p. 128; Cited in: Roberto Joseph et al. (2002) "Banathy's Influence on the Guidance System for Transforming Education". World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, 58(5/6) 379-394
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When it comes to the design of social and societal systems of all kinds, it is the users, the people in the system who are the experts. Nobody has the right to design social systems for someone else. It is unethical to do so. Design cannot be legislated, it should not be bought from the expert, and it should not be copied from the design of others. If the privilege of and responsibility for design is "given away," others will take charge of designing our lives and our systems. They will shape our future.

— Béla H. Bánáthy

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "When it comes to the design of social and societal systems of all kinds, it is the users, the people in the system who are the experts. Nobody has the right to design social systems for someone else. It is unethical to do so. Design cannot be legislated, it should not be bought from the expert, and it should not be copied from the design of others. If the privilege of and responsibility for design is "given away," others will take charge of designing our lives and our systems. They will shape our future." in the context of "p. 128; Cited in: Roberto Joseph et al. (2002) "Banathy's Influence on the Guidance System for Transforming Education". World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, 58(5/6) 379-394" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Béla H. Bánáthy" (Quotes, Designing Social Systems in a Changing World (1996): Béla H. Bánáthy (1996). Designing social systems in a changing world. New York: Plenum) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Béla H. Bánáthy

About Béla H. Bánáthy

Béla Heinrich Bánáthy (December 1, 1919 – September 4, 2003) was a Hungarian-American linguist, and Professor at San Jose State University and UC Berkeley. He is known as founder of the White Stag Leadership Development Program, and was co-founder of the General Evolutionary Research Group in 1984.