Ecosystems and critical theories share the ideals of a person and society influencing each other as a dynamic. They also share ideas that change is beneficial to people requiring social work intervention and that contexts are powerful. Both ecosystems and criticism can reduce accountability as negative behavior can place expectations on a family instead of an individual within ecosystems, or with criticism the behavior can only be blamed on society as a scapegoat. Ecosystems and critical theories are now beginning to conflict and differentiate from each other. Because the critical gaze looks at changing structures and perceptions, while ecosystems focus on relationships. Ecosystems do not seek cause or blame, unlike criticism which can and does. Ecosystems have little internal conflict while criticism does, as it seeks to balance social justice and social freedom; since someone's social justice can impact someone else's social freedom and vice versa. Ecosystems can be mechanical and rigid while critical ecosystems are flexible and fluid. Ecosystems work with the idea that everyone affects everyone equally and power is distributed equally, unlike the critical situation where power is distributed unevenly making others more influential and imposing on others. Ecosystems and critical theories can complement each other