What would Bateson's work look like today?

Abstract

PurposeTo demonstrate that Bateson's path‐breaking life and breakthrough thinking have directly (and indirectly) inspired a profound shift which has specific and practical effects in the physical world – as well as in the world of ideas.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes an outstanding initiative inspired by Bateson's ideas and work.FindingsColombia's Gaviotas, situated far from the traditional centers of power and prestige, is the scene of an extraordinary whole system's experiment which is successfully applying Batesonian ideas in a harsh and troubled setting. Colombia is a country where environmental degradation, violence and instability are rampant. The paper examines some of the successes already achieved in Gaviotas, the path that lies ahead and the new opportunities being pursued by the Gaviotas project's developers. The paper attempts to understand how scientists are actively using Bateson's epistemology in their work.Practical implicationsThis paper aims to enrich the Bateson memorial by demonstrating that cutting‐edge ecological thinking, as pioneered by Bateson, is being applied around the globe in ways both surprising and profound.Originality/valueThis paper identifies a unique attempt to manifest, in the most difficult circumstances, that Bateson's ecological concepts and values are not abstraction s and that change is a process which can occur in the most unlikely places.