Table Of Content

under of ternational aurkhas at a has held —including irector of relopment, jent, and anies. He (UK) and worked at countries, AN b . = ) ster (since p ra— ——rr— soTme K. Earlier, ystems at ° 86461 s, Adjunct University et ey ey o v o o wunwnuy o RESEArch Professor at University College of Swansea, UK, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada. Liverpool dJohn Moores University, UK, has nominated him Honorary Professor of Organizational Transformation. Currently President of the World Organization of Systems and Cybernetics, Professor Beer holds its Norbert Wiener Gold Medal, and is a Governor of the International Council for Computer Communication. He is a Past President of the Operational Research Society, and holds the Lanchester Prize of the American Operations Research Society. He is also a Past President of the International Society for Social Systems Sciences, and has the McCulloch Award of the American Society for Cybernetics, of which he is now a Trustee. Other awards include the Silver Medal of the Royal Swedish Academy for Engineering Sciences, an Honorary Doctorate from Concordia University in Montreal, and the Freedom of the City of London. Author of over two hundred publications, including eleven books variously translated into thirteen languages, Stafford Beer is a published poet, and has held several exhibitions of paintings. He ?ealcr.\es meditative yoga, learned in India, to Individual pupils. PLATFORM for CHANGE DDDDDDDDDDDDDD WA 32100004583 PLATFORM for CHANGE a message from STAFFORD BEER JOHN WILEY & SONS Chichester - New York - Brisbane - Toronto First published 1975, correct reprint 1978 Reprinted in Stafford Beer Classic Library 1994 Copyright © 1975, 1994 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Baffins Lane. Chichester. West Sussex PO19 |UD, England National 01243 779777 International (+44) 1243 779777 All nights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, or transmitted. or translated into a machine language without the written permission of the publisher. Other Wiley Editorial Offices John Wiley & Sons. Inc.. 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, USA Jacaranda Wiley Ltd. 33 Park Road, Milton, Queensland 4064, Australia John Wiley & Sons (Canada) Ltd. 22 Worcester Road, Rexdale, Ontario M9W 1LIL. Canada John Wiley & Sons (SEA) Pte Ltd, 37 Jalan Pemimpin #05-04, Block B. Union Industrial Building. Singapore 2057 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beer, Stafford. Platform for change 1. System thcory. 2. Operations rescarch. 1. Title Q.295.B28 003°.08 73-10741 ISBN 0-471-94840-3 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0-471-94840-3 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd. Guildford and King's Lynn a new sort of book for a new sort of world dedicated to my children Vanilla (nee Jane) Simon Mark Stephen Kate Matthew Polly Harry and their children’s children a new sort of book for a new sort of world What's going on? Is there anything to be done about it? Stafford Beer says yes even though he thinks that we society may well go over the cliff. Many people especially that mere half of the world that is less than 25 years old see the edge of that cliff all too clearly. But by using the legacy of mankind’s ordered knowledge called science something may yet be done. Let us not be turned off science for the wrong reasons. Modern science talks about systems and proposes a new outlook on the world. It is all here. The book itself is a system. It interlocks a narrative — yellow with arguments of change — white and comments in a META language — gold to generate a thesis — blue. These chunks interact at every level and are enlivened by DIAGRAMS of system so that the eye the pattern-recognizer can piece the new outlook together. Half the book Is written in this styie. Maybe you already see why. don’t bite my finger— look where it’s pointing WARREN S. McCuULLOCH