A civilization is a complex technology composed of interlocking technologies (a civilization toolkit) for the purpose of maintaining and reproducing a human community.
Broadly speaking in order to maintain coherence, a civilization must provide for the wellbeing of the members of the community at least to the level that each member perceives participation in the community (including attempts to modify the community using their civilization toolkit) as more conducive to their wellbeing than exiting the community.
For purposes of simplification, the general categories of wellbeing that civilizations are tasked with addressing are:
Economic: how the community allocates resources and goes about producing new resources
Social: how the community organizes and normalizes human social relations (e.g., family structure, towns vs. cities, festivals, etc.)
Political: how the community makes decisions, resolves disputes and coordinate collective action
Military: how the community defends itself from violent threat
Religious: how the community satisfies the human need for the divine, the sacred and the transcendent
Intellectual: how the community sources, evaluates and disseminates knowledge
Broadly speaking in order to maintain coherence, a civilization must provide for the wellbeing of the members of the community at least to the level that each member perceives participation in the community (including attempts to modify the community using their civilization toolkit) as more conducive to their wellbeing than exiting the community.
For purposes of simplification, the general categories of wellbeing that civilizations are tasked with addressing are:
Economic: how the community allocates resources and goes about producing new resources
Social: how the community organizes and normalizes human social relations (e.g., family structure, towns vs. cities, festivals, etc.)
Political: how the community makes decisions, resolves disputes and coordinate collective action
Military: how the community defends itself from violent threat
Religious: how the community satisfies the human need for the divine, the sacred and the transcendent
Intellectual: how the community sources, evaluates and disseminates knowledge
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