This book propagates a new way of thinking about managing our resources by integrating the perspectives of complex systems theory and social psychology. By resources, the authors mean objects, such as cell phones and cars, and human resources, such as family members, friends, and the small and large communities they belong to. As we all face the "replace or repair" dichotomy, readers will understand how to repair themselves, their relationships, and communities, accept the "new normal," and contribute to repairing the world. The book is offered to Zoomers, growing up in a world where it seems everything is falling apart; people in their 30s and 40s, who are thinking about how to live a fulfilling life; people from the Boomers generation, who are thinking back on life and how to repair relationships. The Reader will enjoy the intellectual adventure of connecting the natural and social worlds and understanding the transition's pathways from a "throwaway society" to a "repair society.
Author(s): Péter Érdi, Zsuzsa Szvetelszky
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 170
City: Cham
Foreword
The Challenge of Repair in Dynamic Systems
Preface
Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Our Early Encounters in Repairing
1.1.1 Bridges over the Danube
1.1.2 Palaces of Miracles
1.1.3 A Lenci Doll
1.1.4 The Table that Stood the Test of Fire
1.1.5 Aunt Ella, the Needlewoman
1.1.6 Oh, My Sister!
1.1.7 The Book in Perspective
1.2 The Rise and Fall of the ``Throw-Away Society''
1.2.1 From Poverty to Abundance
1.2.2 Planned Obsolescence
1.2.3 Food Waste Versus Hunger
1.2.4 Fast Fashion: Under the Spell of Cheap Clothing
1.2.5 Consumerism
1.2.6 The Throw-Away Society: Emergence and Call for the End
1.3 Social Relationships as Resources
1.3.1 Friends Versus Acquaintances
1.3.2 Social Groups as Resources
1.4 Lessons Learned and Looking Forward
References
2 A Golden Age that Never Was
2.1 The Myth of the Golden Age: Looking into the Past
2.2 Historical Examples: The Golden Age Again and Again
2.2.1 Greece
2.2.2 Rome
2.2.3 Judeo-Christianity
2.2.4 China
2.2.5 Japan
2.2.6 Greece Versus China: Some Comparisons
2.3 Golden, but to Whom? the Dutch Controversy
2.4 From the Golden Age to the Climate Crisis
2.5 The Golden Age of Babies
2.6 Messages from the Past
2.7 Lessons Learned and Looking Forward
References
3 Why Do Things Go Wrong?
3.1 The Meandering Pathways of Irreversibility
3.2 Wear and Tear
3.2.1 Spontaneous Glass Breakage
3.2.2 Overwork and Burn Out
3.2.3 The Road to Societal Collapse
3.3 Extreme Events and Predictability
3.3.1 Extreme Events
3.3.2 Too Much Growth Is Just Too Much
3.4 Patterns of Damaged Relationships
3.4.1 Maintaining Stable Relationships
3.4.2 Why Do Relationships Break Down?
3.4.3 Warning Signals
3.4.4 Destruction of Groups: Dissolution and Polarization
3.5 Lessons Learned and Looking Forward
References
4 The Pathways Back to ``Normal''
4.1 Stability, Homeostasis, and Resilience
4.1.1 Stability
4.1.2 Feedback Loops Everywhere
4.1.3 Resilience
4.2 Back to Normal: Some Case Studies
4.2.1 Recovery from Burn Out
4.2.2 The Art of Restoring Buildings
4.2.3 Resilience After Hurricane Katrina: Where Are We Now?
4.2.4 COVID-19: Rapidly Changing Perspectives
4.3 Right to Repair, Fight to Repair
4.4 Lessons Learned and Looking Forward
References
5 The Pathways Toward the New Normal
5.1 When to Attempt Repair and When to Let Go
5.1.1 About the Rise and Fall of Catastrophe Theory
5.1.2 Self-organization: Transition to the New Normal
5.1.3 Big Cultural Changes: They Started Yesterday, and Maybe It Is Not Too Late
5.1.4 Release or Repair: Guidelines for Decision Making
5.2 Transition to the New Normal: Some Case Studies
5.3 Lessons Learned and Looking Forward
References
6 Repair the World!
6.1 From Ancient to Modern Perspectives
6.1.1 Mythical Origins
6.1.2 How to Avoid Existential Risk?
6.2 From Times Past to Modern Theory to Action
6.3 A Capsule History of Reforms
6.4 Toward a Repair Society
6.4.1 How to Repair our Resource Management Strategies
6.4.2 Think and Act Glocally!
6.5 Lessons Learned and Looking Forward
References
7 Epilogue: Toward a Repair Society
References
Index
