Amazon
Category:
Political Science
Publisher: LULU
ISBN-10: 1300276592
Pages: 222
Copyright: Jan 1, 2007
ISBN-13: 9781300276593
Price: FREE! (eBook)
An overview of the primary systems of modern society and how they have developed.
Modern society rests upon three distinct foundation systems, or pillars that came into existence over many thousands of years; food, energy, and water. The stability of each of these pillars is critical to the survival of human societies. Throughout we will look at each of these pillars/foundation systems from their origins to their status in today's world. This historical overview will provide insight into how societies evolved because of these pillars, but more importantly how they remain stable, a critical requirement for long-term survival. The way these systems have evolved is often viewed differently depending upon your perspective. The biological sciences look to genetic material, and physical development, as just some of the criteria in evaluating such systems. Economist on the other hand, are more concerned with a systems approach, as they evaluate how systems interact for survival and longevity. As an engineer, I will try to walk a middle ground between these disciplines, and view them as a systems engineer.
Excerpt
The systems we have reviewed throughout this text are the three primary systems that govern our society. These three systems provide us with the stability, the complexity, and diversity we need, and have needed to move away from such systems as the Malthus trap and to a stable future. With the first system that we examined, that of food, we saw how mankind began its movement away the from natural diversity to create a system which would serve the needs of ever growing populations in ever more complex settings known as urban centers. Although we have moved through a period of selective exclusion, in limiting the types and numbers of plants and animals that we depend upon for food, we have added a great degree of complexity and diversity through the use of technology. The green revolution which came into existence in the 1960s made it possible for us to create a wide variety of genetically engineered materials for use as food sources. We see the same process with a second system which is energy as we moved into the industrial revolution. Although we begin to limit the number of energy sources, we became much more diverse and complex in the use of those systems of energy that we employed. Finally, with water we see the primal commodity of this planet being used it ever more complex ways to serve the needs of society. For all of the systems we begin to see two fundamental rules that apply to these very complex and sophisticated systems. These rules will always be in place and will continue to govern for these systems into the foreseeable future.
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