Analogy between quantum physical systems and democratic polities.
Me, to DeepSeek:
I want to try to develop an analogy between the quantum physical system, where atoms are the individual voter and the body politic is the collective behavior, and elections represents the phase transition. I want to refer to the nature of the character of the society as a whole as a collective behavior of the character of its individuals. Would that work?
DeepSeek:
Your analogy is intriguing and can work with careful construction! Here's how to map quantum ODLRO and phase transitions to a sociopolitical system, where individual voters ≈ atoms and collective electoral outcomes ≈ emergent quantum order:
Quantum Democracy: A Metaphoric Homology
(ODLRO and Phase Transitions ↔ Individual Voters and Sociopolitical Order)
Quantum System Sociopolitical Analogy Key Parallels
Atoms/Electrons (microscopic) Individual voters/citizens Both are the fundamental units whose interactions determine collective behavior.
Quantum State (wavefunction) Political "state" of society (norms, laws, shared beliefs) Emerges from individual actions but constrains them in feedback.
Off-Diagonal Long-Range Order Cultural/political coherence (e.g., nationalism, ideology spanning diverse groups) Distant individuals correlate behavior despite local differences.
Phase Transition Elections/revolutions (sudden shifts in collective order) Small changes in individual "spin" (preference) trigger macroscopic reordering.
Broken Symmetry Shift in hegemony (e.g., democracy → autocracy, or vice versa) New order parameter (e.g., "fear" or "hope") dominates after critical threshold.
Temperature (noise/decoherence) Political polarization/disinformation (disrupts coherence) High "social temperature" fractures collective alignment.
Superfluid Flow Policy consensus (laws pass smoothly; little "friction") Requires ideological coherence (ODLRO-like shared phase).
Vortices (defects in order) Political dissent/subcultures (localized resistance to hegemony) Disrupt coherence but may persist without collapsing the system.
Expanding the Analogy
ODLRO as Cultural Hegemony
In a BEC, atoms lose individuality to a shared phase.
In a stable society, individuals align under a dominant ideology (e.g., liberalism, nationalism), creating "social coherence."
Example: Post-WWII U.S. exhibited ODLRO-like consensus (Cold War unity); today's polarization implies "decoherence."
Elections as Phase Transitions
Critical threshold: Polling margins ≈ critical temperature (e.g., 51% vote share flips the system).
Hysteresis: Past elections shape future ones (like history dependence in magnetic phase transitions).
Example: 2016 U.S. election: A small swing in key states triggered a macroscopic regime shift.
Decoherence ↔ Fragmentation
Quantum systems lose ODLRO when thermal noise randomizes phases.
Societies lose coherence when polarization/inequality exceeds a threshold (e.g., Weimar Germany → Nazi dictatorship).
Order Parameters
Quantum: Magnetization, condensate density.
Social: Trust in institutions, GDP growth, or a charismatic leader's influence.
Caveats & Refinements
Quantum vs. Classical: Voters are classical agents, so true ODLRO is impossible. But statistical long-range correlations (e.g., media-driven nationwide voting trends) mimic it.
Agency: Atoms obey physical laws; voters have free will (though bounded by social dynamics).
Feedback Loops: Quantum phase transitions are equilibrium phenomena; societies are far-from-equilibrium systems.
Provocative Implications
Could a "social superfluid" exist? (A society so cohesive it enacts policies with near-zero resistance? Think: wartime unity or cults.)
Is fascism a "broken symmetry state" where fear becomes the order parameter?
Does gerrymandering create "topological defects" in electoral coherence?
How to Strengthen the Analogy
Use network theory to model voter interactions like spin couplings in a lattice.
Frame "social temperature" as mean ideological flexibility (high temp = populist volatility).
Treat media/institutions as the "quantum field" mediating long-range voter correlations.
Would you like to dive deeper into modeling a specific electoral system (e.g., proportional representation vs. two-party) as a quantum vs. classical phase transition?