The Zeitgeist Movement Defined: Excerpt on General Systems Theory
Part III: A New Train of Thought, Essay 14: True Economic Factors, Sub-Heading 2: General Systems Theory, Page 232–233 (online pdf edition)
Source: The Zeitgeist Movement Defined Online PDF Edition — Page 236 of the PDF, Page 232 of the Book
General Systems Theory
General Systems Theory is an idea likely made most famous by biologist Ludwig Von Bertalanffy. He stated: “…there exist models, principles, and laws that apply to generalized systems or their subclasses, irrespective of their particular kind, the nature of their component elements, and the relationships or “forces” between them. It seems legitimate to ask for a theory, not of systems of a more or less special kind, but of universal principles applying to systems in general.”754 While systems theorists throughout the years have put a great deal of intellectual complexity and elaboration forward, the basic recognition is rather simple and intuitively easy to grasp.
The human body, for example, is composed of various system interconnections which not only natively regulate specific processes for a given purpose (such as the heart and its role in blood circulation), these systems always have smaller and larger degree relationships as well. In the case of the heart, the blood it circulates has its own set of defined chemical properties and system behaviors (smaller degree system relationship) while the heart itself is also a component part of the total human organ array (larger degree system relationship) and hence connects with, for example, the lungs which assist in oxygen distribution throughout the blood stream.
Extending this example to larger degree relationships, this human system is connected to an ecological system,755 which invariably has a direct correlation to human health. For instance, poor industrial methods existing within this ecological system can introduce, for example, pollution into the air, causing conditions that might set the stage for lung problems or other detriments to human health.
Of course, system relationships to human health are not only “physical” in the traditional sense of the term, they are also psychologically and sociologically causal. Science has come to better understand how human learning and behavioral propensities are generated through both genetic and environmental influences, invariably engaging a larger systems context. For example, as noted in prior essays, addiction problems, such as with drugs or alcohol, can often be found linked to early life stress and emotional loss.756 In truth, the very basis for understanding public health is of a systems recognition, without exception.
Now, binding all systems are what could be termed “generalized governing principles”. In scientific terms, a “generalized” principle or theory is a foundational characteristic or assumption that governs an entire system. A notable, ongoing quest of modern science has been the search for universally governing principles that apply to all known systems in the universe, as gestured in the prior quotation by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy.
While a great deal of theoretical debate exists with respect to the complex behavior of certain systems, (finding clashes of perspective between, for example, “classical mechanics” and “quantum mechanics”) the understandings relevant to efficient economic organization — a system design intended to optimize human well-being and long term ecological/social sustainability — need not get lost in such abstraction. Thus, the economic relationships presented in this essay are fairly obvious and easy to validate.
However, let it be stated that when the systems worldview is truly understood in its profound ramification of immutable interconnectedness and hence interdependence/co-responsibility of literally everything in the known universe, traditional cultural notions based on human or social division — such as religious loyalty, race loyalty, class, nation states, patriotism and other manifestations born from a world arguably ignorant of this reality in the past — can create nothing but confusion, maladjustment and conflict in the long-term.
Realizing and striving to think in the context of interconnected systems is critical for intellectual development, hence creating an educational imperative for people to also learn more as “generalists” as opposed to rigid “specialists”, which is the current pattern due to the structure of our traditional labor roles. Sadly, our educational system today has been shaped and structured not to create well-rounded understandings of the world, but rather directs focus to isolated and narrow specialties, which reduce systems comprehension consequently.757
So, returning to the specific context of the creation of an economic model, this system relevance inherently creates an essentially “self-generating” causality that reduces subjectivity greatly. When we relate current understandings of the human system to the ecological system, we find a process of objective calculation with respect to what is possible and sustainable, both in the general structure of industrial processes and the value structure of society itself.
In the end, once this reality is understood, knowing that we may never have an absolute understanding of the total, universal governing system, our task is hence to derive an economic model that best superimposes upon such known properties and relationships of the physical world, adapting and adjusting as efficiently as possible, as new feedback (information) continues to prove valid. Put another way, the creation of an economic model is really a process of structural alignment with the existing ecological system already in play on the planet earth. The degree to which we are able to achieve this, defines our success.
Footnotes
754 Ludwig Von Bertalanffy, General System theory: Foundations, Development, Applications, New York: George Braziller, 1976, p.32
755 Ecology is defined as: the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ecology)
756 Dr. Gabor Maté in his work In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts (North Atlantic Books, 2012) presents an enormous amount of research regarding how ‘emotional loss’ occurring at young ages affects behavior in later life, specifically the propensity for addictions.
757 Reference: “Education and the Market Model”, John McMurtry, Journal of Philosophy of Education Volume 25, Issue 2, pps 209–217, 1991 Online: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467- 9752.1991.tb00642.x/abstract
