| David Attenborough, the famous naturalist and | | | | evolutionary journey is in direct function of |
| paleontologist, has stated that "The | | | | the increased use of available energy. The |
| history of human civilizations - including | | | | degree of civilization of any people, or |
| their rise and fall - can't be properly | | | | group of people, is measured in fact by the |
| understood unless we appreciate the | | | | ability to utilize energy for human |
| importance of ‘power | | | | advancement. More specifically, whether a |
| subsidies'".In the evolution of | | | | culture is low or high on the scale of human |
| societies and cultures, energy has played | | | | progress is directly correlated to the amount |
| invariably a pivotal role, beginning with the | | | | of energy produced and consumed per capita. A |
| energy that we, as living humans, must store | | | | fact this, substantiated by econometrics |
| in our own bodies to survive. Because of | | | | studies. In fact, going back to David |
| this, the destiny of our ancestors in the | | | | Attenborough, "the very function of |
| Homo lineage was that of wandering the plains | | | | culture is to gather and control energy so |
| of Africa in search of food that could be | | | | that it may be used for man's wants and |
| assimilated and stored as reserve energy. | | | | needs".Human beings throughout the world |
| Which was, by the way, the destiny of all | | | | and in any epoch have accomplished the |
| other members of the Animal Kingdom - except | | | | development of their societies by inventing |
| that Homo excelled at it. By acting | | | | tools to capture and transform energy to |
| collectively and cooperatively with the | | | | manage the creation and maintenance of social |
| environment, Homo (by now become sapiens) was | | | | institutions. So therefore, what we call |
| able to increase the critical mass of the | | | | ‘progress' is merely the use of tools |
| brain and to use the added intelligence to | | | | in combination to capture, store and use more |
| secure what he needed to sustain small | | | | and more energy and, by so doing, to extend |
| communities - the embryo of | | | | our power and increase our wellbeing. All of |
| civilization.Later on, as the quest for | | | | which brings us to the present time.Energy is |
| improved life progressed, Homo sapiens | | | | so essential in today's technologically |
| continued to hone his above-average | | | | advanced world, that no one can envision a |
| intellectual capabilities to make the | | | | society without it. So much so, in fact, that |
| transition between nomadic life to that of | | | | no one and nothing can function without |
| more stable nuclei, which based their | | | | energy either. Going through a blackout, even |
| sustenance on agriculture. By domesticating | | | | of modest proportions, underscores this |
| animals and plants, furthermore, Homo sapiens | | | | point. Classical capitalist theory embeds the |
| secured a continuous and reliable supply and | | | | concept that the creation and transformation |
| surplus of readily available energy and, by | | | | of energy is vital to the proper functioning |
| so doing, further increased the quantity of | | | | of the capitalistic system. David Ricardo |
| energy that could flow through his | | | | (1772-1823), the English economist, in his |
| communities - and his body. Plant | | | | work entitled Principles Of Political Economy |
| cultivation, moreover, aided by irrigation | | | | And Taxation examines not only the importance |
| systems, greatly increased the yield per unit | | | | of energy within the (new at that time) |
| of human energy - labor. Agricultural | | | | concept of free trade in Capitalism, but also |
| surpluses, later on, freed people from | | | | sheds light on the reason - the sole reason, |
| attending the land on a daily basis. Thus | | | | in fact - as to why civilizations ultimately |
| various Homo sapiens could differentiate | | | | collapse and disappear.Collapse sets in when |
| tasks and this differentiation spawned new, | | | | a mature civilization reaches the point at |
| more complex institutional and hierarchical | | | | which it is forced to spend more and more of |
| arrangements within their primitive | | | | its energy reserves merely to maintain its |
| societies.As a direct and proximate result of | | | | complex social arrangements, while |
| all this, Homo sapiens abandoned pre-history | | | | experiencing diminishing returns in the |
| and walked triumphantly into history, and | | | | energy enjoyed per capita. In the early |
| this very passage helped to facilitate an | | | | stages of civilization, the creation of |
| even greater energy flow-through. It was | | | | infrastructures such as roads, irrigation |
| 10,000 years ago.From the onset, the | | | | systems and conquest of new lands and |
| relationship between energy and cultural | | | | territories are determinant to a net increase |
| development has been very strong. The tie and | | | | of energy returns over energy expenditures. |
| junction point between energy and culture is | | | | In the late stages, states spend most of the |
| also the thread behind the concepts of | | | | energy just to maintain existing |
| ‘allocation of scarce resources' in | | | | infrastructures, as well as to sustain the |
| Neoclassical Economics. Lionel Charles | | | | ever-expensive lifestyles of political elites |
| Robbins (1898-1984) defined ‘resource | | | | or other "non-productive members of |
| scarcity' as the difference between what | | | | society".Furthermore, a large population |
| people desire and the demand for goods. Thus | | | | whose number grew during times of economic |
| a good is said to be scarce if, at any given | | | | expansion suddenly enjoys less energy per |
| price level (including price level zero - | | | | capita, even as people are working harder and |
| i.e. for free), people would consume more of | | | | longer. At the same time, states impose more |
| it than the available supply. But the impact | | | | and more taxes on people to make ends meet, |
| on demand - and thus the desire for a certain | | | | thus hastening the downwards spiral. Often |
| type of good, continued Robbins, has its | | | | times, at the very end of the civilization |
| roots in the culture of any given society, | | | | cycle, in a final effort to protect |
| whereas the availability of that given type | | | | themselves from the anger of the population, |
| of good is in direct function of its cost, | | | | states order whatever energy is left in the |
| that is of the total combination of raw | | | | form of surplus food, money, outputs and |
| materials, labor and energy involved in its | | | | economic resources to be allocated first for |
| production.No better example of this can be | | | | use and equipment of the military, thus |
| found in the variety of foods and cuisines | | | | further angering the public. The population |
| all over the world. Foods that are consumed | | | | begins to disaggregate and fend for itself, |
| in North America, like hamburgers for | | | | setting off the process of disintegration. |
| example, are certainly not as nearly | | | | Unless a new source of energy is found, |
| appreciated in India, where cows are sacred | | | | either by discovery or conquest, collapse is |
| and untouchable. Likewise the production of | | | | all but inevitable.Naturally, if anyone reads |
| ham and other cured pork meats for which | | | | in the conclusions brought forth by David |
| Italy is worldwide famous is absolute | | | | Ricardo some two-hundred years ago an ominous |
| anathema in Israel and the Muslim world for | | | | parallelism with what is happening in our |
| religious reasons.Robbins stated that there | | | | societies today, and with the plight for oil, |
| are three critical factors in assessing the | | | | gas and the control natural resources in the |
| ‘progress' of any culture: first, | | | | political arenas of the world, any such |
| "the amount of energy harnessed per | | | | similarity must be nothing but purely |
| capita per year". Second, "the | | | | coincidental ...Luigi FrascatiLuigi Frascati |
| efficiency of the technological means with | | | | is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, |
| which energy is harnessed and put to | | | | British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree |
| work". And finally "the magnitude | | | | in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled |
| of human need-serving goods and services | | | | the Real Estate Chronicle at where you can |
| produced". By combining these three | | | | find the full collection of his articles on |
| factors together, societies evolved as the | | | | Real Estate Economics and Finance. Luigi is |
| amount of energy harnessed per capita per | | | | associated with the Sutton Group, the largest |
| year increased or, alternatively, as the | | | | real estate organization in Canada, and is |
| efficiency of the technological means of | | | | based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, |
| putting the energy to work increased. Either | | | | BC.Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles |
| way, energy is both the catalyst and the | | | | Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the |
| ruling factor in the development of cultural | | | | footer of this Article is very much |
| systems.The human experience as an | | | | appreciated. Thank you. |