That would be great. It came out at a time when a dozen first-rate books appeared linking design to societal change. Many of the them were based on cybernetics, systems analysis, and the still-faltering but ever fascinating fields of chaos and complexity. Names (sp?) like: Abrahamson, von Forrester, Miller, Aikens, Kaufmann, Bateson, Beer, Fuller, etc. etc. Several of these have fallen out of print, unfortunately.
I was fortunate to get to skim a friend's copy of Warfield's excellent book. Cheers, Lawry On Sep 11, 2012, at 11:05 AM, D & N wrote: > If it still has merit, maybe it should be REprinted. > > D. > > On 11/09/2012 7:58 AM, de Bivort Lawrence wrote: >> Agreed. It is unfortunate that John's book is no longer available. >> >> Cheers, >> Lawry >> >> >> On Sep 11, 2012, at 10:41 AM, Ray Harrell wrote: >> >>> Things are not automatic. You have to want things to get better. When >>> there is a political agenda that reacts in opposition, nothing works. >>> Markets aren't natural institutions. They are formed by arbitrary >>> decisions based on many things. They are mega systems. One problem is >>> incompetence but another is recalcitrance and class war. John Warfield's >>> "A Science of Generic Design" is a masterful exploration of mega systems >>> and how they work. They only people who seriously study him is the >>> Department of Defense and the Chinese Government. He's like Deming with >>> the Japanese. >>> >>> REH >>> >>> From: [email protected] >>> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Arthur Cordell >>> Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 10:13 AM >>> To: [email protected]; 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME >>> DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' >>> Subject: [Futurework] Central bank money machines fail to spur global >>> economy >>> >>> Central bank money machines fail to spur global economy >>> >>> by John W. Schoen, NBC News >>> Sept. 11, 2012 >>> Read Later >>> >>> Stelios Varias / Reuters rile >>> >>> By John W. Schoen, NBC News >>> >>> Economics 101 says a massive dose of easy money is supposed to be a >>> reliable cure for a sluggish economy. For the first time in decades, the >>> prescription isn’t working, to the rising frustration of central bankers in >>> the U.S. and Europe. >>> >>> Four years and more than $2 trillion after the Federal Reserve opened the >>> money spigots following the financial collapse of 2008, the U.S. economy >>> remains stuck in the mud. >>> >>> Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a widely-watched speech last month in Jackson >>> Hole, Wyo., defended the central bank’s past decisions to churn out >>> record-breaking volumes of cash -- a process known as “quantitative easing” >>> -- saying the policy had prevented a much more painful recession. Bernanke >>> also left little doubt that more money may be coming, as early as this >>> week’s regular Fed policy meeting. >>> >>> "It is important to achieve further progress, particularly in the labor >>> market," Bernanke said. "The Federal Reserve will provide additional policy >>> accommodation as needed." >>> >>> Maintaining steady job growth is half of the Fed’s so-called “dual >>> mandate,” the other being inflation control. Based on Friday's monthly jobs >>> report, showing fewer than 100,000 new hires in August, the Fed has a lot >>> more work to do. >>> >>> All of which has Wall Street convinced it’s a pretty sure bet that the Fed >>> is about to fire up its money machine once more, forcing cash into the >>> system by buying hundreds of trillions of dollars’ worth of bonds. >>> >>> “That employment report kind of nailed it,” said Michelle Girard, RBS >>> senior economist. “The Fed laid out the criteria: we need to see a >>> sustained and substantial improvement. And that labor report didn’t show >>> it. So the Fed is going to have to make good on their intentions.” >>> >>> But roads paved with good intentions don’t always lead to good places. >>> Though investors have bid up stocks on the theory that another massive wave >>> of cash has to go somewhere, there’s widening doubt that another money >>> flood will boost growth or create more jobs. >>> >>> “What central banks everywhere are doing is trying to make sure people are >>> not focused on the world breaking apart,” said Dinakar Singh, CEO of >>> TPG-Axon Capital. “Ultimately I don't think lower rates make that much >>> difference anymore. There aren't that many people left that haven't >>> borrowed money -- companies or people -- but would if rates were lower. “ >>> >>> On top of another massive money drop, the Fed may extend its stated promise >>> to keep interest rates ultra-low further into the future. Some market >>> watchers, and a few Fed policy makers, have expressed concerns those moves >>> could do more harm than good. >>> >>> Even as low rates have failed to spur growth, they’re penalizing savers. >>> Insurance and pension funds have been hit hard by record low returns needed >>> to fund long-term obligations. And, at some point, the Fed will have to >>> start selling its massive holdings in bonds, forcing rates higher and >>> producing a drag on growth. Discussions about that "exit strategy," >>> frequent following the Fed's first round of bond-buying, have all but >>> disappeared from recent Fed deliberations. >>> >>> Europe’s central bank, meanwhile, is also embarking on its second round of >>> bond buying to try to head off a deepening recession. But the ECB's easy >>> money efforts appear to have had even less impact on the eurozone crisis >>> than its American counterpart. >>> >>> Central bankers there face a different, and thornier, set of problems. So >>> far, they’ve been badly hampered by restrictions on their mandate >>> preventing them from intervening to help bail out specific countries in >>> trouble. >>> >>> They’ve also been hamstrung by politics, as wealthier northern nations led >>> by Germany have opposed the kind of big-money stimulus pioneered by the Fed. >>> >>> Further action could be hampered by a German high court ruling expected >>> this week on the constitutionality of a key bailout fund. No matter which >>> way the court rules, central bankers in Germany’s Bundesbank -- along with >>> millions of that country’s voters -- will likely oppose further ECB >>> proposals to flood the continent with money, much of it coming from Germany. >>> >>> “The Bundesbank is now becoming the voice increasingly of conservative >>> Germany,” said Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. >>> “It’s the early stages of heading toward what ultimately will be some >>> referendum in Germany on a closer euro in which Germany, as part of its DNA >>> has to support the others.” >>> >>> ECB intervention to drive down interest rates could worsen the crisis by >>> protecting free-spending governments from the financial market punishment >>> needed to enforce tighter budget controls. >>> >>> “Its massive support may well discourage profligate governments from >>> meeting their fiscal objectives,” said David Rosenberg, chief economist at >>> Gluskin Shiff. ”Italy is already backsliding on this front.” >>> >>> Central bankers in China, trying to revive a slumping economy by pumping >>> more money into the system, face yet another set of problems this time >>> around. Following a series of monthly data showing China’s once-hot growth >>> winding down, Beijing last week announced a series of new infrastructure >>> projects to try to reverse the downturn. >>> >>> But the measures are much more limited than the massive stimulus undertaken >>> following the 2008 collapse. That spending spree left China with more >>> roads, bridges, airports and rail lines than it needs. Now, as growth has >>> slowed again, inventories of raw materials and finished goods are piling up. >>> >>> Additional government lending and spending risks igniting another round of >>> the kind of consumer inflation that swept through China in 2010, forcing up >>> food prices and inflating a rapidly expanding real estate bubble. >>> >>> Chinese consumer price inflation appears to be moving higher again, bumping >>> up to annual rate of 2.0 percent last month from 1.8 percent in July, and >>> is likely to rise above 3 percent early next year, according to Mark >>> Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Insight. >>> >>> “This won’t prevent further stimulus if the economy remains very weak, but >>> it does make large policy moves less likely,” he said. >>> >>> Faced with an ongoing global slowdown, though, central bankers around the >>> world are loathe to do nothing. Despite the limited impact of dumping more >>> money into the economy, even easy-money skeptics at the Fed will likely go >>> along with another round, according to Neal Soss CSFB chief economist. >>> >>> “Even those who doubt the efficacy of monetary policy under current >>> circumstances may well feel obliged not to disappoint financial markets,” >>> he said. “First, do no harm.“ >>> >>> Jim McCaughan, Principal Global Investors CEO, explains why further Fed >>> easing is not the best policy decision. >>> >>> More money and business news: >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Futurework mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Futurework mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
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