A SOCIO-ECONOMIC REGULARITY ESTABLISHED BASED ON AN ANALOGY WITH THERMODYNAMIC PROCESSES WITH FINITE SPEED - An Equation for Standard of Living -

Abstract

This paper proposes a quantitative description of the flows of energy, mass and information in a country, based on recently developed concepts in Thermodynamics with Finite Speed. An equation for Standard of Living is derived. As shown in the ‘70 by Georgescu - Roegen in his famous book “The Entropy Law and the Economic Process”, the Second Law of Thermodynamics also applies to Society, not only to heat engines, machine tools, information machines, electromagnetic machines, electrochemical machines (and devices), or biological machines. Since 1930, Onsager and then Prigogine (Nobel Prize winners for the development of Irreversible Thermodynamics) showed that the Second Law also applies to biological systems. Countries are assemblies of Organized Biological Systems (humans, animals, plants) in interaction with "dead systems" (energy resources and raw materials) through various machines invented by humans in the course of history. It follows that the Finite Speed Thermodynamics, which is a recent branch of Irreversible Thermodynamics, can describe qualitatively and quantitatively the irreversible processes taking place in each system independently, but also in the entirety of these systems’ mutual interaction. Based on the equation for Standard of Living (applicable to any country), Economic Policies follow (as suggested by Georgescu - Roegen in his book) that are Optimizing the Functioning of these Systems with "as little as possible irreversibility" (loss of energy, mass, information, people, resources). When applied to Romania, these Economic Policies lead to the conclusion of the need to revitalize the industrial development of Romania. This would be a fundamental and strategic direction, necessary for the optimization of use of energy, materials, informational and human resources that will ensure economic growth and consequently an improvement in the Standard of Living. For a preview of further developing and applying the formula, the paper offers a comparative analysis of the scientific and technological performances in advanced European economies, in the US and in Japan. Based on this analysis we will further develop the formula hereinto include a greater detail, to take into consideration the performance of research and development activities, as well as the degree of dependence of a national economy upon all these latter factors

Keywords: Equation of living standardsThermodynamics with Finite Speed in SocietyModel of EnergyMassInformation Interaction in SocietyScienceTechnologyResearch and DevelopmentEconomic Development