Three types of Pluralism in Systems Thinking

The following article is an updated version on the topic of Pluralsim from Ho (1996) and Ho, Partington and Sculli (1994) :


There are three types of pluralism (re: Figure 1):

Normative pluralism: it adopts the position that each perspective yields a specialized set of knowledge which serves a particular interest of mankind. The critical perspective plays a pivotal role in the entire scheme to ensure that knowledge gained from the various perspectives is properly employed as it is, similar to Critical Theory (see Kellner, 1989), interested in topics of freedom, happiness and justice. In other words, the critical perspective validates the knowledge gained from the pluralist perspective and it, in turn, does the same for the unitary perspective.

Comprehensive pluralism: it emphasises the need to be comprehensive and free from domination from a particular perspective in  the process of inquiry. Conceptual models constructed  by the parties concerned should incorporate all the elements and variables originated from different perspectives into grand theories that guide reflection and actions in the problematic situation. Creativity is ensured by constructing and confronting a number of grand theories that organize the various elements differently; resourcefulness in the approach of organizational intervention is achieved as the full range of systems methodologies are employed at the same time. The organizational intervention can thus be done in a resourceful and creative way. This kind of pluralism underlines Francescato's (1992) approach of organizational change.

Pragmatic pluralism: it stresses the need to be efficient in conducting inquiries by paying attention to what the parties involved perceived to be important and relevant. It considers creativity, comprehensiveness, and feasibility as equally important criteria of performance. By recognizing that there are dominant and supporting metaphors in the Total Systems Intervention process, Flood and Jackson (1991) lend support to this kind of pluralism.

The existence of the three types of pluralism points to the in-built tension of pluralism.





Reference
Flood, R.L. and Jackson, M.C. (1991) Creative Problem Solving: Total Systems Intervention, Wiley
Francescato, D. (1992) "A Multidimensional Perspective of Organizational Change", pp. 129-146, Systems Practice 5(2) April, Plenum Press
Ho, J.K.K. (1996) "Development of Multi-Perspective, Systems-Based Frameworks" Ph.D. thesis, July, Faulty of Engineering, University of Hong Kong
Ho, J.K.K., Partington, E.C. and Sculli, D. (1994) "A Meta-framework for Information Systems Design". pp. 592-597, The Conference Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Annual Meeting, Western Decisions Sciences Institute, Maui, Hawaii
Kellner, D. (1989) Critical Theory, Marxism and Modernity, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK