Comments on: Homeland Security, Networks, and Accountability http://mfeldstein.com/homeland_security_networks_and_accountability/ What Michael Feldstein Is Learning About Online Learning...Online Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:43:40 +0000 By: Valdis http://mfeldstein.com/homeland_security_networks_and_accountability/#comment-121 Valdis Mon, 10 Jan 2005 23:19:32 +0000 13159533#comment-121 Michael, we are probably in agreement. You are talking about accountability and I am talking about learning/agility. The hierarchy msotly takes care of accountability, and I agree - we need it. But... I think we are doing fine in accountability [not great, but OK]. It is the learning/agility/responding we are poor at -- that is where we need the networks, the cross-connections, the knowledge sharing. We have the links for accountability, we need additional links for learning! Michael, we are probably in agreement. You are talking about accountability and I am talking about learning/agility.

The hierarchy msotly takes care of accountability, and I agree - we need it. But… I think we are doing fine in accountability [not great, but OK]. It is the learning/agility/responding we are poor at — that is where we need the networks, the cross-connections, the knowledge sharing.

We have the links for accountability, we need additional links for learning!

]]> By: Michael Feldstein http://mfeldstein.com/homeland_security_networks_and_accountability/#comment-111 Michael Feldstein Thu, 16 Dec 2004 05:26:52 +0000 13159533#comment-111 First of all, welcome, Valdis. Despite my disagreement with you on this particular point, I am a fan of your work. I think you misunderstand my point about somebody needing to be in charge. It's not about power; it's about <b>accountability</b>. The the thing that makes representative democracy (as opposed to direct democracy) work is that we can fire somebody (and prosecute, if necessary) when they screw up. Otherwise, we have no recourse when something goes wrong. And we have no tools for fixing problems. Networks work well in direct/radical/digital democracies. And it's a fair question to ask whether we need to move more toward direct democracy. But you can't just graft network organization onto a representative democracy and have it work. The incentive and accountability structures are not aligned. First of all, welcome, Valdis. Despite my disagreement with you on this particular point, I am a fan of your work.

I think you misunderstand my point about somebody needing to be in charge. It’s not about power; it’s about accountability. The the thing that makes representative democracy (as opposed to direct democracy) work is that we can fire somebody (and prosecute, if necessary) when they screw up. Otherwise, we have no recourse when something goes wrong. And we have no tools for fixing problems.

Networks work well in direct/radical/digital democracies. And it’s a fair question to ask whether we need to move more toward direct democracy. But you can’t just graft network organization onto a representative democracy and have it work. The incentive and accountability structures are not aligned.

]]> By: Valdis http://mfeldstein.com/homeland_security_networks_and_accountability/#comment-110 Valdis Wed, 15 Dec 2004 21:45:00 +0000 13159533#comment-110 My analysis of the fictional hierarchy is just that, yet the lesson learned will work in other hierarchies. If someone provides me the actual hierrachies involved in national intelligence, I will gladly re-do the analysis. The idea of " in representative democracy, somebody needs to be 'in charge'" may not be true. This sounds more like a dictatorship... I'm sure Stalin & Hitler would have felt comfortable with that phrase. In a representative democracy MANY contribute to governing. It is the power of the many, not the power of one, that makes US great! My analysis of the fictional hierarchy is just that, yet the lesson learned will work in other hierarchies. If someone provides me the actual hierrachies involved in national intelligence, I will gladly re-do the analysis.

The idea of ” in representative democracy, somebody needs to be ‘in charge’” may not be true. This sounds more like a dictatorship… I’m sure Stalin & Hitler would have felt comfortable with that phrase. In a representative democracy MANY contribute to governing. It is the power of the many, not the power of one, that makes US great!

]]> By: Michael Feldstein http://mfeldstein.com/homeland_security_networks_and_accountability/#comment-68 Michael Feldstein Tue, 21 Sep 2004 18:51:28 +0000 13159533#comment-68 Yup, I saw it. I even <a href="http://mfeldstein.com/index.php/weblog/decentralized_intelligence_what_toyota_can_teach_the_9_11_commission_about/">blogged it</a>. But Watts is suggesting that we need to develop an unspecified structure that takes advantages of the principles of self-organization, while Krebs is making the simpler (and more concrete) argument for a specific organizational structure based solely on information path length. Watts' argument is the more interesting one in the long-run, though he is honest in saying that he has little concrete idea of what it would look like in the case of Homeland Security. The accountability issue is still a problem, though; in representative democracy, somebody needs to be "in charge" for reasons that are extrinsic to operational efficiency. It's not clear how you can have both self-organization and accountability. Yup, I saw it. I even blogged it. But Watts is suggesting that we need to develop an unspecified structure that takes advantages of the principles of self-organization, while Krebs is making the simpler (and more concrete) argument for a specific organizational structure based solely on information path length. Watts’ argument is the more interesting one in the long-run, though he is honest in saying that he has little concrete idea of what it would look like in the case of Homeland Security. The accountability issue is still a problem, though; in representative democracy, somebody needs to be “in charge” for reasons that are extrinsic to operational efficiency. It’s not clear how you can have both self-organization and accountability.

]]> By: Sam O http://mfeldstein.com/homeland_security_networks_and_accountability/#comment-65 Sam O Fri, 17 Sep 2004 19:36:00 +0000 13159533#comment-65 You've probably already read it, but here is a good article from Slate, "Decentralized Intelligence": http://slate.msn.com/id/2104808/ You’ve probably already read it, but here is a good article from Slate, “Decentralized Intelligence”:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2104808/

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