The power of dialogue in social systems

Abstract

The primary challenge to global society, as we pass the threshold of a new millennium, is to transform existing social systems, and therefore American society, in such ways as to embody a more inclusive, democratic, and openended communicative spirit. Necessary to this transformation is a social discourse that enables the power and potential of global citizens to be realized. Dialogue is such a discourse that enables citizens in unconcealing societal patterns and structures, which guide and direct individual and collective interactions within and across events and activities. Engaging in dialogue, as a social discourse of creative possibility, with others in our daily lives can contribute to change in our selves and society. This type of systems change requires that we unconceal the powerful, fragmented, and constraining forces that drive individuals and communities to continue using old systems of thought and beliefs. Unconcealing these systems of thought and belief that inform and otherwise reify existing social structures and cultures patterns is necessary to transforming society. Dialogue is transformative, and is understood as a form of conversation or discourse that creates a context in which individuals and collectives are © 2008 Springer-Verlag US.