From the Physiocrats to Fairness in Nations

Abstract

In this review, work from three centuries of biophysical economics is presented, starting from the physiocrats’ early work in biophysical economics in 1755, to the most recent modeling of modern societies with approaches from biophysics and physics, to explain the wealth distribution, opinions and power structures in societies and nations. At the same time, we are also dealing with generalizations, in particular, how to define and create fairness in nations. The general conclusions emphasize the strength of socio-econo-physics in explaining nations, also in comparison to the other approaches, due to the unbiased starting points and diversity in methods. The results emphasize that fairness is increased with citizens’ activities that create smoother income distributions and improving the flow of opportunities in the nation. Fairness also fights unjust socio-economic biases and suggests advancing citizens-managed organizations.