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Erik W. Aslaksen The Evolution of Society An Information-Processing Perspective The Evolution of Society Erik W. Aslaksen The Evolution of Society An Information-Processing Perspective Erik W. Aslaksen Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia ISBN 978-3-031-23053-0 ISBN 978-3-031-23054-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23054-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. 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This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Acknowledgements I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I live—the Gayamaygal people of the Eora nation—and pay my respect to their elders past and present. The many valuable comments and corrections to the draft manuscript provided by Dr. Herma Buttner FRSN are greatly appreciated, as are the discussions with Dr. Donald Hector FRSN regarding the issues raised in Chap. 13. It is also a pleasure to acknowledge the excellent support of the Springer editorial and production staff and, as always, the unreserved support of my wife, Elfi, which made it all possible. v Symbols α Identity partition β Level of stress γ Strength of the identity ϑ The set of assertions inΘ Θ Identity (a subset of memory) K Commonality μ Information flow ν Strength of an assertion σ Predicate in an assertion Q The union of individual ϑs r Restraint S Subject in an assertion sσ An assertion with subject S and predicate σ s(ν) Number of assertions with ν arguments u Mental processing capacity w Number of information items inΘ X(Sσ) Set of all arguments inΘassociated with the assertion Sσ z Number of assertions inΘ vii Contents 1 Introduction .................................................. 1 1.1 Motivation and Background ................................ 1 1.2 The Current Situation ..................................... 3 1.3 The Approach to Describing Society and Its Evolution ......... 6 1.3.1 Society .......................................... 6 1.3.2 Society as a System ............................... 7 1.3.3 Information, Action, and Will ...................... 11 1.3.4 Evolution of Society .............................. 12 1.4 Location Within the Body of Knowledge .................... 14 1.5 Overview of the Book ..................................... 16 1.5.1 Structure ........................................ 16 1.5.2 The Chapters ..................................... 17 2 Evolution ..................................................... 19 2.1 A General Process ........................................ 19 2.2 Evolution of Organisms ................................... 22 2.3 Evolution of Society ...................................... 24 2.3.1 It Is not a Random Process ......................... 24 2.3.2 Survival ......................................... 26 2.3.3 The Time Factor .................................. 27 2.3.4 The Importance of Information Exchange ............ 30 2.3.5 Measures of Evolution ............................. 33 3 The Two Views ................................................ 37 3.1 Choice of Views ......................................... 37 3.2 Structure of the Two Views ................................ 38 3.3 The Information View ..................................... 41 3.3.1 The Main Components ............................ 41 3.3.2 Identity .......................................... 48 3.3.3 Identity Items .................................... 52 3.4 The Action View—The Physical Domain .................... 56 3.4.1 The Two Cycles .................................. 56 ix x Contents 3.4.2 Types of Activities ................................ 59 3.4.3 Technology ...................................... 61 4 Model of the Individual ........................................ 65 4.1 Model Development ...................................... 65 4.1.1 First Level ....................................... 65 4.1.2 Second Level ..................................... 66 4.1.3 Third Level ...................................... 67 4.1.4 Fourth Level ..................................... 69 4.2 Process Parameters ....................................... 70 4.3 Model Dynamics ......................................... 73 5 The Interaction ............................................... 79 5.1 Types of Interaction ...................................... 79 5.2 Binary Interactions ....................................... 80 5.2.1 The Basic Model ................................. 80 5.2.2 Binary Interaction Strength and the Social Bond ....... 85 5.2.3 Persuasion ....................................... 91 5.2.4 Some Additional Results ........................... 96 5.3 The Individual’s Interaction with Society .................... 99 5.3.1 Definition of the Interaction ........................ 99 5.3.2 Some General Features of the Interaction ............. 101 5.3.3 The Information View ............................. 106 5.3.4 Dynamics of the Interaction ........................ 107 5.3.5 The Public Discourse .............................. 112 5.4 Interaction and Structure .................................. 113 5.4.1 Interaction Leads to Structure ...................... 113 5.4.2 Structure Determined by Interaction-Induced Stress ........................................... 115 6 Operating Conditions of the Collective Intelligence ............... 121 6.1 Some Basic Considerations ................................ 121 6.2 Operating Conditions of the Collective Intelligence ........... 122 6.3 A Composite Measure of the Good Society .................. 123 6.3.1 The Good Society ................................. 123 6.3.2 Definition of the Measure .......................... 126 6.3.3 Economic Inequality .............................. 131 6.4 Income Inequality ........................................ 133 6.4.1 A First Model .................................... 133 6.4.2 A Second Model .................................. 135 6.4.3 A Third Model ................................... 139 6.4.4 World Level ...................................... 140 6.4.5 A Comment ...................................... 142 6.5 Wealth Inequality ........................................ 142 6.6 Freedom ................................................ 147 6.6.1 Freedom in the Context of This Book ................ 147 Contents xi 6.6.2 Freedom in the Context of Society .................. 148 6.6.3 Freedom of Expression ............................ 153 6.6.4 A Concluding Remark ............................. 153 7 Adaptive Action ............................................... 155 7.1 The Concept ............................................. 155 7.1.1 The Individual Level .............................. 156 7.1.2 The Society Level ................................ 159 7.2 Freedom and Will ........................................ 160 7.2.1 Freedom of Action ................................ 160 7.2.2 Will ............................................. 161 7.3 The Political Framework .................................. 162 7.3.1 The Political Process .............................. 162 7.3.2 The Political Party ................................ 165 7.4 A Final Note ............................................ 168 8 Technology ................................................... 171 8.1 What is “Technology”? .................................... 171 8.1.1 The Meaning of “Technology” ...................... 171 8.1.2 Understanding Technology ......................... 173 8.1.3 The Influence of Technology ....................... 174 8.2 The Role of Engineering .................................. 175 8.2.1 A Short History of Engineering ..................... 175 8.2.2 The Process of Engineering ........................ 184 8.2.3 Applications of Technology and Our Model .......... 187 8.2.4 The Industry/Business Framework .................. 187 8.3 Technology and Our View of the World ...................... 191 8.4 Information Technology ................................... 196 8.4.1 Background ...................................... 196 8.4.2 The Interaction Channel ........................... 197 8.4.3 Manipulating Information .......................... 200 8.4.4 IT in Numbers .................................... 202 9 The Role of Education ......................................... 207 9.1 A Brief Review .......................................... 207 9.1.1 A Simple Taxonomy of Education ................... 207 9.1.2 The Interaction Between Education and Society ....... 210 9.1.3 The Concept of Bildung ........................... 211 9.2 Education as a Process .................................... 214 9.2.1 Lifecycle of the Individual ......................... 214 9.2.2 Inter-and Intra-Generational Information Transfer ..... 216 9.3 Education and the Model of Society ......................... 217 9.4 Education and Technology ................................. 220 9.5 Education and Economics ................................. 223 9.6 The Challenge for Education ............................... 224 xii Contents 10 Measures of Evolution ......................................... 229 10.1 Some Basic Concepts ..................................... 229 10.1.1 The Essence of Society ............................ 229 10.1.2 Common Infrastructure ............................ 232 10.1.3 Types of Measures, and Social Integration ............ 233 10.1.4 Structural Complexity ............................. 237 10.1.5 Social Complexity ................................ 240 10.2 Economic Measures ...................................... 242 10.2.1 Approach ........................................ 242 10.2.2 Macroeconomic Model ............................ 243 10.2.3 Level of Economic Integration ...................... 245 10.2.4 Education ....................................... 254 10.2.5 Art and Culture ................................... 264 10.2.6 Significance of the Economic Measures .............. 266 10.3 Other Measures .......................................... 267 10.3.1 Taking a Step Back ............................... 267 10.3.2 Work and the Individual ........................... 268 11 Tension and Instability ........................................ 271 11.1 Introduction to This Chapter ............................... 271 11.2 Structure ................................................ 273 11.2.1 Structures in Society .............................. 273 11.2.2 Structure in the Information Domain ................. 275 11.2.3 Structure in the Physical Domain .................... 279 11.3 Acceptance, Compromise, and Consensus ................... 290 11.4 Ideology ................................................ 292 11.5 Power, Tension, and Stability .............................. 300 11.5.1 Types of Power ................................... 300 11.5.2 Influencing Society’s Belief System ................. 302 11.5.3 Tension ......................................... 305 11.5.4 Stability ......................................... 307 12 Modifying the Nation .......................................... 313 12.1 Utopia and Reality ....................................... 313 12.2 Politics and People Power ................................. 314 12.2.1 Liberal Democracy ................................ 314 12.2.2 Role and Purpose of Political Parties ................. 315 12.2.3 A Proposal ....................................... 318 12.2.4 One-Party System ................................. 321 12.3 A New Economic Paradigm ................................ 323 12.3.1 The Need for Change .............................. 323 12.3.2 The Current Paradigm: Neoliberalism ................ 324 12.3.3 The Road to a New Paradigm ....................... 328 12.3.4 Arguments for the New Paradigm ................... 331