Symbolic Maps, Managed Feedback, and Deception

Any time there is displacement in a system, it causes pressure to build on another component in the system. When a drop of water falls in a pond, the ripples spread out causing more displacement. Eventually the ripples reach the boundary of the pond and the waves crash on some shore. If society were managed in a way where every ripple would play out its natural course, it would lead to a lot of friction and violence. Perhaps this is the best way, since every witness of violence leaves a lasting impression and is a reminder as to the heavy price of mismanagement.

Perhaps it is not, and it could be more effective to preemptively make space for such displacement, and things move in harmony all at once or not at all. This would require dual structures, or perhaps more than dual, where a movement on one side is mirrored in the other, such that any displacement that would ultimately reach the other side is taken into account in a way that there are no crashing waves. I think people who try this method, ultimately end up relying on metaphors and symbols as a means to construct these dual (or perhaps even more than dual) maps to relay these structural informations about society.

Fundamentally, the problem is information and the certainty of it. While crashing waves can be caused by instigation or malicious intervention, the signal itself is always real. Suffering is real. And it seems any attempt to preempt these waves (and consequently suffering) inevitably leads to territory in which signals don't mean what they are supposed to mean. It is entirely possible that one could live in a society that maintains harmony by managing symbols in such a way that every individual lives in their own interpretation of the map. But this is particularly dangerous when the symbolic map is misused to the advantage of the powerful.

Furthermore, by preempting displacement, the source of the displacement can often be hard to discern. Whether the displacement is positive (such as a technological breakthrough or an elegant work of art), or negative (such as thievery and assassinations), society should reward and punish individuals according to their deeds. Any system that seeks harmony at the expense of everything else will inevitably construct a symbolic map in which truth itself eventually becomes antagonistic to the management of the system. There is no human dignity in a system that only seeks harmony, because anything can be swept under the rug so long as enough people are in favor of it.

A certain amount of preemption is probably required for a sophisticated society. There would be no stability if every ripple could cause a natural disaster. But preemption should never be prioritized over truth or justice. When truth or justice cause a displacement, society should only concern itself with controlling the waves such that they come down on the ones trying to escape them.