The social environment model: Small heroes and the evolution of human society

Traditional "realistic" theories of social action, whether based on the individual gain heuristics of capitalism or the collective class struggles of communism, cannot explain the massive volunteerism of online socio-technical collaborations like the Wikipedia project. Based on the idea that a social system is an environment within an environment, this paper argues that people in society are subject to both self- and social-interest directives, from natural and social world environments respectively. However social dilemmas arise when these directives conflict. That people resolve social dilemmas by anchoring one directive then operating the other explains why the "social invention" of free markets was so successful, and further implies that socio-technical communities are a new social form, beyond capitalism and communism, which it calls "free-goodness". This model attributes the evolution of humanity to parallel technical and social evolutions. For exam...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: FIRSTMONDAY
• Authors: Brian Whitworth, Alex P. Whitworth
• Keywords: FIRSTMONDAY 2010, Robotics, Social, Social Dilemma, Social World Environments