The concept of social metabolism in classical sociology

• Autores: Darío Padovan
• Localización: Theomai: estudios sobre sociedad, naturaleza y desarrollo, ISSN-e 1515-6443, Nº. 2, 2000
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper examines the different uses of the concept of «social metabolism» in the mechanist and organicist sociology widespread during the late years of nineteenth century and the early years of twentieth. Bio-organismic sociological theory used the concepts of «material exchange», «transformation of matter», «metamorphosis» to explain the process of social change of resources between Nature and social body. These concepts are very close to the «social metabolism» one. Really crucial for social metabolism was the concept of equilibrium. Organicism stated that evolution is a permanent process of the adaptation of organism to the environment. Its life is due to the conservation of this equilibrium. Bio-Organicistic thinkers argued that in human societies the same thing happens. They can improve only if the adjustment process is incessant and dynamic. If the transformation process stops or becomes too fast, like during a revolution, society dies. Human society, like any organism, adapts to unceased variations of the environment. It harmonizes not only to the natural environmental modifications like climate, food, vegetation, but also to the new conditions produced by psychological and economical activity. These activities, organicists said, create an artificial environment, different but joined with the natural one. In these words we can find an anticipation of the idea of «sustainable development». The study of genetic origin of the "social metabolism" concept could help the environmental sociology to find a historical legitimacy in the contest of social sciences.