However, institutions are grown, not imposed; and I'm not sure Barnett recognizes this.

Possibly,

But also it might be that one most effective ways a 5GW organization will work is that it works toward creating an environment in which these institutions will self-organize. Remember, people generally hate things that are imposed upon them, but embrace things that they build with their own hard work and ingenuity.

In my mind if the goal is to establish such internal rulesets a 5GW effector will seek out and quietly strengthen and promote the organization and the rulesets it embraces as it equally quietly weakens and exposes the flaws of those it does not.

True, and Deng's indebtedness to traditional Chinese merchant-and-smallholder culture, combined with Britain's influence in Shanghai and Hong Kong, should not be underestimated.

Tragically, Deng would not have been needed if not for Mao. It took nearly the complete eradication of what was once China to even require such a capitalist turn. But then again, Carter and Thatcher began similar counter-revolutions in their countries after decades under the Liberal/Leftist yoke, so China was hardly alone in her dalience with destructuion.

ElamBend,

One of the most important aspects of institutions is perceived fairness. This, much more than rational design, is important. At its worse Enterra's ruleset automation seems just like the same “best practices” bs that nearly destroyed the West after the Second World War.

Let's hope it is something better. And to the extent it creates transperency, not just processes, it is. For instance, from Kurzban and DeScioli's laboratory research: [1]

“We found evidence for the hypothesis that adding a cost to view information decreases aggregate contributions, probably because the motivation to induce others’ reciprocal contributions diminishes under these conditions. (Kurzban and DeScioli 2)

Finally, players are willing to endure costs to punish those who contribute relatively little to the public good, hinting at anger at a betrayal of trust (Fehr & Gachter, 2002; Yamgishi, 1986). (Kurzban and DeScioli 5)”

Aherring,

Remember that the existence of other 5GW organizations will make victory harder for any given 5GW organization. Blitzkrieg (5GW) armies do not work toward a world where blitzkrieg forces will self organize — they work toward a world where it's impossible for other blitzkrieg forces to survive!

Perhaps the most successful 5GW organization in a world of youtube [2] will be those that are immune to youtube-style

Still, it's interesting to imagine how a 5GW might go about not just implementing a political objective but in becoming a system-level power itself…

[1] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2006/09/12/ethnocentricism-and-xenophobia-may-be-useful.html
[2] http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/archives2/003809.html