The value of systemic reasoning

In a coevolutionary world view efficiency will call for more than lowering a specific input. First, if one of the decisive advantages of systems is th eir capability to achieve a level of efficiency beyond any individual effor t, the wealth of any society depends not only on its factor endowments, but also on its capability to organize itself accordingly. Second, integrated diversity should be regarded as the source for the potential development of any system. To continue with marginal reasoning due to a lack of consensus is problematic. A partial perspective tends to reduce functional diversity to raise a specific, narrowly defined efficiency, while a systemic perspec tive tends to improve a comprising efficiency by raising integrated functio nal diversity. The willingness to understand these insights combined with t he capacity to express them accordingly is called 'systemic competence'. It will be suggested that integrated diversity, cooperative structures, and s ystemic competence are interrelated key elements determining the achievable efficiency level of any future sustainable economy. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.