The System Is What It Does—Understanding POSIWID and the Nature of Power

Alright, let’s talk about systems, power, and what it all really means. You’ve heard the phrase “the system is broken” countless times, right? But here’s the thing – the system isn’t broken. It’s functioning exactly the way it was designed. The real question is: designed for whom? And for what?

That’s where we get into POSIWID, which stands for The Purpose of a System Is What It Does. This concept, first introduced by cyberneticist Stafford Beer, is one of the most important tools we can use to dissect the systems around us. And believe me, it’s all around us. From governments to corporations to social structures – every institution is a system, and every system serves a purpose. But that purpose? Well, that’s often not what we’re told.

Systems thinking is a way of looking at the world that recognizes that everything is interconnected. You don’t just look at individual parts; you look at the relationships between those parts. It’s the framework for understanding how different components of a system interact with each other, whether that system is technological, ecological, or social.

Take cybernetics, for example. It’s the study of systems of control and communication in animals, machines, and organizations. In simple terms, it’s the science of feedback loops—how a system reacts to changes and adjusts itself accordingly. Whether it’s the way your body regulates its temperature or how the internet manages data flow, cybernetics gives us the tools to understand these processes.

Then there’s ecology, the study of systems in nature. In nature, every organism and environment interacts as part of a greater web. If we take out one species, the whole ecosystem can be affected. Similarly, if we change a single part of a system in society, you can bet that the rest of it will react. This is the power of systems thinking – recognizing the whole picture and seeing how all the parts fit together.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. POSIWID tells us that the true purpose of any system isn’t what its creators claim it to be—it’s what it actually does. In other words, forget what the system says it’s doing. Look at the results. That’s where you find the truth.

Let’s take the government, for example. The stated purpose of a democratic government is to serve the people, to create a system that allows for fairness, equality, and justice. But what does the government actually do? Well, if we look at outcomes, we see wealth inequality skyrocketing, an out-of-control prison system, and systemic disenfranchisement of marginalized communities. Is this the government’s “true” purpose? Not according to its PR, but based on POSIWID, these outcomes reveal the real design of the system.

This is a lens that strips away the illusions of intent. It helps us recognize that the so-called broken systems are working exactly as they were designed to. The system isn't failing; it’s performing the function it was meant to. And that function? To concentrate power and wealth in the hands of the few.

Let’s get deeper into the nature of power here. Power structures are self-reinforcing. That means the more power they accumulate, the more power they get. These systems are designed to perpetuate themselves. They don’t want to solve their own problems because solving those problems would threaten their position. Think about the way the corporate world works – the system isn’t designed to eliminate inequality; it’s designed to maintain and grow it. So when you hear talk about "fixing" the system, ask yourself: Who stands to lose if the system is truly fixed?

This is why we can’t fall for the idea that these systems will just "fix themselves" if we wait long enough. They’re not broken; they’re working perfectly to keep the status quo intact. And the more we wait for the system to magically correct itself, the more entrenched that power becomes. It’s like hoping the predator will suddenly become vegetarian—it’s just not going to happen.

The systems that govern us don’t need to be fixed because they’ve already been fixed – fixed in a way that benefits the elites. Whether it’s the financial system, the healthcare system, or the educational system, they all perpetuate the same thing: power imbalances. And the people who benefit from those imbalances are the ones who will fight the hardest to maintain them.

Now that we understand this, let’s shift the perspective a bit. Once you start looking at systems as self-perpetuating machines, you stop expecting them to “fix” themselves. And that’s liberating. When you realize that the system wasn’t broken from the start, it frees you to look at it through a different lens. It’s not about fixing the system—it’s about dismantling the system that’s designed to keep certain people in power.

And this brings us back to the core of the Enlightenment project. The reason Enlightenment thinkers were so passionate about liberty, equality, and justice is because they recognized the destructive power of entrenched systems that aren’t designed for the common good. They understood that if power isn’t held accountable, it corrupts, and it doesn’t take long for that corruption to become self-sustaining.

This is why we can’t just accept the status quo. If we’re going to move forward—if we’re going to build a world where technology serves all people, not just the powerful—then we need to radically rethink the systems around us. And we can’t do that by simply hoping the existing power structures will “fix” themselves. We have to actively change the way we see power, and we have to build new systems from the ground up—systems that serve humanity, not the elites.

In the end, POSIWID teaches us a powerful lesson. It teaches us that the purpose of a system isn’t found in its mission statement, its promises, or its grand ideals. It’s found in its outcomes. If the system isn’t serving the people, then it was never meant to. And if it’s not broken, then we need to stop waiting for it to fix itself.

Instead, we need to be clear-eyed about what the system is doing and why. And we need to get to work dismantling those structures so we can build something better—something that serves the greater good. Because when we start seeing systems for what they are, we can start building the world we want to see.

And with that, I’ll leave you with this question: What system are you par of, and what is it actually doing?