Fractals of Populations
April 3, 2006As to the fractals of populations, we would have to say that of course population expansion under ordinary circumstances tends to follow the fractilic model -- only when there is intervention of a catastrophic sort, does the expansionist curve contract, and sometimes rapidly and 'drastically'. Such events have been seen in the past either through wars or pandemics of one sort or another, and in each case the depredations have ranged between 15% and 35%. From that basis, the new population fractal develops. Of late, not only has AIDS been a factor, but certain environmental crises have also served to reduce population numbers in many parts of the world, and thereby shifted the curve of the fractal involved.
We have said before but we will reiterate, the single biggest hazard impacting your planet at this time is overpopulation, and even such catastrophes as epidemics and wars are not yet at a sufficient magnitude to seriously diminish the expanding population curve and the complex and increasing demands put on diminishing resources and increasingly complex populations. These various sorts of intrusions on population growth, while not particularly risky in and of themselves, in combination could well create the kinds of cultural crises that are not readily addressed. We would wish to point out for example, that the social catastrophe looming in France might well be repeated in this country and others if the immigration policies practiced there are adapted in other countries. No matter how attractive, exclusionary policy inevitably results in social breakdown on one level or another. Given that at present, at least a third of Europe runs on economic refugee-ism [sic], the population discrepancies that result from such political postures tend only to increase in severity until such time as the entire social structure is caught up in the debate to the exclusion of all other considerations. Despite claims to the contrary, the same can be claimed in such places as China and for that matter in parts of Africa.
That does not mean that all cultures that provide havens for the 'ousted' must inevitably collapse because of it, we did not say that nor did we mean to imply it, but that those cultures that practices a two- or three-tiered system in terms of who may and may not aspire to 'belonging' create the very conditions they claim to seek to alleviate. These fractal curves, both in terms of refugee/immigrant populations and underclass established citizens, as well as what is loosely defined as the middle class, follow certain very well established fractilic curves. Only when such curves are disrupted is the course of social' evolution' 'undermined', and the possibility of resolving social ills through a single heretofore successful methodology becomes impracticable.
All societies expand and contract, just as life expands and contracts in the micro- or macrocosm. Much of this contraction and expansion is driven by population density. When the population density reaches a certain crucial point, the function of the expansion and contraction ceases to be viable, and secondary fractals are brought into play most of which are gauged to contract rather than expand. So long as the population density is held within viable limits, this particularly fractilic crisis is not likely to become part of the societal pattern. Once it does so, however, it is usually at least ten generations before the balanced fractal pattern emerges once again. Given the realities of the limitation of the planet we would think that those genuinely interested in preserving the patterns of social growth and accommodation would be interested in stabilizing the population and guaranteeing refugee/immigrant rights to a uniform standard 'across the board'. For so long as those elements remain 'in chaos', the chance of major societal fracture (ha ha) are not only omnipresent, but increase in intensity with every passing year. For those who persist in reproducing beyond more than two children per family or one child for each adult, the pressure they bring to bear on the societal fractal is double the reality of the extra child, so that three children are in fact four children and four children are in fact six children and so on. In terms of resources this is, we would think, a short sided indulgence rather than sound policy. That does not mean that it is an incorrect choice, but that it is what such choices demand of the society and of the planet.