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One of the most complex forms of system is the social system. Because these systems are composed of individual human beings--who often in turn comprise one or more levels of subsystems--these systems are also among the most unpredictable.
This added dimension of unpredictability leads social systems to have unique types of feedback loops. For example, unlike members or components of nonhuman systems, particular members of a social system may elect to intentionally violate its norms. When this happens, the mechanism that engages to correct this disturbance is a negative feedback loop. This mechanism may simply involve ostracism--or, for more serious offenses, the criminal justice system may become involved. In either case, negative feedback triggers a reaction that acts to isolate the offender, negating the source of the disturbance.
Another example comes from a more specific social system: education. Our public educational systems are ultimately accountable to the political mechanism of the society they serve: in a democracy, this may take the form of public election of a school board. In other forms of government, schools may be subject to a governmental review of their curriculum. In either case, if the operation of the school drifts outside the bounds of what is acceptable to the community it serves, its control mechanism acts as a negative feedback loop--detecting this divergence and restoring public accountability.
Note that feedback loops are, of themselves, value-neutral: that is, they can serve outcomes that may be either good or bad. The mechanism in the first example could act to remove criminals who are a threat to public safety...but it could also act to ostracize children who refuse to smoke with their friends or help the "in" crowd cheat on exams. Likewise, the mechanism in the second example could operate to discourage schools from adopting risky or unproven reforms...or it could require teachers to present only a single point of view and to label anything questioning that view as wrong, suppressing curiosity and critical thinking,
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