The set of material and energy flows that occur between nature and society, between different societies, and within societies is referred to as social metabolism or socioeconomic metabolism. These human-controlled material and energy flows are a fundamental feature of all societies, but their magnitude and diversity vary greatly depending on specific cultures or sociometabolic regimes.
Human societies rely on a constant flow of materials and energy to reproduce. Raw materials must be extracted from the environment, transformed into goods and services (such as food, housing, and mobility), and then released back into the environment as emissions and waste. To keep this social metabolism going, free energy and socially organized human labor are required.
Social or socioeconomic metabolism is another term for it “the self-reproduction and evolution of human society’s biophysical structures It includes the biophysical transformation processes, distribution processes, and flows that humans control for their purposes. The biophysical foundation of society is formed by the biophysical structures of society (‘in use stocks’) and socioeconomic metabolism.”
The scale and composition of social metabolism vary by orders of magnitude both historically and among contemporary societies. We distinguish three socio-metabolic regimes based on the available social techniques for capturing free energy: the foraging regime (intentional use of fire), the agrarian regime (the reproduction of biomass flows is managed through agricultural techniques), and the industrial regime (the dominant technique to capture free energy is burning fossil fuels).
Social metabolic processes begin with the human appropriation of materials and energy from nature. These can be transformed and circulated to be consumed and excreted finally back to nature itself. Each of these processes has a different environmental impact depending on how it is performed, the amount of materials and energy involved in the process, the area where it occurs, the time available or nature’s regenerative capacity.
Social metabolism is an extension of the concept of metabolism from biological organisms such as human bodies to the biophysical foundations of society. Humans construct and operate mines and farms, oil refineries and power plants, factories and infrastructure to supply the energy and material flows required for a culture’s physical reproduction.
The various industrial processes that comprise social metabolism build up and maintain in-use stocks, which include buildings, vehicles, appliances, infrastructure, and so on. These stocks then provide people with services such as shelter, transportation, and communication.
Society and its metabolism form an autopoietic system, a complex system that reproduces itself. Culture and social metabolism cannot reproduce in isolation. Humans require food and shelter, which are provided by social metabolism, and the latter requires humans to function.
The industrial metabolism serves a dual purpose for human societies and the environment. The industrial metabolism is the primary cause of global warming by using the atmosphere as a major waste dump. Simultaneously, the industrial metabolism has been the only metabolic regime that has allowed millions of people to escape poverty.
