The Crisis of Undercoordination

Abstract

Technological progress—especially in the realms of information processing, communication, transportation, commerce and distribution of energy—is leading to an accelerated growth in interdependence on all levels of modern society. A well-known result in systems analysis is that highly interdependent large-scale systems carry a high risk of catastrophic failures. To ensure stability, an increase in interdependence must be accompanied by an increase in coordination/regulation. In democratic societies there is an imbalance between interdependence and coordination/regulation. A manifestation of this imbalance is a chronic crisis of undercoordination. In large measure, the debt crisis of 2008 may be viewed as an eruption of the crisis of undercoordination.