A Canonical Theory of Origins and Development of Social Complexity

The puzzle of origins and future of government and social complexity in human and social dynamics, arguably a characteristic feature of the emergence and long-term evolution of hierarchy and power in the history of civilizations, is an enduring topic that has challenged political scientists, anthropological archaeologists, and other social scientists and historians. This paper proposes a new computational theory for the emergence of social complexity that accounts for the earliest formation of systems of government (pristine polities) in prehistory and early antiquity, as well as present and future political development. This general social theory is based on a “fast process” of crisis and opportunistic decision-making through collective action, which feeds a “slow” process of political development or decay. The “fast” core iterative process is “canonical” in the sense that it undergoes variations on a recurring theme of signal detection, information-processing, problem-solving, successful adaptation and occasional failure. When a group is successful in managing or overcoming serious situational changes (stresses or opportunities, endogenous or exogenous, social or physical) a probabilistic phase transition may occur, under a specified set of conditions, yielding a long-term (slow) probabilistic accrual process of emergent sociopolitical complexity and development. A reverse process may account for decay. The canonical theory is being formally implemented through the “PoliGen” agent-based model (ABM), based on the new Multi-Agent Simulator of Networks and Neighborhoods (MASON). Empirically, the theory is testable with the datasets on polities developed by the Long-Range Analysis of War (LORANOW) Project. This paper focuses on the concepts, mechanisms, and basic formal structure that constitute the canonical theory and inform the subsequent simulation model.