Society as Super-organism

In its biological speculations, it is the general argument of Idle Theory that unicellular organisms combine to form multicellular organisms because the economies of scale and other benefits enjoyed by multicellular organisms result in a more idle life for their component cells. If this were not the case, and multicellular organisms were generally less idle than independent individual cells, the multicellulars would break up into a dispersed cloud of unicellular organisms.

Exactly the same argument is used to explain the formation of human societies. Economies of scale, divisions of labour, shared knowledge, and other benefits of cooperation all serve to make life within the body of human society easier than life as an independent, autonomous individual. If this were not the case, human societies would dissolve into a cloud of independent, autonomous individuals.

Organised human society is thus a kind of super-organism, composed of human 'cells'. As in multicellular organisms, these individuals perform specialised activities which in many ways reproduce the specialised cells and organs of the human body. Some perform the tasks of supplying food, water, clothing, shelter. Others store, transport, and distribute these various tools using a network of roads which resemble the blood vessels of the body. Others are concerned with the maintenance of health, the disposal of waste, the maintenance of order. And others still, as government officials, are concerned with the overall command and control of societies. Still others, perhaps religious authorities, are concerned with the the long term goals of human society.

Within this society, individuals almost always work on behalf of other people. Knifemakers do not make knives just for themselves, but mostly for other people. Bakers do not bake bread just for themselves, but largely for other people. Truckers do not carry around their own personal possessions, but those of other people. Lawyers do not argue about their own disputes, but those of other people. Government officials are not concerned with regulating and commanding their own lives, but those of other people. Working within society, individuals are almost never doing what they personally want to do, but almost always what other people want done.

But no person is continually working in society on behalf of others. When the bakers shut down their ovens, and the truckers park their trucks, and the lawyers take off their gowns, and government ministers climb into their limousines, they all go home and become autonomous individuals doing what each wants to do, rather than what others want them to do. They talk, play games, watch television, or whatever else amuses them.

Thus in their busy time, people are members of society, working on behalf of others. And in their idle time, they are autonomous individuals, doing whatever they feel like doing. And thus the individual and society alternate in time. Each person alternates between busily working within society in some specialised task, and idly doing whatever each personally wants to do.

The extent to which a person is an active member of society or an idle individual depends upon the overall idleness of society. In the least idle societies, people spend the bulk of their time working within society, with little free time in which to act as autonomous individuals. In the most idle societies, very little time is spent working within society, and most people are idle autonomous individuals, doing their own thing.

Yet the distinction between the individual and society is not always entirely that of the idle and the busy. Outside of their social role, people may be busy performing work on their own behalf - for example cooking, eating, washing.

Working in society, people live public lives that are open to social scrutiny, criticism, reward and punishment. As autonomous individuals they lead private lives which are almost entirely beyond scrutiny or criticism, except where their activities have adverse social consequences.

From Totalitarianism to Anarchy

In the busiest or least idle societies, most people spend most of their time working in society on behalf of others. In such societies individual self-expression is largely suppressed, and people live regimented lives within a social command structure. They are totalitarian societies in which almost everything anyone does is by commanded by others, and in which indolence, nonconformity, and disobedience are intolerable.

As social idleness grows, with new technologies and techniques, more and more idle autonomous individuals emerge as the demands of society diminish.

In the most idle societies, socially necessary work dwindles to such an extent that most people spend most of their time as autonomous individuals. Work, conformity, and obedience become intolerable.

The nightmare of a totalitarian society in which all individual self-expression is suppressed is really nothing but the dread of regimented and indoctrinated low idleness society.

The nightmare of complete anarchy in a high idleness society is the dread that nobody will do what little work needs done, and of the consequent collapse of society.

The individual and society do not exist in opposition to each other. Society exists in order to increase the idleness of its members and therefore to generate autonomous individuals. And from the point of view of society, idle autonomous individuals represent a pool of unused labour that can be called upon in an emergency. The opposition of the individual and society is more apparent than real, and grows from the opposition of idleness and busyness: of idly doing whatever one feels like doing, or industriously working within a command structure on behalf of other people.