The link provided has this professor promoting a particular surmise. I would challenge any reader to characterize that surmise to one of the four choices which characterize every system from the choices in this piece;
( L G A I ) to reread the professor within the context of this particular post could prove most illuminating to those who properly seek context;
ess.ucla.edu
Besides my constant commitment to Supply and demand as a base line for market activity, I've come to logging feedback behaviors in response to my efforts and those of others.
In order not to give too much away about this exciting activity; I wanted to first give those outside looking in, a little background information on the Sociology of Action. ( this professor is actualy validating said theory)
Because one of my developing themes is; Price is an artifact of a Systems opportunity in action;
I figure on its own, this must appear as too abstract for some; So here is some background which is essential to building a foundation of seeing a Market as a System of Social Action.
Pay particular attention to the 4 functional imperatives at the end and please do enjoy.
Excerpt link to follow later.
Besides identifying a system in terms of its patterns and boundaries, a social system can and should be analyzed in terms of three logically independent- i.e. cross-cutting - but also interdependent, bases or axes of variability, or as they may be called, bases of selective abstraction.
1. The first of these is involves a distinction between the structural and the functional. The concept of structure designates the features of the system which can be treated as constants over certain ranges of variation in the behavior of other significant elements of the theoretical problem. The functional reference diverges from the structural in the dynamic direction. Its primary purpose is integrative, mediating between the system's structure and that imposed by environing systems.
2. A fundamental distinction must also be made between the two dynamic processes of maintaining system equilibrium, and structural change in the system.
3. The hierarchy of relations of control. The basic subsystems of the general systems of action constitute a hierarchical series of such agencies of control of the behavior of individuals or organisms.
Parsons returns to the 4 functional imperatives of any system of action, given in order of significance from the point of view of cybernetic control of action processes in the system under consideration.
L - The function of pattern maintenance. The function of pattern maintenance refers to the imperative of maintaining the stability of patterns of institutionalized culture defining the structure of the system. There are two distinct aspects of this function. The first concerns the character of the normative pattern itself; the focus lies in the structural category of values. The second concerns its state of institutionalization, which concerns the motivational commitment of the individual. A very central problem here is that of the socialization of the individual, taken as the processes by which the values of the society are internalized in an individual personality. Overall, systems do show a tendency to maintain themselves (inertia).
G - The function of goal-attainment. Goal-attainment becomes a problem in so far as there arises some discrepancy between the inertial tendencies of the system and its needs resulting from interchange with the situation. A goal is therefore defined in terms of equilibrium, and directional changes will tend to minimize the discrepancy between the two systems. Goal -attainment, or goal- orientation is thus, by contrast with pattern maintenance, tied to a specific situation. Systems often have a plurality of goals. For the social system as such, goal-orientation concerns, therefore, not commitment to the values of the society, but motivation to contribute what is necessary for the functioning of the system.
A - The function of adaptation. Adaptation is another consequence of goal plurality. A system has only so many set, scarce resources, and when goals are many, often one goal must be sacrificed so the resources may be used to attain another goal. this means that the system loses the benefits of the sacrificed goal. The sacrificed goal is chosen through the function of goal-attainment. Adaptation is concerned with providing additional disposable facilities independent of their relevance to any particular goal. More generally, at the macroscopic level, goal-attainment is the focus of political organization, and adaptation is the focus economic organization. Within a given system, goal-attainment is a more important control then is adaptation.
I - The function of integration. In the control hierarchy, integration stands between the functions of pattern-maintennce and goal-attainment. The functional problem of integration concerns the mutual adjustments of segmented units or subsystems from the point of view of their contributions to the effective functioning of the system as a whole. In a highly differentiated society, the primary focus of the integrative mechanism is found in the system of legal norms and the associated legal system. The system as a whole is concerned most with the allocation of rights and obligations. For any given social system, the integrative function is the focus of its most distinctive properties and processes. |
