Aggregate

The more resources – material, budget, time, personnel – an organization has at its disposal, the more likely it will draw on them in order to solve a problem, take advantage of an opportunity, accomplish a task. Especially if the organization needs to move quickly. And conversely, the less likely it will develop approaches which conserve those resources. Americans are not known for doing more with less. Not yet.

Aggregate: formed by the collection of units or particles into a body, mass, or amount; clustered in a dense mass; composed of mineral crystals of one or more kinds or of mineral rock fragments; taking all units as a whole. From Middle English aggregat, from Latin aggregare to add to, from ad- + greg-, grex flock.

Americans aggregate. When the U.S. goes to war it aggregates overwhelming force. The current debate is how to move away from this tradition. American websites aggregate content. When start-up companies “go public” – initial public offering – financial institutions aggregate investors.