Political debates usually generate more heat than light. These articles take a different approach: examining political and economic systems through the lens of far-from-equilibrium thermodynamics. When you understand how complex adaptive systems actually work, ideological battles start looking very different.
Markets are self-organizing systems that process information and allocate resources without central control. Governments are hierarchical structures that impose order from above. Both have roles to play, but understanding their thermodynamic properties helps us see when each approach works and when it fails. These articles explore that territory.
We examine questions like: Why do centrally planned economies fail? What market failures require government intervention? How do regulations affect innovation? Why does political polarization follow predictable patterns? The goal isn't to push a particular ideology—it's to understand the physics underlying political and economic systems.
If you're frustrated by tribal politics and looking for a more principled framework for thinking about society, these articles offer tools for analysis that transcend left-right divisions. The future requires new thinking—and new thinking requires understanding how complex systems actually behave.
Why Free Markets Are Thermodynamically Correct
Far-from-equilibrium systems self-organize best without central control. The physics case for libertarian economics. Hayek meets Prigogine.
Central Planning Always Fails (Here's Why)
The Soviet Union. Venezuela. Your company's 5-year plan. Central planning fails because it fights thermodynamics. The science of spontaneous order.
The Invisible Hand is Real (It's Physics)
Adam Smith intuited something profound. Markets self-organize like hurricanes and ecosystems. The thermodynamic proof of the invisible hand.
Why Governments Can't Pick Winners
Solyndra. Concorde. Every government 'investment' that failed. Complex systems can't be directed from the top. The physics of why bureaucrats lose.
Decentralization is a Law of Nature
Bitcoin. DAOs. Remote work. The trend toward decentralization isn't ideology—it's physics. Why distributed systems outperform centralized ones.
The Problem With Regulation
Every regulation is an attempt to freeze a system in place. But systems need to flow. The thermodynamic case against over-regulation.
Why Socialism Violates Physics
It's not just economics—it's thermodynamics. Socialism tries to maintain equilibrium. Life requires far-from-equilibrium dynamics. The science is clear.
Spontaneous Order: The Most Beautiful Idea
Nobody designed language. Nobody planned the internet. The most complex systems emerge spontaneously. How order arises without a planner.
The State is Entropy
Governments grow, bureaucracies expand, regulations multiply. It's not corruption—it's entropy. The thermodynamics of political decay.
Why I'm a Thermodynamic Libertarian
I didn't become libertarian from reading Rand or Rothbard. I became libertarian from understanding physics. The Forward Look case for freedom.
Cannabis Prohibition: A Case Study in Government Failure
80 years of prohibition. Trillions wasted. Millions imprisoned. Zero reduction in use. The thermodynamics of why drug wars always fail.
The Future is Decentralized
Nation-states are a 400-year-old technology. They're being disrupted. What replaces them? Distributed networks that flow like nature intended.