Change comes, almost always, from the outside, says Seth Godin, in another profound post in his blog.  Seth goes into thoughts and feelings about contemporary culture that have been in the back of my mind for some time - that’s why he’s a genius; he crystallizes and makes simple that which is right in front of us, but don’t see it - or don’t want to see it.

"….Inside most fields, we see pitched battles between a few people who want serious change to reinvigorate the genre they love–and the masses, who won’t tolerate change of any kind. Hey, there are still people arguing vehemently about whether Mass should be in Latin or not.

History has shown us that the answer is crystal clear: if you want change, you’ve got to leave. Change comes, almost always, from the outside. The people who reinvented music, food, technology and politics have always gone outside the existing dominant channels to create something new and vital and important.

I wonder if that’s true of politics - can anyone from within the system now reform it? Probably not.  That’s why there’s revolutions - once a power class and hierarchy gets established, it’s almost impossible to unseat, sucking up all power and money to itself.  That’s what happened in the French Revolution - there was no other way; but within 30 years the French ended up with, more or less, the same monarchy they would have had if they had not had the revolution.

"So classical music gets stuck because the new stuff isn’t like the regular kind, the classics. French food got stuck, because no restaurant could risk its 3 stars to try something new. A convention can’t change cities or formats. Schools can’t start their curriculum over… the culture gets stuck because the masses want it be stuck."

I think the human mind needs stability and excitement, and that comes in every form.  I often think of the Tarot deck card, THE HIEROPHANT. To me, the Hierophant represents established authority.  For example, you don’t expect the Pope to be that accepting…he’s the Pope, he has to say certain things that are expected of him.  You don’t expect established power brokers to innovate, their power comes from being what they are now.  

That’s why innovation often comes from the outside - because it can’t come from the top of hierarchy, from the established order.  I think that’s what Seth was saying.  He’s working out the natural cycle of things - sure, some people on one end are trying to be the early adopters, using Digg Bait to drive attention to their ideas, or people like Ze Frank, entirely outside the establishment - are using Social Media to re-invent entertainment - to reach audiences they’d never be allowed to by the established media - the Hierarchy, the Hierophant, the networks in control - that like to keep things they way they are.