Social Architecture (17) Modern Society

Tens and Hundreds formed naturally in tribal societies through family connections. Industrialisation, globalisation and urbanisation have eliminated these links from modern society, so that individuals and families live in isolation from each other.

The collapse of community is greatest in modern cities, where migration and urbanisation have broken down traditional community relationships. Social mobility prevents stable relationships from developing and family life is breaking down. People feel like cogs in a machine and life is characterised by loneliness and personal insecurity.

Modern suburban culture creates barriers to communication and encourages individualism. People drive in and out of the suburb for work, shopping and recreation, but rarely meet with each other. As communities break down and fear rises, high fences are going up between houses isolating people from each other. This isolation means that most people do not belong to the community where they live.

This isolation and dislocation of urban society has been accompanied by the aggregation and accumulation of political power to the modern state. We now face the bizarre situation where needs are concentrated in individuals, but power and money is concentrated in the national state. This leaves families and individuals powerless before a faceless government. Justice, defence and welfare come from the top, whereas they are best provided at the bottom.

To restore the cohesion of our societies, Tens, Fifties and Hundreds must be restored to our communities, but it is not clear how this will happen. Politicians have an inbuilt tendency to push power and money to the top, so they will always weaken society at its lowest level.