The point of the tumbleweed diagram is that it's nobody's job but the stakeholders in each situation.

But that is exactly my point... the fact that there are a nearly infinite number of stakeholders in most situations negates the tumbleweed diagram (I love that name by the way). The people involved include not only the two individuals interacting, but everyone else that is even peripherally affected by the interaction. In my S&M example, the to individuals in a relationship are only a very small part of the overall list of stakeholders, the remainder being everyone else that comes into contact with their behavior. I guess, my point is, the "everyone is an alpha monkey" schema is as inherently flawed as the "supreme being" alpha monkey.

I guess, with that in mind, as much as I abhor the "supreme being alpha monkey" model, it is no less absurd to believe in that than the notion that the diagram above represents. Both are inherently unworkable in the real world... but both seem completely rational on paper.

Sadly, I don't have an answer for this one... I'm just a naysayer :(