Post—Functional Social Systems Analysis.

This paper attempts to develop a macro social systems model devoid of the many problems which plagued functionalism. I eschew concepts such as equilibrium, survival, and functional prerequisite. Instead of societal survival I utilize the more general notion of level of living (L) and attempt to derive macro correlates of L. These are the society's population size, spatial area, organization, technology, and information level. Interrelationships among the variables are analyzed, as are aggregated and distributional measures of the variables. Compared to prior formulations this framework is relatively comprehensive, facilitates the analysis of variable primacy, incorporates both ideational and materialistic components, and provides a macro context for the analysis of individual action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]