Reducing complexity, signaling, and the pathways to nonsensical policy

Abstract

As the wickedness of public challenges increases, strategies for policy development involve some effort to cordon off complexity to the point where action can be taken. There are multiple ways that this can be done, and all have limitations. I describe two common ways that this can happen, decomplexification and simplification. Decomplexification is based in science and uses knowledge to place boundaries around a problem and make it manageable, with the result often being a siloing of efforts in different disciplines with the potential for myopia and groupthink. Simplification is based on narratives and causal stories that are appealing in the political environment but are often foolish or malignant. In both cases, the process is reinforced because people want to belong to groups with shared identities, and they signal to one another this urge to belong. And in either case, the result can be a policy approach that is nonsensical.

Keywords:

• Complexity
• signaling
• wicked problems

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Despite this clumsy phrasing, I opt to describe this as an effort to cordon off the complexity of a problem, rather than using a clearer term like simplification. I do so because we do not actually simplify these problems as we analyze them, because the problems themselves cannot become simple. I will contrast this with simplification which places the problem in a more familiar narrative setting that may or may not have anything to do with the focal problem.

2 To be clear, experts are not omniscient, but they do tend to acknowledge uncertainty whereas non-experts generally express certainty. There is no claim made here that expertise is infallible–it is just more informed and likely more in line with contemporarily accepted knowledge.

3 Which is not to say that institutions are immune from providing problematic information.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adam Eckerd

Adam Eckerd is an Associate Professor with the School of Public Service at Old Dominion University. He conducts research on organizational and individual decision making in complex settings, particularly as it relates to how risk is assessed and how information is used to manage public and nonprofit programs and policies. Adam’s work investigates issues of environmental policy and land use, public participation, and program evaluation.