# Stafford Beer > Beer’s admirers view his intelligence, breadth of knowledge, and willingness to think in unconventional ways as signs of misunderstood genius. On the other hand, his detractors paint a picture of a self-promoter who made grandiose claims that were not backed by his actual accomplishments > > – [[Cybernetic Revolutionaries]] > Beer was an unusual cybernetician in his deep commitment to democratic control systems > > – [[Half-Earth Socialism]] > He was not a typical socialist but looked the part of a 1970s business hippie – being a management consultant with a beard of biblical proportions – but he was far more like [[Neurath]] and [[Kantorovich]] than like Stewart Brand or Ed Bass > > – [[Half-Earth Socialism]] > "The more I reflect on these facts, the more I perceive that the evolutionary approach to adaptation in social systems simply will not work any more. . . . It has therefore become clear to me over the years that I am advocating revolution" > > – Stafford Beer quoted in [[Cybernetic Revolutionaries]]