The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions
A systems thinking explanation for why institutions fail to learn and improve
"The purpose of the system is what it does, not what it says it does."
— Dan Davies
My Review
Davies applies Stafford Beer's cybernetics to explain why large organizations make predictable errors. The concept of 'accountability sinks' - places where responsibility disappears - maps to biological concepts of information loss in complex systems. Essential for understanding organizational pathology.
Why It Matters
Davies explains why large organizations seem designed to avoid learning and accountability. His cybernetic framework shows how information loss and complexity create systemic dysfunction.
Key Ideas
- Accountability sinks absorb responsibility without action
- Complex systems develop to evade accountability
- Cybernetic variety: controllers need variety matching what they control
- Bureaucracy is a system evolved to avoid change
How It Connects to This Framework
Book 7 (Scale & Complexity) chapters on centralized vs. distributed control. The concept of information flow and organizational homeostasis is informed by Davies' analysis.
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Want to go deeper?
The full Biology of Business book explores these concepts in depth with practical frameworks.