Social Systems and Design [Paperback]

We live in the worlds that we help to create every day. Every activity either supports an existing system or effects some change, however small. But is it possible to consciously create the worlds in which we want to live?

This volume brings together systems theorists and practitioners who have worked on that question for decades. It explores connections between design and systems ideas to explain why some efforts have been more successful than others, and what is needed if we are to move forward. It offers reflections on early and large-scale attempts at impacting societal systems, as well as proposals for taking those ideas into the future. Examples date back to the Club of Rome in the 1960s and look forward to the creation of ecologically sustainable systems in the future. They address the need for collaboration and inclusion in settings from communities to corporations. And while theories are presented as support for the examples, they are explained in practical ways meant to be accessible both to students and to general readers.

This book provides a practical and theoretical foundation to the design of human social systems. It demonstrates how systems design is applied to projects around the world, creating democratic and sustainable structures in organizations and communities.1 Creating Social Systems (Gary S. Metcalf).- 2 An Epic Learning Journey: From the Club of Rome to Dialogic Design Science and DEMOSOPHIA (Alexander N. Christakis).- 3 Cybernetics of Governance: The Cybersyn Project 19711973 (Raul Espejo).- 4 Systemic Design Principles for Complex Social Systems (Peter H. Jones).- 5 The Theory and Practice of Third Phase Science (Ken C. Bausch).- 6 Designing the Means for Governing the Commons (Thomas R. Flanagan).- 7 Co-laboratories of Democracy: Best Choices for Designing Sustainable Futures (Yiannis Laouris, Kevin M. C. Dye, Marios Michaelides, and Alexander, N. Christakis).- 8 Better Late than Never: Open Systems Tl³x