ABSTRACT
In this chapter we focus on the quantitative analysis of the internal constraints on the metabolic pattern of society. We provide an innovative quantitative method that can be used to analyze the desirability and viability of a given metabolic pattern. This method is based on a description of the network of energy transfor-mations from within the societal system. The chapter is organized into four sections. In the first two sections, we provide empirical support for the hypothe-sis that economic growth can be associated with a series of expected transformations in the metabolic pattern. In the last two sections we focus on the technical details of how to use our protocol of MuSIASEM. More specifically:
