Can Collective Governance Be Symbiotic
Symbiocracy: A political philosophy based on the cooperative principles of biology rather than the competitive ideals of human governance
ABOVE: “Ecstacy In Being” a painting courtesy of Arthur Douët, Jamaican born cosmic visual artist, teacher, lecturer. (photograph of my copy of original print)
FOR THE MAP: Scroll down to see Chakras + Worldviews + Collective Governance Styles, in a quick visual overview.
How This Concept Arose In My Morning Routine
FOR CONTEXT: Life is intense, and more so recently in the US where the political stage has highlighted some pretty strong disparities among how humans are currently thriving and evolving — or more specifically, where they’re getting stuck and need help.
So, to help quiet the mind, i’ve been writing my inspired thoughts out — to be able to clear and meditate. I’m taking notes at 4am and journaling about solutions to current group interactions that I see playing out through my daily life and through informed media — from personal, business, neighborhood, state, national, and global levels.
This post started with me signing an online petition to congress, and writing something in the letter— it evolved into my researching what exactly the definitions were between different forms of governance — and here it has evolved into a sketch of how the chakras of the human system can show the level of collective governance that emerges when the level of egoic aperature is attuned to each level as a core identity — meaning it can’t expand to take in higher and wider perspectives yet, but it can encompass the relative width of the chakra in question. That seems to define the limits of the perspective taking that is possible in that system — be it a person or a group.
This puts people and groups who CAN take in higher and wider perspectives and forms of governance on the spot in the sense that more limited forms don’t make sense any more. Yet the question becomes how do we remain inclusive yet continue to evolve with compassion and greater symbiosis?
For starters, here’s a simplified map of collective styles of governance as they related to each chakra or ‘worldview’ — which again, in this experimental cross reference is questioning how wide and complex the perspective taking can be to create a new bio-diverse and socially complex planetary and cosmic way of tolerating and thriving with each other and all life?
You can see a correlation between the individual and the collective thought — For example, how might an individual’s value-set look when expanded into a collective, and faced with the world mirroring their relative balance or imbalance of views. Just as there are relative levels of complexity of nerve synapse plexuses at each chakra level, there are corresponding complexities in getting each core perspective to fit with the others even within one individual, and then you can imagine the corresponding opportunities or challenges when this ‘onion’ of values becomes collective by nature.
Until we get to the unity consciousness that can, from it’s very core shine light, empowering each indivisible part through unconditional love and sovereignty, sustaining all through aliveness yet without control, we will still try to limit how our perspective is more important than all others. It is this inconceivable balance that the holistic and cosmic patterns of life inherently solve and in which we get to practice ‘aligning’ rather than trying so hard to make happen. Our part, is mainly an ‘inside’ job, with our outer actions being a reflection of our inner work. We will know when we are out of alignment when our outer world reflects such suffering, pain, demoralization, and fear. Through inviting a healthier balance of respect for the feminine strength in diversity and the value in relationship over achievements, process over milestones, we will begin to know greater peace and a felt sense of success through health and wellbeing again.
Our game plan on earth it becomes clear, is how to embrace our uniqueness while surrendering over-separation, to love ourselves as part of the all, made in the pattern of nature, symbolic of the oneness, through the light of all being, in alignment with the central sun and cosmic-earthly balance.
More On The Etymology + Meaning of Symbiocracy
The term symbiocracy is a neologism combining the Greek roots for "living together" and "rule". It was constructed to describe a political philosophy based on the cooperative principles of biology rather than the competitive ideals of human governance.
Etymological breakdown
Symbio-: Derived from the Ancient Greek sumbíōsis (συμβίωσις), meaning "living together" or "companionship". This is from syn (σύν), meaning "with," and bíos (βίος), meaning "life". In biology, "symbiosis" refers to any close, long-term interaction between different biological species.
-cracy: Derived from the Ancient Greek kratos (κράτος), meaning "power" or "rule." This suffix is commonly used in English to denote a type of government, as seen in words like "democracy" and "autocracy."
Conceptual origin
The concept of symbiocracy emerged from transdisciplinary, ecological, and posthumanist discussions as a proposed alternative to anthropocentric systems of governance.
Notable applications of the term include:
Space colonization (2008): A paper presented at an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference introduced "symbiocracy" as a governance model for space settlements. It proposed a framework based on "vitality" rather than "equality," seeking mutually beneficial relationships with surrounding ecosystems.
Ecological governance (2015): The term was popularized by environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht (sometimes spelled "sumbiocracy"). He defined it as a form of "rule for the Earth—by the Earth" that acknowledges the inherent value and needs of all living organisms and planetary systems.
Digital governance (2025): The term has also been adapted to encompass digital and technological aspects of governance. In this context, it describes a socio-political model based on harmonious coexistence among humans, AI, and ecological and economic systems, potentially using decentralized technologies like blockchain.
Takeaways
• What core value sets do you recognize in leadership today?
• How can seemingly conflicting value sets find alliances?
• What various systems of economy do you recognize?
• What is the relative importance of various systems of economy when viewed as functioning together? How do they fit or flow?
• What do you think of how various groups cooperate in the collective arena? Where are there multi-layered values that find cooperation rather than friction?