This way of describing one's life in "the arena" is very useful, but not because it playing fields are stable with rules that one can count upon and competitors who will follow them. The utility of Tobin's construct is that it calls attention to our assumptions about the playing field we work and life in/on. Tobin is challenging us to look carefully at what boundaries, spaces, rules, scoring, and implements of play, are becoming more or less relevant than they were even a couple years ago. Not to mention that there are more players who disregard the "rules of the game" entirely to win at the expense of others. They do it because they can with few consequences. Carrying this line of thinking forward, one will need to hone skills in critical thinking and assumption busting to detect new forms of play and see the cheaters cheating. Likewise, we'll need to cultivate communities who can agree on the form, rules, and boundaries of play that are wholesome for economy, ecology, and society. Not to mention the referees needed to manage the commons that makes up the field of play.
This way of describing one's life in "the arena" is very useful, but not because it playing fields are stable with rules that one can count upon and competitors who will follow them. The utility of Tobin's construct is that it calls attention to our assumptions about the playing field we work and life in/on. Tobin is challenging us to look carefully at what boundaries, spaces, rules, scoring, and implements of play, are becoming more or less relevant than they were even a couple years ago. Not to mention that there are more players who disregard the "rules of the game" entirely to win at the expense of others. They do it because they can with few consequences. Carrying this line of thinking forward, one will need to hone skills in critical thinking and assumption busting to detect new forms of play and see the cheaters cheating. Likewise, we'll need to cultivate communities who can agree on the form, rules, and boundaries of play that are wholesome for economy, ecology, and society. Not to mention the referees needed to manage the commons that makes up the field of play.