2026/02/17 by Bernd von Mallinckrodt, Bernd Bernd von Mallinckrodt · 1 voice
paper · doi:10.5281/zenodo.18670111
openalex publication_date 2026/02/17 · openalex created_date 2026/02/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
Title: Capitalism in Transition – A System-Dynamic Analysis and the Goal of “Feedback-Coupled Capitalism” Author: Bernd von Mallinckrodt Document type: Working Paper (Version 1.4, February 2026) File: KapitalismusentwicklungRueckgekoppelterKapitalismusv14.pdf Description (for Zenodo) This working paper presents a system-theoretical analysis of the current transformation phase of capitalism, with a focus on escalating instability patterns that emerge when economic dynamics outpace the capacity of institutional regulation and societal learning. The paper argues that many contemporary crises are not primarily a result of “too little order,” but rather of over-amplified ordering logics—i.e., a structural shift toward rigidity, concentration, and reduced systemic variance. The analysis integrates two conceptual lenses: The Mallinckrodt Cycle (System Life-Cycle Model):A phase model describing how complex socio-economic systems typically evolve through stages such as genesis, structuring, stabilization, higher-order consolidation, and eventual rigidity/stagnation. The model is used here to interpret current capitalism as approaching (or entering) a late-stage consolidation dynamic, where efficiency and power-logics dominate while innovation, pluralism, and corrective feedback are increasingly marginalized. Ontology of Vibration (Resonance Perspective):A complementary framework that treats social and economic systems as resonance fields shaped by dynamic feedback relations between individuals, institutions, markets, and the environment. In this view, sustainable stability is not achieved through maximal control, but through coherent coupling across multiple layers of a system. When variance is systematically suppressed, disturbance amplitudes rise and tipping-point dynamics become more likely. A central contribution of this paper is the introduction of a new target concept: Feedback-Coupled Capitalism (“Rückgekoppelter Kapitalismus”) The paper proposes “feedback-coupled capitalism” as a goal model for the AI era. The concept starts from a key asymmetry: in an AI-driven economy, productivity and capital returns can scale exponentially, while institutional feedback mechanisms (regulatory cycles, social compensation systems, ecological accounting, democratic adaptation) tend to remain linear and slow. This mismatch generates structural instability and accelerates crisis cascades. The proposed solution is not the abolition of markets, but their cybernetic extension: building scalable, AI-supported feedback architectures that actively couple capital, society, and ecology. In practical terms, this implies improving feedback resolution and responsiveness—making social and environmental impacts measurable, visible, and actionable within the decision loops of economic actors and institutions. The underlying principle is that system sustainability depends on the quality, speed, and coherence of feedback—not merely on ideological preferences for or against markets. Core thesis (as stated in the paper) “In the AI age, productivity and capital returns scale exponentially, while our institutional feedback mechanisms remain linear—this asymmetry produces structural instability. The system becomes sustainable only when we do not abolish markets, but equip them with scalable, AI-supported feedback architectures between capital, society, and the environment.” Scope and intended use This document is published as a discussion-oriented working paper intended for interdisciplinary dialogue across: systems theory and cybernetics complexity science and socio-technical transition research political economy, platform economics, and AI governance sustainability, ecological economics, and institutional design It can serve as a conceptual framing for researchers, policy designers, and systems practitioners who are exploring how economic systems must adapt under conditions of accelerating technological capability, rising concentration dynamics, and climate/ecosystem constraints. Keywords Capitalism, system dynamics, complexity, cybernetics, feedback loops, AI economy, sustainability, systemic risk, tipping points, market concentration, Mallinckrodt Cycle, resonance, institutional adaptation, feedback-coupled capitalism Versioning note This is Version 1.4 (February 2026). Future versions may expand the formal structure (hypotheses, references), include diagrams, and provide an English full-text edition.