The American Prison System, the Prison-Ashram Project and Other Alternatives Pt. 4

youtube.com/watch?v=Fc4BkuKyjko

Alluding to the current state of affairs within a great many organizations in the modern world, organizational consultant Meg Wheatley comments:

"We have backed ourselves into some fear- filled corners. We have come to believe that to survive we must control everything. Fearing people, we control one another mercilessly."

Elsewhere, she has shared the notion that "independence is actually a political concept," which is to say that it has nothing in particular to do with living systems that function according to the principle of interdependence. "Independence" - in the context of a work environment - usually means a focus on "looking out for number one," and not allowing oneself to be vulnerable, open, undefended.

Predictable corollaries follow from this premise - especially when this view is held by many people: it becomes natural to see oneself as fundamentally separate from (and distrusting of) fellow employees, staff in other "departments," and the organization itself. In such a climate, individuals can be expected to make decisions primarily on the basis of what will further (and not hamper) their own career; if the employee happens to be at the managerial level, what becomes relevant is whatever will make his own department look good.

One can wonder about the degree to which many of our organizations (and schools) have come to resemble prisons.

In this light, let us consider two currently functioning alternatives to the present prison system. Both, as we will see, demonstrate a shift in focus to increased openness and interdependence on multiple levels. The first, the rapidly growing Restorative Justice Movement, poses questions such as:

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