WEEK 08: Crisis and Solidarity

Why does the course link crisis directly to solidarity rather than treating crisis only as breakdown?

Because crises expose failures of existing coordination, differentiation, and power relations, creating conditions where new solidarities and common preservations can emerge.

According to the Friedman quote used in this week, why is crisis so important for change?

Because crises—actual or perceived—make previously “impossible” ideas politically feasible; what happens depends on the ideas already available.

Why does crisis not automatically lead to positive social change?

Because outcomes depend on existing ideas, coordination capacity, power relations, and preparedness.

Which four transformation tools are applied in Week 8?

1. Transforming Coordination

2. Transforming Differentiation

3. Transforming Power

4. Countering Disorder

Why is coordination essential for common preservation?

Because common preservation requires people to act together, and the benefit of acting together motivates participation.

What does the transforming-coordination tool analyze?

The barriers to coordination and how those barriers can be overcome during crisis.

What does it mean that coordinated actions operate in two ways?

They are oriented:

1. Toward each other’s actions

2. Toward their combined effect on the world

How is coordination defined in this course?

Mutual adaptation of actions, where individuals adjust their behavior to achieve a joint goal.

Why does new coordination require representation of others’ actions?

Because actors must anticipate and adjust to one another’s patterns to act jointly.

How does Piaget explain coordination?

Through mutual assimilation and accommodation—coordinators must mutually equilibrate.

What are the main benefits of coordination?

• Expands the range of problems that can be addressed

• Reduces individual costs

• Creates collective power beyond isolated actions

Why does coordination create dependency among participants?

Because the power created exists only as long as coordination is maintained.

Why is coordination a source of power?

Because people acting together can influence third parties or nature more effectively than acting alone.

What is a collective subject?

A group acting as a concerted, inter-individual actor capable of transforming the world.

Does forming a collective subject eliminate individual agency?

No—individuals retain agency but must adapt their actions to others.

When does a “we” become a subject?

When a group recognizes itself as capable of transforming the world, often after collective action or resistance.

Why doesn’t coordination require formal organization?

Because people can self-adjust their actions based on shared understanding, even as organizations come and go.

What are key forms of coordination discussed?

• Self-coordinated vs. directed

• Ad hoc vs. institutionalized

• Diffuse vs. centralized

• Voluntary vs. coerced

• Direct vs. indirect

How do economists classify coordination?

• Command (army/bureaucracy)

• Market feedback without communication

• Decentralized information-sharing networks

What problems correspond to each economic form of coordination?

• Command → domination

• Markets → disorder

• Networks → unmanageable complexity

How does coordination operate in capitalism?

Through managerial authority and blind market interaction.

How do workers increase power within capitalism?

By coordinating actions (e.g., strikes) locally, through imitation, networks, or unions.

How does economic globalization change coordination?

• Expands market coordination

• Strengthens command coordination in multinationals

• Simultaneously increases reliance on markets via outsourcing

What is “globalization from below” in coordination terms?

Counter-coordination via networks of social movements responding to globalization from above.

How are coordination and common preservation linked?

• Coordination is necessary to achieve common preservation

• The benefits of coordination make common preservation worthwhile

Why are new coordinations crucial during crisis?

Because old coordination patterns often fail under crisis conditions.

What is differentiation?

The creation of differences (roles, statuses, division of labor) within a coordinated system.

Why does coordination always involve differentiation?

Because joint action requires different roles to be performed.

What are the benefits of differentiation?

Efficiency, specialization, and improved performance.

What are the dangers of extreme differentiation?

• Inequality

• Domination

• Unequal dependence

• Alienation

How can differentiation undermine common preservation?

By concentrating power and responsibility in certain roles while others lose influence.

What is the difference between role and status?

• Status: position in a social structure

• Role: behavior expected of that position

How can institutions act against individual intentions?

Because actions follow role requirements, not personal beliefs (e.g., corporations polluting despite knowing harm).

What is role strain?

Stress caused by holding multiple, overlapping roles with conflicting expectations.

How can roles change?

• Through policy changes

• Through collective refusal to perform old roles

How does differentiation create power differences?

Some roles become more indispensable, creating unequal dependence.

Why is unequal dependence dangerous?

Because it enables coercion and domination.

How does reification worsen differentiation problems?

Roles come to appear as natural features of institutions rather than human constructions.

How is power defined in this course?

The capacity to accomplish results, including making others act against their own preferences.

Why is unequal power a barrier to common preservation?

Because it blocks cooperation toward shared ends.

What is the basis of coercive power in systems theory?

Unequal dependence, not force alone.

How does collective power differ from coercive power?

• Collective power arises from coordination

• Coercive power arises from dependency

Why does systems theory struggle to analyze power?

Because it lacks explicit tools for conflict and domination.

How can power be exercised without violence?

By making others comply due to dependence; violence alone cannot produce obedience.

How do Gandhi and Gene Sharp conceptualize power?

Power depends on consent, which can be withdrawn through coordinated non-cooperation.

Why is withdrawal of cooperation powerful?

Because dominant actors rely on the cooperation of those they dominate.

What is disorder in social systems?

Action that fails to express common purposes due to lack of coordination.

How does domination differ from disorder?

• Disorder: lack of coordination

• Domination: coercion via unequal dependence

Why is disorder “normal” in social systems?

Because individuals and groups usually pursue their own goals without coordination.

How does normal disorder undermine collective power?

People compete against one another, weakening their shared capacity to act.

Why are unintended consequences common in complex systems?

Because actions interact in unpredictable ways and feedback is often delayed or displaced.

How can disorder lead to self-destruction?

Examples include climate change, arms races, and races to the bottom.

What causes normal disorder?

• Lack of knowledge

• Externalized consequences

• Poor feedback

• Alienation between intentions and outcomes

How do economists describe these effects?

As externalities—costs not borne by those causing them.

How is disorder countered?

Through improved coordination using:

• Public policy

• Shared norms

• Agreements

• Binding rules

Why is countering disorder difficult?

Because existing arrangements often produce intended benefits that must be replaced.

Why do large power centers threaten common preservation?

Because their actions can endanger collective survival, even though they depend on the people affected.

How can such power be countered?

By organizing and using dependence to build new common preservations.

Why is crisis a turning point for social systems?

Because it reveals failures of coordination, differentiation, and power—forcing transformation or collapse.