Out of the dead end: More flexibility, less optimization

Why did Corona hit us so hard? How do we get out of this crisis? To find answers to these questions, a few systemic considerations about survival are worthwhile. The exciting thing about systemic considerations is that we can apply them to many of the questions we're currently racking our brains over. Now things will get a little theoretical first, and then dramatic – with hope for a happy ending.

Systems can only survive if they are able to maintain their basis of life in interaction with their environment. This applies to simple cells just as much as to highly developed life forms or organizations. They all fundamentally employ the following survival strategies:

1. Systems shape the environment in such a way as to create better living conditions. Birds build nests; companies use innovative technologies.
2. Systems actively seek out environments that offer better chances of survival. Birds migrate south in winter; companies tap into new markets.
3. Systems adapt to changing environmental conditions in order to survive. This occurs either through behavioral changes or, if there is enough time, through physical adaptations. Sparrows take advantage of the food supply in beer gardens; companies exploit new market niches. Animals adapt physically over generations; companies reorganize themselves for new business models.
4. Systems combine the strategies mentioned above.

What complicates matters is the fact that the environment typically consists of systems pursuing the same strategies. This leads to a mutual influence that forces all involved systems into a continuous adaptation process. Viruses mutate to outwit immune systems; immune systems constantly develop new defense mechanisms to combat these viruses. In a market economy, competitors, through innovation, force each other to continuously evolve.

Systems that cannot withstand this pressure to adapt cannot survive. Changes in the environment can severely challenge or even overwhelm a system's adaptability. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, cost many people and businesses their livelihoods. They lacked suitable adaptation mechanisms or were unable to activate them quickly enough. Exploitation and pollution of the environment lead to massive species extinction because many species are unable to counteract this destructive behavior.

A dead end is not a one-way street if we are willing to look for ways out, for example through systemic analysis. (Image: foto art Elisabeth Wiesner)

Systemic considerations: The dilemma of optimization

The more optimally a system has adapted to specific environmental conditions, the more existentially threatening rapid or drastic changes to that environment become. The dilemma: Optimized systems are more competitive under stable environmental conditions compared to flexible systems because they don't carry the burden of genes, abilities, behaviors, or unproductive resources. However, the tables turn when the environment changes frequently and rapidly. Then the flexible system has the competitive advantage because it can utilize more adaptive options. A system's viability and competitiveness can only be meaningfully assessed within the context of its environment.

When we rely on stable, warm weather, well-maintained trails, and staffed mountain huts for our hikes, we forgo warm clothing, sleeping bags, bivouac sacks, provisions, and other equipment. This naturally allows us to reach our destination faster with less equipment and effort. However, this advantage turns into a life-threatening risk if, contrary to expectations, the weather changes and we can't find the safety of the hut in a blizzard.

The one-sided optimization of our economic and value system is the problem that the coronavirus has brought to our attention, and not just because of it. Decades of success have fostered the illusion that we have everything under control and simply need to further optimize a few successful models to extract even more for ourselves. These successful models include increasing economic success through ever-greater consumption and resource exploitation. This has led us into an optimization dead end. Thanks to good weather, we discarded clothing, first-aid kits, and seemingly useless equipment like unnecessary ballast on our ascent to the supposed summit, all in an effort to climb even faster. But now, not only is the weather changing (keyword: global warming), but we are also being confronted with our vulnerability.

I believe that a segment of humanity has maneuvered the world into this optimization dead end through a one-sided pursuit of profit. They focus too much on material gain and too little on the social and environmental costs. This is certainly also due to the fact that those who profit the most are simultaneously the ones who, so far, have felt the social and environmental costs less acutely.

The other side of the coin

Despite the relentless pursuit of profit, humanity has developed knowledge, technologies, and skills that offer the opportunity to escape this optimization dead end. It has repeatedly demonstrated its remarkable adaptability. The conditions are ideal! We simply need to more consistently harness this immense potential to serve the values worth developing further: human dignity, peace, health, and sustainability. In these areas, there is still considerable room for development, aiming for a desperately needed systemic balance between humanity and the environment. We can do it, and most of us want to.

I hope that the pandemic has now increased the costs for all those who have previously profited from the optimization craze to such an extent that they are prompted to rethink their approach. And I hope that more and more insightful people realize that it is neither sensible nor necessary to wait for others to leave this dead end only to trudge along behind them. Even the smallest element of a system is capable of positively influencing the system. Have courage!

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