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From: pltodms2/10/2010 10:17:56 PM
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Social complexity and sustainability, Joseph A. Tainter

[I found this paper to be captivating. It was published in 2006 and may have been discussed in SI. Let me know if so. The idea that increasing complexity feeds the need to solve more and more problems (or vice versa) at an ever decreasing rate of return, thus using energy inefficiently, is thought provoking. The example of how the Byzantine Empire gained a new lease of life as a result of decentralization leads me to think that the Internet may be one of the key facilitators to bring about the same in our complex modern society.]

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a b s t r a c t: Social complexity and sustainability emerge from successful problem solving, rather than directly from environmental conditions. Social complexity develops from problem solving at all scales from local to national and international. Complexity in problem solving is an economic function, and can both support and hinder sustainability. Sustainability outcomes may take decades or centuries to develop. Historical studies reveal three outcomes to longterm change in problem-solving institutions: collapse, resiliency through simplification, or continuity based on growing complexity and increasing energy subsidies. The slow development of complexity in problem solving makes its effects difficult to perceive, especially over short time periods. Long-term social sustainability depends on understanding and controlling complexity. New strategies to mitigate or control complexity are offered.
# 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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