Changing the physical elements of a system can enhance it, but there are other methods to fix issues. One is to put your focus on the flow of information, the rules of the system, and its self-organization.

Systems are often lacking in sufficient information flows. As a result, adding them can make significant improvements. For example, installing electrical meters in the halls instead of basements reduced the consumption of energy by one-third in some Dutch suburbs simply because the residents had better access to information about their use and therefore could adjust how much power they used accordingly.

But, if the people who are benefiting from the system also have capability to set rules and exercise control over it, the system will not function well. If the world trade system is lead by the corporations, controlled by corporations, and primarily benefit corporations then it will inevitably collapse.

Furthermore, when systems can self-organize it means they can also evolve and learn on their own - an amazing characteristic, but one that often scares humans as it means losing control. The end-result is the imposition of man-made limits on potentially limitless systems. However, this can often produce greater problems, so letting a system self-organize is actually better.

Systems also often run into trouble when they hold the wrong goals or paradigms. If a system is based on an incorrect goal and that goal is changed, the entire system will adapt. For example, some countries have found that a centralized system of economic planning does not work for them. When their goals shifted, every sub-system in the economy adjusted to the new model eventually.

And what about paradigms?

These are the deepest held beliefs on which systems are built - something like, "growth is good" or "one can own land." If a system's paradigms are not correct, they have got to be changed. Ecologists have begun to shift the paradigms of protecting the environment. This has resulted in changes in a variety of systems as industries, people, cities and even entire countries start to adapt the way they manage waste.