interpretation of quadra transitions
Quadra Transitions (Starting from Delta to Alpha and then back to Delta from Alpha)
The way the following is supposed to work is that as society starts to lose its ability to function it goes from Delta to Gamma to Beta to Alpha in order to function again. If society is in Gamma or Beta and thus functional by such and it solves all or most of the problems that resulted in its inception, then society will move backward (Beta to Gamma or Gamma to Delta). If society is in Alpha and thus functional by such and it solves all or most of the problems that resulted in its inception, then society will move to Delta and not Beta.
Delta
Ideal society would be at Delta. When Si, Ne, Fi, and Te are the successful hyper-focus of society we have a self-regulating minimalist-government socialistic utopia. Unfortunately I can't really think of any society that has achieved any kind of Delta state other than maybe Switzerland.
Delta → Everyone has a symbiotic relationship that allows them to have a productive, exploratory, enjoyable, and freedom filled experience with society. A sense of purpose is innate.
Now take that Delta society and create some chaos, just a little, say something like a natural disaster or something related to the housing bust. The first instinct of the current state of society is to try to preserve its state. Delta will think up new ideas in how to deal with the problems.
But let's say more chaos keeps happening. Some people most hurt by the chaos are now loosing their sense of symbiotic relationships. So now the people start to question whether or not Delta society can deal with their problems and start losing a sense of purpose of unity. In an effort to combat this and keep society unified, society starts to become more Ni/Se over Si/Ne. People start looking at trends and ways to predict what will happen and prevent as much future chaos from taking place by being vigilant, active, and aware of what is going on as much as they can be, giving them back a sense of control and purpose of unity in their lives while not having to dissolve their relationships.
Gamma
Less ideal society would be at Gamma. In this state society values most the ability to successfully act decisively to overcome allowing the problems and mistakes of the past to emerge. I can't think of better examples for Gamma than Feudalistic Japan or European Feudalism or the Holy Roman Empire.
Gamma → Society now no longer has a balanced symbiotic relationship with its people. Because of the nature of prediction, those that are more successful in predicting and dealing with future problems will have more economic power and freedom over society. They will also be the one's forming the majority of the better symbiotic relationships, while the rest of society will accept getting the 'short end of the stick' because they are still theoretically better off than if still in the poorly functional Delta society. Society is still unified as a whole, but the people on the low end of the totem pole are only a little better off since they have the worst relationships to society with very little freedom and very little control over their lives.
Now take that Gamma society and stir in some shit, a little chaos here, and a little chaos there. The people that have gotten the 'short end of the stick' now find that those in power are unable to protect and care for them. So the relationships of society now divide up into smaller groups that make alliances or oppose one another in the hopes that they can claim enough control and power to give them back a sense of protection and care.
Beta
An even lesser ideal society would be at Beta. In this state society is scattered and warmongering. The symbiotic relationships that were center to Delta and influential to allowing Gamma society to create a system of power and control are completely gone or nearly so. The American Revolution was a good example of a Beta society (13 colonies) that made an alliance in order to overcome the British aggressions.
Beta → The relationships of the people are destroyed. People form new groups in order to form new beneficial relationships. To do this they must also fight off the opposing groups that wish to submit them to their own ideas of what the relationships of society should encompass and be. At best this gives people back a sense of unity and purpose with themselves and their fellow human beings, giving their life struggles a sense of passion, meaning, and worth. At worst, it nurtures an overly-aggressive society that harms itself by recreating the same problems its manifestation was supposed to solve. If the latter happens, then Beta society will slowly, in a narcissistic manner, over-encumber itself with aggression to outside forces until the spirit of the people that upheld this society will no longer be able to see any good coming from their state. Some examples of this would be ******'s downfall in World War II and the current state of American society. As this happens, people become disillusioned and tired and transition to Alpha.
Alpha
The ideal problem solving state of society would be at Alpha. Alpha unfortunately becomes the state of society when all else has failed and people need to come up with new ideas on how to structure the relationships and focus of society in a consistent and thought-out manner. When Ne, Si, Ti, and Fe are an extreme focus of society, shit must be really bad. Normally when society is in a Delta, Gamma, or Beta state Alpha is thought to be a constant nuisance or threat that wants to undermine society or stands to shake the foundations what is established and works. For society to now support Alpha thinking must mean people are very desperate.
Alpha → Here in Alpha there are no unifying relationships to society, just like in beta. But the focus of vigilance and aggression is now deemed useless and society seeks ways to form smaller groups that seek peace between each other and allow and foster the growth of trial and error in new ideas and approaches to organizing and operating society. All devalued functions are seen with minimalist intentions, always making sure never to overdo them when they are deemed temporarily necessary. Ancient Greece would have been a decent example of a more overall Alpha society. And in Greek history it is shown that the Greek Alpha society takes the most creative form of democracy to its highest potential compared to the other quadric societies.
If however Alpha society is able to find ways to eliminate all of the problems that the other societies encountered, then everything will transition back to Delta in the hopes that people can stay in their idyllic Delta society and not repeat the cycle.
If these problems are never completely solved, then Alpha society will remain in its state until extinction or complete destruction by an outside influence or society.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Hexxus
as compared to an extreme focus on 
?
