What President Trump Can Do With The American System 2.0 - Flipbook - Page 31
oped by Lyndon LaRouche for studying physical economics, in the most general sense, energy
昀氀ux-density is the measure of the energy functionally used by a system or process, per time,
per constituent part.1 This gives us an excellent
measure of the level of development and complexity of a system.2
Utilizing this simple metric, we can measure
the development of stars and galaxies, the evolution of life and the biosphere, and the development of human society all on one scale. These
are the core, evolving systems that determine
the overall complexity and potential of the universe, and, when comparing apples to apples,
our universal metric of energy 昀氀ux-density
clearly shows mankind as the most powerful
creative force in a creative universe. This revelation should become the basis for rejecting the
present “scienti昀椀c consensus” on mankind’s position in the universe, and developing a culture
that embraces and celebrates the beauty of human progress.
Start by examining the evolution and development of entire galaxies and individual stars.
For galaxies, the evolution, from the earliest
stages of formation to a well-formed galaxy like
our own, will be measured by about a 50-fold
increase in energy 昀氀ux-density. However, this
is mostly determined by the stars that compose
the galaxies and individual stars operate at energy 昀氀ux-densities at least 50 times higher than
galaxies.3 For a typical star, from its initial formation stage to the end stages of its lifecycle, its
development is measured by about a 100-fold
increase in energy 昀氀ux-density.
This development is powered by stellar nuclear fusion, which is responsible for the generation of the full periodic table — the oxygen
1. This can be per mass, volume, area, or person, depending on the process or system you’re measuring.
2. This section utilizes data from the following sources:
Chaisson, Eric J. 2014. “The Natural Science Underlying
Big History,” doi:10.1155/2014/384912; Hoehler, “The metabolic rate of the biosphere and its components,” PNAS Vol.
120, No. 25, 6/12/23; Seaborg, Glenn, 1962, “Civilian Nuclear Power—A Report to the President,” U.S. AEC; U.S. Energy Information Agency’s “Annual Energy Review 2011;
“AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database,”
h琀琀p://genomics.senescence.info/species.
3. Remember, we’re measuring per unit mass, so, even
though a galaxy is obviously more energetic in absolute
terms, per unit mass, stars are more powerful.
Promethean Action
you’re breathing now, the carbon in your body,
the iron in your blood, all this was produced
by stars through fusion. The development of
the full periodic table of over 90 elements (and
over 300 isotopes) from only a few initial starting elements can be thought of as a negentropic
process, creating more organized states, with
higher complexity and greater potential. Thus,
as the stars go through their lifecycle, they act
as negentropic agents, shaping and advancing
the material and energetic characteristics of galaxies.
As with stars and the galaxies they de昀椀ne,
the development of life over evolutionary time
is also measured by increasing energy 昀氀ux-density. Further, like stars, living organisms act as
negentropic agents, creating and increasing the
negentropy in their sphere of in昀氀uence, de昀椀ning the biosphere. Taking amphibians as representative of life 350 million years ago, we start
out at an energy 昀氀ux-density 7 times higher
than a fully-developed star.4 Next, we look to
reptiles as representative of the age of the dinosaurs (from 250 to 65 million years ago), with
energy 昀氀ux-densities twice that of amphibians.
And today’s mammals are 30 times the energy
昀氀ux-density of reptiles.
How Mankind Is Special
This takes us to mankind and the physical
economy. Starting at the origins of mankind, if
we hypothesize a purely biological existence,
the energy 昀氀ux-density for mankind is essentially the same as for other mammal species.
However, since the beginnings of mankind’s
use of 昀椀re, we see the human species depart
from merely a biological mode of existence, and
begin building an existence dependent upon
forms of energy 昀氀ux-density that are created
and controlled through human cognition.
At an agricultural stage of development, the
energy 昀氀ux-density of the physical economy is
four times a mammalian biological existence. An
industrial society is three times higher than an
agricultural, and a technological society is three
times that of an industrial. We gain greater insights when we focus on the primary fuel sourc4. Obviously, a star is far more energetic in absolute
terms, but not per unit mass.
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