Comments on: Why doesn’t government have reservists?

By: Nick Booth

Nick Booth — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:16:48 +0000

Thanks for the comment Andy. I commented over here:

http://megov.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/a-different-style-of-government/#comment-22

To try and say it may be that some of what government already does fits into this model – but that we don’t have instincts around flexible structures to accommodate and encourage self organising citizens.

By: Andy Sawford

Andy Sawford — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:10:12 +0000

I love your idea of reservists. Will explore this with the LGiU team.

By: A different style of government « You gov? No. Me gov!

A different style of government « You gov? No. Me gov! — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:02:29 +0000

[...] A different style of government Posted on February 2, 2009 by megov Nick Booth wrote a great blog just after Christmas, which I’ve only just found. [...]

By: Clare White

Clare White — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:49:06 +0000

Other than government’s reluctance to shrink that has been pointed out, I see a barrier in mainstream society’s sense of community and the lack of trust between people, services etc.
If this could be built up then I think this could work. If it wasn’t present then I think we’d see it collapse in debates about compulsion, laziness etc. What do you do with those who object? Do you accept that only a small percentage of people will enthusastically participate, or do you try to compel everyone to work towards your idea of what must be done? Perhaps you encourage everyone to participate in something, but accept that everyone has their own interpretation of the priorities.
In Rwanda there is a custom that people go out and clean the streets on Sundays, called Umuganda (an article: http://allafrica.com/stories/200806030466.html). I’ve seen it presented as a sign of Rwanda’s unity or of its dictatorial leadership, depending on your point of view.
The starting point might be to keep government out of it to a certain extent, but to build up the profile of the grassroots that do so much for our society and who have taken personal responsibility for some aspect of improvement. This happens all the time, but is often completely ignored and therefore many people only have the sense of isolation, conflict and suffering presented in the media. We can do this using the social web and by continuing the process of building connectivity online and offline.

By: Matthew Cain

Matthew Cain — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:18:16 +0000

There’s an inevitability about the permanence of government. It’s not a failing of civil servants but of all large institutions that they create reasons to exist and activity to justify that existence.

The concept is a great one – but it’s really hard for organisations to justify their own demise.

By: Leaving government to spend more time with my famil « Whitehall Webby - digital media in government

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:40:06 +0000

[...] I would describe myself as a digital pragmatist: good at defining online strategy but with a mind on what is practical and realistic (particularly in the current climate). I’m looking forward to putting my skills and perspectives into good use – possibly in the way that Nick Booth has recently described. [...]

By: Bookmarks for December 28th through December 30th | DavePress

Bookmarks for December 28th through December 30th | DavePress — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:01:28 +0000

[...] Podnosh Blog » Archive » Why doesn’t government have reservists? – "The role of government is going to change. As individuals find it easier to collaborate and solve problems, traditional government structures will need to be reshaped and rewired. So how do we start this change?" [...]

By: Jon Bounds

Jon Bounds — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:39:30 +0000

You know what, Nick? This isn’t a question but a prediction.

The only question is whether government will work out how to harness or will “the people” simply take over and do it for themselves (cf mysociety etc)?

By: dan mcquillan

dan mcquillan — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:51:35 +0000

It\’s a lovely idea. I could imagine it working on Ursula Le Guin\’s planet of Anarres ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dispossessed ) and I wish it would work here.

The doubts that spring to mind include (but are not limited to);

- the fact that \”we\” don\’t structure government at all, let alone decide whether it grows or (ahistorical idea) shrinks

- the nature of hierarchical institutions to make their own existence the prime directive (also applies to the Third Sector, sadly)

- the tendency of some current \’outsourcing\’ to undermine independent voices ( http://www.independentaction.net/ )

As an uncomfortable footnote, history might suggest that army territorials have more usually been used to put down local or colonial populations that have tried to \’empower\’ themselves (from the Luddites onwards). I hope there aren\’t any lessons there about \”how government will respond to widespread self organising citizens\”.

By: We Die « Perfect Path

We Die « Perfect Path — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:27:20 +0000

[...] As a bonus, my feed reader had this christmas cracker from Nick Booth. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes! (and like all the best posts it’s gotten richer with the range of comments – read ‘em all) Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)The Kitchen Story – Part 4 – Building the new kitchen“Spam King” HUMBLED by MicrosoftI have a problem….Best of the Web This Week Subscribe to Perfect Path by Email [...]