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By
Dr. Don Beck & Graham Linscott
The Crucible
was written at a time South Africa was floundering for answers
to its violence-wracked political and social dilemma in the
immediate aftermath of FW de Klerk's unbanning of the ANC
and other liberation movements, before political and constitutional
negotiations began.
It reframed
the debate, replacing race as the primary issue with the insights
obtained from a new analytical method based on the pioneering
research in the United States of the late Clare W. Graves,
of Union College, New York.
Beck,
a protégé of Graves, had been working extensively
as a consultant in South Africa and had made significant contact
with the major role players, including the National Party
and the ANC. He saw the relevance of Gravesian analysis to
South Africa's challenges and teamed up with Linscott, a seasoned
writer and analyst of African affairs, to produce a book that
set out a framework for South Africa's future.
Fifteen
years on, there is little or nothing the authors would wish
to alter.
The Crucible
was an early exposition of Gravesian analysis that used South
Africa as a template. Beck and Christopher C Cowan were to
develop its theme into a generalised philosophical construct
with Spiral Dynamics: mastering values, leadership and change
(Blackwell 1996), and the prolific American philosopher/author,
Ken Wilber, has since incorporated Beck's ideas into his own
analysis.
In 2006,
Alex Rollin and Cherie Beck (no relation) negotiated to republish
The Crucible from Washington, in a new dustjacket.
Visit
the Crucible book site for more information or to order.
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