[2][3][4][5][6] "System of Survival" was produced by Maurice White and Preston Glass and composed by an unknown songwriter called Skylark.

[7] Andrew Panos of Number One gave the song a four out of five star rating saying "The layoff has seen the EWF lads gain a bit of a social conscience as they sing here of the sufferings of the world and what a depressing place it is.

[9] Richard Lowe of Smash Hits wrote "now they've back with a thumping great funk thing called System of Survival which is all about how terrible a place the world is and all that and how strutting one's 'stuff' is quite a good way of enjoying yourself despite it all.

"[10] Chris Heim of the Chicago Tribune found that "the ebullient celebration of everyone as a Shining Star has given way to the grimmer task of constructing a System of Survival".

"[13] Harry Sumrall of the San Jose Mercury-News exclaimed "System of Survival is a scathing political/social commentary in the context of boiling rhythms and lithe vocal acrobatics.