ABSTRACT
This wholly new chapter applies the ideas of intelligent organisation to the state itself. Reflecting a concern with the tendency of organisations in general and states in particular to centralise decision power in the name of efficiency, this chapter is concerned with achieving an appropriate balance of power between the state and the individual as well as exploring how the functional orientation of the state ensures that it is primarily concerned with its own internal compliance rather than with the delivery of services to citizens. The chapter considers how autonomy, essential to the viability of any organisation, must be built in to the design of the state and how the individual citizen must assert their right to independence and freedom. Similarly, the chapter explores the obligation of the state to support and enable individuals to become independent. The chapter uses two case studies to explore the implications of the approach and concludes with consideration of international relationships. The reader will leave the chapter with an understanding of how these ideas apply at a national level.
