847.4
Dror on Actors and the Capacity to Govern
The role of actors is an important issue in sustainability research and politics. Suggestions for agency alternate between appeal to individual, concerned people, and attempts to design new technical and social frameworks. Change agents, for example, are addressed as those to have the crucial influences on future strands of development. Up to now, these are conceptualized in a first-order mode, reflecting neither the origin of their ideas nor the function they have for adjusting social systems to changing framework conditions. A second-order perspective could contribute to approaching these questions in a wider perspective.
There is an important report, yet widely ignored, by Y Dror on the Capacity to Govern. Cybernetic theory and epistemology does not play an important role in his conceptions. However, it seems helpful to re-interpret some of his suggestions applying cybernetic concepts. Especially the differentiation of actors and their role in change processes will contribute to a better understanding of sustainability strategies.