The Problem of Growth

[The2ndWheel]

http://www.jeffvail.net/2008/02/hierarchy-must-grow-and-is-therefore.html

Why must hierarchy continually grow and intensify? Within the context of hierarchy in human civilization, there seem to be three separate categories of forces that force growth. I will address them in the order (roughly) that they arose in the development of human civilization:

Human Psychology Drives Growth

The Structure of Human Society Selects for Growth

The Development of Modern Economics & Finance Requires Growth

http://www.jeffvail.net/2008/02/hierarchy-is-result-of-dependency.html

The first installment in this series identified the reason why hierarchal human structures must grow: surplus production equals power, and entities across all scales must compete for this power—must grow—or they will be pushed aside by those who do. But why can’t human settlements simply exist as stable, sustainable entities? Why can’t a single family or a community simply decide to opt out of this system? The answer: because they are dependent on others to meet their basic needs, and must participate in the broader, hierarchal system in order to fulfill these needs. Dependency, then, is the lifeblood of hierarchy and growth.