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