Can systems thinking be an antidote to extensive evil?

George P. Richardson

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2021, vol. 38, issue 4, 401-412

Abstract: The 20th century saw at least five regions of the world that gave themselves over to unspeakably evil regimes, each resulting in totalitarian dictatorships responsible for horrific suffering and deaths of millions of people. As part of a group of authors involved in various ways in the study of civil society and the common good, this author was invited to address what systems thinking could contribute to understandings of the emergence of such extensive evil. This article develops a qualitative model crafted to capture the generic structure and dynamics of the emergence of extensive evil in a society. Focusing on crucial stocks and flows and feedback loops, the map reveals eight areas where a healthy society may be vulnerable to the spread of such evil, with corresponding areas of resistance pushing back on its apparent inevitability. The paper concludes with reflections on values in systems thinking.

Date: 2021
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