This article is a synopsis of the book by Marc Rameaux, “Orca Economica”:
Orca Economica
« Ego varies inversely with personality. »
Vladimir Jankélévitch
Have you noticed how, within companies, leaders of small teams are worth a hundred times their superiors?
And how these first level leaders are much more fitted for command than the ones who govern them?
Meritocracy - the cornerstone of our modern societies - became perverted little by little and totally reversed in the end. It promotes at executive positions mediocre people, busy at childish territory games, taking the credit for the decisiveness and entrepreneurship of much better men than them.
Since more than thirty years, a pathway to easy successes has been appearing that requires no competency nor commitment, and has nothing to do with entrepreneurship qualities. As long as this path allows a winning strategy against true merit, some will follow it.
Should we resign ourselves to it? “Orca” investigates deeply the reason of this extinction of the men of worth, to the advantage of the ones who inflate their egos.
“Orca” wages an unprecedented psychological and economic fight against this situation. A non-violent fight - the means of which are described in the book - but relentless and uncompromising, striking the predators at their weakest point.
Today’s economic world raises increasing threats, which are already the subject of numerous books.
Various criticisms point out its hardness, its extreme speed, sometimes its psychological violence.
These books charge often the increasing pressure at work, a general trend of toughness and inhumanity, the constant increase of stress, of threats, of constant issues.
The trend towards a more and more competitive, globalized world, or the sheer questioning of the market economy itself are the mainly proposed explanations, developed through various solutions depending on the political color of the authors.
But if it was not the point? If the increasing embarrassment raising in our societies was not a question of magnitude in toughness, pace and objectives? But a question of nature, an imperceptible but immitigable shift of the economic organization, in its essence?
Many people think that the economy and the world of business remained roughly the same, just in a tougher, quicker and more complex version. The embarrassment that we feel in facing the modern society comes from much further.
The way companies work has deeply changed since thirty years, following a trend which strengthened progressively, producing now decisive impacts not only on the world of business but on the whole society, touching even our conception of mankind.
Unconsciously, a certain idea of man has been substituted to another, with highly negative consequences, which explain both the psychological violence and the economic saturation that we face.
This is not theoretical philosophy. This evolution had very practical consequences on the way companies are working, which require to live them from the inside to understand their mechanisms. It is so concrete that it stands more on the side of the sociology of organizations and practical lessons of management, rather than plain philosophy.
The evolution we speak about can be summarized very simply: the system of meritocracy is now inversed, allowing the worst kind of people to reach the highest positions of decision and command.
How such a reversal can be possible, and would not have it been paid by a global loss in economics efficiency? Not if the worst and lowest personalities find a way which promotes their career, pushing aside the most capable and deserving from the decision band, while exploiting their capacities at their best. Then there is no, or very few, global loss for the company. The point is that now, such a way exists and expands itself.
A real theft of merit is occurring, leading to an anti-selection of the executives in business at the advantage of the worst, turning meritocracy in a loathsome inversed caricature of what it was supposed to be.
Any conspiracy theory must be pushed aside: simplism or demagogy are not allowed in this book. The evolution of our societies can be explained by self-organization mechanisms, inspired by cognitive science and game theory.
A breach was opened which did not exist before, allowing a very simple tactic that requires only a total absence of qualms, to operate this theft of the other’s merit. By dedicating all of oneself energy to this « activity » instead of working with skill and producing value, it is now possible to play a winning game.
The men who think about gaining from this system are too unworthy to demonstrate a subtle machiavellianism, even if they were willing so: the systemic organization overwhelms quickly the individuals, as it is frequently the case in sociology of organizations, and goes beyond human will. So that even the recipients of this system become quickly its puppets. But the human damages are, on their part, concrete and actual.
This evolution touched mainly the big companies. For reasons explained in this book, small independent entities are saved from it, and remain the shelter of the men who expect a fair recognition of their capacity.
“Orca” is the story and the explanation of this evolution, unnoticed but inexorable.
« Orca » is also a book of fight, to organize the defense against this trend and the critical human impacts it causes: a counter organization of the society is built up and developed.
Why such a reference to the biggest of delphinidaes in our title?
Because the rhetoric of hidden violence which infiltrated the companies, leans on so-called naturalist and ethological references to settle its authority.
The « alpha males », « killers » and « predators » came out, to intimidate and frighten the weakest, also to obtain a resignation and submission to the new order, to make think it was inscribed in the biological order. Of course, such words are not directly used, but wrapped in a double talk the meaning of which anybody knows, from where these crude terms slip out sometimes. Or they are used constantly during private speeches, in “good company”.
By the way, this view put centuries back what civilization and freedom had built as a model of a man of worth. Also, the status of women has drastically decreased due to this mindset since more than 30 years, as other books have already pointed out.
The orca is the bright antidote to this shady bestiary. To fight the high-jacked neo-darwinism of the unscrupulous people who seize managing positions, we restore authentic ethological references, showing that the true understanding of Darwinism goes far beyond the dreams of domination by servitude of some.
The orca is an extremely sensitive animal, accomplished in every sense of the word, living in a very elaborate social organization, sometimes wiser than the human one.
But it is also the tiger of the ocean, who can disembowel a 14 feet white shark in one shot if necessary. The sharks of the economic world are warned. Our defense is more than fierce: it calls of course for no physical violence, but engages a merciless, unprecedented psychological and economic battle, showing the true coward nature of “predators”. The book details how to set up this fight.
The mobsters are countered by samurais, recruited among the most capable and energetic men of the economic world. Civilization must be defended by the highest fighter virtues, not by good feelings or pleadings.
Engaging this fight is an emergency. The cynicism and the depravity of the ruling class reach such limits that it goes much beyond a fight against difficult working conditions. Extreme violence is committed, behind a soft and apparently reasonable speech, hiding the lowest instincts. “Snakes in suits” have become nowadays a recognized issue of the management in big companies.
The physical violence of our society derives straightforwardly from it: the example coming from the top, the white collar hooligans become the model of suburban muggers. The example of easy and undeserving gains does not come from lower classes: other « dealers », much more detrimental but apparently clean, show them the way.
This is a critical threat on civilization, that free and determined men must confront. “Orca” exposes the mechanism of usurpation in its slightest details, without any compromise. It prepares also a counter strike relying on men who have always distinguished themselves by their independence and value creation.