Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System (1999)

(donellameadows.org)

17 points | by Jtsummers 17 hours ago ago

5 comments

  • treetalker 14 hours ago

    Related rules of thumb, from the conclusion of James C. Scott's Seeing Like a State (pages 344–45 in my version):

    - Plan on surprises.

    - Plan on human inventiveness.

    - Favor reversibility.

    - Take small steps; stand back; and observe before doing more.

    Buffer, optionality, advantageous smallness, and bricolage are our watchwords.

    "It is impossible to legislate for the future." —Prince Peter Kropotkin

    "The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the parts." —Aldo Leopold

    ---

    See also Gall's Law.

    • asplake 3 hours ago

      - Act always to increase options - von Foerster

      - Act always to increase possibility - Nora Bateson

  • Jtsummers 17 hours ago
  • esafak 13 hours ago
  • tenuousemphasis 7 hours ago

    FYI this is one of the authors of The Limits to Growth.