Active citizenship and social cybernetics

This paper builds upon the mutual learning processes between people in civil society and state bureaucrats and politicians, as they make effective community empowerment processes and structures. To have active citizens, to strength communities and to increase partnership are three elements In general when we do not recognise this complexity, and social communication does not facilitate membership, hierarchical relationships evolve. These relationships do not respect the autonomy of persons. In these circumstances, most likely the liberty and dignity of the person will not be respected. We believe it is necessary to elaborate with greater depth the relationship between personal autonomy and its organisational context. Liberty and dignity are values that emerge from our relationships, beyond any declarative norms or institutions. Finally, from our perspective the encounter between political theory and social cybernetics is given in the hermeneutic processes of creation of meanings, where the experiential learning is connected with the ethical and systemic horizons. It is in this mutual reflexion that meanings arise, in which we become aware of defining the horizons of social understanding at any particular time. These horizons are fundamental in order to recognise the knowledge, skills required by in individuals and groups in civil society and bureaucrats and politicians in the authorities. We need to reinforced spaces for monitored conversations that recognised the learning needs from those who are in power and those who want to influence power.