Some Thoughts of Social System Theory

According to the social system theory, a human being could be divided into an individual body, an individual mind and an individual communication, among which there’s no hierarchy relation and are completely at equal position. It is easy to find it logical when talking about the relation of mind and body: After all, mind and body exist interdependently, you cannot expect a mindless body to work functionally, or any thoughts to be generated without a brain. However, as for me, communication doesn’t stand at the same height with body and mind. It is rare but possible that a human being exists out of any communication system but his mind and body still work normally. Just think of the very first moment of our birth: Body is there, mind is there, but communication is not. It seems to me that communication comes latter and only at the premise of mind-body duality, instead of the “mind-body-communication trinity” mentioned by social system theory.

To prove the communication system and psychic system are separated, the author illustrates that communication is never equal to what is thought and felt in the mind. I do agree with this single point, as is cliché that language barrier keeps us away from the truth, but I don’t consider it a tenable evidence of the separation of communication and mind. As for me, it merely proves that mind cannot be fully translated into communication, rather than the point that communication is independent of mind.

In explaining the operational closure of social system, the example of communist economy in Eastern Europe is appealing to me. Instead of bringing up those really detailed elements, like corruption or monocracy, It offers a general understanding of the failure, which is caused by the attempt for a economic system to play the role of a political one. I find it interesting because it somehow suggests the future of some other socialist countries, in which the economic system, cultural system are both taken over by political system.