This thesis presents a social adaptation of the World3 model, originally developed at MIT for the report The Limits to Growth (1972). In a context marked by rising economic inequality and worsening environmental crises, it explores how social structure influences the stability of the global system when confronted with planetary limits.
The model developed, referred to as World3 socio-adapted, divides the world population into three income groups and links each group to differentiated levels of industrial consumption. This approach makes it possible to examine how inequality affects the overall dynamics of the global system.
The simulations show that a global enrichment of the population accelerates ecological collapse, while widespread impoverishment increases the system’s physical resilience but at the expense of essential social functions. These results highlight the need for a balance between material sobriety and collective planning : a materially poorer world, where resources are allocated to key sectors such as agriculture, health, education, and research, can ensure a decent standard of living, reduce pressure on the biosphere, and help secure the stability of tomorrow’s world.
| Date | 22 Jan 2026 |
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| Original language | French |
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| Awarding Institution | - École de technologie supérieure
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| Supervisor | Daniel Rousse (Supervisor) & Yves-Marie Abraham (Co-supervisor) |
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Kessous, P. (Author),
Rousse (Supervisor) & Abraham (Co-supervisor),
22 Jan 2026Student thesis: Master's thesis › Master in Engineering: Engineering