Send us a text

Read the article on Substack

Another team of researchers traced the origins of inequality using what they call the "Energy Hierarchy Inequality Hypothesis." They discovered that inequality isn't just a side effect of human greed—it's the predictable result of an ancient algorithm we've been unconsciously following for thousands of years.

The algorithm works like this:

1. More energy per person → Larger institutions
2. Larger institutions → Deeper hierarchies
3. Deeper hierarchies → Exponential concentration of power
4. Concentrated power → Massive inequality

This isn't opinion. It's mathematics. And it's been running in the background of human civilization since we invented agriculture.

For hundreds of thousands of years, our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived in egalitarian groups. Not because they were morally superior, but because the energy equation made hierarchy unstable. There simply wasn't enough surplus energy to support permanent power structures.

References:

Energy, hierarchy and the origin of inequality

Social Thermodynamics 2.0

Thermodynamics 2.0: Bridging the natural and social sciences

This is Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy

Independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter. Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas.

Thanks for listening today!

Four recurring narratives underlie every episode: boundary dissolution, adaptive complexity, embodied knowledge, and quantum-like uncertainty. These aren’t just philosophical musings but frameworks for understanding our modern world.

We hope you continue exploring our other podcasts, responding to the content, and checking out our related articles on the Heliox Podcast on Substack.

Support the show

About SCZoomers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1632045180447285
https://x.com/SCZoomers
https://mstdn.ca/@SCZoomers
https://bsky.app/profile/safety.bsky.app
Spoken word, short and sweet, with rhythm and a catchy beat.
http://tinyurl.com/stonefolksongs
Curated, independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, evidenced-based, clinical & community information regarding COVID-19. Since 2017, it has focused on Covid since Feb 2020, with Multiple Stores per day, hence a large searchable base of stories to date. More than 4000 stories on COVID-19 alone. Hundreds of stories on Climate Change.
Zoomers of the Sunshine Coast is a news organization with the advantages of deeply rooted connections within our local community, combined with a provincial, national and global following and exposure. In written form, audio, and video, we provide evidence-based and referenced stories interspersed with curated commentary, satire and humour. We reference where our stories come from and who wrote, published, and even inspired them. Using a social media platform means we have a much higher degree of interaction with our readers than conventional media and provides a significant amplification effect, positively. We expect the same courtesy of other media referencing our stories.