Social Phenomena Overlaying Thermodynamics (2)

The initial trigger for wanting to align thermodynamics with something was when I encountered the concept of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). This term, which represents "the added value of all goods and services produced within a country over a specific time period," is used in statistics. Unlike physical quantities that precisely represent values without excess or deficiency, GDP comes with its own set of limitations.

The added value created through production, when described in business terms, is explained as:
Added Value = Sales Amount - Purchase Amount (cost of raw materials, fuel, depreciation, etc.)
At this point, I realized that insights from thermodynamics could shed light on this phenomenon. Let's consider how it might parallel with thermodynamic principles.

Assign a positive sign to the selling price (representing the amount of energy released to the outside and its monetary value) and a negative sign to the costs (representing the energy taken in from the outside and its monetary value released).
These, when combined, culminate in a monetary representation of mixed energy, which we refer to as "added value."

1. I thought that if the population involved in production and release is large, the GDP figure would naturally increase.
2. GDP is also used to measure the scale of a country's economy. I understood that it increases when the economy is doing well and the economic state is favorable. It's often said that the economy is all about sentiment. So, I first wondered if GDP represents the vitality of a nation.

Japan's GDP has not grown over the past 30 years. During this time, the GDPs of other countries have grown, and Japan's GDP ranking has continued to fall. Once the second-largest GDP, Japan was overtaken by China to third place, and in 2023, it was further surpassed by Germany, a country with a smaller population, falling to fourth place. On a per capita basis, Japan was also overtaken by South Korea.

Just because the GDP is large doesn't mean people are happy. GDP is not an indicator of happiness. Apart from its definition, I intuitively felt that GDP represents the sum of people's vitality. I wondered if there was a way to explain this intuition, oscillating back and forth in my thoughts. Since GDP is expressed in form and numbers, I believed there must be an underlying truth that corresponds to it.
The idea that there is a truth corresponding to every expression is something I conceived during my high school days, and I tried to organize phenomena based on this concept. Believing that there is something equivalent to the truth, I started to question where the energy that gives birth to this truth is located.

In search of answers to my questions, I conceived the idea of using thermodynamics as a tool for thought. Although the details of thermodynamics are complex, I intuitively felt that its principles could be applied. The similarity between the growth of GDP, an indicator of vitality, and the mechanism by which usable energy is obtained from the movement of thermal energy seemed apparent.
Thus, by looking at vitality from the perspective of thermodynamics, I intuitively felt that it would be possible to understand GDP, economics, and social phenomena.

[ Author : Y. F. ]