The basic economic human unit is the household. To meet basic human goals a household has to create a sort of envelope around itself, with enough water and food, not too much wind, rain and sun, and minimum contact with predators and disease organisms. The more successful the family is the more comfortable it will be. Its ability to meet its needs depends on the resources that are available and its ability to use them.

The early periods of history are named after the natural resources that households extracted and processed to make their tools, utensils, implements and weapons. In primitive economies, surplus goods and services were swapped through the 'barter' system. Households accumulated wealth if they are able to gain more than they bartered on goods and services. The best way to become wealthy is to specialise in producing a limited range of goods. This led to the development of money as an acceptable payment for goods and services. Economic development occured through the creation of businesses based on specialized production, and the linking of markets which were far apart. Markets tend to increase the demand for goods and world development has proceeded on the basis of the more goods we buy, the more we want. This is expressed in Fig 6

Fig 6 A closed loop model of world development.

The envelopes we maintain around our households have rapidly become more complex and costly in their demands on natural resources. In Fig 7 this is represented in terms of the move from simple technologies invented to obtain basic resources for prehistoric living to the modern methods of mass production which provide modern households with goods and services. This figure is also a causal diagram setting out the sequence of steps in production from nature to services.

Fig 7 A production model of world development from 'nature' fo 'goods and services'.

The production model is amplified in Fig 8 to show the major and minor concepts involved.

Fig 8 Conceptual diagram of production

As a system production involves the management of inputs to meet the goals of outputs.

The processes involved are the invention of technologies for extracting particular resources and their use in a production sequence to meet the demands of consumption.

The objects involved in a production sequence are 'nature', i.e the local environment's useful physical and biological components (which are defined as natural resouces) the raw materials that can be derived from these resources, the goods they can be turned into, and the services required to support production and markets.

Many different forms of human behaviour are involved in production which, sequentially, may be broadly categorised into 'learning about the resources', 'extracting the resources', 'manufacturing the goods', and 'servicing the producer and consumer'.

World economic development is now carried forward through the spread of closed loop industrial production systems of the kind represented in Fig 9.

Fig 9 Production: the spread of industrialism

In sequence 15 steps of local development are outlined in Fig 9 as follows:-

1 Settlement in an area with potential natural resources

2 Investigation of the potential for production.

3 This involves learning about the resources and ways of processing them.

4 Selection of a production system.

5 Setting up a business to turn the resources into goods.

6 This has the aim of generating productive capital, or profit.

7 These can be used to expand the economic horizons of the community.

8-9 Success of the business will allow more investment of monetary and, commodity capital in the business.

10 As the business expands it will require increased linkages with its raw materials and markets, via improved transport; and with information about other operations, to keep the business competitive.

11 A successful business expands and makes ever increasing demands upon the environment for more natural resources.

12-13 Transport and information linkages provide a means of assessing the amount and value of the resources to the business, and as the resources become scarce relative to demand, and/or too costly to extract, questions will be asked as to whether the business is in the right place.

14 There may also be increased local opposition to the increased use of the environment, and or its pollution by the business

15 The outcome of 12-15 would be the closure of the business or its transfer to another part of the world where the cycle would start all over again..