Analyzing the Effectiveness of Social Organizations Using a Quantitative Scientific Understanding of Complexity and Scale Accepted by the Revista de Occidente

In the last few years the obscurity of science has been shattered by a new approach that addresses a slew of current questions: how our minds work, how family relationships function, how to protect the environment. The field of "Complex Systems"[1] is an approach to science that uses mathematical modeling to study how relationships between a system's parts give rise to collective behaviors, such as a population formed of animals, the brain formed by neurons, or cells comprised of molecules. These are all examples of complex systems. Though approaches to the study of systems have existed for decades, only recently have formal, mathematical tools been developed to effectively represent, classify, and characterize those systems. While scientists continue to learn and debate the opportunities that this new approach can yield, many people, both scientists and non-scientists, are reveling in the new perspectives to be gained. Traditionally, the domain of quantitative theories is that of the physical sciences. However, it has become apparent that the scientific theories offered by the complex systems approach can also be applied to the way we organize our social systems, including businesses, governments, and economies. The excitement about the field o