"The book is an important demonstration of the viability ofGeneral Systems Theory for anthropology. Among the surprisingfindings directly deriving from this approach is that the Aymaratransition is a response not to inputs from the industrialsector, but to instabilities within the traditional Aymara economicsystem itself. The Systems Theory principle of the adaptivevalue of deviance is the basis for an in-depth analysis ofthe emergence of the Seventh-Day Adventists as a power-elitein many Aymara communities."