Can you compare a civilization to a pyramid scheme?

Question

How?

I read someone argue that recently...

Answer 1

A pyramid scheme is where a select few have the opportunities yet they tell all they are equally able to succeed! The first select few that become a part of the concept take all the advantages and those that enter afterward are at a disadvantage,yet they must continue to feed the system, much like our civilization today! The wealth becomes concentrated more and more until it collapses like a pyramid that was built upside down!

Answer 2

A pyramid scheme is a scam where  "participants attempt to make money solely by recruiting new participants into the program. The hallmark of these schemes is the promise of sky-high returns in a short period of time for doing nothing other than handing over your money and getting others to do the same."

http://www.sec.gov/answers/pyramid.htm

You can only make money if you're the one that starts it or one of the first people into the scam. The problem with the scam is that the number of participants quickly runs out. Take this example: I start the scam and email 6 people (6) they each email 6 (36) who in turn email 6 (216) By the 10th level the total population of the United States is surpassed. That's assuming nobody gets contacted more then once.

So how does this relate to civilization? Ronald Wright and Eric Zencey are two that argue our resources are being outstripped by our development. To quote Wright:

"Civilizations rise because they find new ways to exploit natural and human resources, to tip the balance between culture and nature. They feed on their local ecology until it is degraded, thriving only while they grow. When they can no longer expand, they fall victim to their own success. Civilization is a pyramid scheme. "

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/10/...

Eric Zencey focuses on oil:

"The fossil fuels of the planet are a capital stock: they represent past solar income the planet received in its 4 billion year history, which wasn't consumed at the time, but was locked away as fossil energy.  We're drawing down our capital stock and treating the inflow of money as income"

http://www.hnn.us/articles/47330.html

Capital stock may be oil, arable land, fresh water, wood or any of the resources that contribute to a civilization. Use it up and things fall apart.

Answer 3

The answers above are valid because they really only compare pyramid schemes to civilization MODELS as opposed to civilization in reality.  The reality of civilization is extremely complex, variable and not very definable.  

German sociologist Max Weber wrote a brilliant piece in the early 20th century on bureaucracy which immediately lept to mind when I saw this question.  LMK if you'd like me to look up the reference - but it might take a while since I haven't read this in about 15 years.  

Strictly from the perspective of rational scientific discourse, however, I would question the usefulness and plausibility of the comparison for one simple reason.  Pyramid schemes are a product of and a part of at least one variety of civilization.  Consequently, they can not really be treated as independant of that cultural context and comparison with the cultural context of which they are a part would be prone to wandering into the murky waters of ideology.  In other words, a comparison of civilization (as opposed to models of civilization written by theorists and originating in theory as opposed to observation) with pyramid schemes would be akin to comparing the concept of 'traffic jam' to one or more of the cars which participate in it. But at least it might be less generalizing than the body-metaphor so pervasive in 19th and 20th century anthro.

Answer 4

Yeah, it's simple .. think of it as each person in the civilization contributes power/money/influence/momentum to the people who are 'above' them in society.

Example: A farmhand works the field so that the farmer can have a crop. The farmer has a crop so that he can sell it to large grocery chains, which are owned by rich corporations. The big corporations give money etc. to political campaigns, which then rule the nation.

Answer 5

yes.. it can also relate to size of one particular group and it's power/influence/role.

for example the old jewish social structure. The least populous of all were the Sadducees. they were the ruling upper class of priests who collaborated with the romans. So they were at the top of the pyramid were there were not many but they were at the top of the pecking order.

(underneeth them were pharisees, the essenes, zealots, middle class then the lower class)

these social structure pyramids can also relate to influence concerning religious beliefs and the role the group plays in it.

(eg. the pharisees were teachers of jewish law, they were legalistic and strict and so it carried over into their social life.

.. thinking about it you could probably have an inverted pyramid too,,,,

the romans were more populous than the palestinians and more powerful... so they would be on top but would occupy more space.

or, say if you looked on a world scale and looked at the most powerful nations.

then again you could have (i dont know the list of most powerful countries!!!) china, usa, britain, etc. then the pyramid would be messes up (if you were looking at according populations)