Abstract: The organismic view of society is updated by incorporating concepts from cybernetics, evolutionary theory, and complex adaptive systems. ... In society ... increasing productivity, decreasing friction, ... and increasing cooperativity, transnational mergers and global institutions. ... [are] accompanied by increasing functional autonomy of individuals and organizations and the decline of hierarchies. The increasing complexity of interactions ... necessitate a strengthening of society?s ... nervous system.

This is realized by the creation of an intelligent global computer network ... the "global brain". Individuals are being integrated ever more tightly into this collective intelligence. ... [T]he superorganism model points ... towards increasing freedom and diversity. The model further suggests ... the emergence of an automated distribution network, a computer immune system, and a global consensus about values and standards.

The Global Superorganism: an evolutionary-cybernetic model of the emerging network society [PDF]