Democracy and evolution

Posted by Marcus G. Daniels-3 on Dec 17, 2006; 1:06am
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Democracy-and-evolution-tp523130p523160.html

Phil Henshaw wrote:
> Growth taken to it's absolute limit always leads to an absolutely impenetrable wall of
> complexity, at which point turbulence or it's equivalents interrupt the
> whole process.   I don't think we want to do that.
>  
To control a system a regulator must be able to absorb and respond to at
least as much information as the regulated entity can produce.   To
reduce forms of company-internal entropy, large companies tend to
spin-off successful and unsuccessful business units.   To reduce forms
of external entropy, we also see big companies buy smaller companies
simply to nip potential competition in the bud.  The need for control is
built-in and forces companies away from overly-complicated decision
making.   The need for control by government is also present, and one
form it takes are antitrust laws.

Given these forces, there is a push away from the absolute limit.  And
provided there is room for the participants and the raw materials that
makes them go, it's not clear to me why this kind of system couldn't
expand, and indefinitely.   It is a `small' matter of technology.  By
genetically engineering more energy efficient food or people, spreading
to other planets, etc. the problems of sustainability could be addressed.