Improving Social Systems

—Steps Toward a Better World

Introduction

We can improve the social systems that organize people.

We are immersed in a web of socially constructed systems that influence, persuade, and constrain our lives. They are so prevalent that they can become invisible yet many of these social operating systems are ineffective or faulty. This course suggests paths toward improving social systems with a goal of allowing more people to come together and live more wisely.

Social change refers to altering the social order within a society, encompassing modifications in social institutions, social behaviors, or social relationships. At a broader scale, it can lead to significant transformations, either within a society or even the entire society.

Because improving social systems is very difficult, this course begins by exploring what you want to change and why you want to change it, before exploring how to change the system.

Objectives

The objective of this course is to help people improve social systems.

What do you want?

Improving social systems is a demanding task that often requires decades of dedicated effort from a many highly motivated and skilled people. Studying the histories of successful and unsuccessful social movements provides valuable insights and preparation for the challenges ahead. Moreover, it is crucial to clearly describe the benefits of the change and its significance to the broader society. Effective communication and persuasion are essential to engage the diverse group of supporters whose work will be required to carry out this transformation.

This Will be Difficult

It is useful to study the history of several social movements that have occurred throughout recent history. The histories of abolition, women’s suffrage, and LGBTQ movements are briefly described here to illustrate the magnitude of the efforts, and to identify successful and unsuccessful strategies and tactics.

Abolition

Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.

Uncle Tom's Cabin inflamed public opinion in the North and Britain against the evils of slavery.

The timeline of abolition of slavery and serfdom extends from ancient times through the present day.

The Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest surviving law code, written around 2100 – 2050 BCE, includes laws about slaves in Sumerian Mesopotamia. It states that a slave who marries can’t be forced to leave the household, and returning an escaped slave earns two shekels. It reveals two major social strata: free people and slaves.

The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but slavery was later used in its colonies.

Under the actions of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, chattel slavery has been abolished across Japan since 1590, though other forms of forced labor were used during World War II. The first and only country to self-liberate from slavery was a former French colony, Haiti, because of the Revolution of 1791–1804.

The British abolitionist movement began in the late 18th century, and the 1772 Somersett case established that slavery did not exist in English law. In 1807, the slave trade was made illegal throughout the British Empire, though existing slaves in British colonies were not liberated until the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.

In the United States, abolitionism, was active from the colonial era until the end of the American Civil War, which brought about the abolition of American slavery, except as punishment for a crime, through passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified 1865.

Despite the 1865 abolition of slavery in the United States, there is much work still to be done. The civil rights movement continues to expand the rights provided to blacks. Although this movement was most active from 1954 through 1968, the struggle for equal rights continues today.

Women’s Suffrage

Women's suffrage – the right of women to vote – has been achieved at various times in countries throughout the world. In many nations, women's suffrage was granted before universal suffrage, in which cases women and men from certain socioeconomic classes or races were still unable to vote.

Inez Milholland led the procession.

The timeline of women’s suffrage worldwide extends from 1689 through the present, and is far from complete worldwide. The timeline of women's suffrage in the United States begins in the 1780’s. The Woman Suffrage Procession of 1913 was a significant event in this movement.

Although the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving women the right to vote was ratified in 1920, it was not until the 1960’s that poll taxes and literacy tests were abolished, racial discrimination in voting was reduced, and poll taxes were eliminated at all levels of government. It was not until 1984 that Mississippi became the last state in the union to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment

The timeline of women's legal rights in addition to voting is also very long. Feminist movements, including efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment are on-going.

LGBTQ movements

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. These movements have a long history around the world. The timeline of LGBTQ history in the United States begins as early as 1860 and is still ongoing. The Stonewall riots, which occurred June 28, 1969, is widely considered a turning point for gay rights in the United States.

Assignment

1. Scan this list of social movements.
2. Identify a few that seem most like what you are planning.
3. Study the history of those movements in depth to learn what did and did not work.
4. Learn from this history.

What Do You Want to Have Happen?

Make certain that the changes you are planning are in the direction of real good. Be clear what it is you want to have happen.

Assignment

1. Read the essay Seeking Real Good.
2. Complete the Wikiversity course Moral Reasoning.
3. Read the essay Good Government.
4. Carefully consider the question “What ought we do?”
5. Study the Wikiversity course on Problem Finding.
6. Answer the three questions: “What do you want?” “What is true?” and “What are you going to do about it?”
7. Optionally complete the Possibilities assignment in the Evolving Governments course.

Why do you want this?

Because many people need to remain highly motivated to carry out the required improvements, it is important to be clear with yourself and others why this change is necessary and why it will provide benefits for many people.

Assignment

1. Identify the assistors and resistors to the proposed changes.
2. Write down, as clearly as possible, the main reason, and several supporting reasons why you want this improvement to happen. Use clear, concise, and powerful language. Be persuasive. Include both rational and emotional appeals. These will be used to engage assistors.
3. Write down, as clearly as possible, the main reason, and supporting reasons why others will benefit from this improvement. Use clear, concise, and powerful language. Include both rational and emotional appeals. This will be used to gain a broad base of support.
4. Consider who will be opposed to this change, and why they will be opposed. Learn what they have at stake. Understand their actual and potential arguments as deeply and fully as you can. Create counterarguments that appeal both rationally and emotionally. These will be used to mitigate opposition by your resisters.

The Pitch

Decide how you will communicate the nature and importance of this improvement to your advocates and your opponents.

Assignment

1. Study successful elevator pitches.
2. Study successful slogans.
3. Study influential speeches given by prominent orators.
4. Study successful long-form journalism articles.
5. Write your first-draft elevator pitch, slogans, speech, and long-form journalism articles.
6. Request feedback on these communications materials from strong supporters, potential supporters, and likely resisters.
7. Improve the rhetoric.
8. Continue to revise, refine, and improve your communications methods, and materials.

Theories of Social Change

Social change, the transformation of cultural, social, political, or economic structures over time, is explained by several prevailing theories. Each theory highlights different factors and mechanisms driving change, ranging from material conditions to ideas and collective actions.

Understanding these theories of social change can help to develop effective strategies for the work.

Here are major theories of social change:

1. Evolutionary Theory

• Overview: Evolutionary theory views social change as a gradual and progressive process, often likened to biological evolution. Societies move through stages of development, from simple to complex, as they adapt to their environment.
• Key Proponents: Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer
• Key Concepts:
  • Societies evolve from primitive to advanced forms.
  • Change is inevitable and continuous.
• Criticisms: Overemphasis on linear progress and failure to account for abrupt or regressive changes.
• The Wikiversity courses on Evolving Governments, Evolving Money, and Intentional Evolution use this strategy.

2. Conflict Theory

• Overview: Conflict theory proposes that social change arises from conflicts between groups with opposing interests, often driven by power and resource inequalities. Change typically occurs through revolution or reform.
• Key Proponents: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
• Key Concepts:
  • Class struggle (e.g., between the bourgeoisie and proletariat) is a primary driver of change.
  • Conflict over resources and power leads to systemic transformation.
• Modern Applications: Feminist theory, critical race theory
• Criticisms: May overemphasize conflict and neglect cooperation as a driver of change.

3. Functionalist Theory

• Overview: In Functionalist Theory social change is seen as a process to restore balance or equilibrium in society when dysfunctions arise. Changes often occur incrementally to maintain stability.
• Key Proponents: Émile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons
• Key Concepts:
  • Institutions evolve to meet new needs or correct imbalances.
  • Social change is adaptive and preserves social order.
• Criticisms: Tends to ignore power dynamics and conflict as drivers of change.

4. Cyclical Theory

• Overview: In cyclical theory social change is seen as recurring in cycles, often characterized by periods of growth, stability, decline, and renewal. It challenges the notion of linear progress.
• Key Proponents: Oswald Spengler, Arnold Toynbee, Pitirim Sorokin
• Key Concepts:
  • Societies or civilizations rise and fall in predictable patterns.
  • Change is not necessarily progressive; regression or collapse is possible.
• Criticisms: Overemphasis on fatalistic cycles; limited predictive power.

5. Modernization Theory

• Overview: Modernization theory proposes that social change occurs as traditional societies adopt modern practices and technologies. It emphasizes the transition from agrarian to industrial societies.
• Key Proponents: W.W. Rostow, Daniel Lerner
• Key Concepts:
  • Economic development and technological advancement drive change.
  • Traditional values and practices are replaced by rationality and efficiency.
• Criticisms: Often ethnocentric and dismissive of non-Western developmental paths.

6. Dependency Theory

• Overview: Dependency theory proposes that social change is shaped by the global economic system, where developed nations exploit underdeveloped ones, creating dependency and limiting their growth.
• Key Proponents: Andre Gunder Frank, Immanuel Wallerstein (world-systems theory)
• Key Concepts:
  • Core-periphery dynamics perpetuate inequalities.
  • Change requires breaking free from exploitative systems.
• Criticisms: Often criticized for economic determinism and oversimplification of global dynamics.

7. Cultural Lag Theory

• Overview: Cultural lag theory proposes that social change occurs unevenly, with material culture (technology, tools) advancing faster than non-material culture (values, norms), creating a “lag” that causes tension and adaptation.
• Key Proponents: William F. Ogburn
• Key Concepts:
  • Technological innovation is a primary driver of change.
  • Society must adapt its values and institutions to technological shifts.
• Criticisms: Underestimates the role of intentional cultural shifts and agency.

8. Collective Behavior and Social Movements Theory

• Overview: Collective Behavior and Social Movements Theory proposes that social change emerges through collective actions, such as protests, revolutions, or movements, driven by shared grievances or goals.
• Key Proponents: Neil Smelser, Charles Tilly
• Key Concepts:
  • Social movements arise from resource mobilization and shared ideologies.
  • Collective identity and leadership play critical roles.
• Criticisms: Focuses heavily on short-term movements, sometimes neglecting broader structural changes.

9. Postmodern Theories

• Overview: Postmodern Theories reject the notion of universal explanations for social change, emphasizing pluralism, local narratives, and cultural diversity.
• Key Proponents: Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard
• Key Concepts:
  • Power and knowledge are central to understanding change.
  • Social change is fragmented and context specific.
• Criticisms: Often criticized for relativism and lack of practical applications.

10. Environmental Determinism and Ecological Theory

• Overview: Environmental Determinism and Ecological Theory emphasize the impact of environmental factors, such as climate or geography, on societal structures and change.
• Key Proponents: Jared Diamond, Lester Brown
• Key Concepts:
  • Environmental constraints or crises often drive systemic change.
  • Sustainability is critical for future transformation.
• Criticisms: Risks underestimating human agency and innovation.

Conclusion

Each theory offers a unique lens to understand the dynamics of social change, often complementing others. Effective analyses typically combine multiple theories, recognizing the complexity of social systems and the interplay of economic, cultural, technological, and environmental factors.

Influence and Persuasion

Influence and persuasion are two powerful forces that shape human interactions and societal progress. While they are closely related, each term carries distinct meanings and implications. Influence refers to the capacity to affect the thoughts, feelings, or behaviors of others, often subtly and indirectly.

Persuasion, on the other hand, involves the deliberate attempt to convince someone to adopt a specific belief, attitude, or course of action. Both can be used for pro-social or anti-social purposes, depending on the intent and ethical considerations of those wielding them. This course explores these concepts, their strategies, and their potential applications.

Improving social systems demands the skillful application and strategic navigation of various modes of influence and persuasive methods.

Assignment

1. Study the Wikiversity course on Influence and Persuasion.
2. Plan effective use of the modes of influence and the methods of persuasion.
3. Beware of influences and persuasions that are detrimental to your work.
   1. Learn from, adopt, and amplify influences that are real good.
   2. Avoid, resist, or dispute influences that are not real good.

Leverage Points

Twelve leverage points that are the most effective places to intervene in a system were proposed by Donella Meadows, a scientist and system analyst who studied environmental limits to economic growth.

Assignment

1. Study the twelve leverage points.
   1. Studying these additional leverage point examples may also be helpful.
2. Identify the leverage points that can be most effective in achieving the improvements you seek.

Effective Change Strategies and Examples

Below is a list of some of the most effective strategies, approaches, and techniques for achieving positive social change, along with examples of their successful implementation:

Understanding these change strategies can help to develop effective strategies for the work.

1. Grassroots Mobilization

• Description: Involves engaging local communities to advocate for change from the ground up. This often includes organizing protests, campaigns, or community meetings to build momentum.
• Example: The Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. used grassroots strategies like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Freedom Rides to dismantle segregation.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 12. Constants, parameters, and numbers (e.g., subsidies, taxes, standards). The Civil Rights Movement's Montgomery Bus Boycott changed public transportation revenues (a parameter) and applied pressure for desegregation policies.

2. Advocacy and Lobbying

Gay couple with a child.

• Description: Involves influencing policymakers and stakeholders to enact legislative or policy changes. Advocacy campaigns often include petitions, public awareness drives, lobbying, and meetings with officials.
• Example: The marriage equality movement used lobbying efforts combined with public advocacy, culminating in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage in 2015.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 5. Rules of the system (incentives, punishments, constraints) The advocacy for marriage equality influenced laws and institutional rules, fundamentally altering societal incentives and constraints around same-sex relationships.

3. Public Awareness Campaigns

• Description: Uses media, art, and storytelling to educate the public and shift cultural attitudes on a specific issue. These campaigns often rely on social media, television ads, and grassroots outreach.
• Example: The “It Gets Better” campaign helped change public attitudes toward LGBTQ+ youth, offering hope and combating bullying.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 4. The power to add, change, or self-organize system structure. The “It Gets Better” campaign created new networks of support, empowering individuals to challenge existing social norms.

4. Coalition Building

• Description: Brings together organizations, communities, and individuals with shared goals to amplify their impact through collaboration.
• Example: The global coalition to ban landmines united NGOs, activists, and governments, resulting in the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 8. The strength of feedback loops. The global coalition to ban landmines amplified feedback by uniting diverse voices, ensuring mutual reinforcement and greater systemic impact.

5. Nonviolent Direct Action

Gandhi leading the famous 1930 Salt March, a notable example of satyagraha (nonviolent resistance)

• Description: Direct action involves peaceful demonstrations, sit-ins, or acts of civil disobedience to draw attention to an injustice and pressure change.
• Example: Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March in 1930 challenged British colonial rule and demonstrated the power of nonviolent resistance.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 10. The structure of information flows (who does and does not have access to information.) Gandhi’s Salt March disrupted colonial economic structures and informed the public, empowering collective resistance.

6. Policy Innovation and Pilots

• Description: Proposing and testing new policies or solutions on a small scale before broader implementation. This approach demonstrates viability and minimizes risks.
• Example: The participatory budgeting movement, first implemented in Porto Alegre, Brazil, has empowered citizens to decide how municipal funds are allocated.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 9. The gain around driving positive feedback loops. Participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil, established a feedback loop where citizens’ involvement in budgeting decisions directly benefited their communities, reinforcing trust and participation.

7. Strategic Litigation

• Description: Using the legal system to set precedents, challenge unjust laws, or protect rights.
• Example: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ended racial segregation in U.S. public schools and set a legal precedent for civil rights.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 5. Rules of the system (incentives, punishments, constraints). Example: Brown v. Board of Education changed the legal rules around racial segregation, forcing systemic compliance with new constraints.

8. Education and Capacity Building

• Description: Empowering individuals and communities through education, skill-building, and resource access to enable long-term change.
• Example: Malala Yousafzai’s activism has emphasized the importance of girls' education, leading to increased global investment in gender equality in schools.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 10. The structure of information flows (who does and does not have access to information). Malala Yousafzai’s advocacy for girls’ education increased awareness and improved access to learning, altering societal priorities.

9. Social Entrepreneurship

• Description: Combining business principles with social impact goals to create sustainable solutions to societal problems.
• Example: Organizations like TOMS Shoes operate on a “one-for-one” model, providing shoes to those in need with every purchase.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 6. The structure of the system (e.g., the stock and flow of resources). TOMS Shoes introduced a sustainable system that linked consumer behavior directly to social impact, reallocating economic flows.

10. Technology and Digital Activism

• Description: Leveraging social media, mobile apps, and other digital tools to mobilize, inform, and organize people for social change.
• Example: The #MeToo movement used social media to amplify survivors' voices and demand accountability for sexual harassment and assault.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 10. The structure of information flows (who does and does not have access to information). The #MeToo movement leveraged social media to democratize access to information, challenging existing power dynamics.

11. Cultural and Artistic Expression

• Description: Using art, music, literature, and other cultural mediums to challenge norms, inspire empathy, and promote new ways of thinking.
• Example: Bob Dylan’s protest songs became anthems for the Civil Rights and anti-war movements in the 1960s.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 2. The mindset or paradigm out of which the system arises. Bob Dylan’s protest songs challenged dominant cultural paradigms, inspiring shifts in societal attitudes toward justice and freedom.

12. Participatory Development

• Description: Actively involving local communities in the design and implementation of development projects to ensure they are contextually appropriate and sustainable.
• Example: Farmer-led agricultural programs in sub-Saharan Africa have increased food security by integrating local knowledge and needs.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 6. The structure of the system (e.g., the stock and flow of resources). Farmer-led agricultural programs realigned resource flows and empowered local communities to influence their development.

13. Private Sector Partnerships

• Description: Collaborating with businesses to align profit motives with social good, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
• Example: Patagonia’s environmental campaigns, including their commitment to sustainable manufacturing, highlight how businesses can drive positive change.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 7. The rules and flows of the system. Patagonia’s environmental campaigns introduced rules and practices in business aligned with sustainability, altering market incentives.

14. Systems Thinking and Holistic Approaches

• Description: Addressing social issues by tackling underlying systems and interconnections rather than isolated symptoms.
• Example: The “Housing First” model for homelessness focuses on providing stable housing as a foundation for addressing other issues like employment and mental health.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 1. Transcending paradigms. The “Housing First” model transcends traditional paradigms about homelessness by focusing on stability as a prerequisite for addressing other issues.

15. Data and Evidence-Based Approaches

• Description: Using research and data to identify problems, test interventions, and scale solutions that work.
• Example: The success of microfinance institutions like Grameen Bank demonstrates how data-driven approaches can alleviate poverty.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 11. Buffer sizes (stabilizing stocks in the system). Microfinance institutions like Grameen Bank increased economic stability for individuals, building resilience into the financial system.

16. Youth Leadership and Mentorship

• Description: Empowering young people to take leadership roles and contribute fresh perspectives to social change efforts.
• Example: Greta Thunberg’s climate activism galvanized millions of young people to demand action on climate change.
• Salient Leverage Points: Leverage Point: 3. The goals of the system. Greta Thunberg’s climate activism shifted public and governmental goals toward prioritizing sustainability and long-term climate action.

By combining these strategies and tailoring them to specific issues, significant and sustainable social change can be achieved. Each example showcases how these methods have successfully addressed pressing global challenges.

By targeting these specific leverage points, each example harnesses the power of systemic intervention, creating ripples of change that are amplified across society.

Assignment

1. Study the examples listed above.
2. Be clear on what you can change and what you cannot.
3. Study the twelve leverage points identified by Donella Meadows.
4. Identify assisters and resisters.
5. Refine your pitch. Improve your rhetoric.
6. Select the strategies, approaches, and techniques you’ll use to achieve your desired outcome and effect positive social change.
7. Identify the communications channels you will use to spread your message. Consider traditional media channels,alternative media, and social media platforms
8. Take the actions needed to solve the identified problem.
9. Persevere.

Additional Opportunities

Our world faces many grand challenges. Because ineffective social systems contribute to causing or sustaining many of these challenges, improving social systems can help to address these challenges.

Assignment

1. Study this list of grand challenges.
2. Select one to focus on.
   1. Adopt a global perspective.
   2. Ensure you have found the real problem.
3. Identify the many causes that contribute to that challenge.
   1. Perform a detailed cause and effect analysis of the problem.
   2. Consider the various contributing causes suggested in this outline of  Causes of Suboptimal Life Experiences.
4. If ineffective social systems are a major contributing cause, then work to improve that social system.

The module on Improving our Social Operating Systems suggests additional opportunities for improving social systems.

Recommended Reading

Students who are interested in learning more about improving social systems may wish to read these books:

• Cialdini, Robert B. (20). Influence: the psychology of persuasion (Rev. ed., [Nachdr.] ed.). New York, NY: Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-124189-5. 
• Lee, Blaine (1997). The power principle: influence with honor. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-81058-4. 
• Snyder, Timothy (February 28, 2017). On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. Crown. pp. 128. ISBN 978-0804190114. 
• Freinacht, Hanzi (March 10, 2017). The Listening Society: A Metamodern Guide to Politics. Metamoderna ApS. pp. 414. ISBN 978-8799973903. 
• Freinacht, Hanzi (May 29, 2019). Nordic Ideology: A Metamodern Guide to Politics. Metamoderna ApS. pp. 495. ISBN 978-8799973927.  Nordic Ideology
• Sharp, Gene (September 4, 2012). From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation. The New Press. pp. 160. ISBN 978-1595588500. 
• Manzi, Jim (May 1, 2012). Uncontrolled: The Surprising Payoff of Trial-and-Error for Business, Politics, and Society. Basic Books. pp. 320. ISBN 978-0465023240. 
• Gehl, Katherine M.; Porter, Michael E. (June 23, 2020). The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy. Harvard Business Review Press. pp. 272. ISBN 978-1633699236. 
• Bok, Derek (February 21, 2010). The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being. Princeton University Press. pp. 272. ISBN 978-0691144894. 
• Reich, Robert B. (February 20, 2018). The Common Good. Knopf. pp. 208. ISBN 978-0525520498. 
• Christakis, Nicholas A. (March 26, 2019). Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society. Little, Brown Spark. pp. 441. ISBN 978-0316230032. 
• Ridley, Matt (October 25, 2016). The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge. Harper Perennial. pp. 368. ISBN 978-0062296016. 
• Diamond, Jared (January 4, 2011). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Penguin Books. pp. 608. ISBN 978-0143117001. 

I have not yet read the following books, but they seem interesting and relevant. They are listed here to invite further research.

• Rönn, Kristian (2024). The Darwinian trap: the hidden evolutionary forces that explain our world (and threaten our future) (First edition ed.). New York: Crown Currency. ISBN 978-0-593-59406-3.