Monday 20 May 2019

Reactivism vs Interactivism

I came across this 4 years ago in an engineering book written in 1974. It chimed with politics then and now. Applied to tech there are ultra-interactivists known as early adopters - who are their counterparts in politics?

Reactivism: Reactivists prefer a previous state to the one they are in and believe things are going from bad to worse. Hence they not only resist change but they try to unmake previous changes and return to where they once were. Reactivists are moved more by their hates than by their loves Their orientation is remedial, not aspirational.

Interactivism: Interactivists are not willing to settle for the current state of their affairs or the way they are going, they are not willing to return to the past. They want to design a desirable future and invent ways of bringing it about. They try to prevent, not merely to prepare for, threats and to create, not merely exploit, opportunities. Interactivists are not willing to settle for survival or growth. They seek self-development, self-realization and self-control; an increased ability to design and control their own destinies. They plan to do better in the future than the best that presently appears to be possible.