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Historically, most societies have been heavily skewed in favor of the power pole, and most of history— especially modern history— can be seen as a struggle toward the authority pole, that is, toward the institutionalization of a process of informed, consensual self-determination of the whole, which we call "democracy".

— Walter F. Buckley Society: A Complex Adaptive System--Essays in Social Theory (1998)

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More quotes by Walter F. Buckley

A common vocabulary unifying the several "behavioral" disciplines.

Sociology and modern systems theory (1967)

The division of distinctive social roles and tasks, based upon both inherited and socially acquired individual differences, is called social differentiation.

Class and society (1959)

Openness is an essential factor underlying a system's viability, continuity, and its ability to change.

Sociology and modern systems theory (1967)

Systems theory, in its concern for the whole and its emergent properties, ignores the components.

Society: A Complex Adaptive System--Essays in Social Theory (1998)

Morphogenesis will refer to those processes which tend to elaborate or change a system's given form, structure, or state.

Sociology and modern systems theory (1967)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Walter F. Buckley (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.