Construct Narratives : L4

4-δ Universal: Relating and managing a multiple systems based on shared values.

Narratives combine facts and interpretations with values and beliefs. They have to take into account diverse interests affecting the institution, each of which has its own system of values.

Essence of the Work 

To reduce the multiple strands associated with an institutional issue to a simple unified story that explains the situation, channels public expectations and points in a preferred direction.

The stimulus for narrative construction is the inevitable public confusion and ignorance surrounding institutional issues due to their inherent complexity and technicality. The narrative is designed to provide reassurance, orientation and a temporal direction. The process involves simplification and repeated public communication in a way that places current issues or demands in a historical-cultural-global context.

Narratives imbue the public with a shared reality of the institution by integrating multiple perspectives and unfolding events. The simplicity of narratives enables sound-bites to spread through society quickly and easily. Repetition appears to confirm validity for most, who then feel they understand what is going on.

The narrative claims to be truthful despite institutional complexity, and while it is always difficult to know what is the truth, narratives often run directly counter to many facts for those ready to question. While the narrative is dominant, criticisms are like water off a duck's back. Following an institutional disaster, the narrative can either abruptly reverse or be maintained stronger than ever: not unlike the behaviour of doomsday cults when the end -of-the-world fails to appear on schedule.

Example: ClosedCentral Banks & Cryptocurrencies

CB credibility remains high despite forecasts and predictions having a woeful track-record, not just being wrong but often wildly wrong. Rather than using interest rates to guide the economy, CB interest rate moves follow the market as superimposed graphs show.

CBs are the "lender of last resort", but that function depends on banks being given the right (unavailable to others) to loan what they do not have. Without that right, it is not clear that CBs are necessary at all. The key function of price stability is never met: currencies have depreciated around 90% over the past half-century.

Cryptocurrencies have been subjected to a sustained narrative from government regulators and central banks. This portrays then as having no practical use, being a Ponzi, being a vehicle for money-laundering, and wasting energy. These criticisms are unbalanced or invalid, and there is no mention of the positive values of cryptographic and blockchain technologies for security, trust, personal responsibility, and efficient payments. Nor is the narrative's source in protecting the vested interests of banks mentioned.

CBs move in herds, from one inadequate theory of the economy to another, each time expecting and getting respect and acceptance. Recent activities of CBs have generated a financialization of the economy that has led to asset inflation, impoverishment of wage-earners, zombie companies, and oligarchs. If or when there is an ultimate financial collapse, CBs will likely be blamed and a negative narrative will emerge prior to their re-construction or abolition.

Any institutional narrative will stimulate public opinion and sentiment due to embodied expectations and values. Political narrative is particularly emotion-laden because it is typically used in an ongoing adversarial debate.

Who Does the Work? 

Because any narrative adapts to and serves the power structure of society, different narratives may be developed and publicized by alternative centres of power.

Narratives are presented by those in leading positions within powerful groups within society. Only such individuals with the aid of advisors and a bureaucratic machine have the wherewithal to develop, promote and publicize a narrative.

Government leaders use narrative to appear in control and seem able to withstand challenges from any value standpoint, whether factual or theoretical.

Media leaders use narrative either to support governments or to oppose the official version of reality, either via editorials or via their slant on the news in general.

Example: ClosedGFC 2007-8

Narratives are commonly contested. For example, a major rail accident could bring into play, among others, government, political parties, the engineering company, the owner-manager of the railway and the network, relevant unions, maintenance firms, insurance companies, the police and rescue services, as well the families of those injured or killed. Because of the potential for blame and financial penalty, each party will seek to present or support a story that evokes sentiment favourably.

Narrative has been previously assigned a place in the unfolding duality associated with creativity in endeavours-RsH. It represents the optimistic mode for motivation, justification, & determination, which are regimens of vantage-G5 that flow from perseverance.

It appears that in societal institutions, the narrative is devised to provide motivation; the narrative is often used as a justification; and the narrative generates a determination in those committed to it.

 

Plotting the Work

Narratives can only be effectively constructed and believe if there is deep knowledge of the institution. So the work is placed in the upper half of the Y-axis. However, given that the narrative is constructed to be convenient and awkward complexities are avoided, it is not placed at the extreme.

Narratives are devised to be popular. They strive to be convincing, reassuring, easy to explain, and simple enough to be understood and accepted by all.  So that places it in the right half of the X-axis. However, there are typically conflicting narratives and the public is still left somewhat in the dark, so it will not be at the extreme.

Taken together this means that constructed narratives are plotted in the upper right quadrant towards the centre, as shown in the diagram: as predicted for t4/L4.

Narratives provide an account of the present and an orientation to the future, but they are not tied to specifics and it is hard to judge whether they are a reliable guide when things go wrong.

Originally posted: 14-Nov-2022. Last updated 30-Jun-2023.