Complexity and change: Reflections upon the cybernetic intervention in Chile, 1970–1973

Social change depends on communications. The more effective the communication mechanisms between the participants in a situation are, the more likely it is that they will contribute, to the best of their abilities, to the discovery and production of desirable change. Hence the relevance of studying, and improving, the cybernetics of problem situations. Effectiveness in this case is defined by the degree to which the complexity of the situation is matched by the complexity of the regulatory mechanisms in use. However, if this proposition is going to be useful, it is necessary to have approaches to work out the matching. This paper discusses a cybernetic methodology, relying on Beer's Viable System Model, which enables a deeper understanding of, and capacity to deal with, situational and regulatory complexities. Finally, these ideas are used to reflect upon the cybernetic intervention in the Chile of the early 1970's.