EGF–A1
The Axioms of Entropic Governance

Status of This Document

This document defines the normative axioms of the Entropic Governance Framework (EGF).

The axioms in this document are foundational and non-derivative. All EGF documents, interpretations, and extensions must remain consistent with these axioms.

Axiom 1 — Entropy Is the Invariant Constraint

Statement: All organised systems are subject to entropy increase arising from irreversible energy transformation.

• No governance system can eliminate entropy; it can only manage, displace, or delay it.
• Long-term viability is bounded by cumulative irreversible loss.

Axiom 2 — Energy Transformation Underlies All Civilisational Activity

Statement: All civilisational actions consist of energy transformation and therefore incur entropic cost.

• Economic, social, informational, and cultural processes are derivative of energy use.
• No abstraction negates the physical cost of action.

Axiom 3 — Entropic Cost Is Primary

Statement: Entropic cost is the primary evaluative constraint on action, independent of monetary price, political preference, or cultural framing.

• Actions with hidden or deferred entropic cost undermine system viability.
• Short-term optimisation that increases long-term entropy constitutes misgovernance.

Axiom 4 — Sustainability Is a Physical Property

Statement: Sustainability is the capacity of a system to maintain low net entropy growth across relevant timescales while preserving structural and functional integrity.

• Sustainability is not a moral label or political claim.
• Claims of sustainability must be physically defensible.

Axiom 5 — Energy Quality Matters

Statement: The quality of energy transformation determines entropic cost more than quantity alone.

• Equal energy quantities may produce unequal irreversible loss.
• Governance must distinguish between reversible and irreversible transformations.

Axiom 6 — Values Weight Allocation but Do Not Override Constraint

Statement: Values may legitimately influence prioritisation and allocation, but they do not negate physical constraints.

• Ethical priorities should be expressed as explicit weightings.
• No value claim can nullify entropic cost.

Axiom 7 — Responsibility Is Proportional to Control

Statement: Entropic responsibility accrues to agents in proportion to their capacity to influence energy transformation and system outcomes.

• Responsibility cannot be fully externalised.
• Designers, operators, governors, and beneficiaries share accountability.

Axiom 8 — Future Optionality Must Be Preserved

Statement: Actions that irreversibly reduce future option space incur higher entropic significance than reversible actions.

• Lock-in and fragility are governance failures.
• Adaptability and repairability are core sustainability attributes.

Axiom 9 — Governance Is Constraint Management

Statement: Governance is the collective management of constraints under uncertainty, not the elimination of trade-offs.

• All governance involves loss; denial of this fact produces instability.
• Transparent trade-offs are preferable to concealed optimisation.

Axiom 10 — Legibility Is a Requirement of Viability

Statement: Systems that obscure entropic cost, allocation logic, or responsibility become unstable over time.

• Opaque systems concentrate power and magnify error.
• Legibility enables correction before collapse.

Interpretation

These axioms do not prescribe specific policies, institutions, or technologies. They define boundary conditions within which such choices must operate to remain viable.