Systems Model v01.01

[section 01] - 1st draft

intro to systems model here

[section 02] - 1st draft

The first consideration for the systems model is it’s hierarchical structure. Fuyuki Kurasawa writes of an existing system within social justice that is essentially “top down” (?, for now).

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The above diagram provides an example of a constitutive model that reflects the traditional “top down” concept. According to Kurasawa this neglects the fundamental “realities of participants involved in the social labour of global justice.” The reality to which he is referring is that they play, or should play, a far more important role constitutively, than a top down model would suggest, and that this should be acknowledged within practical approaches.
An alternative to this system is one that is integrative, and rather than being “top down”, or “bottom up” for that matter, the system can be one of conjunction. Conjunction suggests a coming together of ideas from all participants and stakeholders where hierarchies of knowledge, value or authority don’t exist. From a rhetorical standpoint any such model must be perceived from outside our traditional frame of reference. The up-down orientational metaphor within our culture dictates the way we interpret much of our world including a systems model for social progress. Up metaphorically represents better, power, and authority while down represents worse, weak, and subjugation (Lakoff 14-15) . This requires a spatial substitution of verticality for linearity.