2026/04/01 by Bernd von Mallinckrodt · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Sociology and Norbert Elias #World Systems and Global Transformations
paper · doi:10.5281/zenodo.19366240
openalex publication_date 2026/04/01 · openalex created_date 2026/04/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
This study presents a conceptual analysis of the long-term transformation and functional displacement of the European knight system (c. 800–1500 CE) using the Compression–Resonance Thermodynamic Index (CRTI) framework. The CRTI formalizes system viability as a ratio between adaptive capacity R(t) and structural compression Φ(t), expressed as T(t) = R(t) / Φ(t). Structural compression is defined as the accumulation of constraints reducing the effective degrees of freedom available to the system, while adaptive capacity captures the system’s ability to respond to technological, institutional, and environmental change. The knight system is treated as a long-duration socio-technical system integrating military technology, institutional organization, and normative structures. Historical processes—including feudal lock-in, economic dependency on land-based revenue, technological inertia of heavy cavalry, and normative rigidity—are interpreted as drivers of increasing structural compression. Concurrently, declining responsiveness to infantry tactics, gunpowder technologies, and centralized military reorganization is interpreted as a reduction in adaptive capacity. All trajectories of Φ(t), R(t), and T(t) are explicitly schematic and qualitative. No empirical calibration, parameter estimation, or time-series analysis is performed. The mapping of historical processes onto CRTI variables is interpretive and does not establish causal relationships. The analysis is positioned as hypothesis-generating rather than hypothesis-confirming. It proposes that long-term system viability may be understood as the balance between constraint accumulation and adaptive response capacity, complementing existing approaches to collapse dynamics such as diminishing returns on complexity (Tainter), adaptive cycles (Holling), and critical transitions (Scheffer et al.). Potential applicability to other socio-technical systems—such as infrastructure networks, industrial regimes, or institutional organizations—is discussed, with emphasis on the need for domain-specific operationalization and empirical validation. structural compression adaptive capacity complex adaptive systems collapse dynamics early warning signals socio-technical systems CRTI framework