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Getting the social organism thinking: strategy for systems change

  • Original Paper
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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

The ability of community researchers/practitioners to facilitate systems change is constrained by social power—particularly the capacity to shape ideology [S. Lukes (1974). Power: A radical view. Hampshire: MacMillan] and frequently power molds ideologies which undermine systems thinking. Following what Mills [C. W. Mills, (1959). The sociological imagination. New York: Oxford University Press] (termed the “sociological imagination”, this article makes the case for a strategy of systems change that promotes an integrated focus on systems and their constituent individuals. Both of these components are understood to continuously shape each other. The social imagination is introduced as a way to conceptualize the intersection between individuals’ conceptions of systems and the ways that systems work to form individual identities and perceptions of social reality. Examples of attempts at systems change from community organizing and public health are used to illustrate both common fallacies and potential future directions for systems change efforts.

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Notes

  1. The constitution of “desirable” systems change, while outside the scope of this paper, is a topic in need of thorough consideration. For present purposes, our treatment of this question remains general.

  2. The extent of the detrimental health outcomes is a point of current debate (Gibbs, 2005).

  3. See Speer et al., 2003 for additional information on violent crime reduction in Camden.

  4. See Christens and Speer (2006) for more on these critiques of the ideal of participation.

  5. See Speer et al., (2003) for additional information on data sources.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Box 90, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA

    Brian D. Christens, Carrie E. Hanlin & Paul W. Speer

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  1. Brian D. Christens
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  2. Carrie E. Hanlin
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  3. Paul W. Speer
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Correspondence to Brian D. Christens.

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Christens, B.D., Hanlin, C.E. & Speer, P.W. Getting the social organism thinking: strategy for systems change. Am J Community Psychol 39, 229–238 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9119-y

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