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A Socio-Economic Thermodynamic Entropy (SETE) Model: The Political-Economy as an Inertial Mass Orbiting a Systemic Entropy Singularity

Authors: Newbury, Steven J.;

A Socio-Economic Thermodynamic Entropy (SETE) Model: The Political-Economy as an Inertial Mass Orbiting a Systemic Entropy Singularity

Abstract

UPDATE: A new enhanced version of this model is avaliable here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18882696 This paper presents a refined Socio-Economic Thermodynamic (SETE) model to analyse the dynamic relationship between the human political-economy and its biophysical constraints. Conventional economic models, rooted in the Strong Enlightenment tradition — defined as the belief in axiomatic myths of perpetual progress, human-technological omnipotence, and the separability of the economy from biophysical laws — fail to capture material limits, mandating a scientific-method-based re-evaluation. We propose a two-body orbital mechanics framework embedded within thermodynamic laws: The Central Earth-System: Contains the Resource Entropy Singularity (S_crit), the critical thermodynamic collapse point, preceded by the Entropic Event Horizon (H). The Orbiting Political-Economy (PE): Defined by an inertial mass (M) (accumulated material stock M_M and institutional/ideological stock M_I ). The core finding is that growing inertial mass (M) drives path dependency, while ”Entropic Drag” (F_drag) diverts useful Exergy into ”Maintenance Power” (P_maint), creating biophysical inflationary pressures. The Entropic Event Horizon (H) is the point where political and ideological inertia (M_I ) makes the required structural change (vrequired) unattainable, as M_I dictates the maximum politically feasible velocity of change(v_political−feasible). Analysis of the IPCC Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) shows that only structural reductions in inertial mass and a shift toward use-value–driven economic activity—valuing durable, repairable, andfunctional products—provides a thermodynamically viable escape trajectory from collapse by reducing M and the Entropy Generation Coefficient (γ), assuming the H boundary hasn’t already been crossed. This approach is consistent with ecological critiques of political economy (Foster, 2009) while remaining grounded in physical law.

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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