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Rethinking Democracy: A Systems Perspective on the Global Unrest
Author(s) -
Shkliarevsky Gennady
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.2331
Subject(s) - unrest , autopoiesis , opposition (politics) , epistemology , sociology , democracy , critical theory , perspective (graphical) , politics , positive economics , political science , economics , computer science , law , philosophy , artificial intelligence
The paper seeks to make a contribution towards a better understanding of the current global political unrest. It argues that this unrest reflects ongoing tensions between hierarchical and non‐hierarchical interactions. It also argues that the opposition between hierarchical and non‐hierarchical interactions is not ontological but rather is rooted in the way we approach reality and is, therefore, subject to our control. The tendency to exclude the process of construction from our frame of vision is characteristic for the view of reality that is dominant in our civilization. Contemporary theoretical perspectives that include, but are not limited to, systems theory, complexity theory, theory of self‐organization, emergence theory and autopoiesis have much to offer in addressing and resolving this problem. The paper outlines some general organizing principles that should be part of this solution. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.