What is the overall worth level of a society?
The overall worth level of a society is the total hours that its capable adults give to the NEPs (the work of the worthless, i.e. the extrinsic non-ideals, not being counted, as their burden overrides it), divided by the number of its capable adults. It is read against the required set point, i.e. the hours needed from each capable adult to cover the NEPs: if it is above the set point, the society has spare participation, enough to accommodate its non-ideals and to endure stress; if it is close to the set point, the society is on the edge; and if it falls below the set point (as extrinsic non-ideals increase), the society comes under stress, with more and more of its burden carried by forced worthfuls. However, a low overall worth level alone does not mean that the breaking point has been reached, as other factors also have to be accounted for (see what the worth level scale tells us under RESPECT IS NOT COSTLY, THE INGREDIENTS ARE UNIVERSAL).