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officials favor some interests over others . The interactions among these elements lead to large-scale behaviors , which are not easily observable beyond apparent results .
These insights parallel Meadow��� ( 2008 ) description of complex systems of interconnected elements with a purpose . Dahl argues that elected officials anticipate constituents ’ needs in deciding policy . Not only is this a matter of feedback , but also interpretation , whereby system actors are not only ����� and also ������ themselves and , therefore , interpret how to navigate the system ( Geyer � Rihani , 2012 ). xvi
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In this section , we examine feedback
mechanisms , which have dominance in a community power structure , and those that are more politically neutral with reinforcing and balancing feedback loops . xvii When feedback loops dominate one another , its loops determine , or at least have the strongest impact on , system behavior . Such loops maintain an indirect and constant pressure to maintain equilibrium .
Capra ( 1996 ) explains the difference between positive ( self-reinforcing ) feedback loops and negative ( self-balancing ) loops . For a positive loop , “ A produces a change in B in the same direction — for example , an increase of B if A increases ” ( p . 60 ). xviii This is similar to Dahl ’ s ( 1974 ) aforementioned linear definition of power . He finds that when “ A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do ” ( p . 202-203 ).
Meadows ( 2008 , chapter 1 , section 6 , paragraph 8 ) describes further that feedback is complex “ instead of seemingly how A causes B , you ’ ll begin to wonder how B may also influence A — and how A might reinforce or reverse itself .” Likewise , Lukes ’
( 2005 ) understanding of power , as noted previously , is also nonlinear where elite ’ s deliberate intent to form ideological preferences , where reality is considered routine because we do not knowingly “ think ” of these norms . Similarly , Geyer and Rihani ( 2012 , p . 29 ) argue that these values and norms are a part of a unique set of human experiences coupled with countless collective interactions , producing “ complex interpretative outcomes .” It seems then that power and feedback loops are similar . Complex systems transform inputs into outputs as their components interact by means of a web of feedback loops , creating an ����������� , or a self-processing system . xix
�������� : Original feedback model . The system is negative and stable if B < 0
Meadows ( 2008 , introduction , section 1 , paragraph 6 ) describes a system as “ set of things — people , cells , molecules , or whatever — interconnected in such a way that the produce their own pattern of behavior over time .” She also describes a system as more than the sum of its parts . A system seeks its own perpetuation ; its behavior reveals a feedback loop as it “ may exhibit adaptive , dynamic , goal-seeking , self-preserving , and sometimes evolutionary behavior ,” therefore , causing its own behavior ( Meadows , 2008 , chapter 1 , section 1 , paragraph 6 ).
Such systems have positive , or reinforcing , and negative , or balancing feedback loops ( See Figure 4 ). Negative , or balancing , feedback loops correct deviations
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