Systems Theory and Slow Progress

In Niklas Luhmann's systems theory various disciplines (e.g. politics, media, education, etc.) communicate with one another to make up society. Each are somewhat independent and are interested in their own survival. The analogy is that they functions like the organisms that from the body. But, if society is made up of various organisms it’s understandable that each will try and remain impermeable to things that will diminish their functioning. Knowledge itself provides many threats which is why most ideas try and make themselves immune to outside knowledge. 

Society, in its whole and in its parts, will try to keep itself from absorbing things that will weaken it or lead to its end. It will favor the old as opposed to the new, because the old has proven itself. This doesn't make the old right, but it does make it a smarter bet in regards to the longevity of the overall system. A fork, for example, was a new technology at one point. It will probably remain utilized and unchanged for a lot longer than it has already been around, because it works well enough. Chopsticks will too. Like in evolution, the majority of mutations (changes to a system) are not sustainable over long timelines. Ideas follow this same logic, which is why most progress is slow. Things that are untenable have difficulty surviving.