trying to understand what the Fourth Generation means in full and how it will alter - or, in too many cases, end - our lives.

The 910 Group is a worthy experiment in purpose driven social organization that might just offer a first hint at what lies beyond those first loyalties. If authoritarian societies respond to the times by becoming more ideologically radical, maybe free societies should respond by looking deeper into themselves as well.

This blog's purpose is to hold an ongoing conversationin in which group participants can take that deep look. Let's begin.