A general systems approach to education is proposed. A general system is thought of not so much as a body of doctrine, but as a way of looking at things which permits the perception of the world as a totality and fosters communication among the specialized disciplines. In social science education the comparative study of relatively stable cultures is necessary. Once the idea has been established that there are stabilities in social systems, then we can go on to dynamics and developmental systems, and into concepts of economic and political development and idiological change. All real systems are dynamic, having four types of patterns in a space-time continuum: perceptible stable relationships, life cycle, evolution and learning, and the decision-making system. In this context, people should know: a little about the order of magnitude of the factual world; where to find information and how to use it; facts about the shape of the space-time continuum --the history and geography of the world; the nature and necessity of investigation; and a distrust of purely personal experience, or an awareness of cultural bias and generalization. All of these things are necessary to avoid what Veblen called "trained incapacity", an inability to live in the world as it really exists. (SBE)