Permutatude theory is an ongoing conceptual framework for exploring mass collective psychology and global social evolution as developed by interdisciplinary artist and theorist Gayil Nalls.
Permutatude identifies information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a medium for expanding human massing events and their meaning, while also serving as a forum for collective actions, increasing the potential for change to social systems.
People having similar values, beliefs, and needs around the world could bond mentally and emotionally with collective actions of real crowds, growing the size of the massing event and forming new dynamics of power.
The first published definition for permutatude occurs in the 1992 catalogue from Nalls' solo exhibition, Permutatude, at the Phillippe Staib Gallery in New York City:A world capable of being changed; a transformation or rapid evolution of attitude of individuals on a large scale allowing a reordering to take place; revolt by the once silent masses against constituted authority; majority will; a sudden necessary modification in the global community ‘permitting’ rapid change to take place; exercise of authority by the masses, the natural instincts of democracy.
[2]The idea of permutatude began with the revolutions of 1989, when people around the world watched in real time as millions flooded the streets of Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania and witnessed the events surrounding the fall of communism in those countries.
As the democratic yearning described in Permutatude continued to unfold, the Arab Spring upheavals spread, driven by social media, despite the distinct political and cultural history of each country.
The movement first emerged under the name The Jasmine Revolution, a term that Nalls suggests pays homage to the cohesion of the revolutionaries and their felt group chemistry.