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1 4 Systems theory They can speak like Hegel. But they have no language left but the dialectical one. The countermeasure I have in mind is to make the theory decisions as transparent as possible. Niklas Luhmann, Introduction to Systems Theory1 Damit fehlen ausreichende Anhaltspunkte für ein Ausschöpfen des Möglichen, für Rationalisierung. Wir leben, wie man seit dem Erdbeben von Lissabon weiß, nicht in der besten der möglichen Welten, sondern in einer Welt voll besserer Möglichkeiten. Niklas Luhmann, Theorie der Gesellschaft oder Sozialtechnologie2
Thus far, we have worked to establish two critical points. First, human freedom is realized in reliance systems, social and material systems that have to be constantly made and remade. These systems, no matter our individual capacities, are always collectively produced. Second, these reliance systems are governed by a set of formal and informal political agreements which we call spatial contracts. Spatial contracts are spatial and not exclusively social because they are rooted in the materiality of specific systems, and thus in both space, place
2 The German electoral system Do electoral systems matter? Evidence suggests that electoral systems do matter, and that politicians and the public think that they make a difference. There have been many examples of electoral systems which have been changed: some in order to obtain partisan advantage, such as Mitterrand’s self-serving experiment with proportional representation for the French National Assembly elections in March 1986. In other cases, reform has been undertaken in order to improve the representation function of the electoral system: the change to
4 Rationalities underpinning the system Introduction The discourse on the failure of the prison, the failure of the institutional model and the failure of juvenile justice system in one form or another has provided the impetus for the reform of the juvenile justice system in Ireland. This registration of failure was a constant theme from the mid-nineteenth century when reformists argued for the reformatory model to replace imprisonment for juvenile offenders. In Ireland, by the early 1970s the perceived failure of the Children Act 1908 to cater adequately for
113 5 The ‘national’ school system: still denominational and private In this chapter I will examine recent structural developments in the Irish educational system and the place of religion in its current make-up. In the Republic of Ireland, ‘diversity’ from a structural viewpoint above all means religious diversity, in terms of both administrative control and school attendance. Beyond an overview of the major characteristics of the system and of the contemporary debates about the opportunity of more or less far-reaching structural changes, the main question
chap 5 27/5/03 11:55 am Page 163 5 Financing the federal system Introduction According to the official English translation of Article 20, para. 1, of the Basic Law, the Federal Republic of Germany is a “democratic and social federal state.” A better translation might be “a democratic and federal social welfare state.” “Social” in German usually means socially fair, or just, and generally equal. Therefore, this concept provides a constitutional basis for the German welfare state. A European-type welfare state is under strong unitary pressures, because
2 The Tribunal system: provenance, characteristics and issues It took some time … before Local Authorities and the public generally were able to understand the machinery of the scheme, and it was not surprising, therefore, that applicants, and at times the Tribunals, failed to interpret rightly the regulations and instructions.1 The overwhelming response to the call to arms during August and September 1914 represented the high-water mark of British voluntarism. Thereafter, with the German retreat from the Marne and the coalescing of semi-permanent front lines
4 The committee system Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee-rooms is Congress at work. (Woodrow Wilson) Writing while still a postgraduate student, President Woodrow Wilson commented, ‘Congressional government is committee government’. Committees are the engine rooms of Congress. In order to become law, every piece of legislation must ultimately face a vote in the chambers of House and Senate, but it is in the committee rooms that nearly all proposals take shape and where most proposals die. This chapter
3 The camp system Wakefield was an extremely orderly place, as orderly, monotonous and drab as a lower middle-class suburb, but it was a suburb without a city, and its inhabitants suburbanites out of work. Everything was organized, everything ordered. The huts had captains, the captains a chief-captain and he an adjutant with so little sense of humour that he actually signed himself Adjutant L. and wished to be addressed by his ridiculous title. There were committees for everything, and nearly everyone was a member of one or the other or had some sort of post