What do we mean by 'the system'?

While working on the Belong in Plymouth programme, we often found ourselves talking about ‘the system’ when we were discussing how things currently work and how we might effect change in our city. But what do we mean by ‘the system’?

At a base level, we were using the phrase ‘the system’ to talk about the legal and cultural structures that we both utilise and remake every day – things like NHS organisations, the local council, and our working environments and relationships are all part of ‘the system’. Resources flow around the system. This includes money, labour, culture, and ideas. The system is a way of living together – a way to interact with rules that we generally agree on. The ideas people have about the system interact with the system to recreate it and keep it in existence.

Connections in the system include person-to-person relationships as well as between organisations in the form of structures, laws, and contracts. When different cultures or ways of working that are part of the same ‘system’ come up against each other, we sometimes get clashes. For instance, NHS organisations can often be very hierarchical, but voluntary sector organisations are often less so. Sometimes when people from these two types of organisations interact, there can be misunderstandings, a sense that we’re using the same words to mean different things.

The system exists as a result of people’s choices and actions, stemming from norms and mores that have layered over time to become something that feels ‘real’ and unchangeable. The system is by definition complex, and often also feels complicated and unknowable. We know we have to operate inside of it but often we don’t understand why it is the way it is, or how to change it. For many, the system feels like it doesn’t represent them, or, even worse, oppresses or damages them.

Rules and laws are part of the system and sometimes it feels like they fall outside of our power, but in fact, rules and laws are all created by people, and this means that people can also change them. It isn’t really unchangeable. It’s just that changing it is quite hard and often slow. Power to change comes from knowledge of how the system functions. Power also comes from increasing the number and quality of connections between people from across different parts of the system and the city.

If you want to shift the way the system works, start by connecting with others, ideally in person. Recognise that you will come across differing views, ways of working, and cultures. Recognise that there might be other ways of doing things. Be prepared to learn from other people. The ‘system’ can be shifted if we pull together.