social holon

A social holon is a collective made up of individual holons. It does not possess a dominant monad but only a definable "we-ness". Rather than possessing discrete agency, a social holon possesses what is defined as nexus agency.

Flock of snow-geese flying, PD. source

An illustration of nexus agency is best described by a flock of geese. Each goose is an individual holon, the flock makes up a social holon. Although the flock moves as one unit when flying, and it is "directed" by the choices of the lead goose, the flock itself is not mandated to follow that lead goose.

Another way to consider this would be collective activity that has the potential for independent internal activity at any given moment.

# Sources Holon wiki Mihaela Ulieru, "Organic Governance Through the Logic of Holonic Systems," in John H. Clippinger and David Bollier, "From Bitcoin to Burning Man and Beyond" (ID3/Off the Common Books, 2014), pp. 113-129. webpage