Natural Tendencies of Political Systems

If we wish to determine what kind(s) of political systems might be best for human beings, we need to discover what tends to happen when each system is put into practice. Will a particular political system enable human beings to realize their highest objective values? Moreover, as observed in the last subsection, not all kinds of systems are equally viable in the long run. Thus we must also ask: Can a particular system survive in its initial form? Or will it naturally evolve into something different—perhaps even into something less benign to human beings? This subsection will probe these issues with regard to three principal alternative political systems presented to us at the beginning of the third millennium: a mixed economy, a socialist state, and a free (capitalist) society. Our analytical tools will include key ideas drawn from the fields of cybernetics, information processing, and praxeology.

Cybernetic Analysis

Cybernetics is the general study of communication (information flow) and control within systems.      Next page


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