conserving value

The values of money, community, reputation and culture are all measures of subsystem-correlation. These things are not automatically conserved like, for example, momentum is in the physical sciences.

For example money is often thought of as an analog to total-energy, whose numeric value (like that of momentum) remains the same as it is passed from one form to another. Of course money is really an analog for available-work (what the energy crisis is about), whose value is in fact expected to decrease over time in the absence of new ordered-energy and/or information.

More importantly, uninformed action is likely to erode the usefulness (independent of its numeric quantity) of money, available work, as well as the other measures of subsystem correlation listed above. Hence humility has to accompany hard work if we, as fragile beings in a seriously unfriendly universe, are to make the most of the resources available to us.