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Who Cares?  
Creative Responses to Social Obligations — A Dialogue Series

Monograph 7
A Dialogue with Dr. Henry Mintzberg
December 8, 2021

We have been hung up for too long on a narrow view of development.  Is it not time to open our perspectives, beyond human greed, to human collaboration and the energy that can flow from that?  Imagine the economic and social potential. Maybe it is time to reprogram our heads in accordance with the rich reality in society, beyond left and right.

Henry Mintzberg

The focus of the seventh session of the ‘Who Cares?’ dialogue group was an exploration of the ideas and concepts contained in the paper developed by Dr. Mintzberg entitled ‘Getting Past Smith and Marx: Toward a Balanced Society.’  Dr. Mintzberg described this yet unpublished paper as a labour a love and a polemic.  Its central thesis is that the political, social and economic sectors of society are out of balance.

‘Toward a Balanced Society’ explores the historical context for the current imbalance in society in which the private sector has steadily expanded its influence to a point where it frequently overpowers government and communities.  It examines how the current dominance of capitalist ideology has impacted our interpretation of human behaviour, our approach to development and how we interpret caring.  Dr. Mintzberg concludes his paper with an exploration of a list of possibilities he has identified to make progress toward what he described as a more humane, more balanced world.   

Dr. Mintzberg’s list of possibilities is organized around four broad categories.

  1. Toward balance – This category includes ideas for balancing across the sectors, building robust associations, renewing respect for government and recognizing the need for corporate social responsibility.

  2. Toward engagement – This category focuses on returning to responsible leadership and rehumanizing organizations.

  3. Toward democracy - This group of ideas suggests we recognize democracy as a process (not a state), end the fiction that corporations are persons, recognize the limits of private property and free the press from private interests.

  4. Toward mindfulness – This category is a call to our personal responsibility to be conscious of our needs and values and to challenge mindless consumption, measurement and dogma.

The dialogue group was invited to respond to these ideas.  The ensuing discussion was thoughtful, provoking and inspiring.  Throughout the dialogue it became clearer and clearer that just as Dr. Mintzberg stated early on in his presentation, the wisdom, the experience and ultimately the ability to develop creative responses to our social obligations clearly lay within the dialogue group itself.

While the dialogue was free ranging it is summarized in this paper under three general themes.  First there are some comments and queries related to the analysis presented by Dr. Mintzberg.   In particular these focus on the potential and limitations of the sectoral divisions of society he uses in ‘Towards Balance.’ Second, the group identified several challenges we face in moving towards more balance amongst the sectors.  The third theme explores ideas of how we can move beyond our current responses to caring and contribute to the re-balancing of society.

Framework for re-balancing

Discussion began by reflecting on the limitations of the three-sector approach.  According to Dr. Mintzberg the three sectors of society are reflected by the three kinds of ownership we have in our organizations: political (state-owned), economic (privately owned) and social (non-owned or co-operatively owned).  Our organizations, their ownership structures and the sectors they represent need to be in balance.

Some participants suggested the sectors of society might be too crude or broad a model.  One group member noted there is a hazard in declaring any sector more virtuous than another.  Power can and has corrupted churches, businesses and governments as well as individuals and families.  There were also queries related to a sense that Dr. Mintzberg was suggesting a return to the past.  One participant shared that he prefers the over arching concept of sustainability instead of a sectoral approach.  Sustainability presents a life cycle approach combined with a set of values that include love, spirit, and nurturing.   

A group member suggested possible key roles for the three sectors are the private sector for innovation and energy, the state for regulation and the social sector for monitoring.  Another suggestion was that the social or ‘non-owned’ sector of society has a much larger role to play.  It acts as a cradle or container for the other two.  It is the fundamental source of the universal values of society such as trust, courage, hospitality and love.

Dr. Mintzberg suggested that spirituality and universal values underlie everything in his paper even though they are not specifically mentioned.  Balance would lead us to a more human way of operating across the sectors and a more balanced society would be a more caring one.

Participants in the group acknowledged that balance is a significant issue today.  In searching for balance the voluntary sector finds itself struggling to articulate its role.  In its search for balance government is trying to de-centralize and figure out new re-distribution channels.  This sometimes results in calls on the social or private sector to do things that are better left with the state.

In the search for balance there is often confusion about the roles of the state and social sectors.  There is a frequently a sense that there is too much reliance on or control by government.  While there is truth in these comments we need to recognize at the same time that the state has a crucial role to play. One participant suggested we need to be ‘polyphrenic’ (able to hold two different ideas or truths successfully).

A group member suggested that the state is vital for the realization of higher principles such as re-distribution of wealth and social justice.  However the challenge is how these principles are expressed.  They need to be implemented in a locally directed, intimate way.  Re-balancing will need to recognize the public role combined with choice at the local level. 

Interestingly, however desirable local devolving authority might be, it appears to result in more conservative responses and actions.  In response to this Dr. Mintzberg stated that democracy is a function of how moderate people are able to keep extremists in control.

Re-balancing will also need to take into account that markets are not exclusively in the service of the private sector.  They can serve the social sector too.  We may however need to find new words for the social sector’s engagement with markets.  For example, instead of privatization perhaps communization or ‘mutualisation’ could work.  In addition we need to find ways to recognize and support the important role the social sector plays in the development of trust and reciprocity.  These are key factors in the health of any economy and society.

Challenges in re-balancing

Shifting toward a balanced or more caring society will require that we address many challenges related to the dominance of the economic or private sector.  The group identified the challenges that arise when we try to measure the success of our caring interactions.  Dr. Mintzberg noted that measurement itself is unbalanced because it distorts towards economic priorities.  Costs are much easier to measure than benefits.  Related to this challenge is the language we use.  We may need to develop new terms or redefine words in order to reflect the different priorities required to balance the sectors and extend our caring responses.  Both of these challenges were discussed in depth in the dialogue with Sherri Torjman.

Another challenge is the way public discourse is presented in the media.  We are living in a time when only the most radical positions (angles) get media coverage.  Dr. Mintzberg noted that the media is tragically insular, controlled by a few very wealthy individuals.  Le Monde, Le Devoir and The Guardian were named as being exceptions because they have different ownership structures.  Popular media cherishes extreme positions while good investigative reporting is very limited.  Participants noted that individually we have choices about what we read and watch.  One noted he ignores mainstream media in favour of Internet based alternatives.

The legal status of corporations was raised as another challenge to address in re-balancing society.  The law describes corporations as fictitious persons.  As such they claim to be citizens and claim the rights and protections accorded to citizens.  The issue is that corporations claim a higher level of citizenship than individuals when it comes to rights and obligations.  The struggle involves applying the obligations of citizenship as forcefully to corporations as they are applied to individuals.  In cases of negligence, for example, the state cannot jail a corporation.  It might be fined or ordered to alter its practices, but its structure is never threatened. 

Explorations in re-balancing

This theme in the dialogue is related to extending and building on the ideas presented by Dr. Mintzberg.  Throughout the dialogue questions related to how to re-balance were asked.  Dr. Mintzberg and some of the participants suggested that the pre-requisite task to re-balancing could be the act of ‘coming to our senses.’  We have to be willing to see the results of the decisions we have made as a society.  For example, consider the effects of private corporations controlling pharmaceutical research or the global media being owned by a handful of individuals.  One participant shared the alarming statistic that two people per day die prematurely because of poor air quality in the GVRD.   He wondered if a catastrophic event such as September 11th would be required to bring people to their senses in order to change their actions.

At the same time it was noted that we need to examine our values related to life and death.  In our current thinking every death is viewed as a tragedy as opposed to frequently being the natural culmination of the process of living.  This view of death has contributed to an out of control health system in which 50 percent of health care dollars are spent in the last six months of life.

A group member shared that from her perspective, re-balancing society will require the giving up of power.  In order to do this we need to build trust and faith amongst all sectors.  Trusting relationships have frequently been identified by the ‘Who Cares?’ group as keys to change.

Another member noted that re-balancing society will require more than trusting relationships.  The courage to consistently speak and act in ways that reflect the values of a caring society is required.  Our work is to teach or inspire courage in people of influence.  A group member added that esteemed educator Parker Palmer’s slogan is ‘divided no more.’  He says our call is to have the courage to live on the outside the truth we know on the inside. 

Conclusion

Dr. Mintzberg closed the session with complementary reflections on the series' design and a wish to have something like it occurring in Montreal.  He described members of the group as visionaries who are open to learning.  Vision comes from being aware of the present and having the courage to see it differently.

Dr. Mintzberg was the sixth and final speaker of the series. The group has accumulated knowledge and strengthened its understanding of the challenges inherent in finding and implementing creative solutions to care for each other.  A participant described the group as a massive intellectual resource ready to address the challenges in meeting our social obligations. 

Accordingly, the next session will focus on looking ahead to individual and collective actions to answer the series question ‘Who Cares?’  

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