Felix, I haven't read the book, but I would posit that the analysis would be
seriously flawed if it did not take into account that whatever the architecture
of the human system, it was fully embedded in the wider ecosystem of energy
flows. Because of that embeddedness, all forms of human relation would
definitely be affected by environmental variables: availability of energy being
the most obvious. A hierarchic system, for example (speaking very generally),
relies on a consistent flow/accumulation of energy sources from the periphery to
the center. A militaristic autocracy, the same ... The structure of the human
system is predicated on the particular flows of energy that are available, and,
in the case of very early social forms, the most proximal flows (ultimately
driven by solar flux to supply local autotrophic and heterotrophic energy sources).
Energy factors were/are always far more than a concern, they *drove/drive* the
most formative characteristics of the entire human/organismic eco-system.
Without exception and across time.
I find these intellectual/academic forays of very limited usefulness when they
make no consideration of these most fundamental factors...
Cheers,
John
On 2021/12/06 04:28, Felix Stalder wrote:
While the book is great, it has a glaring hole in it. What is almost entirely
missing is the discussion of how this "carnival parade" of social forms
structured the relation to the environment, or, more generally, how they were
embedded in, and impacted on, the metabolic system. While for much of the
historical period they cover, this might not have been too much of a concern, it
is clearly one for us now and if we are to remake our social relations, then
this will be a key dimension to transform. But it would probably be too much to
ask from one single book, already long enough, to cover everything, even with
this title.
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