| Great Powers are central to the processes of the international system. When Great Powers rise and decline relative to other Great Powers, the consequences for all nations is profound. This dissertation proposes a theoretical framework for understanding the causes of the relative rise and decline of Great Powers by focusing on their machinery production capacities.; Because this topic is complex, I have developed a theory of systems in order to organize the theoretical elements that describe production processes within polities. Systems are composed of elements, which constitute systems in turn. Two facets of systems are central to this study: first, many systems contain a generative subsystem, which produces output, and an allocative system, which distributes the output among the elements of the system; and second, systems contain negative feedback processes which serve to stabilize and balance a system, and positive feedback processes which are the basis for change, growth, and decay.; My general theory of systems is used to construct theories of economic, political, and political economic systems, as well as hypotheses. I focus on the generative subsystem of the economy, the system of production. Relative performance in production is the driving force in the processes of relative rise and decline of nations and Great Powers. The source of productive power is the capability to generate goods and services, which is based on the capability to produce the production machinery which generates output. Production machinery, in turn, is created by classes of machinery which collectively reproduce themselves, such as machine tools, which I call reproduction machinery. This reproductive potential gives industrial societies the ability to sustain exponential growth. Human capital, in the form of scientific researchers, engineers, and skilled production workers, are the source of technological innovations and machinery production.; The Great Powers constitute a global oligopoly of the machinery industries, including military equipment. This capacity enables them to control the reallocation of territory in the international system. The management and development of the production system by the state and financial sectors of a Great Power will have a powerful effect on its rise or decline relative to other nations. |
