Understanding Social Reforms: A Conceptual Analysis
重新审视并发展了Vickers的“评价系统”概念，认为社会改革困难源于社会实践的自我指涉性，提出政策制定者应提供新评价系统和系统运行信息以促进改革。
We attempt here to explain why reforming social systems is not an easy job and what can be done about it. Vickers' concept of ‘appreciative systems’ is re-examined and further developed. It is argued that appreciative systems are socially established ways of perceiving, consisting of a set of cognitive categories, values and interests which are grounded on social practices. The latter are constituted by certain historically developed self-understandings shared by individuals. Social practices are self-referential and, therefore, particularly resistant to reform. It is argued that the role of policy makers should be seen as consisting of two components. First, inventing and supplying social systems with new appreciative systems, and secondly, regularly providing social systems with information about their own functioning as well as the functioning of other systems. That information, spread throughout a system, has potentially reforming effects. These claims are illustrated with examples from UK and American public life.