Owen K Waters – In the ground-breaking book, Spiral Dynamics by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan, “memes” are defined as the social equivalent of genes. Memes are cultural units of information which self-replicate from mind to mind on a vast scale, appearing within society as new trends of thought.

The progression of memes reflects the development of society from its primitive beginnings up to the present. So far, eight different memes have been identified and analyzed. Their characteristics are:

Meme 1 – Basic, personal survival

The most primitive motivation of just staying alive.

Meme 2 – Clan survival

Tribal and family bonding along with superstition-filled attempts to understand the powers of nature which threaten to overpower them.

Meme 3 – Courage, survival of the fittest

Mastering the environment, fighting to break free of constraints. Sensing many gods, all of which are models of power. This is where individuals first find their personal power but, seeing reality through a worldview of separation and limited resources, compete against each other in attempts to gain advantage. As a meme which is short on thought and long on passion, societies in this stage quickly fragment into territorial, feudal-type communities surrounded by competing, enemy communities. Continue reading →