Complexity and Social Movements: Multitudes at the Edge of Chaos ...

154 The map is not the territory
might be done differently, then this is surely the central maxim – perturbation,
bifurcation and emergence often come from micro changes in marginal
locations such as the interface between the laminar global flows of meaning.
We have argued that the free radicals discussed here are identifiable
individuals with elements of this sense and ontological stance – individuals
sensitised to aspects of planetary and social fates which are perceived as
intimately linked – in our terms free radicals are observable change agents
in a planetary action system. We emphasise that there are equivalents of our
free radicals in the multiple social universes constituting the postmodern
condition. As the advocates of this cultural politics engage systemically with
the various elements of the fractured states preoccupied with maintenance
of old habits of mind, as their incumbents suture global flows in an attempt
to maintain discursive coherence, the resultant perturbations lay siege to
other signs, symbols and moral frameworks.
One domain where this is clearly visible is in the proliferating and
intensifying contest between ‘mainstream’ and emergent sciences. As ‘Royal’
science (Deleuze and Guattari 2002: 369) pursues a return to old ‘Big’ sciences
such as nuclear power, ‘minor’ or ‘nomad’ science (Deleuze and
Guattari 2002: 361) articulates techniques with profound implications for
what it is to be human and how long it might be possible to remain human.
Fledgling techniques with the potential to combine in assemblages that permit
human existence beyond a solar collapse are discernable today. The fascination
with and pursuit of frontiers that has fuelled space exploration has
assumed a military orientation that is about to be transformed by the commercialisation
of space as space tourism becomes an entrepreneurial niche.
Whilst the details of these developments cannot be addressed here, they highlight
a key tension for the environmental and social justice movements within
which varying degrees of antipathy towards technoscience exist: for example,
Lyotard’s problematic means that a complete rejection of technology would
ultimately guarantee species extinction, if it became a norm.
The challenge is not pro- or anti-science but the social shaping of science
and technology towards collectively prioritised objectives executed in ways
which do not subordinate these social goals to profit maximisation within
corporate structures. In terms of the fragmented state, the single most
important factor here is a massive reduction in the military research and
development burdens dedicated to detecting and killing human beings and
imposing ‘collateral’ damage. There is sufficient extant science to go on
perfecting the practical barbarism associated with nation state democratic
systems for at least another 50 years without spending another Euro or dollar
on more research. Whilst there are some comparatively minor civilian
benefits from the trickle-down effect of this expenditure, they represent a
tiny fraction of the gains which could be achieved if these were the primary
objective of R and D efforts.
These challenges are unfolding as complexity theory impacts upon
the natural sciences accentuating historic disciplinary tensions and