1.3.2 原则 2：再生和持续再投资

Living things, ecosystems, and societies—the flow networks we are most interested in—have organically co-evolved to be self-sustaining. They must invest resources continuously in expanding, preserving, and restoring their internal capabilities if they want to survive. They are inherently self-renewing and regenerative as a result of this. Any society that wants to prosper and last a long time must therefore keep investing in its internal resources, including its citizens’ skills and wellbeing, the integrity and capabilities of its institutions, the infrastructure of its commonwealth, including its roads, schools, the Internet, and utilities, as well as its supporting environment’s ecosystem services. 投资于人力资本可以同时提高网络生产力、灵感、创造力、忠诚度和学习能力。因此，内部循环对活力的影响远比 GDP 发展重要，后者仅衡量流量而不考虑其目的地或使用方式。例如，根据研究，美国退伍军人法案每花费 $1 就为美国经济贡献 $7。当地企业的数量和投资于当地产能的金额都增加了经济弹性，这是支持当地企业的另一个好处。相反，通过限制投资、流通和社会经济营养，特别是在基层，紧缩措施损害了本已不景气的经济。