Growth: From Bacteria to Empire
Wenceslas · Written by Smir
Hou Lang丨Democracy and Construction Press
Introduction:
Growth has always been a self-evident and clear goal of human society. The phenomenon of growth governs everything in the world. From small microbial individuals and communities, to empires, civilizations, and even galaxies, they are all in a process of dynamic growth and change. In this book, Smir takes the reader on a journey from microbial infections to the metabolism of plants and animals, from the advent of early agriculture to the rise and fall of empires and civilizations.
In the natural environment, humans domesticated plants and animals, changing their growth to make them an essential part of human life. Poultry, livestock and crops grow in a very different way from their ancestors in the natural environment, which is one of the key foundations that sustain human society. By contrast, growth is even more impressive in an environment made up of man-made objects and human behaviors: technological revolutions and the emergence of a new set of prime movers have liberated humanity from its dependence on human and animal power, slow growth and even stagnation, and have revolutionized the shape of populations, economies, and civilizations.
However, the material base is indispensable for any growth. The rapid growth of modern society is based on the massive use of fossil energy that has accumulated over hundreds of millions of years, and the exploitation and utilization of other resources on the earth by modern human beings has also reached an unprecedented level. In the long run, will we be able to put ourselves on a new path of growth through technology again and again? Techno-optimists may be convinced. But the author of this book believes that we must be cautious on this issue. On a finite planet, infinite growth is patently ridiculous. Significant and immediate measures must be taken by modern society to ensure the long-term habitability of the biosphere.
About the Author:
瓦茨拉夫•斯米尔（Vaclav Smil）
加拿大曼尼托巴大学杰出荣休教授，在经济、历史、能源、宏观政策等多个领域均有建树。 他的主要作品有《能量与文明》（Energy and Civilization: A History）、《世界是如何运转的》（How the World Really Works）、《巨变》（Grand Transitions: How the Modern World Was Made）等。 2010年，斯米尔入选《外交政策》（Foreign Policy）杂志评选的“全球百位思想者”。 2013年，比尔•盖茨在他的网站“盖茨笔记”（Gates Notes）上写下了如下文字：“没有哪个作者的书能像斯米尔的新书那样让我满心期待。 ”
Recommended:
Václav Smir's "Growth" reveals the impulse to grow in everything in the world, from the tiniest microbes to humans, from technological progress to economic development. In the process of living in harmony with all things in the world, in the process of continuous evolution and development, human beings have not only become smarter and stronger, but also more and more powerful, constantly breaking through the limits of growth through mastery of computing power and energy. Now it's time for humanity to reflect: Should there be a red line for all growth? Only through self-discipline in the pursuit of sustainable growth can human beings live in harmony with nature.
——Li Junfeng, former director of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation
Whether it is Malthus's "The Principle of Population" more than 200 years ago, or the Club of Rome's "The Limits to Growth" more than 50 years ago, they are the product of growth anxiety: slow growth, panic. In fact, acknowledging the limits of growth is tantamount to a great emancipation of the mind. We might as well try to get out of the obsession of blindly pursuing fast growth, start with conceptual change, and promote the gradual transformation of institutional incentives and behavior patterns, so as to lay the foundation for "high-quality development" in thought and action.
——Tao Ran, Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Chinese University (Shenzhen).
The forms of change in nature and society are mainly manifested in growth...... But growth is not completely independent either, and growth in nature can affect human society, and vice versa. In addition, not all growth is a good thing, and we need to have a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the process and form of growth. It is in this sense that understanding growth leads to a better understanding of nature and society, and this book is an attempt to do just that.
——Wang Zhiyong, Director of the Research Office of Population and Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Smir's research on energy, demographics, and environmental change illustrates the high costs of achieving growth on a finite planet. …… Growth has prompted us to think differently. There is an urgent need to make trade-offs between increasing the efficiency of renewable energy, improving economic incentives for rapid adoption of renewable energy, minimizing environmental degradation, and improving the lives of a swelling population.
——《自然》（Nature）
Smir argues that growth may be the norm on a biological, social, and economic level. However, the exponential growth in the economy and lifestyles that we have seen in recent decades has been abnormal, and such growth cannot be sustained for long without any disastrous consequences.
——《新科学家》（New Scientist）
An epic, interdisciplinary analysis of the growth phenomenon.
——《卫报》（Guardian）
Directory:
Preamble / i
Growth rate / v
Research on Growth / xi
What's (and isn't) in this book / xiv
Structure and objectives of the book / xvi
Chapter 1 Trajectory of Growth / 001
Time Span / 003
Metrics / 006
Linear vs. exponential growth / 012
Limited growth model / 034
Overall results of growth / 058
Chapter 2 Nature / 075
Microbes & Viruses / 081
Trees & Forests / 100
Crops / 117
Animals / 138
Humanity / 162
Chapter 3 Energy / 185
Harness the power of water and wind / 188
Steam: steam boilers, steam engines and steam turbines / 198
Internal combustion engine / 211
Nuclear reactors with photovoltaic cells / 230
Electric Lights & Electric Motors / 235
Chapter 4 Artificial Objects / 245
Tools & Improvised Machinery / 248
Building / 261
Infrastructure / 275
Transportation / 292
Electronics / 313
Chapter 5 Population, Society, Economy / 333
Person / 337
Empire / 390
Economy / 410
Wen Ming / 476
Chapter 6: After Growth / 491
Life cycle of an organism / 496
Decay of man-made and man-made processes / 502
Population and Society / 513
Economy / 533
Modern Civilization / 543
Epilogue / 555
Appendix I / 561
Appendix II / 565
References / 569
Postscript to publication / 671