Systems

Abstract

We talk glibly about social security systems, broadcasting systems, relief delivery systems, etc., which we thereby identify as holistic in some sense, and as having organization. The basic question to be asked of systems theory is: what is to be gained by saying that all these things are systems? Systems theory began with physical systems in a physical world, and understands physical limits. In classical systems theory the word equilibrium has a thermodynamic origin. Some social theorists speak of social systems, without thinking of physical constraints, as being ‘far from equilibrium’, but it is hard to say what the opposing ground (equilibrial) state is. Some systems are closed – that is, they do not exchange matter with their environment though they may exchange energy. Others are open, where both matter and energy may be exchanged. It is reasonable to think of the open human economic–social system as a separate subsystem of planet Earth ‘only so long as’ the essential outputs from the subsystem, like waste heat, waste gases, waste materials, do not change the nature of the inputs we can receive from the environment. The idea of ‘systems theory’ has been adopted with enthusiasm by many members of the social sciences, but the rigor of application is sometimes open to doubt. Arguing by analogy, in economic systems money becomes ‘energy’. Systems theory influenced, and has been influenced by, many other fields, most notably management science and optimization techniques.