Amerika

The writing on this site borrows vocabulary widely from different disciplines in a quest for a universal expression of form, pattern, and structure. This of course makes it a little bit obscure but also brings together concepts using the method of syncretic eclecticism.

We write frequently about adaptation here, but sometimes other sciences discover it, as in the case of AGIL:

Parsons (1937, 1951) argued that every social system needed to achieve a state of order or system equilibrium. Subsystems such as institutions functioned to assist in achieving this system order. He posited four “functional imperatives” that all systems require: adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and latency (or maintenance of morale and motivation). This system of functions is commonly referred to by the acronym A-G-I-L. Every system must have subsystems that function for the adaptation of the system. Every system must satisfy the goals of the system and must integrate its members. Finally, every system must ensure that motivation for action (latency) remains above a certain level.

From Family Theories:An Introduction, by James M. White, Todd F. Martin, and Kari Adamsons, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California, Fifth Edition, p. 59.

In the Darwinian lexicon of the Right, “adaptation” means perceiving reality accurately and finding a series of responses to it that allow survival, reproduction, and thriving, which includes contentment and stability, mental and physical health, and the like.

“Goal attainment” calls to mind our ends-over-means. That is, there always must be a goal, and only those who can attain their goals are plausibly adapted. That which is goalless becomes parasitic, much as in nature.

“Integration” refers to incorporating people into the group. In other words, how do you motivate people to affirmatively cooperate, such that the group acts with roughly one will? In the case of individuals, how do they fit into ecosystems and groups?

The terms “maintenance of morale and motivation” applied to “latency” reveal the need for an organism to reorient itself toward its task after setbacks or confusion. The task must always be latent in its motivation, or like a schizoid it wanders off and self-destructs.

Our society seems stuck in perpetual teenager mode because it has failed to integrate people, i.e. positively motivate them to act in such a way that they make the group succeed. Instead, they rebel against the group in perpetuity because this justifies their individualism.

For this reason, any system which does not require contribution merely worsens the problem, allowing people to live like teenagers paid for by their parents and whose only goal consists of rebelling against the parents, which reduces their ability to ever have agency and goal.

Darwinistic systems, including capitalism, exist to lessen rebellion in the form of wants that could be addressed by the individual but will not be if society offers an easier option:

Unless we move to a full-cost system, wants will grow endlessly.

We can see a model of environmentalist capitalism in how ownership reduces the tragedy of the commons:

His Majesty specifically owns any unclaimed mute swan in open water in both England and Wales in a ceremonial fashion. This has been a law since medieval times.

Every year, there is a census of all the swans in the River Thames. This is called Swan Upping and occurs in the third week of July each year.

While it may seem like a strange event to some, the Swan Upping actually assists researchers in discovering worrying trends, regarding the population of swans in the river. For example, the population decreased quickly in the 1980s due to swallowing lead fishing weights being used by the fishermen in the area. This resulted in the weights being banned. Within the next few years, the swan population increased.

When someone owns the swans, the swans are cared for. Similarly, when someone owns the population, it is cared for without making it dependent. We have forgotten AGIL and how to adapt to our environment in our quest for “equality.”

Tags: adaptation, AGIL, goal, integration, latency