Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System

by Donella H. Meadows

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Philosophy, Science, Design, Education, Professional Development

21 pages, pdf

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Donella H. "Dana" Meadows was a pioneering American environmental scientist, teacher, and writer. She was educated in science, receiving a B.A. in chemistry from Carleton College in 1963, and a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard in 1968. After a year-long trip with her husband, Dennis Meadows, from England to Sri Lanka and back, she became, along with him, a research fellow at MIT, as a member of a team in the department created by Jay Forrester, the inventor of system dynamics as well as the principle of magnetic data storage for computers. She taught at Dartmouth College for 29 years, beginning in 1972.

Reviews

[Erik Brickarp]

Available online for free (http://donellameadows.org/archives/le...) and even though I think it's a bit hard to grasp this book/article without at least some understanding of systems thinking it's still a nice start to see if you want to read her ridiculously awesome book "Thinking in Systems".

[Micah Daigle]

One of the most highly concentrated packages of insight I've ever read. It's a powerful framework for thinking about every aspect of ourselves and our world.

[Tracy]

I now want to read all of Donella Meadows' works!

[Ray Haleblian]

"Further investigation of self-organizing systems reveals that the divine creator, if there is one, did not have to produce evolutionary miracles. He, she, or it just had to write marvelously clever rules for self-organization."

"When you understand the power of system self-organization, you begin to understand why biologists worship biodiversity even more than economists worship technology."

[Arabelle Sicardi]

I reread this this every year lol

[Vyu]

Fantastic 10/10 shit likes this makes me giddy with how perfectly smart some people are

"There is yet one leverage point that is even higher than changing a paradigm. That is to keep oneself unattached in the arena of paradigms, to stay flexible, to realize that no paradigm is "true," that every one, including the one that sweetly shapes your own worldview, is a tremendously limited understanding of an immense and amazing universe that is far beyond human com-prehension. It is to "get" at a gut level the paradigm that there are paradigms, and to see that that itself is a paradigm, and to regard that whole realization devastatingly funny. It is to let go into Not Knowing, into what the Buddhists call enlightenment.
People who cling to paradigms (just about all of us take one look at the spacious possibility that everything they think is guaranteed to be nonsense and pedal rapidly in the opposite direction. Surely there is no power, no control, no understand-ing, not even a reason for being, much less acting, in the notion or experience that there is no certainty in any worldview. But, in fact, everyone who has managed to entertain that idea, for a moment or for a lifetime, has found it to be the basis for radical empowerment. If no paradigm is right, you can choose whatever one will help to achieve your purpose. If you have no idea where to get a purpose, you can listen to the universe (or put in the name of your favorite deity here and do his, her, its will, which is probably a lot better informed than your will.
It is in this space of mastery over paradigms that people throw off addictions, live in constant joy, bring down empires, found religions, get locked up or "disappeared" or shot, and have impacts that last for millennia.
A final caution
Back from the sublime to the ridiculous, from enlightenment to caveats. So much has to be said to qualify this list. It is tentative and its order is slithery. Every item has exceptions that can move it up or down the order of leverage. Having had the list percolating in my subconscious for years has not transformed me into a Superwoman. The higher the leverage point, the more the system will resist changing it-that's why societies tend to rub out truly enlightened beings.
Magical leverage points are not easily accessible, even if we know where they are and which direction to push on them. There are no cheap tickets to mastery. You have to work at it, whether that means rigorously analyzing a system or rigorously casting off your own paradigms and throwing yourself into the humility of Not Knowing. In the end, it seems that power has less to do with pushing leverage points than it does with strategically, profoundly, madly letting go."

[Amin]

همه آثار یک متفکر سیستمی مثل دونلا میدوز رو باید خوند. مخصوصا اگر با تفکر سیستمی و مدلسازی‌اش آشنا باشیم. این متن کوتاه گرچه در غالب یک مقاله با واژگان آکادمیک این حوزه نوشته شده اما به نظرم اصل مطلب دست‌یافتنی است. چطور می‌شود یک سیستم پیچیده چه فیزیکی و چه تکنولوژیکی یا اجتماعی را تغییر داد و چه تغییر در نقاطی در سیستم منشا اثر بزرگتری هستند. باقی حرفها از منظر مدلسازی اهمیت بیشتری دارد یعنی مثلا فهمیدن فیدبک‌های مثبت و منفی و برهم‌کنش‌ها میتواند درک بهتری از اهمیت این تاثیرات داشته باشد؛ از تغییر پارامترهای ساده در سیستم بگیر تا تغییر اهداف سیستم و مدلهای ذهنی.

نکته جالب برایم اینجاست که متفکرین سیستمی متعددی از پیتر سنگه تا فارستر و میدوز را دیده‌ام که در بحثهایشان وقتی پا را از مدلهای ساده فراتر می‌گذارند و به تغییرات بنیادی یا درک‌های کلی از سیستم‌ها می‌رسند به نوعی پای عرفان و رویکردهای کلی‌نگر را به موضوع باز می‌کنند و تکرار این مفهوم در متون مختلف حتما جای تامل دارد.

[Daniel Te]

This is a chapter in Donella Meadows's book "Thinking in Systems," but it was originally a short paper. The short paper stands well on its own, abstracting the 12 points in which systemic change can be affected, from least to most powerful. It's rather abstract, but it holds up well today as a result. I would recommend a read, if not reading the entirety of "Thinking in Systems."

[parth shah]

Profound, Practical, Poetic and, surprisingly jargon free! One of the best papers I have read. Donella does a *wonderful* job in the true sense of the word. Something to print out, keep on your desk, and go through at least once a month.

An Instant Must Read.

[Adam]

If you can get through the jargon and can keep up with the jargon-based reasoning then you can see the potential for mastering these principles of leverage points. It is being able to wield power, for good or for bad. There is a lot here in not a lot of words. Worth reading many times and applying.

[Philip]

Fantastiskt skriven, så mycket att ta in att det är svårt att sätta betyg.

Och slutet: "In the end, it seems that mastery has less to do with pushing leverage points than it does with strategically, profoundly, madly letting go."

[Carla OM]

💫

[Jane Morrison]

Vital reading to help us work through today's polycrisis - Economic, Nature, Social and Political. More needed today than when it was written in 1999.

[Eve]

Powerful and succinct. Effective distillation of an extremely complex and abstract-sounding topic to a concise set of principles and easy-to-understand analogies that are very helpful for novices.

[Colton Davie]

provides a ranked list of 12

engulf everything

[Dilek Sayedahmed, PhD]

Meadows is a must read for any social scientist out there, especially economists.

[kyphion]

very informative! shows us where but now how, which was kind of my only gripe about it.

[Jan Bloxham]

Brilliant. I wish I could think and write this clearly. What a gem. Available online for free at The Donella Meadows Project.

[Parker Milley]

Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System is an excellent essay/paper describing the various ways and manners (leverage points) in which individuals can change society (intervening in the system.) When I first read it, I was honestly a little confused, but when I let it sit with me for a few days, I actually really appreciated this writing. While I love Meadows' examination and explanation of the various leverage points, I take some issue with her classification of their importance. Overall though, really solid read, and I appreciate her perspective on things.

[Matija]

I read this essay as part of an amazing (and free) online course Foundations of Humane Technology: https://www.humanetech.com/course