Very interesting. The first part as you relate it reminds me of Joseph Tainter’s book “The Collapse of Complex Societies.” It’s a history book, and his basic point is that complex societies tend to respond to challenges by increasing complexity. Up to a certain point, that increased complexity also increases societal functioning, but at some point that starts to reverse, and increasing complexity decreases the society’s ability to deal with out of context problems, until it is better for individual units of that society to separate rather than maintain the complexities of the greater society. Really very fascinating (and worrying).
Very interesting. The first part as you relate it reminds me of Joseph Tainter’s book “The Collapse of Complex Societies.” It’s a history book, and his basic point is that complex societies tend to respond to challenges by increasing complexity. Up to a certain point, that increased complexity also increases societal functioning, but at some point that starts to reverse, and increasing complexity decreases the society’s ability to deal with out of context problems, until it is better for individual units of that society to separate rather than maintain the complexities of the greater society. Really very fascinating (and worrying).