Scaling in Human Societies

Large cities tend to facilitate more social interaction, which includes negative interactions such as crime. [Read More]

In this article, we consider theoretical limits to human population. Binder et al. (2020) observe that an estimate of the world’s “carrying capacity” generally finds a single limiting factor to growth. That limiting factor might be the world’s photosynthetic capacity, the problem of waste heat disposal, or something else. Estimates... [Read More]

A growing societal scale–rising population and increasing technological prowess–raises the question of what severe risks that scale may pose. [Read More]

Growing scale raises concerns about the stability of ecosystems and resulting risk of harm to human civilization. [Read More]

As societies grow, they may run a risk of depleting critical resources. Here we review some general concepts in assessing natural resource availability and consider a few specific cases. [Read More]