xsd:string An Entity is in a state such that it participates in a preponderance of states and events which are desirable for it. For living entities, this may entail a proliferation of instances of the entity, or of desirable properties associated with the (single) entity. For non-living entities (economies, political locales, academic topics, etc.), this entails a proliferation of instances, or of activities that lead to instances, or any attribute that would prevent the entity from disappearing. This state is conceived of as temporary, or at least contingent on a number of changeable factors. Words expressing the opposite state, i.e., a lack of such positive activity, are also in this frame. In the 1920s the peach industry flourished in Upson County. Construction companies thrive on public projects.