Can Complexity Studies Advance Sustainability ? Scaling in Natural & Social Systems

The challenge of creating human socio-economic systems that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable is highlighted by problems of local and global environmental impacts, including climate change and socially inequitable distribution of resources between rich and poor countries and individuals. Socio-economic systems are complex systems involving multiple actors interacting at many different levels. This paper explores power laws in social systems as a case study in the exploration of ways in which complexity studies might illuminate the challenge of achieving sustainability and perhaps provide tools to help address this challenge. Power law distributions are common in natural systems and have been observed in social systems. They can illustrate underlying patterns of relationships and provide insight into relative measures of efficiency, in terms of energy and resource use, in biological and social systems. We examine the possible significance of the contrast between economic and ecological definitions of efficiency, particularly in relation to the increasingly inequitable distribution of resources. We explore such questions as: (1) How do power laws that have been observed in ecological systems relate to power laws in socio-economic systems? (2) How could measures of efficiency in ecological systems be applied to improving efficiency and equity in the allocation of resources in socio-economic systems? (3) How does innovation relate to sustainability? (4) Can we overcome the ‘ingenuity gap’, i.e. are we creating problems faster than we can find solutions for them?