DOCSLIB.ORG

The Collapse of Complex Societies Free Download

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Collapse of Complex Societies Free Download THE COLLAPSE OF COMPLEX SOCIETIES FREE DOWNLOAD Joseph A. Tainter,Lord Colin Renfrew,Wendy Ashmore,Clive Gamble,John O'Shea | 262 pages | 04 May 2011 | CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS | 9780521386739 | English | Cambridge, United Kingdom Joseph Tainter We invent an improvement and then gobble up it's benefit instead of banking it away against lean times. He provides a thorough overview of the many explanations offered by historians to explain the many frequent occurrences of societal collapse throughout history. About Joseph A. Here's a link to some comparison between this book and Diamond's Collapse. It is often assumed that the collapse of the western Roman Empire was a catastrophe for everyone involved. Tainter begins by categorizing and examining the often inconsistent explanations that have been offered The Collapse of Complex Societies collapse in the literature. Introduction to collapse. Li Liu. Oct 04, J. Sort order. At worst, it seems to suggest that complex societies that collapse must be isolated, or else that all their neighbours being less complex counts as such. Joseph Tainter. Tainter examines several major cultures that show a rise in complexity and expansion in territory followed by a collapse and decline. Hope he's wrong. Civilization is more the exception than the rule. Yet, it lives up to the title: aiming and broadly succeeding to argue the causes for collapse. May 11, S rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Hard-nosed humanists; social-economical historians. Professor Pickney documents the same process in the present day economy. This is a historical analysis, with applicability to our age that's noted only lightly along the way: it's not a political position paper, though it could be. Apr 16, Peter rated it liked it Shelves: essays-reports-social-sci. It is in this way a sort of counterpart to Earle and Johnson's The Evolution of Human Societies: From Foraging The Collapse of Complex Societies to Agrarian Statewhich advanced explanations for increases in social compexity and integration. It deserves to be widely read. Show less Show more Advertising ON OFF We use cookies to serve you certain types of adsincluding ads relevant to your interests on Book Depository and to work with approved third parties in the process of delivering ad content, including ads relevant to your interests, to measure the effectiveness of their ads, and to perform services on behalf of Book Depository. This volume, published inaddresses trends explaining the collapse of civilizations in history, as well as the chances of our present global civilization collapsing. Rating details. Lisa C. I'd say to give the early First off, this is more like a long academic paper than a book. Jul 22, Muhamed Halilovic The Collapse of Complex Societies it really liked it. This was a quite interesting book. The marginal product of increasing complexity with technological innovation or acquisition of The Collapse of Complex Societies energy subsidy. To me. Linked as we are by globalization, if any one nation collapses, they'll just be bailed out and subsumed by another. It is a very reasonable start and encouraging— refreshing even, to be able to sit back and disregard so many ridiculous reasons that complex things fall apart. Paperbackpages. However, this incisiveness may come at the expense of nuanced, cautious, and case-specific history: Tainter is very much set on finding a 'global theory,' which can explain the recurring phenomenon of collapse found in any given place. Tainter, who first ch. The Chacoan regional system A D A dry read, yes. May 17, Pacific Lee rated it it was ok. Surely there will someday be one road The Collapse of Complex Societies many, if not already! So, I wouldn't say this is for the layman. View all 4 comments. He rejects outlooks that can't be backed by empirical The Collapse of Complex Societies. The clincher comes at the final chapter when Tainter outlines the implications of his theory on our current industrial and global civilization. When a society confronts a "problem," such as a shortage of energy, or difficulty in gaining access to it, it tends to create new layers of bureaucracy, infrastructure, or social class to address the challenge. The civilization plateau's and the structure established to help it The Collapse of Complex Societies becomes a part of society. That doesn't sound right. Causal The Collapse of Complex Societies that judge the underlying "character" or "vitality" of a civilization are dismissed out of hand as baseless moralizing. However, as the Empire The Collapse of Complex Societies, the cost of maintaining communications, garrisons, civil government, etc. We're featuring millions of their reader ratings on our book pages to help you find your new favourite book. James Whitley. Tainter does a good job with his argument, which I admit even I though I disagree with it in part. We have to keep investing in complexity even beyond declining returns just to maintain the status quo and not fall behind in economic or military stature, the alternative being demise and subjugation by others. If you think we might be on our way to becoming a case study of collapse, read this work now. If you think we might be on o Dazzlingly brilliant, readable, profoundly insightful, this is a must-read for anyone thinking about what societal collapse means and how it comes about. The impacts of inflation devaluation and the plague are self-evident, but Tainter has only mentioned regulations once in his analysis section. Intense, authoritarian efforts to maintain cohesion by Domitian and Constantine the Great only led to an ever greater strain on the population. Just in case society does collapse, I'll document the fall here, so at least at the end I can say "I told ya so! This is of course the situation we have today. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Resources and Cultural Complexity: Implications for Sustainability Joseph Tainter
    Utah State University From the SelectedWorks of Joseph A. Tainter 2011 Resources and Cultural Complexity: Implications for Sustainability Joseph Tainter Available at: https://works.bepress.com/joseph_tainter/ 271/ Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 30:24–34, 2011 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0735-2689 print / 1549-7836 online DOI: 10.1080/07352689.2011.553539 Resources and Cultural Complexity: Implications for Sustainability Joseph A. Tainter Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA Table of Contents I. RESOURCES AND CULTURAL COMPLEXITY ..............................................................................................24 II. CHALLENGING THE PROGRESSIVIST VIEW ...............................................................................................25 III. CASE STUDIES IN ENERGY AND COMPLEXITY ..........................................................................................27 A. Collapse of the Western Roman Empire ...........................................................................................................28 B. Collapse and Recovery of the Byzantine Empire ...............................................................................................29 IV. DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................................................30 V. CONCLUDING REMARKS ...............................................................................................................................33
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Collapse Guy D
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-15149-9 — Understanding Collapse Guy D. Middleton Frontmatter More Information i Understanding Collapse Understanding Collapse explores the collapse of ancient civilisations, such as the Roman Empire, the Maya, and Easter Island. In this lively survey, Guy D. Middleton critically examines our ideas about collapse – how we explain it and how we have constructed potentially misleading myths around collapses – showing how and why collapse of societies was a much more complex phenomenon than is often admitted. Rather than positing a single explanatory model of collapse – economic, social, or environmental – Middleton gives full consideration to the overlooked resilience in communities of ancient peoples and the choices that they made. He offers a fresh interpretation of collapse that will be accessible to both students and scholars. • An engaging, introductory- level survey of collapse in the archaeology/ history literature. • Ideal for use in courses on the collapse of civilisations, sustainability, and climate change. • Includes up- to- date case studies of famous and less well-known exam- ples of collapses. • Illustrated with twenty-four black and white illustrations, fi ve line draw- ings, sixteen tables, and twenty-two maps. Guy D. Middleton studied Ancient History and Archaeology at Newcastle University, where he won the Shipley Prize. For his Ph.D. at Durham University, he studied the collapse of Mycenaean states around 1200 BC. His works on collapse include: ‘Nothing lasts forever: Environmental discourses on the collapse of past societies’ (Journal of Archaeological Research , 2012) and The Collapse of Palatial Society in Late Bronze Age Greece and the Postpalatial Period (2010).
    [Show full text]
  • 2014 Theodore Jonathan 0970
    This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as a Modern Cultural Myth Theodore, John Michael Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 02. Oct. 2021 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as a Modern Cultural Myth JONATHAN THEODORE King’s College London Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of London Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries School of Arts and Humanities September 2014 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It would be all too easy to spread the net of debt and gratitude as wide as possible, but I will keep this short and sincere.
    [Show full text]
  • Aftershocks: Interpreting an Age of Collapse Leopoldo Burguete Ruíz-Olloqui Depauw University
    DePauw University Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University Student research Student Work 4-2018 Aftershocks: Interpreting an Age of Collapse Leopoldo Burguete Ruíz-Olloqui DePauw University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.depauw.edu/studentresearch Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Burguete Ruíz-Olloqui, Leopoldo, "Aftershocks: Interpreting an Age of Collapse" (2018). Student research. 99. https://scholarship.depauw.edu/studentresearch/99 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student research by an authorized administrator of Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Aftershocks: Interpreting an Age of Collapse Leopoldo Burguete Ruíz-Olloqui ‘18 For all my educators and mentors, you’ve planted the seed of thought. 2 Rainfall and persuaded them to Although they are shaped like a By Andrew Motion interrupt parachute With acknowledgments to their work thanks to the air “Rain” by Cynthia Barnett of scouring on all fours pressure beneath them Whether the rain on Mars was for delectable roots and raindrops explode on delicate or brutal berries. landing. whether it was blue or gray In the clarified light Then the sun bears down again whether it fell on bare rocks they stared at their fitting his monocle into his that remained bare hands. eye. or on fertile ground They saw the wrinkled fingertips The glass flashes and that raised large forests of that gave them a firm grip burns.
    [Show full text]
  • Resources and Cultural Complexity: Implications for Sustainability
    Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences,30:24–34,2011 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0735-2689 print / 1549-7836 online DOI: 10.1080/07352689.2011.553539 Resources and Cultural Complexity: Implications for Sustainability Joseph A. Tainter Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA Table of Contents I. RESOURCES AND CULTURAL COMPLEXITY ..............................................................................................24 II. CHALLENGING THE PROGRESSIVIST VIEW ...............................................................................................25 III. CASE STUDIES IN ENERGY AND COMPLEXITY ..........................................................................................27 A. Collapse of the Western Roman Empire ...........................................................................................................28 B. Collapse and Recovery of the Byzantine Empire ...............................................................................................29 IV. DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................................................30 V. C O N C L U D I N G R E M A R K S ...............................................................................................................................33 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................33
    [Show full text]
  • The Insurance Industry and Climate Change: a Story of Resilience and Collapse
    Master of Arts in Foundations and Practices of Sustainability The insurance industry and climate change: A story of resilience and collapse Johann Hartmann Under the direction of Dr. M.E.R.S. Swaton Title page image reference: https://www.insuranceeurope.eu/climate-change « Ce travail n’a pas été rédigé en vue d’une publication, d’une édition ou diffusion. Son format et tout ou partie de son contenu répondent donc à cet état de fait. Les contenus n’engagent pas l’Université de Lausanne. Ce travail n’en est pas moins soumis aux règles sur le droit d’auteur. A ce titre, les citations tirées du présent mémoire ne sont autorisées que dans la mesure où la source et le nom de l’auteur·e sont clairement cités. La loi fédérale sur le droit d’auteur est en outre applicable. » 2 GSE – UNIL | Mémoire de Master en fondements et pratiques de la durabilité “It seems that there may not be a happy end to my story of The Five Stages of Collapse, the first of which (financial, commercial, political) are inevitable, while the last two (social, cultural) are entirely optional but have, alas, already run the course in many parts of the world. Because you see, there is also the sixth stage which I have previously neglected to mention – Environmental Collapse – at the end of which we are left without a home, having rendered Earth (our home planet) uninhabitable.” Dmitry Orlov, The Sixth Stage of Collapse, 2013. 3 GSE – UNIL | Mémoire de Master en fondements et pratiques de la durabilité Acknowledgements Through these lines, I would like to express my gratitude to all the people who contributed to this work, whether through their advice or encouragements.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethnohistory, Archaeology and the Khmer, Climate Change and the Collapse of Civilizations
    hropolo nt gy A Caldararo, Anthropol 2015, 3:2 Anthropology DOI: 10.4172/2332-0915.1000154 ISSN: 2332-0915 Research Article Article OpenOpen Access Access Beyond Zero Population: Ethnohistory, Archaeology and the Khmer, Climate Change and the Collapse of Civilizations Niccolo Caldararo* Department of Anthropology, San Francisco State University, USA Abstract A number of publications, both books and articles, have appeared in recent years attempting to prove that there is a correlation between global climate change and the collapse of complex human societies and is one example where emphasis is placed on climate over human activity. This paper addresses a possible exception to this emphasis of global effects. While societies under stress from weather changes may undergo significant economic and political change in response, Joseph Tainter has shown that a local systems analysis is best applied to determine the contribution of the internal dynamics of a society, rather than assign climate the ultimate effect. In this paper ethnohistorical and archaeological sources are reviewed indicating varied responses to climate challenge. We find that some, like Khmer society, are initially sustainable responses to local conditions and an exception to the proposed global collapse theory. However, failure of surrounding populations created pressures on Khmer society that destabilized adaptations to environmental stress forcing collapse. Like the Bronze Age collapse in the Mediterranean, local accommodation was insufficient for continuation on existing patterns. Others like the Japanese modified population densities and social forms to weather stress. Implications for today concern continued population growth worldwide and rising consumption are continued stresses that must be considered in the context of climate change.
    [Show full text]
  • The Show Must Go On: Collapse, Resilience, and Transformation in 21St-Century Archaeology
    Reviews in Anthropology ISSN: 0093-8157 (Print) 1556-3014 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/grva20 The show must go on: Collapse, resilience, and transformation in 21st-century archaeology Guy D. Middleton To cite this article: Guy D. Middleton (2017) The show must go on: Collapse, resilience, and transformation in 21st-century archaeology, Reviews in Anthropology, 46:2-3, 78-105, DOI: 10.1080/00938157.2017.1343025 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00938157.2017.1343025 Published online: 01 Aug 2017. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 200 View Crossmark data Citing articles: 2 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=grva20 REVIEWS IN ANTHROPOLOGY 2017, VOL. 46, NOS. 2–3, 78–105 https://doi.org/10.1080/00938157.2017.1343025 none defined The show must go on: Collapse, resilience, and transformation in 21st-century archaeology Guy D. Middleton Faulseit, Ronald K., ed. 2016. Beyond Collapse: Archaeological Perspectives on Resilience, Revitalization, and Transformation in Complex Societies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Johnson, Scott A. 2017. Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail? New York: Routledge. Storey, Rebecca, and Glenn R. Storey 2017. Rome and the Classic Maya: Comparing the Slow Collapse of Civilizations. New York: Routledge. ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Collapse is a theme addressed by specialists from many Archaeology; collapse; disciplines, from environmental and sustainability studies environmental issues; to popular culture and the hard sciences, as well as by resilience; social change; archaeologists and historians. This review focuses on three sustainability; transformation recent books about past collapses and sets them in the context of collapse studies.
    [Show full text]
  • The Future of Humanity
    The Future of Humanity Nick Bostrom Future of Humanity Institute Faculty of Philosophy & James Martin 21st Century School Oxford University www.nickbostrom.com [Complete draft circulated (2007)] [Published in New Waves in Philosophy of Technology, eds. Jan-Kyrre Berg Olsen, Evan Selinger, & Soren Riis (New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2009)] [Reprinted in the journal Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, forthcoming] Abstract The future of humanity is often viewed as a topic for idle speculation. Yet our beliefs and assumptions on this subject matter shape decisions in both our personal lives and public policy – decisions that have very real and sometimes unfortunate consequences. It is therefore practically important to try to develop a realistic mode of futuristic thought about big picture questions for humanity. This paper sketches an overview of some recent attempts in this direction, and it offers a brief discussion of four families of scenarios for humanity’s future: extinction, recurrent collapse, plateau, and posthumanity. The future of humanity as an inescapable topic In one sense, the future of humanity comprises everything that will ever happen to any human being, including what you will have for breakfast next Thursday and all the scientific discoveries that will be made next year. In that sense, it is hardly reasonable to think of the future of humanity as a topic: it is too big and too diverse to be addressed as a whole in a single essay, monograph, or even 100-volume book series. It is made into a topic by way of abstraction. We abstract from details and short-term fluctuations and developments that affect only some limited aspect of our lives.
    [Show full text]
  • Complexity, Collapse, and Sustainable Problem-Solving - Joseph A
    CONFLICT RESOLUTION – Vol. II - Complexity, Collapse, and Sustainable Problem-Solving - Joseph A. Tainter COMPLEXITY, COLLAPSE, AND SUSTAINABLE PROBLEM- SOLVING Joseph A. Tainter Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Keywords: Sustainability, Dilemma of Sustainability, Unsustainability, Human Life Support. Contents 1. The Dilemma of Sustainability 2. Unsustainability: Historical Collapses 2.1. The Western Chou Dynasty 2.2. Old Kingdom Egypt 2.3 The Hittite Empire 2.4. Mycenaean Greece 2.5. The Classic Maya Collapse 2.6. Teotihuacán and the Valley of Mexico 2.7. Monte Alban and the Valley of Oaxaca 2.8. Huari and Tiwanaku 3. A Concept of Sustainability 3.1. Sustainability, Collapse, and Human Life Support 3.2. Defining Sustainability 4. Sustainability and Problem-solving 4.1. Producing Resources 4.2. Producing Knowledge 4.3. Summary: Problem-solving and Sustainability 5. Development of Problem-solving Institutions 5.1. The Western Roman Empire 5.2. The Early Byzantine Recovery 5.3. The Development of Modern Europe 6. Divergent Outcomes to Problem-solving 6.1. The Western Roman Empire 6.2. The EarlyUNESCO Byzantine Recovery – EOLSS 6.3. The Development of Modern Europe 7. Sustainable Problem-solving 7.1. Unsustainable Problem-solving in Natural Resource Management 7.2. SustainableSAMPLE Problem-solving: Managing SystemsCHAPTERS 7.3. Technological Optimism and Sustainability 8. Models of Sustainable and Unsustainable Futures Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) CONFLICT RESOLUTION – Vol. II - Complexity, Collapse, and Sustainable Problem-Solving - Joseph A. Tainter Sustainability is a value-laden concept that provokes veneration, confusion, and political conflict. Human sustainability arises from the long-term success of problem-solving institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a General Theory of Societal Collapse. a Biophysical Examination of Tainter’S Model of the Diminishing Returns of Complexity
    Toward a General Theory of Societal Collapse. A Biophysical Examination of Tainter’s Model of the Diminishing Returns of Complexity. Ugo Bardi1, Sara Falsini2, and Ilaria Perissi2 1. Dipartimento di Chimica – Università di Firenze, Italy and 2. Consorzio Interuniversitario per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM) Polo Scientifico di Sesto Fiorentino, via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto F. 50019 (Fi), Italy Abstract. The collapse of large social systems, often referred to as “civilizations” or “empires,” is a well-known historical phenomenon, but its origins are the object of an unresolved debate. In this paper, we present a simple biophysical model which we link to the concept that societies collapse because of the “diminishing returns of complexity” proposed by Joseph Tainter1. Our model is based on the description of a socio-economic system as a trophic chain of energy stocks which dissipate the energy potential of the available resources. The model produces various trajectories of decline, in some cases rapid enough that they can be defined as “collapses.” At the same time, we observe that the exploitation of the resource stock (“production”) has a strongly nonlinear relationship with the complexity of the system, assumed to be proportional to the size of the stock termed “bureaucracy.” These results provide support for Tainter’s hypothesis.1 1. Introduction The collapse of large social systems, also called “civilizations” or “empires,” is a well-known and highly studied subject. In many cases, the historical record does not provide quantitative data on these events, but in some cases it is possible to quantify the collapse phenomenon in terms, for instance, of the extent of the areas controlled by the central government as reported by Tageepera⁠2 or of the output of the economic system as reported by Sverdrup3 and McCollen et al.4 In these studies, we can observe how collapses are often rapid in comparison to the build-up of the social and economic structures of a civilization.
    [Show full text]
  • Drilling Down: the Gulf Oil Debacle and Our Energy Dilemma
    Drilling Down wwwwwwwwwwwww Joseph A. Tainter L Tadeusz W. Patzek Drilling Down The Gulf Oil Debacle and Our Energy Dilemma Joseph A. Tainter Tadeusz W. Patzek Department of Environment and Society Department of Petroleum Utah State University and Geosystems Engineering Logan, UT 84322 USA The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712 USA © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published in the United States by Copernicus Books, an imprint of Springer Science+Business Media. Copernicus Books Springer Science+Business Media 233 Spring Street New York, NY 10013 www.springer.com Library of Congress Control Number: 2011935227 Manufactured in the United States of America. Printed on acid-free paper ISBN 978-1-4419-7676-5 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-7677-2 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-7677-2 In memory of Anne O’Rourke – JAT For my wife, Joanna, and my children, Lucas, Sophie, and Julie –TWP wwwwwwwwwwwww Acknowledgments It is a pleasure to acknowledge the many people who encouraged us and helped with this book. Myrna and Charles Hall of the State University of New York at Syracuse suggested that we write it, and this project would not have been undertaken without their foresight. Joyce Vandewater prepared a number of illustrations, excellently as always. Steve Balogh kindly provided the data for Fig. 5.9. Joseph Tainter is particularly pleased to acknowledge the support and sharp observations of his wife, Bonnie Bagley, who has been a true intellec- tual partner in all of his work.
    [Show full text]