Avtaar Dhalliwal
In terms of societies, “Sustainable” is defined as: An ecosystem condition in which biodiversity, renewability, and resource productivity are maintained over time. This means a society where renewable resources are produced at a higher rate than its consumption, which comes to address the main cause of collapse as I have found it- Lack of Environmental care (Resource depletion). In order for a society to become sustainable, there are numerous aspects of societal management which are needed, such as a positively developed Economy, Warfare, Government, Environmental care and Climate. The foremost aspect being resource management, which is required in all societies in order for them to succeed and become sustainable. Environmental erosion such as Deforestation, resource management and Lack of Allies are several causes of societal collapse which can be overcome quite easily if the necessary precautions are taken to action, which will be further explained using societal examples later in this report.
Those causes of collapse and others, including Enemy invasion, and lack of trade partners are all causes which can be conquered mainly by good governance. A government which strengthens alliances with neighboring societies, establishes trade partners and resource management plans would be considered sustainable; also having an adaptable religion and cultural practices would increase their society’s chances of survivability.
My Framework
My framework outlines the common causes of societal sustainability, and the factors which contribute to what makes it sustainable. For example, a sustainable society will most likely have a stable economy, but in order to maintain economic stability, the society’s investments must be less than its returns or gains.
In my framework, I will be discussing 4 main principles on what enforces a sustainable society. Firstly, a developed Warfare, which will outline a society’s reliance on Allies. Secondly, a Stable Economy, which will explain how a society’s wealth impacts its survivability. Thirdly, Good Governance, which will show how an able government can help sustain society and adapt to crisis. And Lastly, Environmental care and Climate. The necessity of efficient resource management in a declining society, and how general care of the environment can assist in its sustainability.
Warfare
Warfare is a highly reliance factor which is needed to ensure a society’s sustainability, which is mostly about defensive relations with other societies for protection. If strongly-developed warfare is present in a society, the government would have established alliances with neighboring societies, for defence and fortification. Although alliances have proven to protect societies, making them stable, some societies are not in need of ally fortification. There are 2 main reasons for this, because either that society is very powerful in terms of warfare, and believe they are self-sufficient. Or that they are completely neutral, and therefore have no allegiances or enemies, although for societies such as this there are obvious flaws. The absence of alliances would mean no trade partners, and also without allies, the society would be completely vulnerable if they didn’t have their own defences. There are multiple societal examples of this, as well as those explaining how alliances can fortify a society, making it more sustainable.
The
Countries such as
One example of a country which uses its alliances for means of protection is
Economy
In order for any society to become or remain sustainable, the presence of a stable economy is necessary. The stability of the economy relies on the society’s investments being less than its gains, producing profit which makes the economy self-maintained. Although in order for the economy to be successful in those societies who have insufficient resources, trusted allies are required for positive transactions of trade. Besides trade, there are other factors which together form a strong economy. Low unemployment rate, Low expenditure and borrowing by the government and its people and high availability of basic goods and services. Another major factor is investment in the industry, to increase productivity for export, and reduce the country’s reliance on imports.
Governance
The governance of a society plays a highly dependable role, as it is responsible for all decisions and its citizens. There are numerous principles in which a government must address in order to remain/become sustainable. Such as transparency, the citizens’ access to information chosen by the government. Governments which have limited transparency ultimately lack public confidence, and are the type of governments which become corrupt. The other most important principle for governance is the willing or ability to adapt to crisis, which could be resource depletion or perhaps threat by neighboring countries which have not been allied with. If the government can recognize the problem, and adapt their usual ways to address it, for example using a resource management plan, they stand a much better chance of sustaining themselves. Besides just the government adapting, religion is needed to adapt as well. To forget their usual practices in order to preserve resources or anything else needed to evade the crisis. Although for some societies such as the Mayans, who were a highly religious civilization, setting aside their culture would have been very difficult, as it was one of the most important practices in their life. For societies like this, failing to adapt would have been a cause of their downfall and collapse. The decisions of the government greatly affect the society’s well-being, in beneficial and sometimes, limiting ways which can cause the collapse of a society. For example the
Despite how governments have sometimes made the wrong decisions, there are examples depicting governance as a positive role in a society’s sustainability.
A perfect example of this is
Environmental Care and Climate
Environmental care is one of the most important principles of my framework. Including the preservation of all resources, such as Water, forestation and vegetation conservation, the goods of the environment are relied on by all of society as their main means of resources. As well as environmental maintenance, this consists of soil fertility, care of flora and fauna, and waste management. For sustainability, societies also require an efficient climate. A climate with low pollution, adequate rainfall, neutral temperatures and importantly, the absence of extreme conditions or natural disasters, which have been the downfall of many past societies. As you can see, it is crucial to have a sufficient level of environmental care if a society is to succeed.
An example of societal sustainability due to environmental care is
Another example of a positive response to environmental crisis was in the
Contemporary societies
Today’s societies are very different then those hundreds of years ago. We have learned from past society’s downfalls, in order to fortify our own civilizations. Over time, what people think and believe has changed drastically, and today’s cities are far more advanced. Despite how complex contemporary societies may be, they can still collapse from very similar difficulties. The ideas they hold determine their values and priorities, and therefore the outcome of their society.
Contemporary cities such as
Conclusion
In my opinion, these are the 4 most important principles of sustainable societies, although they still just outline aspects of a stable society. These principles; Self-sufficient Economy, Developed Warfare plans, Good Governance and Environment/Climate care are all interlinked. In order to maintain a sustainable society, most if not all of these principles are required, and without them, a society is likely to fall.
Sources:
Internet
"Fall of the Roman Empire", 2008, Sean Ding, docs.google.com/View?docid=dccp4pm7_5cxmc6jgw
"Collapse of the Easter Islanders", 2008, Harry Bird, exsephiroth.blogspot.com/
“Economy of Switzerland”, 2004, http://www.indopedia.org/Economy_of_Switzerland.html
Japanese history, http://discovermagazine.com/1998/jun/japaneseroots1455
Sustainable development, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html
Sustainable Development, http://www.oecd.org/topic/0,2686,en_2649_37425_1_1_1_1_37425,00.html
Sustainable development, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development
Economy of Singapore, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Singapore
Books
Diamond, Jared M. (2005) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Viking Books, New York