Integral Politics

“Integral” denotes a cutting edge level of human development that less than 10% of adults in the developed world have attained, although that percentage continues to grow.  Integral politics is a term that is used to described pursuing politics by emphasizing the capacity of people at an integral level of development to see the merits of both the right and the left with a superior capacity to weave together more optimal political solutions that honor both left and right and connect well with people at every level of development while holding a more world centric sensibility than most left or right positions.  The beginning of integral politics was reflected in the “third way” political movement that has lost momentum, which may very well re-emerge in some other framing.

Integral politics has been accused of being elitist and undemocratic by many on the left and the right, with an agenda to privilege those who consider themselves more highly developed than others.  Many integral political ideas so far unrealistically reflect processes and institutions that do this and have little chance of being adopted in today’s democratic societies. On the other hand political ideas and strategies will likely keep emerging from an increasing number of integral theorists and practitioners, and over time an increasing number of leaders on the left and the right will likely begin to reflect integral capacities and enrich their own traditions accordingly.       

A current integral political project is pursued through the Institute for Cultural Evolution at www.culturalevolution.org, called Future Left/Future Right, which promotes an approach which helps people and groups on the right and the left appreciate that the right needs the left and visa versa.