"Folks who do systems analysis have a great belief in 'leverage points.' These
are places within a complex system (a corporation, an economy, a living body, a
city, an ecosystem) where a small shift in one thing can produce big changes in
everything. This idea is not unique to systems analysis -- it's embedded in
legend. The silver bullet, the trimtab, the miracle cure, the secret passage,
the magic password, the single hero who turns the tide of history. The nearly
effortless way to cut through or leap over huge obstacles. We not only want to
believe that there are leverage points, we want to know where they are and how
to get our hands on them. Leverage points are points of power."
In this in-depth piece Donella Meadows, educator, environmental scientist and
author of "Limits to Growth," details her evolving list of "Places to
Intervene in a System."
