Scaling the depths: Symptoms of social erosion
It may be that some who read the title are expecting a treatise on the excellent West, Brown, and Enquist's allometric scaling theory, but they would be wrong, writes Matt Minshall
It may be that some who read the title are expecting a treatise on the excellent West, Brown, and Enquist's allometric scaling theory, but they would be wrong.
This is about the global crisis of attitudes that prevents the progress of civilisation. The word scaling refers initially to the harmful build-up of deposits on the insides of kettles, known as scale, which hinders their performance as well as shortens their overall life. The 'scaling' concept may be applied to the inward-looking short-term focus of individuals and group activity, but especially and most disturbingly by those in power, which contributes significantly to the stifling of the progress of civilisation.
The vision of science stretches to eternity, with nature hard on its heels. A true human visionary may see several hundred years into the future. A statesperson may look up to a century ahead, and a diplomat perhaps half that. Infrastructure planners must see at least into the following two or three decades, and serious businesses may strive for the same. But the problem lies with contemporary politicians whose sight reaches only to tomorrow’s headlines and the fervent hope they are not negative. With leadership vision, the individual will also look ahead; without it, the vision is equally short, and the limescale of general inefficiency prevails.
To apply the concept of scaling to the problem, the word may be used as a mnemonic as follows: S is for short-termism; C illustrates communication; A is for apathy; L covers leadership; I talks about ignorance; N gives a thought to negativity; and G is the greed that deprives. This may be expanded, as now shown.
S - Short-termism is the most restricting facet, particularly with politicians and leadership matters. In 2019, public philosopher Roman Krznaric said: “When politicians fail to look beyond the next election – or even the latest tweet – they are neglecting the rights of future generations..." which illustrates the political failings of a short-term approach. The outcome is that every element of governing is treated as a new crisis and becomes a repetitive waste of time and resources, which prevents long-term effectiveness and encourages ignorance.
C - Communication is the foundation of progress, from parents teaching critical life skills to leaders imparting messages of unity, strength, and progress. But without the critical factors of accuracy and truth, it is miscommunication at best and socially destructive indoctrination at worst, but nothing new. Leaders have ever sought to control populations through directed messages for both good and bad, which was much easier when illiteracy was common. When information was widely available through education and evolutionary media platforms, from the printing press to the smartphone, the management of information had to change. While much of civilisation sought to deliver and receive truth, it was easily evasive through the desire to manipulate and the human trait of choosing what to believe. In 1895, Gustave le Bon wrote: “The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim," and there is evidence that this idea endures, making the role of the seekers of truth complicated.
A - Apathy is a debilitating factor for progress, both socially and politically. The distance between the rich and the less well-off is growing. Many people genuinely work hard for their families and the common good but receive scant reward for the need to work harder. Socially unrequited rage quickly turns into apathy, and the work ethic deteriorates when people see leaders in business and government profiting excessively from occasionally morally dubious activities.
L - Leadership is the key to the normal functioning of all species, from insects to leviathans. Like most animals, humans are largely followers and seek firm and credible direction and examples. Without it, there is confusion and uncertainty, which leads to disruption and dysfunctionality. With many tired democracies, this is epitomised in the blurring of the concepts of leader and manager. Leadership is about vision, ideas, initiatives, drive, enthusiasm, and, most of all, the courage to make decisions and to attract others to follow. Management is the function of putting the leadership vision into action. Most of the electorate seeks strong and clear leadership for everything from national strategy to driving regulations. Where there is a deficiency, a vacuum develops that the horror of extremism can fill quickly, though it rarely does so under strong democratic leadership. The concept of leadership is essentially straightforward: when someone says, “Come on,” rather than “Go on,” people are more likely to follow them.
I - Ignorance in society occurs when people are allowed to learn what they want and not what they need. Leaders are ignorant when they have not learned from the past to prepare for a better future. This results in treating recurring and apparent events as a surprise, which is the Black Elephant and Black Swan debacle. Black Elephant events are those that are extremely likely and predicted by experts but ignored, while a Black Swan event is a high-impact surprise. The blinkered political syndrome of treating Black Elephants as Black Swans is prevalent and adds significantly to the likelihood of repetitious failure.
N is the relentless negativity or cynicism that might suggest an absence of values or beliefs but is often the shoulder-shrug reaction to the immovable prevalence of dogma. An example is the global voting turnout, which is around 70 per cent. In most democratic countries, the political battle is between two principal parties with generally predictable manifestos, and around thirty per cent of those who vote do so automatically for one or the other. This leaves a scant ten per cent to decide which of the two ideologies takes power. A growing number of voters faced with this choice see no point in voting, meaning that the democratic mandate for governing is increasingly weak.
G – Greed is the cancer that most stifles harmony and progress. Excesses of expensive possessions and mountains of food wasted by the greedy do not aid harmony and progress. Closely allied to this is the stifling social transformation of focus from the group needs to the individual for personal gain through egotism. Humanity exists on the idea of group interests: nurturing, supporting, and selflessness. But increasingly, the self-entitled rights of the individual overcome collective needs. Such egotism is individual greed and leads to division and a fragmented society.
The solution for the kettle is descaling and the prevention of future scaling. To harness the term for humanity in this analogy, we must add the letters D and E to the concept. D will stand for enhanced democracy, in which a properly informed electorate is able to choose real leaders whose vocation is for the common good and not self- or party interests. E is education whereby people are taught what they need and not simply what they want and learn how to enjoy the flimflam of celebrities and other frivolous sensations while focusing their actual opinions on non-virtual reality.
This may sound utopian, but it is a better goal for humanity than the blind acceptance of the descent into dystopia.