The power that determines the establishment, the changes, the evolution, and
the destruction of social systems is philosophy. The role of chance, accident,
or tradition, in this context, is the same as their role in the life of an
individual: their power stands in inverse ratio to the power of a culture’s (or
an individual’s) philosophical equipment, and grows as philosophy collapses. It
is, therefore, by reference to philosophy that the character of a social system
has to be defined and evaluated.