“We will only secure a prosperous, peaceful and livable planet if we harness economic growth and development to social solidarity across and between generations.” ― Oscar Auliq-Ice
Modern economies have evolved into a very large, diversified intangible – one that has established a core presence in the collective lives of modern nation states. An analysis of economic activity since the dawn of time informs readers that economies evolved in successive phases; these included hunting and subsistence farming, primitive lending and borrowing practices, the Industrial Revolution of 18th century England, various forms of settled agriculture, widespread (read organized) industrial and commercial activity, and the digital revolution in recent times.
A snapshot of the modern economic sector reveals heavy investments in core economic activity such as mining and manufacturing; these activities define some of the largest economies on the planet. Additional forms of investment activity have developed a focus on various forms of modern transportation, the real estate industry, hydrocarbon exploration, power generation and distribution, financial markets, currency trading activities, scientific research and investigation, the education sector, banking and professional services, and more. Therefore, the use of flowcharts can be useful to delineate the many dynamics of the economic sector.
A range of primary economic activity comprises the base of the modern economic sector. This range includes agriculture (subsistence and commercial), mining for ores and minerals, forestry, grazing of domesticated animals, hunting and gathering, fishing, and quarrying. Some observers have noted that activities such as packaging and processing of raw materials qualify for inclusion in primary economic activity. Thus the economic sector remains the most widespread in the modern world; we could utilize flowcharts to investigate the depth and expanse of such activity. The resulting illustration could describe the annual value of each line of such activity in Dollar terms; the diagram also helps readers to appreciate the sheer volume of global human power that finds a livelihood through primary economic activity.
Analysts could explore primary economic activities as an investigation into the moving parts of this economic sector. Flowcharts can assist in this enterprise by enabling a succession of sub-stages to emerge; these sub-stages include dry crops and irrigated crops under arable farming, the farming of livestock in open spaces and closed areas; river fishing, deep-sea fishing, and coastal fishing, while mining activity can find delineation into underground mining and open-cast mining. Such detailed exploration of primary economic sector enables readers to locate some of the fundamental impulses that have driven economic activity in human society since time immemorial. Such an exercise also helps spark insight into the boundless potential for profitable economic activity in the primary sector. In addition, such illustrations bear potential to direct policy attention to new areas of growth in a nation’s economic life.
The secondary tier of economic sector – as envisaged by economists – comprises manufacturing, utilities such as electricity and crude oil extraction and distribution, capital goods industry, consumer goods industry, and construction industry. These sets of modern economic activity generate a significant portion of national income for sovereign states that exist in the present day. Deep linkages and inter-connections operate in these spheres of activity; indeed, these form the basis of the expansive economic phenomenon we know as globalization. Therefore, a massive flowchart can take shape when we seek to map the various segments of this exquisite expression of modern economic sector. Additionally, the flowchart can explore the trillions of Dollars’ worth of value generated by the secondary tier on an annual basis; this helps to inform our understanding of certain levels of core economic activity in the modern era.
Further to the above, the secondary sector presents interesting insights into modern versions of extended economic activity. Analysts could deploy flowcharts to examine the essential connections between the primary sector and the secondary sector of modern economies. The products generated by secondary economic sector include “metalworking and smelting, automobile production, textile production, the chemical and engineering industries, aerospace manufacturing, energy utilities, breweries and bottlers, construction, and shipbuilding” – these find lucrative markets in overseas territory, enabling the originating nation to earn valuable foreign exchange as part of export earnings.
Some observers have classified the secondary sector into light industry and heavy industry; such classification empowers economists to develop a better understanding of sophisticated (and developing) forms of modern economic activity. We could deploy flowchart-based illustrations to map such segments of the economic sector and generate a detailed idea of the many impacts on the destiny of a modern nation state.
The tertiary sector “sells the goods produced by the secondary sector and provides commercial services to both the general population and to businesses in all economic sectors.” This is a powerful assertion that indicates this sector is critical to the economic success of modern nations; the activities associated with this sector “include retail and wholesale sales, transportation and distribution, restaurants, clerical services, media, tourism, insurance, banking, healthcare, and law.” Each of these components – when described inside flowcharts – helps complete readers’ understanding of the economic sector in modern civilization. Highly developed tertiary sectors remain the signature feature of a fully developed modern national economy. A survey of different countries indicates that all countries exhibit different levels of economic development when measured in terms of the tertiary sector.
Many developed economies have undergone a graded transition from manufacturing to the service sector or tertiary sector. This phenomenon – known as Tertiarisation – depicts scenarios wherein the service sector becomes the biggest component that defines an advanced economy. We could endeavor to analyze this phenomenon – and its manifest effects – inside flowcharts that describe various aspects of the economic sector. Higher levels of leisure time, the widespread use of digital technology, regional concentrations of the economic order, and a certain market volatility comprise the signature aspects of Tertiarisation. In addition, designers of flowcharts could develop a visual narrative of the journey that enables primitive economies to metamorphose into an advanced economy. Such narratives could pivot on timelines that describe annual GDP numbers over a series of years/decades; this stance allows readers to appreciate the benefits attendant on an evolving economy.
Readers that peruse these paragraphs can grow an appreciation of techniques that deploy flowcharts to study variant facets of the economic sector. These illustrations enable designers and creators to investigate the moving parts that propelled various stages of evolving economic orders during the past few millennia. Flowcharts also hold potential to spotlight the dynamics of sections of economic sector and the key impulses that animated economic performance down the ages. When these are viewed as part of a grand narrative, readers gain a better sense of comprehension of the technical aspects of economic orders. In such instances, designers would do well to balance the larger imperatives of societies and establish co-relations with the core dynamic of each stage of economic evolution.
In addition, architects could design segments of flowcharts to reflect the dominant trends in an economic sector, as part of efforts to transmit greater (read simplified) comprehension in the minds of average readers. The deeply visual nature of flowchart-based illustrations assist a faster absorption of essential facts that drive economic performance. In enabling such scenarios, flowcharts act as enablers of the human intellect and the drivers of human civilization. In the future, flowcharts could serve as test beds that help prototype new ideas that could usher in the next phase of the economic sector.
