A PNM Take on the Riots

Thinking over some previous posts and the fabulous additions by Mark and Dan, I decided to go about looking at the current unrest in France in a Barnettian way, i.e in terms of implicit and explicit rule sets and the four vital flows. First let’s look at my provisional graphic:

What we see is normally functioning French society, which is then changed through immigration. Through a variety of factors (economic, cultural, social) a kind of Teufelskreis, or vicious circle is created. Being a foreigner leads to some self-isolation, which thus compounds the feelings of being an outsider. Racism from the outside additionally increases these feelings and creates more of an incentive to stay “outside.” Additionally, unemployment increases the divide between immigrants and society causing further isolation. The factors feed on each other. Foreigners don’t get a jobs, whether because they are unqualified or discriminated against, which over a longer period of time, leads to a negative stereotype of the unemployed leech foreigner, which then leads to more racism and more isolation.

Additionally, let’s look at this in terms of Barnett’s 4 flows which are vital to globalization:

Note, I’ve changed “energy” to “values.” We see that the free movement of people still exist yet the flow of money between the core and gap is irregular and weak, the flow of security into the gap is almost nonexistant and that the core’s values are making it in. However, the values give the people in the French gap, impossible ideals and goals which they can’t achieve due to their disconnectedness. This is a fertile breeding ground for discontent and violence, as I discussed in a previous post about the destabilizing effect of information on societies.

Let’s now look at explicit and implicit rule sets as defined by Mark:

Explicit rule-set systems are highly formal, emphasizing uniformity of procedure, objectivity, neutrality, and attention to precedent. Literacy is a prerequisite for explicit, objective rules. The emergence of explicit rule sets like the Code of Hammurabi had to wait until a societal elite mastered the art of writing. Explicit rule sets are often the province of the State through the many organizations ““ unions, churches, professional groups, schools, corporations, fraternal orders, and so forth ““ that maintain codes of conduct and bylaws.

Implicit rule-set systems are older, subtler, and often more powerful than explicit rule-set systems. They are subjective, intuitively understood, flexible, vaguely defined, and opaque to outsiders and novices alike. Unwritten and often unspoken as well, implicit rule sets may deal with status, tradition, group affinity, and personal identification.

The problem here comes with the friction, or rivalry between the two. Immigrants have French citizenship and thus are supposed to play be the French explicit rule-set but various implicit rules conflict with it, such as discrimination.

France’s minorities, living in ghettos separated from the rest of society have developed their own culture and implicit rule sets. On top of that, French law, i.e. explicit rules, according to reports, does not extend very far into these areas. Thus, we have weak enforcement of explicit rules in the form of police presence which simultaneously reinforces the growing ghetto rule-set. Thus, this violence is NOT an abberation but rather a norm in sync with the gap’s rule-set. However, it’s now spilling over into the core, instead of staying inside the gap.

Instead of concentrating on the specifics here, think back to the basic Core/Gap theory and the blueprint for action needed to connect these areas and keep them connected. Instead of thinking of poverty or radical Islam as problems, think of them as symptoms for disconnectedness. France needs to take a hard line jailing and deporting who they can, but at the end of the day, their job is to connect these ghettos and like Barnett said, the boys aren’t coming home. Granted we aren’t talking about soldiers here, but his point stands that a sustained effort over a long period of time will be necessary to increase the “flows” and ultimately connect France’s gap.