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Thoughts on social structure and its history

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Joined: 07-Oct-2010
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    Posted: 07-Oct-2010 at 02:09

some philosophy abstractions on global history data and prospect for future

critics of course wellcomed

It is a widespread belief that the disaster is massive reduction in population size. However, no less pernicious, though not so obvious are the consequences of its excessive growth. In this regard, it must be said that under the overcrowding means the disproportion between the possibilities of environmental protection and the needs of humanity. The criteria are the presence-absence of the required number of drinking water, agricultural land, energy stocks, stocks of natural resources, favorable climatic conditions and so forth. While the social dimension is somewhat shaded, it is much more difficult to analyze. You can not get sober assessment based on simple calculations of available resources and their ability to ensure that some of the population. The presence of environmental opportunities of population growth does not mean the actual feasibility of this process. The optimum population is not maximal in size, a deeper analysis of social space is required, which can significantly alter the geographical logic.

For example, the territory of Russia itself is able to feed the population, many times exceeding the population of contemporary Russia, but due to several social causes such population growth does not happen. The development of unoccupied areas would require a very high fertility rate, or its substitute by migration flows, as a consequence – low education, primitive farming and, ultimately, lower economic efficiency and the inconvenience of the process.

Thus, in modern conditions analysis of social space is more important than that of the geographical space, and violation of social organization in its consequences is equivalent to an ecological disaster. There is need to develop the concept of social overcrowding, as, despite the capabilities of ecosystems in its social dimension Society could be overcrowded, its population is in disproportion with the quality manufactured material and intellectual products, which at all times has been the criteria for society resistance to external threats and internal problems, could be a threat itself.

Conditionally highlighting key social subsystems that are universal for any society, one can name the following: management system, the army, science and technology, infrastructure.

These subsystems, one way or another, exist in any society, but may not coincide with the boundaries of social groups. The role of the administrative staff is to coordinate the remaining parts, the confrontation outside and resolving internal problems. Army's aim is protection from external influences and finally, from all non-systematic effects (in this sense it is more than the usual definition, but the structure of the armed forces, intelligence, emergency departments and police are organically linked). Science and technology are responsible for the accumulation of knowledge and their further practical application. At the same time, the infrastructure provides the necessary conditions for the activities of other subsystems. The survival of community is possible in the optimal organization of all four subsystems. In terms of inhibition of development of science defensive army capability, management efficiency and quality of infrastructure, are reduced which in turn leads to further weakening of the entire system. The same happens in any other case.

The modern problem of mankind lies in the extraordinary inflation of Infrastructure (Economics), despite the fact that its role in the system should not be greater than that of any other component. Infrastructure is essentially aimed at simple reproduction, and if it is hypertrophic, then it blocks the effective engagement of the other subsystems, leading to a dangerous imbalance.

A question is legitimate as to whether it actually is an infrastructure of infrastructure, when the mass consumption becomes self-perpetuating, subordinating the activities of the other three subsystems, which finds its expression in the corporation a lobby instead of necessary coordination, the use of the army in order to expand the market rather than defense, the use of scientific advances for optimizing the manufacturing process with the damage to its fundamental development.

This process began long ago: its roots can be found even in the Neolithic revolution, when it became possible to feed more people with less effort. The question of whether population growth is expedient, then, of course, was not raised, and there was no population policy, although the frequent and devastating wars and epidemics played some regulatory role. Tendency for extensive growth: expansion of acreage and the number of people was too strong as compared to intensive development: the accumulation of knowledge and further technological innovations, and therefore the upgrade had to fight its way through centuries of stagnation, typically in the areas which were poor and therefore tended to seek new solutions . Any strategic thought was out of the question, as it is now, there was no awareness of the long-term impact of demographic recovery that was happening, there was also no realization alternative innovative ways of development, and therefore logic of a simple summation of the number of soldiers and land, as an indicator of strength worked. Process had the nature of chain reaction: high population gave the tactical benefits to a society that made the neighbors refer to the same model, making it impossible to implement wherever the strategic policy, not because of  the intellectual underdevelopment at that days, but because of the contradictions between tactics and strategy, the late returns from the last. The growth of world and regional populations in general retrospective tends to be proportional to territory and synchronous.

The greatest expression of these demographic trends is found in the modern and contemporary time: thanks to the industrial revolution, continued so far, a manifold increase in population became possible. Again, despite this opportunity the question of expediency is open. Cheaper food and living conditions, coupled with a decrease in mortality due to advances in medicine have encouraged population growth. The interests of the producer were to increase market and maximize profits, which, in turn, makes the demographic growth beneficial for them. Over time, focus on the mass consumption is becoming more pronounced. Keynesian reforms represented a clear example that reflects this trend. Upon closer examination, they have their roots in the nineteenth century (for example: social and economic concessions to the workers, after the suppression of the Chartist movement in Great Britain), and their legacy largely determines the dynamics of the modern world economy. Their essence was the artificial resuscitation of demand by a State, by way of wealth redistribution, but, strange as it may sound, not at the expense of large manufacturers and their enterprises, but by their conservation, since there were only two possible scenarios: either the restriction of mass consumption, or its further pumping. Strategically (for the State) it would better be waived, but this would result in impairment of the quality of life, conservation of mass unemployment, severe social instability, loss of manufacturers` profits and ultimately pervasive bankruptcy, which they could not afford, and therefore preferred to provide social concessions, profitable for the corporations in the long term. For society it turned out to be conservation and the accumulation of problems, which only now begun to crop up. Lack of awareness of long-term consequences of decisions makes the situation difficult to resolve in the future.

We must recognize the existing economic system of so-called “developed” countries very fragile with the growth of new centers, first of all: India and China, as well as the development of new technologies. In essence, innovation economy can not coexist with mass consumption, since it implies the flexibility of the whole system, which is impossible in the presence of inert large producers, as well as mass education system, not conducive to the development of creative thinking. The problem of social overcrowding, dangerously deformed western society of modern and contemporary times, unfortunately, had a marked tendency to the growth during this period of time.

 

Up until the countries of non-Western civilization did not participate in the process of modernization, the problem was not critical. Now, it becomes increasingly important with the growth of global competition. The main problem here is that the possibility of mass consumption and production in China and India (separately) are several times higher than similar facilities of the West (in aggregate), which makes Asian products more competitive due to its cheapness. In addition, it allows to concentrate the vast capitals, part of which goes for research in order to optimize the process, and if in general this model is not very effective, in China and India is much better off than in Western countries, namely at the expense of its main component - population, with ever-increasing consumption.

Thus, “developed” economies will be forced, by refusing to cheap imports and next to mass consumption as such for the benefit of the innovation economy, despite the attendant social costs. This starts a chain reaction of innovation development all over the world, resulting in almost total unemployment and the collapse of the economies of mass consumption. This will make the congestion (the economic equivalent - unemployment), one of the main problems with which they will have to fight. The transition may be balanced only with the formation of strategies for action now.

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