Can Social Dialogue Be a Social Coordination Mechanism? Social Dialogue Policies in Chile between 1990 and 2010

This article explores social dialogue (SD) as it relates to systems theory. A brief historical overview of Chilean SD policies between 1990 and 2010 precedes analysis of employer and union leader discourse on the topic of SD. We suggest that although SD condenses positive projections, and consequently is valued by the parties involved in labor relations, concrete instances have encountered obstacles related to legitimization and institutionalization of SD. We propose that the primary factors diminishing the probability of communication are the semantics governing each party's perceptions, each party's hetero-references, and negative expectations of its counterpart. Nevertheless, SD could become an appropriate social coordination mechanism for an increasingly complex, democratic society.