https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/s10051-022-00362-5
Regular Article - Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Collective strategy condensation towards class-separated societies
An envy-induced phase transition
Institute for Theoretical Physics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
Received:
21
March
2022
Accepted:
7
June
2022
Published online:
22
June
2022
In physics, the wavefunctions of bosonic particles collapse when the system undergoes a Bose–Einstein condensation. In game theory, the strategy of an agent describes the probability to engage in a certain course of action. Strategies are expected to differ in competitive situations, namely when there is a penalty to do the same as somebody else. We study what happens when agents are interested how they fare not only in absolute terms, but also relative to others. This preference, denoted envy, is shown to induce the emergence of distinct social classes via a collective strategy condensation transition. Members of the lower class pursue identical strategies, in analogy to the Bose–Einstein condensation, with the upper class remaining individualistic.
© The Author(s) 2022
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