First ever Global Report on Violence and Health released

I was going to post a continuation of the recent series of articles on the pyramidial structure of society. Then I found this link in an article. Its easy to say, "Well, its all a result of poverty and the moral weakness of people living in 'other' countries..." or "...it could be worse". But you just can't read something like this and not feel for just a moment a kind of grey, tepid silence as you stare into the face of the human race and think "there has to be something wrong, there just has to...".

There is

In my previous post I introduced the concept (not mine, not new) of the pyramidal structure of society. The stimulus for this was a growing interest in Macro-economics. considering the vast importance of the economy to society it is reasonable to assume that patterns that are inherent and perhaps even unconscious in individuals will emerge here. I have at my disposal (I currently lack the time) a data base of economic data covering europe, australia and the united states for the last 100 years. This includes prices, wages, birth and death rates, market indexes and a vast array of other information. My first intention is to focus on the United States during the 20th century. Specifically, a study of the relationship of prices to wages during that period. I am rather drawn to twentieth century history and this will give me a starting point to begin structuring the basis for a socio-economic pyramid. In the mean time however....

One of the first pyramids that I would like to construct (and I do mean "construct" as I intend to create a dynamic 3D representation of the data) is the population pyramid. Human population is represented by a bell curve with the vast majority of the population falling in the lower region of the curve's area. The pyramid however, will allow a more dynamic and visually Representative graphing of the data. New births would appear as new courses of stone on the bottom of the pyramid and as the numbers of new births grow so does the base of the pyramid. Each stone would then have a vertical course upward through the layers of the pyramid as the years pass until death the oldest would occupy the area of the center of the structure and the highest point would then be the apex of the pyramid, the oldest person. There would be a number of factors that could be represented in the structure and the dynamic function of the pyramid form. The shortest paths would be farthest out on the perimeter of the base. These would be the shortest lived persons. Relative health could then be represented by relative closeness to the center of the structure. Sociological forces affecting the "growth" of the pyramid could also be symbolized by the relative position of the "stones" path, starting point, and size. starting farther out on the periphery could indicate birth in an impoverished or war stricken land lowering life expectancy. This would act to form the basis for tying the population pyramid into the economic pyramid as these forces are important to the science of macro-economics. I am very excited by the possibilities of this project. "If I only had more time....." If any one reading this thinks that they can help, please email me. Just don't steal the idea, ok?

Society is a pyramid. There has, since the beginnings of organized civilization, been a structure inherent in the nature of organization. society is organization. self-organization. the pyramid is the structure of that organization. The US dollar has on the great seal the pyramid, the greatest structures on earth are pyramids. Socio-Economic structure is a pyramid. The many (stones) are ruled (support) by the few (stones). Economical, Wealth is concentrated into the hands of the fewest. This follows the structure of the pyramid in even deeper ways, western economics follows the general division of society into three classes; "upper-class", "middle-class", and "lower-class". If we were to plot this upon a pyramid we find that the upper strata, being equal in height to the lower strata contains far fewer stones. This is the equivalent to the greater wealth of the upper strata being distributed among fewer individuals. The lower strata contain the greatest concentration of stones equal wealth distributed among a far greater number of individuals. "...and the 1/3 company of heaven was cast out." The greatest power is, of course, in the hands of the many. It is they who control the system, support it, and provide a platform for the upper to stand upon. The middle is the transition zone. the zone in which the translation and transmission of power takes place. The pyramid of ownership in the corporate world is very well known and in "Inherited Wealth, Corporate Control and Economic Growth: The Canadian Disease" by Randall K Morck, David A. Strangeland and Bernard Yeung. Sept. 14, 1998. The authors cite the international nature of "pyramids of control" in one case citing a 10 level pyramid and analyzing the Wallenberg Family of Sweden and the effect of their international pyramid of wealth control on the Ecuadorian economy. When we factor social stratification and political systems into the mix. the pyramidal nature of civilization becomes even more apparent. This is not deliberate on the part of anyone or even any group. This structure exists in nature with the alpha male and breeding patterns among higher mammals. This is a patten carved in the stones of the universe. So why do we hate it. Why on one hand do we worship the king and wish his downfall? Why does the king take from those at the bottom and simply keep it? is nature wrong? are we? is the concept of a sociological "cube" valid?