4th Economics 101

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by mmartin798

Is the assumption that they have the technical knowledge to advance and just need the resources in this calculation? It is perfectly possible to have a tech level G community of a thousand or more using simple plows and animal power to feed them all well and just not having the knowledge to advance their metallurgy to advance to steam power.

I think it plays a major part in these formulas...... You can't get some industries going because you don't have enough labor. So there has to be a population factor involved.

[mmartin798]

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

I think it plays a major part in these formulas...... You can't get some industries going because you don't have enough labor. So there has to be a population factor involved.

Using the spreadsheet I still have under development, I did some runs on a TL E community of 100 souls. If all the traits are at 50%, they are just subsistance farmers with little labor left over beyond what is needed to get fuel for the fires and move things around.

But if we have TL E community of 100 souls with all traits at 50% except for Discipline and Curiosity, which both are at 75%. This community is more productive in agriculture that, with the same food list as the first one, we go from needing 50% of the workforce busy farming down to 38%. This is in part due to the increase in worker productivity from 2000 hours per year to 2300 hours per year and the increase in workers in workforce from 34 people to 39 people.

This all makes sense and is very germane to the current discussion. If a community is just plodding along with no real desire to explore, complacent in their ways, it won't really innovate. They will stay put tech level wise. But if they are curious and well disciplined, they will be looking for ways to improve and be more productive and be more likely to move up in tech level as they build surplus.