Roots and branches: a brief, picaresque, personal history of systems theory

Abstract Social Systems Theory has a long and distinguished history. It has progressed from a mechanical model of social processes, to a biological model, to a process model, to models that encompass chaos, complexity, evolution and autopoiesis. Social systems design methodology is ready for the twenty‐first century. From General Systems Theory's early days of glory and hubris, through its days of decline and disparagement, through its diaspora into different disciplines, systems theory is today living up to its early expectations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.