There are two considerations. The first one is the Participation to Burden ratio of the society as a whole. To determine this, we consider the Natural Participation as the prime value compared with the collective burden (artificial + natural) while considering the whole society as one unit. (Both participation and burden are measured in the same unit, i.e. the net work done: participation is the work an individual contributes towards the NEPs, and burden is the work of others that he draws from the societal pool in the form of resources; this is why wealth is called a compressed form of the net work done (see RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE WEALTH).) (In practice, participation can be measured as the hours an individual works in the NEPs, and burden as the hours of others’ work contained in what he draws from the societal pool, used at once or held, so that both are counted in the same unit. The ratio of the society as a whole can then be worked out every year from a representative sample of households, scaled up to the whole society and reported with its margin of error.) (This ratio, worked out in hours for seven societies of today, is shown with every step of its calculation in THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE SOCIETY, Part 1, at the end of this book.)
Societal case: A value greater than zero and less than 1 shows that the society is not self-sufficient, and it can be a sign of increased corruption within the society with an oppressive system in place. It also indicates an increased level of desires of the individuals with little or no struggle to satisfy the basic needs. The worst case is when the value is falling significantly below the minimum of 1, but the resources are still more than enough. This is basically the result of inter-societal dominance with the leeching strategy of the dominant one on the weaker or oppressed one (i.e. such a society consumes more than it produces, yet lives in plenty by drawing on weaker societies). Similarly, if the value is near or equal to 1 but there is still a large deficit in the basic resources, then this can be a sign of external leeching (i.e. such a society produces enough, but its resources are drawn away by a dominant one). This can also be the case if the society is trying to meet the global artificial standards and subsequently falls victim to the hegemony of the dominant ones. Another reason can be a lack of coordination within the society that leads to either wastage or concentration of the resources. If the value is 1 or greater, then this represents the efficiency of the society. The higher the value is above 1, the more efficient it is. This allows the allocation of resources to new fields and thus is a good step towards inclusiveness in the society. An exceptionally increased value can be alarming, as this can lead to fatigue and disturb the social life of the participants. A prolonged condition can lead to chaos, a surge in criminal activities and the formation of dominating groups.
From The Unjustified Burden and Its Implications.
