The Cycle of Orders

The cycle of history in genes, polities, economies, and knowledge is the same:

A new opportunity to exploit is discovered by those capable of exploiting it.

The innovators profit from the cooperation of followers.

The followers and those who profit expand in a hierarchy or school until one of the following occurs:

1 – the ‘market’ opportunity is exhausted,

…1.1 – followers who can be incentivised are exhausted,

…1.2 – or increases in profits are exhausted,

…1.3 – or the resources needed to exploit the opportunity are exhausted.

2 – or the institutions of cooperation (the pricing system) is overwhelmed, resulting in hyper-consumption.

3 – or a shock is encountered sufficient that the order cannot restructure while preserving the incentives to maintain the order;

4 – or Disaster, Plague, Famine, and War create a shock that no order can survive.

This is the universal rule of the evolution of orders.