Question: why is a cell considered an open system

title: Open system (systems theory)
text: In the social sciences an open system is a process that exchanges material , energy , people , capital and information with its environment . French / Greek philosopher Kostas Axelos argued that seeing the `` world system '' as inherently open ( though unified ) would solve many of the problems in the social sciences , including that of praxis ( the relation of knowledge to practice ) , so that various social scientific disciplines would work together rather than create a monopoly whereby the world appears only sociological , political , historical , or psychological . Axelos argues that theorizing a closed system contributes to making it closed , and is thus a conservative approach . The Althusserian concept of overdetermination ( drawing on Sigmund Freud ) posits that there are always multiple causes in every event . David Harvey uses this to argue that when systems such as capitalism enter a phase of crisis , it could happen through one of a number of elements , such as gender roles , the relation to nature / the environment , or crises in accumulation . Looking at the crisis in accumulation , Harvey argues that phenomena such as foreign direct investment , privatization of state - owned resources , and accumulation by dispossession act as necessary outlets when capital has overaccumulated too much in private hands and can not circulate effectively in the marketplace . He cites the forcible displacement of Mexican and Indian peasants since the 1970s and the Asian and South - East Asian financial crisis of 1997 - 8 , involving `` hedge fund raising '' of national currencies , as examples of this .