“Function dictates form” is a belief that the on-the-ground, real and specific changes that any group or person advocates for are a reflection and an embodiment of the new reality that this person or group would create. In other words, the “function” of the group—the policies it advocates for, the actual reforms it pushes—exemplify the “form” of the change the group is promoting. The function of large scale government investment dictates a form for society that is new, forward-oriented, and empowering.
We here at Breakthrough (Generation) are often accused of wanting to techno-fix our way clear of any serious social or cultural change. In other words, a will to create clean energy so that we can maintain our overly consumerist, overly isolationist, and overly self-involved American lifestyles is often projected onto BTI and BTGen. This is far from the case. Instead, we are believers in what I call the “function dictates form” model of social change. A discussion about function versus form might benefit all of us who wish to bring change to the world, be it to solve climate crisis, lift billions out of poverty, redefine the American city, or achieve energy independence from foreign oil.
“Function dictates form” is a belief that the on-the-ground, real and specific changes that any group or person advocates for are a reflection and an embodiment of the new reality that this person or group would create. In other words, the “function” of the group—the policies it advocates for, the actual reforms it pushes—exemplify the “form” of the change the group is promoting. This is even true when a group’s stated functions do not match its ideal or intended forms. In fact, no matter how grand, or universal, or wonderful a group’s vision is, the form that follows from its function is the real “vision” that the group is promoting.
Function dictating form is no little thing. I firmly believe that the on the ground answers and actually policy solutions that a group advocates reflect the direction it would take the world, perhaps not intentionally, but nonetheless naturally—which is why I do not understand why serious climate activists promote things like cap and trade or tax and dividend or the like as ways to create serious social change. Sure, it is (fictionally) a way to curb carbon emissions, but the function of cap (or tax) and ______ only serves to perpetuate the current social trends in this country and around the world. Time and again, I have seen people on sites like itsgettinghotinhere bemoaning the “capitalization” of our society, where everything from our minutes to our muscles to our ideas has a worth and a price in dollars and cents. And yet, the function of cap (or tax) and _____ is to commoditize and price carbon, which contributes to a form of society where every aspect of life is commoditized and its worth or success is measured in dollars. This is the form that the function of carbon commoditization like cap and trade or tax and dividend dictate.
Now, I’ll admit that Breakthrough and BTGen hasn’t YET offered the nitty gritty specifics of its policy positions (believe me when I tell you its coming, and the man hours going into that research will probably rise above 350 very quickly), but the policy solutions of our organization are clearly set out as large scale government investment that private investment will inevitably mirror—investment which will make clean energy cheap, accessible, spread through the nation and eventually the world. And the function of this kind of investment dictates a form for society that is a serious break from the past and encourages some necessary changes:
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A country whose government is actively invested in the future of its people
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A country leading the way for developing nations to lift themselves out of poverty and give its citizens a secure life of well-being without harming the climate
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A society of people who know that their taxes are being invested in providing long term national security
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A society where the most important and noble jobs—providing clean, sustainable and ample power to a local community will never be outsourced
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A society that sees the market as a means for creating great change through bold initiatives, and not as a pure force that should remain outside of human control, a God sending us signals as to when it is time to introduce the solutions we all know we should be working for NOW
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A culture of adherence to fact, in which recognizing and reacting to the true conditions of reality with boldness and anticipation is the norm
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A culture of creative problem solving, embracing ingenuity, and looking for creative and progress-oriented solutions to national problems and world challenges
The function of large scale government investment dictates a form for society that is new, forward-oriented, and empowering. This is the society that I am working towards, that Breakthrough and Breakthrough Generation are working towards, and it is one that I want to be a part of.
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*Note: The picture is of some European “form dictated by function” silverware I found here, so it was kind of relevant, in a way.
